Fed up with VAG cars | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

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Fri 17 Jun 2011 23:33

Fed up with VAG cars - brum

Yet again I find myself with another VAG car (this time a Skoda Fabia) which although I was initially enthralled with and highly complimentary to, after 100,000 miles (7 short years) the same old story.... Suspension components, bushes, track rods, bearings, rear shocks etc etc more or less shot and costing me a fortune to fix. How come the rest of the car can look pristine, the engine/gearbox is great, but they cant even put a decent coat of paint on those under body components and afford them no protection whatsoever.

Brake components also dont seem to be very durable either.

And Skoda dealers now seem to be charging Audi prices for repairs.

Should I consider Toyota or any other make - all I want a car thats cheap to run and built to last at least 200,000 miles without having to be rebuilt every 5 years.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 00:12

Fed up with VAG cars - mark999

100,000 miles on todays roads without problems is not too bad. My Merc V class started falling to bits on delivery, got rid of it at 18K miles after about 30trips back to the dealer for warranty work. Best car I've had is an 2000 reg Yaris from new that has a very hard life doing short runs (only 24k on the clock). Its needed front suspension bushes, rear springs and the gearbox linkage mod.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 00:24

Fed up with VAG cars - 659FBE

I have to agree with brum.

Other than apalling dealers and dubious trading practices (selling cars with known design defects) VAG vehicles do have some attractive qualities.

The bodies are galvanised and the diesel engines - if you get the right one - are efficient and durable. The European market penetration ensures a plentiful supply of pattern spares (some better than others - Chinese bits are rubbish) and pattern diagnostic software. Internet "know how" is second to none.

The point concerning suspension durability is well made though - we have two "old bangers" in the family, a Passat and a PSA 106D. The Passat has required new dampers, front wheel bearings, lower wishbones and has the usual comical electric windows.

The 106, with a higher mileage (165k) is all original, including the dampers which are still effective. Admittedly, its windows are manually operated - but they still work. The diesel engine is perfect - if a little agricultural - and still returns 60 mpg in town.

All credit must go to PSA - the 106 is the cheaper car and has required far fewer replacements.

659.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 00:30

Fed up with VAG cars - Sulphur Man

The Fabia is a relatively small car, and perhaps not best suited to big mileage. I'm struggling to think of a supermini-sized car with a reputation for big mileage without too much expense. Maybe the Mk2 Golf - plenty of them, diesels especially, went well South of 200K mileage, but cars were simpler back then.....

With today's current crop, you should be looking for a mid-size 'C' sector car for long-term durability. I'd suggest a Japanese car which was assembled in Japan amd shipped over. They always seem tighter than the 'outsourced' ones built in UK, Turkey, Poland, USA etc. The current Honda Accord is building up a good reputation.

If big mileage and low costs is crucial, what about a Kia, with their 7 year warranties?

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 02:22

Fed up with VAG cars - unthrottled

Gone are the days when small car meant underpowered engine, low gearing and skinny tyres. The old 130 PD Skabby Fobia VRs makes a stunning cruiser. 80mph@2500RPM in top.

I think the problem with suspension parts is that VAG designed them for light weighgt petrols but a lot of them were sold with a heavy diesel which put more stress on the suspension. Being tight wads they didn't beef up the components.

I have to say that a lot of the suspension problems lie with consumers' preference for chavvy low profile tyres. I've had no problems with any suspension components on my also-ran French car sitting on 175/65 R13s. Spray on tyres really aren't suitable for the inevitable poor road surfaces we encounter. People need to understand that what works on the track seldom works on the street. 17" wheels are not an 'upgrade' to 16".

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 01:14

Fed up with VAG cars - Avant

I wonder, Brum, how often your Fabia has had to cope with speed humps. This useless, spiteful invention is responsible for a lot of suspension and steering woes nowadays.

That said, there is a theory that many mass-produced cars are designed to last about 7 years before parts will wear out. The answer is to try to find a quality car which has been well driven and regularly serviced. Touch wood, I've been lucky with my BMW Z3 which was 7 years old when I bought it three years ago. It's a fun car and has had an easy life with me (only 12,000 miles in 3 years) but has needed no major repairs apart from a water pump which was noisy and was replaced as a precaution.

Volvo is a good make to go for as well as the usual Japanese ones if you're looking for durability.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 06:39

Fed up with VAG cars - Collos25

BMW Z3 a good American built car.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 09:51

Fed up with VAG cars - daveyjp

A colleague has a GTi - 54 reg which has done about 55,000 miles. Ever since its first MOT it has required suspension parts on a regular basis.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 10:38

Fed up with VAG cars - Bobbin Threadbare

We've two Japanese-marque cars in our household, a Toyota and a Mazda. Never a thing wrong with them. My mum and my BiL have Toyotas as well, both very happy and never needed to mend/replace anything.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 11:51

Fed up with VAG cars - davmal

100,000 miles, seven years old, and something has worn out?

Shocking!

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 12:16

Fed up with VAG cars - mss1tw

Our 1996 Proton weighs as much as a can of Value beans and has never needed any suspension/steering work. 80,000 miles. The rear shocks have gone soft, but it passes the MOT with an advisory.

Proton aren't exactly well known for their build quality, so I imagine today's bloated cars and rubber band tyres sound like the cause, as well as built in obsolesence.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 12:39

Fed up with VAG cars - gordonbennet

I always had the feeling that Japanese, indeed Far Eastern built cars had to last and have long trouble free lives.

Primary markets being their own home lands, i somehow doubt that unreliable non durable cars would be tolerated, where many buyers in the west seem to be swayed by perceived image and fashion, other factors less important.

With rare exception Toyota's have enviable reputations for totally reliable and durable vehicles, as we've recently seen they are prepared to put their hands up and admit when things have gone wrong (if only others would follow that example of honesty)...also they don't wash their hands of their responsibilites to their customers...known problems will be fixed via goodwill long after normal warranty has expired, unless the car has been neglected.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 13:47

Fed up with VAG cars - madf

Son's 10 year old Yaris 1.0 GS has 103k miles... New radiatior and timing chain (prior owner abuse) but keeps on going and was cheap <£1500 to buy..

Lots of Yaris with well over 100k miles.

My local MOT inspector said " we don't see many problems with them at MOT time"...

I just look at Car Mechanic's Buyers Guide to a used Fabia which is basically at 100K it's shot.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 14:30

Fed up with VAG cars - Buster Cambelt

Mrs BC had a 2008 Yaris that was nothing but trouble and went back probably 10 times before she got fed up with the awful service and traded it.

You pays your money.... every car is a straw poll of one.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 19:34

Fed up with VAG cars - corax

I always had the feeling that Japanese, indeed Far Eastern built cars had to last and have long trouble free lives.

A friends old shape Nissan Micra has now done around 156k and still keeps going faultlessly. He did wonder what he would replace it with and I recommended a Yaris. Like the Micra it's a simple tough car that's easy on it's components due to low weight, but also it's engineered properly where it count's - this is where most far eastern cars shine. I've owned a few VAG cars but they tend to get problematic at higher miles. OK there is plenty of support for them parts wise and on the internet, but on the whole japanese cars don't tend to need the support, they just keep working.

My Avensis is pig ugly from some angles I have to admit, but I'm more interested in the engineering - it feels built to last and everthing works faultlessly and feels like it's going to continue to work faultlessly. It doesn't have the 'style and panache' value of say an Audi, but It's a car that grows on you because it's so easy to live with.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 22:05

Fed up with VAG cars - gordonbennet

It doesn't have the 'style and panache' value of say an Audi, but It's a car that grows on you because it's so easy to live with.

Some people (TG addicts) would say that makes for a boring car, i see nothing boring in owning something totally dependable and useable.

Is it still doing all you ask of it C, fuel consumption reasonable enough?

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 22:22

Fed up with VAG cars - Bobbin Threadbare

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

I don't think the Avensis is that ugly; it looks nice and solid. Audis like to scream look at me and that's why people rob them and will leave your Avensis alone!

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 23:39

Fed up with VAG cars - corax

I don't think the Avensis is that ugly; it looks nice and solid. Audis like to scream look at me and that's why people rob them and will leave your Avensis alone!

Absolutely BT. I was laying it on a bit thick earlier - I do like the solid purposeful look, and that filters down to the way it feels on the road.

GB - The car has been great since I bought it, thanks for asking. Does around 37-38 average including stop start urban stuff. I've gunned it near the red line a few times, ran an injector cleaner through and run it on BP Ultimate (old habits die hard) and the engines smoother and livelier. Very good ride and can be hustled along surprisingly quickly if needed, but most of the time it's just nice to cruise swiftly and silently. A very relaxing car. My first Japanese machine and very impressed so far after a run of German metal. The engine produces good torque low in the rev range, so you rarely need to use high revs, where it can sound a bit harsh, but then I did come from a straight six :)

I was going to invest in some Vredestein all seasons for the front wheels in a few months. Is this acceptable or do you really need to run them on all four wheels?

I've noticed you haven't been around so much of late. Better things to do no doubt. Hope the Merc and the pick up and C2 are all behaving themselves. And the Honda I almost forgot!

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 22:40

Fed up with VAG cars - gordonbennet

''I was going to invest in some Vredestein all seasons for the front wheels. Hope the Merc and the pick up and C2 are all behaving themselves''.
On the subject of the Vreds, i would try it but only if there are some really decent rear tyres already on the car, i wouldn't for example want such high quality cold/slippery weather front tyres if there were ditchfinders on the back.

Maybe fit them on and then do your own slippery surface testing where safe to see what happens.

Pick up no longer needed due to SWM becoming a lady of leisure, sold easily for a very good price. I would have another Hilux without a doubt if i could justify it, sound motor, can't speak highly enough of Toyota's dealers and head office at Epsom.

Rest of the fleet going fine thanks, much cheaper operating now with the old MB LPG'd....me barmy daughter's still hell bent on selling the Civic though and getting a DC5 Integra..gulp.

Some interesting posts here, Brum's particularly wanting to know why the suspension systems seem to be short lived.

I wonder how much wear and tear is caused through neglect, we see many cars with the shiniest of upper bodywork and spotless interiors, often not the result of the owners care, too bone idle, but by the handy lads at the local car wash.

Lift the bonnet or peer underneath and the difference is staggering, salt encrusted suspension and subframes, suspension rubber bushes wearing super rapidly on heavily rusted steel, brakes pipes that have never seen a wipe of grease, ditto bearings CV's and UJ's, thick salty mud coating every ledge...in other words total neglect, never even had a hose over the underside after any winter...little wonder the things fall apart.

Experience has taught me the only cars capable of coping with such neglect come from the Far East.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 21:12

Fed up with VAG cars - davmal

Got rid of a Mazda and bought a VW. Much cheaper to run especially for tyres and oil, the Mazda used to eat tyres and shocks, luckily it made loads of oil ;(

Used to have Toyotas, but they just got too expensive, yes they put things right, but things do go wrong.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 20:17

Fed up with VAG cars - Roly93

I think you are expecting a lot to be honest. If you had a Ford or Vauxhall at this age/mileage you would definately have shelled out for quite a few repairs. I dont know about Skoda, but my last A4 did nearly 60K with nothing spent on it other than services, the brakes never needed doing. My previous A4 was the same and the only repair I ever had to do was a wheel bearing replaced under warranty.

I think what you are asking is the impossible unless you are considering a Roller ! Dont be sucked in by the myth of Japanese durability either they won'ty do what you are asking.

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Sat 18 Jun 2011 20:53

Fed up with VAG cars - mlj

Mmm.....

My personal experiences as far as they go....

VW: great cars, the worst dealers. Profit the motive ( understandably) but given the demand for VW no incentive for customer service.

Skoda: Great personal service, nothing too much trouble. But this was 10 years ago, is it different today?

Citroen: great deal to buy, silly money for servicing, given it is a mediocre experience.

Toyota: superb. No reservations. I only bought the Berlingo 4 years ago because nothing else ticked all the boxes.

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Mon 20 Jun 2011 11:03

Fed up with VAG cars - Roly93

Mmm.....

My personal experiences as far as they go....

VW: great cars, the worst dealers. Profit the motive ( understandably) but given the demand for VW no incentive for customer service.

I agree entirely here, I was once in a VW dealership and was ignored for 20+ minutes by a sales guy whose attention I was actively trying to attract ! The attitude in Audi is different though, I find them very good, but a bit expensive and love their procedures and paperwork a bit too much.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 09:00

Fed up with VAG cars - WellKnownSid

Should I consider Toyota or any other make - all I want a car thats cheap to run and built to last at least 200,000 miles without having to be rebuilt every 5 years.

You'll definately want a FIAT then. My Marea weekend has 330,000km on the clock, and apart from an alternator about 70,000km ago it's pretty much original

Oil change intervals are officially 20,000km - so I always have an intermediate every 10,000. Cam belt, pump, tensioners, etc all replaced about 40,000km ago as an insurance policy. Doesn't burn a drop of oil, and has just been MOT'd until mid 2013.

If anything expensive goes wrong between now and then, I'll get a new Superb Combi, even though it's a VAG.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 10:24

Fed up with VAG cars - Trilogy

I'd get a Honda Jazz. I know of a couple who bought one for each of themselves. These are now about 6 years old and they have nothing but good things to say about them.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 13:49

Fed up with VAG cars - brum

Replies are pretty much as expected, but not particularly what I wanted to explore.

Engines/gearboxes/bodywork are not the problem here - the number of posters in HJ and elsewhere who keep banging on about change your oil every 5000 miles blah blah just plain annoy me.....

The problem are the bits that are close down to the road. Sure, I expect brakeswill need changing , but surely shock absorbers, tie rods,bushes and wheel bearings can be engineered to last for life. Or at least significantly longer than they lasted on cars 20 years ago. Look at any suspension on a 100k VAG car and quite frankly it looks like a banger / scrapper.

Some obviously dont keep cars long enough or drive enough miles to make valid comments. I could easily say that the VAG cars (6) I've had have been great(ish) - until they get to around 100,000 miles and then they just seem to start falling apart (particularly in the suspension area). While admirable progress has been made in the engine area, suspensions are as carp as they've ever been.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 14:06

Fed up with VAG cars - Trilogy

My VAG Skoda 90 bhp TDi has now done 205,000 miles. I bought it 6 years ago with 94,000 miles. In the last year, 20,000 miles of motoring, I've had a very cheap year, just £392. That's a full service, 2 Continental tyres, front brake pads and an MOT, which it sailed through. The oil is checked regularly.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 14:10

Fed up with VAG cars - brum

Is that an Octavia? - thats on my shortlist for a replacement.

Used by Taxi drivers so must be reasonable, but am I deluding myself?

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 14:11

Fed up with VAG cars - unthrottled

but surely shock absorbers, tie rods,bushes and wheel bearings can be engineered to last for life

These components wear out on most marques. Wheel bearings in particular don't seem as robust as they once were. Shocks and springs defiitely get tired at about the 100,000 mark.

The modern obsession with mating the most horsepower to the lowest CO2 emissions and purchase cost inevitably leads to components being more highly stressed. You could have a car with every component designed to have less than 5% failure rate over 15 years of car life but it would be significantly more expensive, slower and thirstier than its competition-and no one would buy it. You pays your money, you takes your choice.

Edited by unthrottled on 19/06/2011 at 14:16

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 14:11

Fed up with VAG cars - corax

The problem are the bits that are close down to the road. Sure, I expect brakeswill need changing , but surely shock absorbers, tie rods,bushes and wheel bearings can be engineered to last for life.

I don't think you can expect things like bushes which are made out of perishable rubber to last for life. Shock absorbers likewise - the amount of stress they go through while being subjected to all kinds of road induced filth is mind boggling. These things are constantly flexing, moving up and down, being shaken, I think they do well lasting more than 100000 miles. You could lessen your chances of suspension wear by buying something with soft suspension and tyres with bigger profiles, but all cars need the odd bush replacing every now and then. You could also change them all for polyurathane that lasts at least four times as long as rubber but there's a compromise. The ride will be harsher and noisier despite what the suppliers say, as I found out. Shocks like Bilstein are very durable but you can't expect manufacturers to supply these with every car without knocking up the price. It's the same with brake lines - it would be lovely if they were all copper instead of plastic coated but it's the extra cost involved.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 14:18

Fed up with VAG cars - unthrottled

@Corax

Great minds... :)

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Mon 20 Jun 2011 02:23

Fed up with VAG cars - garylyon

but surely shock absorbers, tie rods,bushes and wheel bearings can be engineered to last for life. Or at least significantly longer than they lasted on cars 20 years ago. Look at any suspension on a 100k VAG car and quite frankly it looks like a banger / scrapper.

My view is your expectations are way off the mark.. sure it should be possible to make suspension parts more durable than they were 20 years ago.. ( I think they are) but given the trend towards tyres no thicker than a rubber band, the number of traffic calming measures (speedbumps) on the road and the general state of disrepair we see in everyday driving I think modern componants do pretty well.

These are moving parts and moving parts wear.

The everlasting car will never be invented its just not a viable business proposition

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Mon 20 Jun 2011 11:41

Fed up with VAG cars - Bobbin Threadbare

These are moving parts and moving parts wear.
The everlasting car will never be invented its just not a viable business proposition

It's not viable physics!

We expect these components to suffer chemical and mechanical assault on a very regular basis, and they do very well. You're expecting simple metal bolts and so on to adapt to conditions and withstand heavy usage. The simple fact is, we have not invented a foolproof preventing microfractures in steel so things will fail. Rubber is a natural product; bits will fall off...!

I knew someone who brought his car up to the North-West from East Anglia - it fell to bits even though he hardly used it because of the rain, and the salt from being near the sea.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 18:37

Fed up with VAG cars - WellKnownSid

after 100,000 miles (7 short years) the same old story.... Suspension components, bushes, track rods, bearings, rear shocks etc etc more or less shot and costing me a fortune to fix.

But are you sure all of this is genuine need or simply "precautionary"?

I took my FIAT into a respected national chain for a service and was told I needed new shock absorbers and other suspension parts / components plus a new battery to the tune of just under 1,000 euros.

I declined the work and took it to my local back-street mechanic who just shook his head! Two years and 80,000km later the car has just passed another two year MOT on the same suspension components and it's still running fine on the same battery.

Edited by WellKnownSid on 19/06/2011 at 18:37

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 18:56

Fed up with VAG cars - Trilogy

Indeed, it is an Octavia, of 1998 vintage. No shock absorbers have been replaced during my ownership of 110,000 miles and it does have to lug alot of weight during the summer. Also full of adult friends for trips away. These are simple cars, which have been likened to the legendary Mercedes w124 E-class, for their longevity. My Octavia is still going strong and regulerly returns 55 plus mpg, but in hilly areas, drops to around 50 mpg. Its not an exciting car to drive, but the seats for me, are extremely comfortable on long journeys. The boot is huge and surprises people at its capacity.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 19:44

Fed up with VAG cars - bazza

Interesting thread. My Octavia tdi, now 8 years old and approaching 100K has just been through a costly period, of 4 new springs, and a couple of bits and pieces. I was a bit disappointed, but my independant chappie assured me that these cars are pretty tough and he's changing springs and bushes etc every day on all types of vehicle. i think Unthrottled and Corax are correct, it may be asking too much to expect these components to last indefinitely. When I think of the use my car's had, fully laden across Europe every year, commuting through snow, salt and muck, speed humps etc, then I guess 100K isn't that bad! There was a guy on here who ran his own workshop and posted here a year or so ago, he reckoned every car was more or less worn out at 150 to 200K, of course it's possible to keep anything going but the economics become less convincing past this kind of mileage. If i recall, his view of Japanese makes was very reliable, well -engineered but could become prohibitvely expensive to fix stuff and keep on the road at very high mileage. Personally, I'm keen to try running something from 100 to 150K, so would be interested in owners' experiences.

Cheers Baz

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 20:18

Fed up with VAG cars - unthrottled

Motorway miles are very different to urban miles so it makes a comparison difficult. A lot of cars with huge problem-free mileages are (ex)rep mobiles that pound motorways-no real stress on gears, clutches suspension etc.

In my experience old cars soldier on-but they decome distinctly 'looser' with age. The steering and suspension just aren't as crisp-the gears don't engage as easily. The problems aren't insurmountable but who is going to strip down a gearbox to change the synchros or steering rack?

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 21:18

Fed up with VAG cars - corax

Personally, I'm keen to try running something from 100 to 150K, so would be interested in owners' experiences.

I bought my previous BMW 323 touring at 114000 and ran it up to 158000. In that time I replaced the front wishbones (a known weak point in that they only last about 40000), the shocks with bilsteins, the springs with eibach 25mm lower and replaced the wishbone bushes and rear trailing arms with polybushes. Basically it was a bit of a project as well as my daily runner. The handling after this work was superb, but there was more harshness as I stated above. If I wasn't interested in making it handle better I probably would have just done the front wishbones, and maybe a set of standard trailing arm bushes. The original shocks were still good, the E36's seem to be easy on them, probably because of the 50:50 weight distribution. Everything else was standard - the whole drivetrain including engine showed little sign of wear. I had to replace the brake light switch, and I had the climate control unit repaired for £40 by sending it off to someone who replaced a faulty capacitor - a lot less than the £200 BMW wanted for a new one. It was still running superb but I'd had it for six years and I got fed up of the hard ride.

Any car including this one is going to need suspension replacements at this sort of mileage - shocks, bushes e.t.c are seen as consumables. The one thing I will say about VAG and BMW is that there is a lot of know how surrounding every aspect of them and a huge aftermarket serving them, so if you want to, you can keep the things running for years. But you have to weigh up how much you're spending on replacements versus buying a newer car that still has plenty of life left in all of it's components.

There was an old shape Avensis featured in car mechanics that had done 200000 miles. I think the guy called it Alan :) If I recall, he replaced the shocks, an oxygen sensor and had the gearbox rebuilt at a specialist at 150000 miles due to worn bearings. But as Unthrottled said, it was used mainly for motorway commuting.

There was a thread on here a few years ago about high mileage cars, and there were many different makes featuring on it.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 22:33

Fed up with VAG cars - Bobbin Threadbare

I'm getting into the high mileage range; my car has 92k on the clock and I bought it at 74k last year. I can't change it until autumn 2012. I've been motorway commuting in it mostly, and I left my job on Friday. Now I'm worried that problems will appear as the car is going to be doing little journeys or sitting on my driveway, at least for the next few months.

I've never had to mend anything on it...yet! I drove my last car from about 20k to 90k, and needed a new clutch and suspension ball joints. Not bad really.

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Mon 20 Jun 2011 11:14

Fed up with VAG cars - Roly93

But are you sure all of this is genuine need or simply "precautionary"?

I took my FIAT into a respected national chain for a service and was told I needed new shock absorbers and other suspension parts / components plus a new battery to the tune of just under 1,000 euros.

Very good point, if I'd done everything that was suggested to me on my last Audi, I estimate that Iwould have spent the best part of £1000 without any benefit as it turns out !

I once saw a well known chain of tyre retailer fleece a poor old guy in exactly this way..

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Tue 21 Jun 2011 18:41

Fed up with VAG cars - brum

See post below for the outcome

Edited by brum on 21/06/2011 at 18:42

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 22:35

Fed up with VAG cars - Avant

"While admirable progress has been made in the engine area, suspensions are as carp as they've ever been."

You may well be right, Brum - but I wonder if anyone on here has experience of driving or servicing older cars, say, 20 years ago. I still think that speed humps are a major factor in suspension wear, and the increased use of these pests may have negated any improvements made in suspension design and materials.

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Sun 19 Jun 2011 23:07

Fed up with VAG cars - unthrottled

A set of pneumatic tyres works wonders in absorbing bumps from an uneven road surface...

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Mon 20 Jun 2011 11:53

Fed up with VAG cars - dieseldogg

My brother who has run a Golf this substantial no of years "scowled like a butterwitch" regarding the necessity to replace bushings and suspension bits for each MOT from the very first.

My Galaxy "eats" droplinks ,, but at virtually 240,000 miles still has one origional drive shaft, the other being replace at around 200,000, & I never replaced the CV joint boots either (which was the only reason I needed a shaft at 200k) now I find that to be good engineering, ditto the gear box is still excellent.

I suspect that suspension has now got so sophistacted that it is more susceptable to wear

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Mon 20 Jun 2011 13:04

Fed up with VAG cars - madf

The fashion for low profile and wider tyres has does nothing for suspension longevity... and in snow and ice they are a decided disadvantage...

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Mon 20 Jun 2011 21:17

Fed up with VAG cars - SteveLee

Only parts I can remember replacing on my Citroën XM in 150K+ miles were drop-links (£8 each) 15 mins to replace. The spheres were still fine, I knew the first owner from new and he hadn't replaced any suspension components apart from a leaky pipe.

My C5 needs the same (drop links) and a bottom ball joint (I can feel it even though it passed an MOT) at just past the 100K mark. The car still looks like new underneath. It's 20K miles over-due a cambelt - debating whether to do it (the car's worthless) or wait for it to go bang and scrap the car. Window switch needed replacing and the power steering pipe leaks slightly. Mechanically the car is otherwise totally sound.

In 170K miles my old Jag XJ8 4.0 needed 1 wheel bearing and a set of front wishbones - that's it - no other repair costs and I used to drive it hard. It's just passed 225K miles and is still running like clockwork.

As for Corax musing over front wheels only for all-seasons tyres - that's what I've been doing since last winter - it was fine, even on freshly fallen snow.

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Tue 21 Jun 2011 15:46

Fed up with VAG cars - dieseldogg

(i) If the C% has only 100k on and is like new underneath , why is she a scrapper?

(ii) I near got lynched on the Briskoda forum for suggesting the fitment of winter tyres on the front only, of a FWD car.

An accident waiting to happen apparently. For some leastwise.

Only Duffers drown & Dorks shouldnt drive.

Only IMHO of course.

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Tue 21 Jun 2011 18:20

Fed up with VAG cars - corax

(ii) I near got lynched on the Briskoda forum for suggesting the fitment of winter tyres on the front only, of a FWD car.

An accident waiting to happen apparently. For some leastwise.

Point taken

Edited by corax on 21/06/2011 at 18:21

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Tue 21 Jun 2011 18:42

Fed up with VAG cars - brum

after 100,000 miles (7 short years) the same old story.... Suspension components, bushes, track rods, bearings, rear shocks etc etc more or less shot and costing me a fortune to fix.

But are you sure all of this is genuine need or simply "precautionary"?

I took my FIAT into a respected national chain for a service and was told I needed new shock absorbers and other suspension parts / components plus a new battery to the tune of just under 1,000 euros.

I declined the work and took it to my local back-street mechanic who just shook his head! Two years and 80,000km later the car has just passed another two year MOT on the same suspension components and it's still running fine on the same battery.

As it happens this story concludes in a similar way - the Skoda dealer wanted to charge me £930 to get it through its MOT plus advisories (£600 without advisories). My usual MOT guy ended up doing it all for £190 using genuine VW parts including the cost of the MOT. Most of the high price ticket items on the dealers list (wheel bearing, tie rods etc) were checked and found to be perfectly OK.

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Tue 21 Jun 2011 19:04

Fed up with VAG cars - 659FBE

Don't you just love VAG dealers. The odds are that if they had been given this lot to do, they would have messed it up and caused further, consequential damage.

In my experience, VAG wheel bearings usually become noisy - but not loose - shortly after the magic 100k miles. In this state, the vehicle will pass an MOT and so further action can be judged according to the condition of the rest of the vehicle.

On breaking apart some "failed" VAG front hub bearings, the problem appears to be water ingress degrading the lubricant - the grease becomes brown and "rusty". It's usually the inner raceway which assumes a high polish followed by pitting - hence the noise. The SKF handbook shows a picture of a bearing in a similar state with "poor lubrication" cited as the cause.

Probably another bad VAG rain water detail. I suspect the runoff from the rear of the knucke has not been properly considered.

659.

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Tue 21 Jun 2011 19:33

Fed up with VAG cars - mss1tw

Same with motorbike swinging arm and head race bearings. Pitiful amounts of grease from the factory. But much better seals than the old days.

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Tue 21 Jun 2011 21:39

Fed up with VAG cars - SteveLee

(ii) I near got lynched on the Briskoda forum for suggesting the fitment of winter tyres on the front only, of a FWD car.

An accident waiting to happen apparently. For some leastwise.

Point taken

During the snow at the end of last year I put all-seasons (M&S) on the front wheels only, I took the car to a deserted snowy car park and chucked the car around like a loony, the car behaved perfectly well, break away from the rear was progressive and controllable, in a straight line with hard braking the car stayed straight and true, even wriggling the wheel to provoke it to swap ends proved to be a fruitless endeavour. The video I've seen when they “prove” mixing tyres is dangerous I noticed that they defeated the ABS (and presumably ASC) with both systems functioning the car would not have spun as I found out in my little experiment. A rotating set of rear tyres will maintain your directional stability which is why ABS is good in snowy conditions – even if it actually increases your stopping distance.

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Wed 22 Jun 2011 10:16

Fed up with VAG cars - dieseldogg

Thank you Steve, I did attempt to explain this and the defeciencies in the video presentation, without avail. The consensus appeared to be that I regarded myself as a driving "God" even though I stated that I never rated myself as a fast driver, but had good reason to rate my abilities in poor traction conditions.

Based on 30 years driving experience in all conditions. I could only figger that some "driving dorks" demand the right to drive the same in snow as on a dry road, i.e. with a disconnected brain.

And hey when they crashed .....it would NOT be THEIR fault.

On reflection perhaps my comment that "I should be able to control an incipient skid" got their back up!

Cheers,

PS>

I fitted winter tyres all round btw, cos the wife & weans drive the car as well.

Edited by dieseldogg on 22/06/2011 at 10:22

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