The Forum has been generally been rather quiet recently, so it is perhaps time for us all to do a bit of writing
. As the title says ?The Good and the Bad? and this refers to cars and ownership experiences. This doesn?t have to be a Mirafiori (The Good), although I suspect for many it probably will be. I suppose the general theme should be how the car exceeded or conversely failed to meet expectations. As an example I?ll go first:
The Bad: In 1997 as a 24 year old who was doing about 25,000 Miles a year mainly with work, I really needed a change from my E30 320i SE that I had owned for over 4 years and had over 130,000 Miles on the clock. I fancied a newer vintage 325i or even an E34 5 Series. The obvious problem was a lack of funds for such a car. Although keeping with the Used (7 Years Old to fit the budget of ?2,500) theme I decided on either an Alfa 164 3 Litre or a Thema Turbo. The Lancia was quickly rejected as they had pulled out of the UK and I was concerned (incorrectly on consideration) over parts availability and future resale (as I didn?t plan to keep the car for long). After consulting with a Mechanic he advised against the 164 on the basis of reliability concerns and the high cost of spares. I then came across a One Elderly Gentleman Owner (Full Service History) Rover 827 Vitesse. It had a body kit, all the equipment, looked the part and thanks to its light weight, manual gearbox and Honda V6 2.7 Litre Engine really shifted.
I found a Rover Mechanic and he changed all of the belts, fluids pads, discs etc and I was off. The first month was great
:)and I enjoyed the ?bigger? car experience and major performance increase over the 320i. The next 9 months of our relationship was one of massive unreliability (2 Gear Boxes were the most costly thing, one of the recovery men was an ex-police mechanic and he said gearboxes were a problem and generally they were not good cars). Various Electrical Faults often immobilised the thing, it broke down on the entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel (one of its 8 times) and moreover it rusted before your eyes, particularly in the body seams. I was glad to see that one go.
The Good: In 2007 after years of 3 Series ownership (318i SE to 330i Sport), I decided that I needed a new car to replace my 2005 (2 Years Old at the Time) 320i SE. An ex-demonstrator Met Black with matching Leather 520D SE proved to be a superb car with decent performance, handling and most of all a massive increase in comfort and refinement over the 3 series. It also returned over 50 MPG. Circumstances meant I had to part with it prematurely.
Looking forward to other contributions / memories of the ?Good and the Bad? cars that other Forum Members have owned.
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