9 hours ago, oldstan said:

 

The more I reflect on my time in the VW showroom the more disheartened I am.  I think that must, surely, put the tin hat on my time there.

 

One one occasion, when the Yeti was about five years old and the same garage had it in for a service, they called and said it needs new brakes, do I want them to go ahead and do them? I declined. And now the car is 12 years old and it still has the same set of brakes on the car.  Shirley shome mishtake on their behalf - or simply a means to make a little extra profit at my expense?

On another occasion they returned the car from a service and MOT with badly low pressure in one tyre despite giving me paperwork telling me they'd checked and found the pressure in order. I rang the manager and got an apology - but what else had they overlooked?

 

No, sadly I think I must look elsewhere.

If I was in your position and had received such appalling service I would go elsewhere as well. You might like to write to the MD telling him why they won't get your custom.

Very comprehensive and well informed there, Lol Lol, Ta.

 

Your brief mention of Dacia didn't go unnoticed.   In the past, I've been put off the Duster by the, less than great, NCAP figures. And I spotted that the 2021 NCAP test of the Spring gave it one star.

 

I suspect that in a crash it may well hold up as well as most other equivalents and it's just the absence of  pre-crash devices that reduce the rating  but something in me says that I ought to consider the NCAP figures insofar as if i bought a new car knowing it wasn't as "safe" as something else I could have bought and my Mrs was injured in it I would regret the purchase thereafter and wish I'd lessened the likelihood of injury by buying something with a better safety assessment.

 

Nevertheless I still look at Dusters with a degree of   .... whatever the word is  ....   respect for being honest and decent value, maybe?    however you can get five grand off, say,  a  new Toyota and nothing off a Dacia ... and when you then compare the two makes it starts to make you think whether you should stick to the more conventional type of choice?

2 hours ago, Expatman said:

If I was in your position and had received such appalling service I would go elsewhere as well. You might like to write to the MD telling him why they won't get your custom.

 

 

Currently awaiting a return call from one of their managers.

1 hour ago, oldstan said:

Very comprehensive and well informed there, Lol Lol, Ta.

 

Your brief mention of Dacia didn't go unnoticed.   In the past, I've been put off the Duster by the, less than great, NCAP figures. And I spotted that the 2021 NCAP test of the Spring gave it one star.

 

I suspect that in a crash it may well hold up as well as most other equivalents and it's just the absence of  pre-crash devices that reduce the rating  but something in me says that I ought to consider the NCAP figures insofar as if i bought a new car knowing it wasn't as "safe" as something else I could have bought and my Mrs was injured in it I would regret the purchase thereafter and wish I'd lessened the likelihood of injury by buying something with a better safety assessment.

 

Nevertheless I still look at Dusters with a degree of   .... whatever the word is  ....   respect for being honest and decent value, maybe?    however you can get five grand off, say,  a  new Toyota and nothing off a Dacia ... and when you then compare the two makes it starts to make you think whether you should stick to the more conventional type of choice?

 

euroncap has become Boll -ocks marking near worthless driver aids so important rather than structural integrity.

 

Totally happy in my zero stars Zoe, which was 5 stars just 8 years ago. Yes my Arkana has better satety but Zoe is better than anything I had pre 2000 probably.

 

My Dacia Logan was a cracking car, same engine as my beautiful Clio Nav S.  Happily have a new Sandero, Duster or Jogger.

 

Edited 27 February, 20233 yr by lol-lol

^^^^ All received, ta.

 

 

This has been a fascinating read, from page one to this last page.

As for me, it has always been my intention to never own another car other than my Yeti, so selling it is inconceivable to me.

IF I was ever to contemplate such a horrible thing then I think either the latest Lada Niva or the latest Suzuki Jimny might be of mild interest to me.

Good luck on your replacement.

I didn't get a call from the manager as requested - I received a call from one of the technicians. He didn't know the answer to my question regarding what type of DSG was fitted in the showroom one litre T Cross - or the used 1.5  T Roc in th yard. But he looked it up ... and, unsurprisingly, he said the T Cross has a DQ200 dry clutch.

 

I explained that a salesman had assured me that all VWs have had wet clutches in them for the past few years and he offered his apologies.

 

I also told him that they had tried to change my brakes when they didn't need doing and that they'd returned an underinflated tyre despite written confirmation that they'd been checked just hours before.

 

Regrettably I had to tell him I would not be returning to them. I say regrettably because they were handily situated and did a reliable collection and delivery and are a sort of family firm, not part of a big chain. But when someone clearly and flagrantly lies to me in front of half a dozen other employees and would have sold me a dry clutch vehicle having told me it's a wet clutch (knowing my specific interest in the problems of dry clutches) ... then I'm not a happy bunny.

4 hours ago, Project_Yeti said:

This has been a fascinating read, from page one to this last page.

As for me, it has always been my intention to never own another car other than my Yeti, so selling it is inconceivable to me.

IF I was ever to contemplate such a horrible thing then I think either the latest Lada Niva or the latest Suzuki Jimny might be of mild interest to me.

Good luck on your replacement.

That was my intention as well to keep my 2010 Yeti.

However just over 2 weeks ago it was  replaced by...........

A 2018 Yeti of almost identical spec and colour, which will probably be my last car as when it is 20 I will be 85 

Edited 27 February, 20233 yr by idleness

26 minutes ago, idleness said:

That was my intention as well to keep my 2010 Yeti.

However just over 2 weeks ago it was  replaced by...........

A 2018 Yeti of almost identical spec and colour, which will probably be my last car as when it is 20 I will be 85 

Love this.

And are you already missing the unique face of your first gen, or not? A 2018 Yeti must have been one of the very last registered anywhere.

11 minutes ago, Project_Yeti said:

Love this.

And are you already missing the unique face of your first gen, or not? A 2018 Yeti must have been one of the very last registered anywhere.

No not missing it at all, the new Yeti makes the old one feel somewhat agricultural.

Registered mid Feb 2018, I can only find 9 diesels on where are they now that were registered in Q1 2018 and none later. 

Must get round to looking properly

Big test will be next week bringing back 1400kg of caravan

Edited 27 February, 20233 yr by idleness

4 hours ago, oldstan said:

But when someone clearly and flagrantly lies to me in front of half a dozen other employees and would have sold me a dry clutch vehicle having told me it's a wet clutch (knowing my specific interest in the problems of dry clutches) ... then I'm not a happy bunny.

 

Not necessarily a flagrant lie, most likely just perpetual bull***t and never being able to say "I don't know but will find out for you"

 

Do you honestly expect anything different (like honesty!) from a car dealership?

On 26/02/2023 at 17:49, skomaz said:

Daft question byt have you looked at the new suzuki scross?

We did and despite looking much more modern (new front end and rear styling). it is effectively the same as our existing S-Cross.

 

We've had an 1.4 S-Cross SZ5 for nearly 5 years/60k miles, but have recently opted to take advantage of 0% and traded it in for a Karoq 1.5 TSi.

On 26/02/2023 at 20:12, oldstan said:

OK, I accept it's nothing like the box in an Up or Citigo ... so what exactly is it?

As far as I'm aware it's a torque converter in the 1.4.

Edited 27 February, 20233 yr by pinkpanther

On 27/02/2023 at 10:36, oldstan said:

Your brief mention of Dacia didn't go unnoticed.   In the past, I've been put off the Duster by the, less than great, NCAP figures. And I spotted that the 2021 NCAP test of the Spring gave it one star.

 

I suspect that in a crash it may well hold up as well as most other equivalents and it's just the absence of  pre-crash devices that reduce the rating  but something in me says that I ought to consider the NCAP figures insofar as if i bought a new car knowing it wasn't as "safe" as something else I could have bought and my Mrs was injured in it I would regret the purchase thereafter and wish I'd lessened the likelihood of injury by buying something with a better safety assessment.

 

The NCAP rules have changed and if you put your old 10 year car against same criteria would probably getting same 1 star (or no stars).  

 

They are now rating it a lot on collision avoidance, not on how occupants are protected if unlucky enough to crash.  Its not like a moden Dacia will crumple up like a 1970s rust bucket, they are still fitted with crumple zones and airbags

All received, ta.

 

Im sure you're right ... I don't see headlines of drivers and passengers in Dacias dying by the hour in accidents. I accept that the collision avoidance is increasingly  used in assessing the thing.

 

(but I did spot that the pole test on NCAP's site for the Duster did show, what looked like, more intrusion into the car than on other tests I looked at ... and I do know from hands-on experience in my former job that sliding sideways into trees and posts is not something you want to do. Far sooner hit something head on than hit an oak tree sideways.)

 

BUT ...  speaking just for myself, I'd prefer not to get involved in too much debate on Dacia's safety for fear of straying away from where we were.👍

I wish they would provide 2 ratings. One on how the car protects occupants in a crash and a second rating on accident avoidance measures. That way we could make a considered decision on competing cars.

41 minutes ago, Expatman said:

I wish they would provide 2 ratings. One on how the car protects occupants in a crash and a second rating on accident avoidance measures. That way we could make a considered decision on competing cars.

 

They do !

 

4 ratings ...

 

Adult Occupant

Child Occupant

Vulnerable Road Users

Safety Assist

 

each split into GOOD, ADEQUATE, MARGINAL, WEAK and POOR

with pictograms for the occupants showing the ratings and how they may impact the occupant ... leg, head, chest etc.

 

To see the detail you need to visit the euroncap website. The total star rating is only the headline. 

41 minutes ago, TruckbusUK said:

 

They do !

 

4 ratings ...

 

Adult Occupant

Child Occupant

Vulnerable Road Users

Safety Assist

 

each split into GOOD, ADEQUATE, MARGINAL, WEAK and POOR

with pictograms for the occupants showing the ratings and how they may impact the occupant ... leg, head, chest etc.

 

To see the detail you need to visit the euroncap website. The total star rating is only the headline. 

Thanks for info. Didn’t know that!!

2 hours ago, Expatman said:

Thanks for info. Didn’t know that!!

If you want a real scare watch the crash test videos of the Dacia Duster pole test (1:31) .... bet that would really hurt compared to some better performing marques 😱

In order to scratch various itches I visited the showrooms of the following :-

 

Toyota

Ford
Kia

Mazda

 

And, as we know I went in to the VW showromm, but won't be re-visiting no matter how great their cars may or may not be.

I haven't looked at a Skoda Kamiq as yet and haven't visited the Suziki showroom for a while. Haven't looked at a Honda HRV either, or the most recent Duster.

 

First things first ... I like to have the drivers seat as high as possible, and that, in itself, causes problems for me.  On all the cars having the seat up high  makes it harder to get in and out due to banging various bits of my anatomy on various bits of the car.

And in addition the higher you sit (in any of the cars) the more of the view out through the windscreen is lost due to the interior mirror and the bulky  plastic housing that sits behind or above the mirror ..... as I looked left out of the windscreen I had to dip my bonce right down to see under the mirror and the black plastic block of electronic wizardry that has sensors and stuff which face forward to detect errant obstacles etc..

 

The Yaris Cross might have been OK but with the seat up high (and the steering wheel set as high as it goes)  my left leg got stuck under the steering wheel and prevented easy access to the car.  If I lowered the seat I could get in - but I want the seat as high as possible.  So that was the end of that.

 

The Mazda CX 30 was nicely made and it had  proper alloy wheels (not fancy diamond cut) with sensible size tyres on the base model. But I banged my head and shoulder as I got in and it felt too enclosed and not high enough.  The fact it has a torque converter gearbox and comes in some nice colours wasn't enough for me. Only three years warraty though.

 

The (new version) Kia Niro wasn't bad but still wasn't all that high but I didn't bang anything as I got in to it and I didn't hate it. It has sensible 16" tyres (but diamond cut wheels).  In fact I'd put it on a shortlist. The 7 year warranty appeals to me. And the Kia garage is conveniently located and collects and delivers for servicing too.

 

The Ford Puma had a few positives and I could get in and out but, as expected, you don't sit very high and I'm not at all sure I'd buy a Ford with a Powershift gearbox, even if they've dropped the Powershift name, and I do recall the three cylinder engine wasn't without it's problems ... and they haven't increased the warranty period from three years to show some sort of confidence in their offering  (and I'm not even sure that the manufacturer warranty period is just one year with the remaining two years some sort of dealer backed affair?)  I won't be buying a Puma.

 

I did, briefly, sit in a C-HR  whilst in the Toyota showroom. I could get in and out OK and it seemed like I was bit higher than the others (albeit not a vast amount) BUT when you turn your head and look into the back of the car it's like the black hole of Calcutta in there. I might have bought one 40 or 50 years ago - but not now.

 

HOWEVER ... Toyota have threatened to sell the Corolla Cross in the UK (they sell it other countries already).  I sat in a standard Corolla and felt happy enough with the way it was put together but, of course, it was far too low for me ... but the Cross version might be just the job. It fits in my garage (4460 long x 1820 wide x 1620 high) and looks quite boxy compared to the others. I would hope you could sit quite high in it - plus, it's a Toyota.  I would go and look at it if it ever arrived.  The ten year warranty appeals. Even if you didn't have servicing done at a main dealer for the full ten years it shows a degree of faith in their product,

 

I was appalled by the product knowledge of all the salesmen (they were men ... or, in fact, almost boys)  ... all except in the KIa place, they were in a different class, much better.

 

All of this proves to me that the Yeti is even better than I realised. I would have bought a brand new one in an instant had one been availale. The Skoda website shows there are only 9 Yetis for sale at Skoda dealers throughout the entire country.

 

 

 

Edited 3 March, 20233 yr by oldstan

..welcome to 2023 where everything is "****"....IMHO..but I am still happy with my "old" model Kia Niro as a replacement for my Yeti....

Funnily enough I had a petrol T-cross dsg as a courtesy car this week.

 

I didn't rate it at all.  Quite 'tinny' with a hard plastic interior that creaked over every bump until it had warmed up and a jerky DSG box that made smooth starts and general driving virtually impossible.

 

Its certainly not somewhere I'd be putting my money given the other options out there.

On 27/02/2023 at 13:11, toot said:

 

 

Obviously a guy who dislikes crossovers intensely and prefers the lower set more dynamic hatchbacks on which most small crossovers are based. The vast majority of drivers now are not really interested in outright performance - speed or dynamics - but are more interested in daily use and convenience. Fact is higher riding vehicles are generally more liveable with, loading is easier, installing children is easier, better view and driving position. Cars now are not exotic playthings but for most are a simple tool to use, just like a cooker or fridge.

Very true. I have had high cars & very high cars and low cars as i am disabled and also have a bad back.

For the past 2 1/2 years i have enjoyed the comfort of a Corsa because of my back and prolapsed discs.

Once in the car and stretched out it is good for me and getting out is easy using the door and roof.

I have a Shogun for towing and it is about as lofty as you can get for that seeing over everything which is just that.  Tools for getting about.

VW Group give the choices across the brands as do other manufacturers.   VW have maybe just let quality slip with some of their products be them low or taller. 

 

A Golf SV's were a pretty good car for practicality.

 

 

Edited 3 March, 20233 yr by toot