My previous car that I bought at auction was a 1992(J)

vw golf 1.8 cl petrol bought with 47000m on the clock and around 6 years old I had the car 5 years and sold it for £600 with 180000 on th clock. It had a fairly hard life but apart from routine maintenance had only a few minor niggles.

My current car was one owner bought locally from a retired gent with again 47000m 3 years ago I think now has 130000m has a fairly hard life but is very well maintained (1999 S Reg) various bits now seem to be breaking/failing including over the last year clutch pedal, rear wash wipe, gear cable link and yesterday door release cable which has frayed and snapped.

My G/F has a polo and I dont think the quality is any better.

My car transmission, engine breaks etc seem good and I was hoping to keep it for another couple of years till it was dead but at this rate I'll be looking elsewhere.

Sorry about the rant but the point of my post is: do they not build cars to last any more or is it just to a cost?

I know what you're getting at but I think that so few people expect that sort of longevity from a car that the manufacturers spend the money elsewhere - more toys, more percieved "quality" and chic marketing/design rather than actual long-lasting reliability and engineering quality.

And your point is?

Point is for a few measley pence more components could be built to last

we live in a use and chuck society now where its cheaper to chuck than to fix. gone are the days where Woolworths and others like it sold quality goods that lasted most your lifetime, now its a year or two and throw it as its cheaper to buy a new one.

why should this be acceptable?

Everyone harps on about the environment and sustainability surely longevity of consumer goods would be one way of improving this?

I know what you're getting at but I think that so few people expect that sort of longevity from a car that the manufacturers spend the money elsewhere - more toys, more percieved "quality" and chic marketing/design rather than actual long-lasting reliability and engineering quality.

Yes agree with that, think with modern cars theres an increasing amount of techno overkill too, and what with manufacturers bringing new models, or design revisions every six months so to speak, they don't want long lasting cars that would affect their sales.

Throw away society has been around for some time, even more so with the influx of cheap goods from China, just visit a recycling centre and you will see things like huge piles of TV's, including flat screen ones too.

why should this be acceptable?

Everyone harps on about the environment and sustainability surely longevity of consumer goods would be one way of improving this?

You're right but you should look at what people do not what they say.

All those people who "care" for the environment but they take 99p flights to Alicante, drive a new every 3 years chelsea tractor, buy pre-packed out of season fruit and veg that's been flown in from Africa, involvement in property speculation that prices out youngsters, beating down the price of just about everything they want to buy whilst increasing how much they get paid, exploiting the UK's cheap labour market, the list goes on.

Come on, no one gives a flying fig about the environment and neither do the government, its just an excuse to screw more taxes from you and buy a few cheap votes.

we became a throw away society when Great Britainlost the Great and became United Kingdom and started importing cr-ap from the East.

So let me get this straight, your moaning that your car is falling apart?

I am assuming as its in the Octy 1 forum that you own one?

If this is the case then yes it won't be as 'built' as well as say a VW of the same era, as Skoda's are built down to a price, after all they are the 'budget' brand so to speak in the VAG Group.

Also its been well known in the past german cars were all over engineered, and due to monetary costs this stopped in the late 90's.

If you want something these days that is not like that then you have to spend money on a Honda or a Toyota, or something Japanese.

The handbook basically says 15 years, that's the time when the airbags should be replaced which would make the car an economical write off.

With regard to the quality it is no different to any other badge in the VW group, all the cars are built down to a price, with people paying more for a badge it is assumed that the quality is better.

The manufacturers don't want the product to last or be super reliable and easy to maintain, the reason:

There's no money in it for them or the dealer network.

:)Anybody want a 20 year old Estelle? I've got a few still going well, one of them has 274,000 miles on the original engine and box!

:P Mind you, it does look and drive like an 85 year old prostitute!

Mind you, it does look and drive like an 85 year old prostitute!

Is there something you would like to tell us? are you really wayne rooney?

look at the amount of Mk2 golfs still being used as daily transport. I think VW group cars started to go downhill after that