>>>> Newer doesn't necessarily mean better.
>>>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>>> get more refinement, more safety, more gadgets, more power, etc.
>>> etc. The trade-offs are more complexity and more weight.
>> Also quite possibly less power due to emissions law being tightened.
>
> But most modern cars are much more powerful than their older counterparts
> ! Power-to-weight ratio both remains broadly similar for cooking-model
> cars - but it's risen hugely for performance vehicles (Clio 182, new M5,
> Evo, Scooby etc. etc.)
>>>>> Newer doesn't necessarily mean better.
>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> UTTER TOSH!
Um ?
You're trying to say that noisy, uncomfortable, polluting, slow,
zero-crash-protection, gadget-free old cars are somehow better than their
quicker, quieter, better-riding, gadget-laden, crash-protected modern
counterparts ?
Are you mad Sir ?
The *only* thing I can think of that an older car does better than a modern
car, is the act of weighing less :)
>>> Also quite possibly less power due to emissions law being tightened.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Not always - Late cavalier 2.0 16v was 150bhp - New vectra 2.0 is
> around 140bhp.....
That would be relevent, if the comparable modern-day Vectra was not the 2.2,
which makes exactly the same 150bhp.
It does lose out at the top end though - GM's crappy 3.2 makes a measly
208bhp. And in a lardy new Vectra, it doesn't get anywhere near the
straight-line performance of the Turbo Cavalier.
> there are many other examples like this out there.
>
> Volvo V6 - 190Bhp - 2 years later they added badly designed CAT,
> down to 170BHP... As with many cars.
Have you forgotten about the 200bhp LPT and the 250bhp HPT ? And the 300bhp
blown V6 ? Volvo engines make more power than they ever have before.
> Most modern diesels are loosing power to become complient with
> Euro4+5 regs
You know full-well that modern Diesels are way way more powerful than
they've ever been in the past.
>>> More gadgets and more complexity means there is more to go wrong and
>>> it will cost more to put right when it does.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Very very real, my touran has already had one ECU changed under
> warrenty.
And ?
So what you're saying, is you'd rather drive a lovely 1975 Land Rover
Defender, instead of your shiny new Touran, because the landy is more
reliable and cheaper and easier to fix ?
>> If it concerns you to such an extent that you're willing to forfeit
>> all the modern luxuries, then you need to buy yourself an aftermarket
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> And then you add another ?250 to the price of the vehicle, only to
> find out that the warranty excludes anything that can go wrong!!!
All the used-car-warranties that I've ever had, have included everything
except a select few consumables (tyres, brakes, exhaust, clutch, battery
etc.) and the ICE and alarm/immobiliser.
> i.e. - On my old cavalier 1.8 - coming back from France it started to
> overheat, turned out to be the waterpump, this was explicitly
> excluded in the warranty from warranty holdings ltd.
Well yes, obviously if your warranty is crap, then it's gonna be crap :) The
solution to that problem, is a none-crap warranty.
> This was the only thing that ever went wrong with that car....
> Luckily Vauxhall had fixed price servicing, so it was ?130 all in...
So it doesn't matter that it was exluded then !
Phil Cook - 30 Mar 2005 11:39 GMT
>>>>>> Newer doesn't necessarily mean better.
>>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>quicker, quieter, better-riding, gadget-laden, crash-protected modern
>counterparts ?
You are making a bit of a leap there. When we started this thread it
was about the previous model and the newest one.
>Are you mad Sir ?
Just practical.
>> Most modern diesels are loosing power to become complient with
>> Euro4+5 regs
>
>You know full-well that modern Diesels are way way more powerful than
>they've ever been in the past.
Yes but then I was comaring the latest model with the one previous. It
is steady and incremental improvement.
>>>> More gadgets and more complexity means there is more to go wrong and
>>>> it will cost more to put right when it does.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>> Very very real, my touran has already had one ECU changed under
>> warrenty.
I see lots of posts in here about ECU's and "clever" bits going wrong
and needing to be fixed with new.
>So what you're saying, is you'd rather drive a lovely 1975 Land Rover
>Defender, instead of your shiny new Touran, because the landy is more
>reliable and cheaper and easier to fix ?
Well it would be cheaper to tax (free) and insure.
I think you just have a fixation about driving a new car. Get real
most people can't afford to do that, and not even all those who do
*must* have the latest model.
Nik&Andy - 30 Mar 2005 12:47 GMT
Phil, Don't take my views as extreem please, I am just saying that although
I own a new'ish car, I would feel a lot more comfortable if there was not so
much crappy technology in them to go wrong.
I have no doubt that the computers improve engine power and emissions etc.
I love Air-Con.
I love 1975 Land Rovers!!!
I love electric Seats etc...
Point being, I can fix a 1975 Land rover cheaply, as can I a 1984 Golf/Polo
or Escort or even a 1991 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.8GL with a relativly moderate
tool box.
Not many people can fix a 'CAN' bus computer system with linked moduler
ECU's !!!
Also cars are only just starting to get back the power they had in the 80's
before the emmisions laws etc.. Look at the Sierra Cossy 500 - 250-350BHP
with a few tweaks from a 2 litre engine.
Now you need a 2.3Litre Hybrid Turbo Engine to produce 250BHP
I know which one I would rather try fixing.
If you are going to get a more modern engine, I think it is realistic expect
higher running costs.
Andy
Nom - 31 Mar 2005 09:11 GMT
> If you are going to get a more modern engine, I think it is realistic
> expect higher running costs.
Yes, that was my point all along.
I'm quite happy to pay my higher repair bills, given the amount of things I
get in return (ie, just about everything) from my more-modern car.
Nom - 31 Mar 2005 09:09 GMT
>>>>>>> Newer doesn't necessarily mean better.
>>>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> You are making a bit of a leap there.
Yeah, I do that :)
> When we started this thread it
> was about the previous model and the newest one.
Well the point still stands, to a lesser extent.
>> So what you're saying, is you'd rather drive a lovely 1975 Land Rover
>> Defender, instead of your shiny new Touran, because the landy is more
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> I think you just have a fixation about driving a new car.
But I don't drive a new car. It's not even nearly new.
> Get real
> most people can't afford to do that, and not even all those who do
> *must* have the latest model.
I'd never buy a new car - there's no reason to suffer the initial
depreciation-hit, when someone else can suffer it for you.
I don't really see how this is relevent :) The financials make buying a
new-car a none-starter - I don't intend to ever own one.