Brexit / Doing our bit

[FD Capital]

I had been planning to buy a BMW or Mercedes but with Brexit all the sour comments and threats from Europe I have gone instead for a Jaguar. I am really pleased with it and it feels a bit like I am supporting local business and jobs - the JLR engine plant is in Wolverhampton close to where I now live.

Anyone else felt or done anything similar? Not sure if it is just me!

 

[Mr D]

May not be enough for Tata.

 

[The Byre]

The OP will now be supporting local mechanics for all those repairs a Jaguar needs on a constant basis!

 

[Paul Norman]

Great Indian Company, though, is Tata, the owners of Jaguar.

This post sounds rather like my grandparents who would avoid German products because of the war. I find it rather sad that such thinking is becoming prevalent again. We operate in a global economy.

Having said all that, my motor home was built in a factory just 3 miles from here! By a company that is, of course, Dutch.

 

[Mr D]

Great Indian Company, though, is Tata, the owners of Jaguar.

This post sounds rather like my grandparents who would avoid German products because of the war. I find it rather sad that such thinking is becoming prevalent again. We operate in a global economy.

Having said all that, my motor home was built in a factory just 3 miles from here! By a company that is, of course, Dutch.

Tata seem to have some trouble at the moment, last I heard they had posted massive losses.
Probably cut production and cut staffing.
Or grow.

 

[Ian J]

I had been planning to buy a BMW or Mercedes but with Brexit all the sour comments and threats from Europe I have gone instead for a Jaguar. I am really pleased with it and it feels a bit like I am supporting local business and jobs - the JLR engine plant is in Wolverhampton close to where I now live.

Anyone else felt or done anything similar? Not sure if it is just me!

I changed my car last September and a Jaguar F Type was top of my list but having lurked on the F Type owners forum for a few months and read all the complaints about reliability I decided against it and stayed with BMW

 

[AllUpHere]

I changed my car last September and a Jaguar F Type was top of my list but having lurked on the F Type owners forum for a few months and read all the complaints about reliability I decided against it and stayed with BMW

Which BMW did you go for? I was also torn between an F Type (S) and another car, but that was a Cayman. I went for the F Type, and don't regret it at all. Only problem has been a dodgy windscreen wiper.

 

[The Ecom Guy]

So you wanted reliability and went for a BMW? I thought they were the most prone to electronic faults in new cars out there?

Volvo XC40 is my current car. I am not really into cars too much so rarely swap and change (plus i cannot afford it haha)

 

[AllUpHere]

So you wanted reliability and went for a BMW? I thought they were the most prone to electronic faults in new cars out there?

Volvo XC40 is my current car. I am not really into cars too much so rarely swap and change (plus i cannot afford it haha)

I quite like the XC 40. We looked at one for the family car but ended up with a Merc GLC.

 

[The Byre]

Stats on F-Class -

37% more repairs required than average car (5 years old 50,000 miles)

Ave. cost of repair c.a. £500.

Air Conditioning 4.17%
Axle & Suspension 19.79%
Braking System 2.60%
Cooling & heating system 3.65%
Electrical 42.71%
Engine 16.93%
Fuel System 3.13%
Gearbox 2.60%
Steering System 2.08%
Transmission 2.34%

BMW 3 Series

116% more repairs required than average car (5.5 years old 55,000 miles)

Average cost of repair £600

Air Conditioning 0.41%
Axle & Suspension 7.14%
Braking System 11.81%
Cooling & heating system 11.26%
Electrical 17.99%
Engine 24.73%
Fuel System 18.68%
Gearbox 2.20%
Steering System 3.16%
Transmission 2.61%

(All figures for 2011, source Warranty Direct)

The only luxury models that score well (i.e. fewer repairs than average) is the Mercedes E-Class (46% fewer repairs than average) Lexus GS (45%) and Volvo S80 (27%) with an honourable mention to the Peugeot 607 (average reliability).

If you really like standing at the side of the road wondering why the dashboard has gone blank and nothing is happening, try owning a Bently or an Aston Martin. Both have five times as many faults as the average car - and usually electrical. Merc. S-Class and BMW 7-Series both have over three times as many faults as the average car.

You buy these vulgar gin-palaces at your peril and when you get the bill for all those repairs, you'll need a defibrillator!

 

[Mr D]

If you really like standing at the side of the road wondering why the dashboard has gone blank and nothing is happening, try owning a Bently or an Aston Martin. Both have five times as many faults as the average car - and usually electrical. Merc. S-Class and BMW 7-Series both have over three times as many faults as the average car.

You buy these vulgar gin-palaces at your peril and when you get the bill for all those repairs, you'll need a defibrillator!

I've driven all sorts of cars, driven new and well old cars.
Only been standing at the side of the road a few times - once for a double blowout of tyres, once for a freak accident on the motorway.

Least reliable car in my experience was an Vauxhall Astra that all of us who drove it knew as a lemon - a works vehicle that eventually got swapped back to the dealer. At least a couple of problems a month, logged and dealt with until next time...

 

[Ian J]

Which BMW did you go for? I was also torn between an F Type (S) and another car, but that was a Cayman. I went for the F Type, and don't regret it at all. Only problem has been a dodgy windscreen wiper.

I'm afraid that I go from the sublime to the ridiculous and having decided that I would keep my three year old 4 series for another year I spotted a 630d GT on Sytner's forecourt and couldn't resist it so ended up buying what must be BMW's ugliest car but it's worth it as it's incredibly luxurious.

The car was 9 months old with 3,300 miles on the clock from one senior BMW employee. It was fully loaded with almost every toy known to man and some more too and lists new at £64,000 and Sytner were selling it for £34,000 so despite it being pig ugly I bought it

 

[Ian J]

So you wanted reliability and went for a BMW? I thought they were the most prone to electronic faults in new cars out there?

I bought a one year old BMW 645i in 2008 and ran it for three years replacing it with a one year old BMW X6 which I ran for 18 months before deciding that I wanted a convertible so I chopped it against a brand new BMW 330d convertible.

After two years I thought that I needed a slightly larger car so part exchanged it for a brand new BMW 430d Gran Coupe which I ran for three years before making my latest change six months ago to a six month old BMW 630d GT

That's five BMW cars in 11 years and no trouble at all on any of them.

 

[kkfcXHzmCc]

Stats on F-Class -

37% more repairs required than average car (5 years old 50,000 miles)

Ave. cost of repair c.a. £500.

Air Conditioning 4.17%
Axle & Suspension 19.79%
Braking System 2.60%
Cooling & heating system 3.65%
Electrical 42.71%
Engine 16.93%
Fuel System 3.13%
Gearbox 2.60%
Steering System 2.08%
Transmission 2.34%

BMW 3 Series

116% more repairs required than average car (5.5 years old 55,000 miles)

Average cost of repair £600

Air Conditioning 0.41%
Axle & Suspension 7.14%
Braking System 11.81%
Cooling & heating system 11.26%
Electrical 17.99%
Engine 24.73%
Fuel System 18.68%
Gearbox 2.20%
Steering System 3.16%
Transmission 2.61%

(All figures for 2011, source Warranty Direct)

The only luxury models that score well (i.e. fewer repairs than average) is the Mercedes E-Class (46% fewer repairs than average) Lexus GS (45%) and Volvo S80 (27%) with an honourable mention to the Peugeot 607 (average reliability).

If you really like standing at the side of the road wondering why the dashboard has gone blank and nothing is happening, try owning a Bently or an Aston Martin. Both have five times as many faults as the average car - and usually electrical. Merc. S-Class and BMW 7-Series both have over three times as many faults as the average car.

You buy these vulgar gin-palaces at your peril and when you get the bill for all those repairs, you'll need a defibrillator!

This is all well and good, but this is 2011. It's now 2019...?

 

[The Byre]

That's five BMW cars in 11 years and no trouble at all on any of them.

BMWs only start causing problems when they are about five years old - and the old problems of broken timing chains and electrical faults should be behind them today anyway.

Older BMWs tend to not get the necessary TLC as they are bought by many who cannot afford to maintain them properly and therefore score poorly in the long-term stats.

Also, the latest stats can be misleading, as there has been a slew of extremely reliable Far-Eastern micro-cars (nothing on them to go wrong and owners only drive very short distances!) like the Toyota iQ and that pushed the conventional larger cars down the scale for reliability.

 

[The Byre]

This is all well and good, but this is 2011. It's now 2019...?

I have the German TÜV reports for 2017.

The problem with reliability reports is that they are more or less a report on the amount of care drivers take of their cars and the distances they drive. Those micro-cars that always score brilliantly are seldom if ever driven the usual 15,000 km p.a. and Mercedes E-Class, VW Passats, Skoda Superbs, Volvo V70s have all done over 100,000 km in the first four years - they are typical reps and business cars!

 

[AllUpHere]

I'm afraid that I go from the sublime to the ridiculous and having decided that I would keep my three year old 4 series for another year I spotted a 630d GT on Sytner's forecourt and couldn't resist it so ended up buying what must be BMW's ugliest car but it's worth it as it's incredibly luxurious.

The car was 9 months old with 3,300 miles on the clock from one senior BMW employee. It was fully loaded with almost every toy known to man and some more too and lists new at £64,000 and Sytner were selling it for £34,000 so despite it being pig ugly I bought it

That's an awful lot of car for the money. I dont even think they are that ugly. An acquired taste maybe, but not ugly.

 

[kkfcXHzmCc]

I have the German TÜV reports for 2017.

The problem with reliability reports is that they are more or less a report on the amount of care drivers take of their cars and the distances they drive. Those micro-cars that always score brilliantly are seldom if ever driven the usual 15,000 km p.a. and Mercedes E-Class, VW Passats, Skoda Superbs, Volvo V70s have all done over 100,000 km in the first four years - they are typical reps and business cars!

I couldn't agree more.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

I had a Peugeot which I thought was French but turned out to be UK made from UK parts. When I traded it in the newer model was Italian.

 

[Ian J]

I had a Peugeot which I thought was French but turned out to be UK made from UK parts. When I traded it in the newer model was Italian.

There's quite a few cars not made in the country that you would expect them to be.

I believe that the BMW X6 that I used to own was manufactured in USA

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

There's quite a few cars not made in the country that you would expect them to be.

I believe that the BMW X6 that I used to own was manufactured in USA

Indeed.

This is what makes some Brexit arguments like "the UK vs the German car industry" a lot more complicated than they appear. When you factor in where they're built, where the parts are built and the many hundreds of different supply chains, one wonders just how German the cars really are.

BMW is a case in point, with over 8000 UK employees and an additional 14,000 in the UK retail network.

 

[The Byre]

BMWs are manufactured and/or assembled in Germany, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Hungary, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, using sub-assemblies and knock-down kits made all over the World.

BMW - The Next 100 Years makes interesting reading.

The concept of having a strategy for the next 100 years is one that the UK government could look into. At the moment I doubt they have a strategy for the next two weeks.

 

[Mr D]

BMWs are manufactured and/or assembled in Germany, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Hungary, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, using sub-assemblies and knock-down kits made all over the World.

BMW - The Next 100 Years makes interesting reading.

The concept of having a strategy for the next 100 years is one that the UK government could look into. At the moment I doubt they have a strategy for the next two weeks.

If the UK government makes a strategy for the next 100 years, run.

 

[FD Capital]

Amazing how many of us are attached to BMW, my wife has a C class with pan roof and other packages it is really great other than boot space is tiny, the Jag I went for is the estate version so is actually really big, so much so that I am struggling to park it in most of the NCP's in Bham!

 

[Ian J]

the Jag I went for is the estate version so is actually really big, so much so that I am struggling to park it in most of the NCP's in Bham!

I briefly flirted with the idea of a second hand BMW i8 but realised how difficult it would be to park it anywhere as those gullwing doors needed so much space and it was also not the easiest car to get in and out of, especially for those who aren't in the first flush of youth

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I will still buy Merc even with the tariffs . What else do we do find an old Bedford CF van in the scrap yard .

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Amazing how many of us are attached to BMW

Its amazing how many liquidation reports I see where the business has bought a BMW!

 

[Ian J]

Its amazing how many liquidation reports I see where the business has bought a BMW!

Are you looking to buy one on the cheap then

 

[truffy]

Current chairman Ratan Tata looks an interesting fellow, rich and does something useful even