I think the key is "less is more" trying to find the sweet spot when cars were built reasonably well , with a set of useful features, but have not worn out or rotted yet, versus tacky plastics and expensive electronics that die beyond economical repair at the end of the three year lease. It really annoys me how cars are sold on glitzy tat these days. In the old days it was more on the boot badge, same car different letters and it was more desirable... For instance all I want is a brand new Peugeot 307SW built IDENTICALLY to the 2004 model. I know it will give me at least 14 years of fairly cheap service if I replace worn out bits. Just like the 2004 model I run.
Yup I have a 2004 a6 .. Well built and repairable.. My bro has a 2014 BMW limited ed thing.. It's been a nightmare , constant faults and limp home journeys, £800. For a crank sensor, new battery loom req..recall but no parts available.. He spent around 8 k on it another 2k in repairs...and it's prob worth 4.5k now.. He winces when.. I call it the polished turd..
The Peugeot 307 was the only car we flat refused to work on when I had the automotive company as the can bus implementation was shocking....we never encountered one without issues that only got worse when you worked on them. Funny how we have different experiences.
While we're at it ..... Just taken a 2004 C Max Diesel off the road at 216,000 miles, as a front end exhaust rust/snap made it a toxic ride (albeit with a nice boy-racer exhaust note) ... Boring? Yes. Cheap build? Yes. Poor copy of the Mk1 Scenic mpv design inside? Yes. Six years use and 15p per mile running cost including purchase/ service/repairs/insurance/fuel and assuming I only get scrap value even thought eh exhaust is now nicely welded. Not sure I'm making a point here, just chipping in. All our french cars (three mk1 Scenics, a mk1 205TD and a mk1 306DT) have been diesel, well designed, reliable, comfortable and well built. Since then they seem to have gone to the hell of modernity in a hand cart.
I use an OBD2 fault code reader. It says something broke. I guess what something is from the vague description. So far I have guessed the correct bits, helped by the constant questions on impenetrable issues on Peugeot forums. Like my quantum-programming problem solving technique using the Stack Overflow site. Many stupid questions with wrong answers tells you that the real answer is none of the answers given. Which makes it easier to work out the correct answer. Pollution Control Fault on the dash can mean - EGR valve leaking and EGR control solenoid jamming. Or it means 'you disconnected the injectors while the battery was connected, and tried to start the engine'. Actually I was trying to blast the sheared off tip of a glow plug out of the engine block. A 2001 vintage 307 has a non-OBD2 diagnostics socket, at least a 2004 vintage model has OBD2. The only almost lethal fault it has had was a blocked non-return valve on the camshaft vacuum pump. Made hitting the brakes a hit-or-miss with the servo... Guess what- there was no fault code for that. I was talking to some guys from a company making professional robotics, they said that when their competition claims to use CAN bus they laugh. I found out the same when electrical noise on a CAN bus changed a status message on one 500 watt brushless motor drive on a winch into a command message on another motor drive and it kinked an expensive fibre optic cable in the robot tether the winch was pulling in.. Another thing with CAN bus is that I have seen is that nearby devices that are not addressed but see a valid message put out an ACK, while the distant supposedly addressed device can get a corrupted message so it does not ACK, so there is no auto-repeat-for-NAK of the message.
Wife has the worst of both worlds, but without the problems the rest of the car buying punter has.. She has a 1974 Peugeot 304 cabriolet .. Mind you, I broke 3 to find a decent one worth welding. Nice looking car if your into 70s stuff.. Shes also on her 5th mini Started off with a crashed classic mini many years ago when they were £50 for 2 That one was bad enough, but she then got a Metro...which went on fire Relaced that with a Renault 5 GT which was actually a great wee car.. A JCB pulledd out on her at an intersection on a dual carriageway.. She hit the rear bucket, took out the armco totally mashed the poor wee Renault but only ripped her tights.. !! Replaced that with her first BMW mini had it for ages then a second and now a third.. Pretty solid wee shell with a solid clunk of the doors unlike a lot of other stuff out there .. I dont like them, to much tech, and too many gears.. Take it to 6 and your either labouring or speeding.. but thats the lengths they go to to meet carbon limits. Meanwhile I offset the savings with my 20 odd year old Jeep Cherokee ... BOMB PROOF.. I dont think I will need another daily .. ever..
So are we furiously agreeing kind of ish? The concern with modern classics is new legislation....in London they are issuing 'persuasion' notices to owners of cars less that 40 years old but from 2009 backwards (I think the date is)....it's a pollution charge of £12.30 a day and and it's not congestion, residents get it too....to update their cars or get that daily rate. I suspect this could spread, supposedly Leeds are looking at similar. Shouldn't affect the vans, but will put a lot of 80's and 90's stuff off the road if it grows. Enjoy them whilst you can.
Of course it will grow, its part of the plan for rolling MOT exemption and free road tax .. ever heard of the saying you dont get anything for nothing.. when things catch up the cogs will mesh and its goodnight christine.
