# Best/worst build quality cars you've owned.



## T.D.K (Mar 16, 2011)

Looks, power, economy and price, quality are all factors in buying our new cars.

This thread is dedicated to cars you own/have owned that have proved to be incredibly well made.

*BEST: * 2006 Vauxhall astra 1.9CDTI sport hatch. It is five years old and has covered 158,000 miles in that time. No squeaks, rattles or loose bits are present and the most used parts of the car still feel tight and solid.

Interior trim still looks new, steering wheel is not worn and interior plastics haven't faded, except one part which I believe is my own fault for scrubbing too hard. Ordered Gtechniq C4 last night which will hopefully remedy this.

*WORST:* 2005 Rover 25 (facelift) Mileage when sold: 38,000 miles. According to the salesman, this car was one of the last to roll off the production line before MG Rover went backrupt. This may explain the issues I had with the car.

Interior trim became loose, door handle broke (twice) electrical problems, heater wouldn't work, cd player randomly came on. Turning on wipers on intermittent would cause driver window to go down on its own. Electric boot lock would open when driving, very dangerous at 70mph on a duel carriageway. Constant rattling in the dashboard. Having said that, I BLOODY loved this car, quite a rare sight on the roads and I just loved the way it looked and had character.


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Worst - 2004 Megane 225, closely followed by a 2004 Clio 182.

Best - 2001 330Ci


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

Best - Volvo V70. Absolutely nothing went wrong. Well made, refined, comfortable etc etc.

Worst - Ford Focus MK1. Wiper fuse blew on the motorway in heavy rain, bit of the ceiling came away from roof, rear washer hose became detached and got washer fluid inside the roof, major oil leak on second service having done only 12k, loads of trim coming loose and rattling.


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## gargreen7 (Apr 12, 2009)

Best - 2001 Fiesta Zetec-S 

Worst - 2007 Suzuki Swift Sport (current car)


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

*Best*: 2008 Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 (3dr)

*Worst*: 2002 Vauxhall Corsa Club 1.2 (5dr) - the notorious coil springs kept going & gear linkage problems.


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## maestegman (Mar 3, 2011)

Best: 

2005 Nissan 350z - perfect except for the missus not allowing me to put the kids in the boot!

Worst: 

1990 VW Jetta - used more oil than petrol 
2001 MB C Class Coupe - cost more than £5k in repairs in 8 months of ownership
1981 Morris 1.3 Ital - hilariously badly made in every respect


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

Best: Lexus LS400 - just faultless in every way!

Worst - MG Metro:wall:


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## hoikey (Mar 9, 2011)

gargreen7 said:


> Best - 2001 Fiesta Zetec-S
> 
> Worst - 2007 Suzuki Swift Sport (current car)


whats up with the swift?

Worst
mk3 astra

Best
either my mk3 golf although it was too modified to be reliable,
or swift sport 09


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

Best: Astra H, rattle free, everything works still, interior looks like new still and the glass is far far better quality (pilkington) than any other car I've owned.

Worst: e36 BMW, bought new, door trim rattles, boot lock and drivers door lock failure. Seized handbrake etc. But I bought another after cause I actually get bored of cars that never go wrong!.


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

BEST- VW Caddy Van... Solid...
WORST - MK2 RS focus.. Not solid , inside rattles and sqeaks , you cant even drive with the window down less than an inch as it bangs so loudly you think its gonna shatter , Ford said................. they all do that. Will never buy another Ford.


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Worst - 2004 Mini Cooper S & 2009 Mini Cooper D & 2008 BMW 120D M Sport

Best - MK4 Golf V5 & MK5 Golf GTI


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

best - pulsar gtir or BMW e34

worst - impreza turbo....

:thumb:


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Best - 2003 Hyundai Coupe 

Worst - mmm have a few

2005 BMW 525d M Sport
2008 Skoda Octavia Vrs


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## Laurie.J.M (Jun 23, 2011)

I don't suppose I qualify for this seeing as I'm still on my First car (2007 Corsa 3dr) but in nearly 3 years of ownership it's never gone wrong and the build quality is very good, nice materials, it's well screwed together, no squeeks and rattles and nothing has come off.

The worst car we've had as a family was easily my Dad's 1986 Mercedes 300e. It was a nice car and when we first had it everything worked but the longer we had it the more things went wrong with it,


it was constantly having to be jump started, 
engine would sometimes cut out randomly, 
three of the electric windows and the sunroof stopped working, 
radio completely stopped working, 
the dials would go on strike from time to time, 
the door locks had a mind of their own, 
the alarm kept going off at random, 
handbrake kept sticking, 
cruise control stopped working,
automatic gearbox gave up selecting 3rd gear,


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Worst Vax Cavalier GSI
Best BMW 330D Sport
added fun E30 BM 325 sport with LSD LOL fun when i was 22 now 45 and would love another one


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## dcj (Apr 17, 2009)

Best: Toyota Avensis. Had it 9 years and never had a problem with it til the last year when we had to replace a worn clutch. Never even had an new exhaust on it. 
Worst: Rover 216. Rot box, my dad took it to his house to change brake pads. Put jack under jacking point and pumped away. He thought the jack was broken until he looked in the car and there was a 6 inch pyramid in the carpet. Time to sell! (Part exchange before you start).


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## lincslad (Aug 23, 2011)

Best... volvo v70 never had a problem in 3 years closly followed by vw golf

Worst was a last model vectra, from new it let me down 6 times in a year, gearbox, cooling system twice, engine managment system twice then the power steering went **** up then i got rid..


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## gordonpuk (Mar 14, 2010)

Had a Vectra B 10 years (from new) with bearly a hiccup.
Now have a Mazda 6 which is a pile of sh**e reliability wise, but a nice car to
drive.


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## SarahAnn (Apr 6, 2011)

Best = Jag estate with cream leather. Traded for a new Jag saloon. Wish id have kept it. Also loved my Hyundai coupe new in 2006

Worst - A toss up between;

E reg Ford XR3i - belt snapped and did 4 of my valves. On collection of that 'repair', the engine seized (and that was supposed to be a good garage)

N reg Rover 45 - Head cracked, had it skimmed, worse on collection (from another dodgy but expensive garage). Then needed a new head, new clutch. Power steering went aswell. Got rid


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

Best - Toyota Corolla TSport closely followed by current 2006 Impreza STi.

Worst - I've never had any real Friday afternoon cars - I hired a TVR Sagaris a few years ago....pretty ropey build....but at the same time awesome! MKIII Astra worst i've owned.


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## dubber (Oct 2, 2011)

Best for me, volvo v70 15 years old everything still worked with 190k on clock
And car to date audi a3 tdi

Worse to name but a few

Vauxhall vectra 2000 model
rover 200
and the list goes on....................................


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## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

Best car - the first one, 998cc MkIII Mini. always broken, chugged to a halt in the rain. But, i forgave it everything everytime it went around a corner. If you haven't owned a mini running 5"x10" wheels, you just cannot 
understand. 

Through the fen backroads, my 42bhp mini would lose my mitsi GTO. He would fly past me on the straights but he was having less fun.

Worst Car- Without doubt, the hateful MkIII astra that was bought as it would be more reliable than the mini. Was it heck. A piece of carp from front to back and i will never, ever own another vauxhall as long as i live.


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## DampDog (Apr 16, 2011)

BEST
Little Polo 1.9TDi Sport, ran it for ten years never missed a beat.

WORST
Fiat X/19. I swear to god I could see new rust on it almost daily. Wouldn't start of there was a hint of damp in the air. Headlamps popped up and down at will (one or both) If you gave it any revs, the points would weld together and it would coast to a stop (Knightmare time on the motorway)


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## R7KY D (Feb 16, 2010)

Best - CLK W209 No rattles , pulled like a train , bulletproof , 90k miles of hassle free motoring , only cost me in servicing and normal consumables , Interior still looked as good as new , Still regret selling it a little . 

Worst - Vauxhall Cavalier 1.8i , Everything looked good but started to fall apart / fail for no real reason


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## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

Gruffs said:


> Best car - the first one, 998cc MkIII Mini. always broken, chugged to a halt in the rain. But, i forgave it everything everytime it went around a corner. If you haven't owned a mini running 5"x10" wheels, you just cannot
> understand.
> 
> Through the fen backroads, my 42bhp mini would lose my mitsi GTO. He would fly past me on the straights but he was having less fun.
> ...


I just read the OP again and build quality wise, the best car i have had is the one i have now. SEAT Leon MkII. It's a bit cheap but well put together and compared to the new Renault clio i had as a hire car, it's built like a tank.

The worst is still the MkIII Astra. I can see I'm not alone. Hateful car.


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## Keith_sir (Jun 27, 2011)

Best - Vauxhall Vectra SRI 2.2 Direct Estate. Great solid car, great sound system and in black with tinted windows, looked really good.

Worst - build quality wise, road noise, everything apart from the engine would have to be my garaged Honda Civic EG6 SIR. For a daily car it would drive me crazy. At the same time though it's my favourite car ive owned.


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2011)

Best:
My '89 G-reg MkII 16V Golf GTi.
Superb car. Absolutely bombproof. Bought it in '93 (@ 4yo) with 45k miles and sold it, 6 years later, at 128k miles. Caned the living daylights out of it. It never went wrong, never let me down. 100% reliable. Doubt I'll ever own another car like it.

My current car - a '99 V-reg Ford Focus 2.0 Ghia
Tidy handling but no hot hatch. Bought it in '04 (@ 5yo) and only 24k on the clock. It's now just ticked over 70k miles. Very reliable. Only wish they hadn't put the fake wood trim in 

Worst:
My first car which was a hand-me-down. A baby poo yellow Austin Allegero Estate 1.3. 0-60 in about 18secs. Awful handing. Terrible performance. Abysmal build quality and reliability.
Throttle cable snapped on a journey home, while accelerating up a hill on the A3 just outside Petersfield. The carburettor throttle butterfly return spring was so gunked up, it did not close allowing the engine to keep running. After a minor moment of panic, I turned off the ignition. Oh, it kept going because of the coke deposits in the engine igniting the fuel. Finally managed to stop the car, got out and saw flames coming out of the exhaust so I just ran. Eventually the engine conked out but not before filling the entire car with thick grey smoke. Thankfully it was an insurance write off - best thing for it.


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

Best Vauxhall Insignia Cdti 160BHP 2009 Great build quality
Worst Honda Civic 1.8 v-tec 2006 this car went back to dealers 15 times in 15 months , for recalls and other things just breaking or falling apart, dealers gave me a brilliant deal on another which was so much better.


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## ae1whia (Jan 10, 2011)

Best:- '98 Mercedes c180 ( w202) 
had this 2.5 years, changed both headlight bulbs, solid car wish I'd kept it

Worst:-96 vauxhall vectra. clutch at 31k, several throttle position sensors, 2 engine management units, handbrake cable and rear brakes twice. This car was only happy when on the ramp at the dealers, got rid when warranty expired, never buy a vauxhall again!!


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## Brummie_Nige (Sep 5, 2011)

Best: E91 320d M Sport - my first "quality" motor. Pity it's black and I have to wash it every other day :lol: And my lovely Astra GTE mk1 - that car was brilliant!!

Worst: Rover 216 GTI Twin Cam. Great Honda engine - revved forever. But it was put together like an Airfix kit built by a 2 year-old. The clutch juddered so much I had to see a dentist every 3 months. Thought I was doing the right thing buying British - what a joke!!!!!!!


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## TubbyTwo (Apr 14, 2011)

Worst - 2003 Seat Leon Cupra R - leaked when it rained, dash was nasty plastic, dash used to squeek and rattle, windows creaked, door cars were flimsy, poor engine, used to eat coil packs and AFMs. cam sensors failed, then the drivers window regulator kit (all the wires, plastic runners and clips fell appart).

Not a single month went by when something didnt break or a warning light didnt show up. Wont buy another SEAT again, ever. Is the newest car I have owned and the worst.

Best - my 1993 MR2 GTS turbo back from the days cars were actually built to last, every time it was driven, it was driven hard. It was tracked, taken to the pod loads, airfield track days you name it. and in the 3 years of its hard life with me, the only things that needed replacing were the original rad (due to a stone, otherwise it would have been fine) and the original alternator. Never let me down that car, would still have it If it wasnt for buying a house.

Out of all the cars I have owned:

Saxo 1.1 (twice)
Nissan 100NX
VW Passat
MR2 GT (non turbo)
MR2 GTS turbo
MR2 GT turbo
Seat LCR

The japanese ones have never been a problem....

Sadly at the moment im stuck in an 06 focus TDci "sport" (yeah right!!) and its the single most soul destroying car ever.


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

Keith_sir said:


> Worst - build quality wise, road noise, everything apart from the engine would have to be my garaged Honda Civic EG6 SIR. For a daily car it would drive me crazy. At the same time though it's my favourite car ive owned.


But it's an EG6, so it's forgiven. :argie:


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## scoobymad (Jun 14, 2011)

Worst - saxo
best - mk4 golf gt tdi


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Worst - Saxo VTR/C4 VTS (VTS was particularly bad, too many electric gadgets to go wrong!) which was punted shortly after buying.

Best - My Impreza hasn't wanted for a single thing (touch wood!) and has zero squeaks or rattles. Special mention for my Leon Cupra R too though as it only had a track rod end go over 3 years which was replaced under warranty


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## John @ PB (Aug 25, 2010)

Worst; putting aside winter runner bangers like the Pug 309 'Style', then my first car, a 1997 Polo 1.0L wasn't great; chewed brakes (nothing to do with my driving.....), had ignition problems, the heater system pumped exhaust gases into the cabin etc etc. 

(Though if it's car's I've run, but not actually owned, the 56 plate Toyota Corolla diesel company car was turgid. No redeeming features whatsoever; it wasn't even reliable.) 

Best: all round, and thinking with my head the MK5 GTI was hard to beat. Quick enough to be fun, good on a back road, comfy and spacious enough to run to Le Mans and back with no hassles; if I had to run only one car from now on, this would probably be it. 

However, the 911 on a nice day and a back round was superb (window down, flat six and sports exhaust :argie: ) and the Lotus, despite its flaws (and there are many of them!) is still my favourite really.


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## cleaningfreak (Sep 3, 2011)

Best Rover Coupe 220 N/A, Citroen Saxo ph1, Citroen Xsara VTR ph2...
Sorry, havent seen worst cars yet


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

Worst= Fiat, both the punto and cinquecento, horible things to sit in very cheap.

Best= Ford Mondeo of the 2003 variety, well stuck together with nice enough plastics and caused no problems. Bit biased but while not the best stuck together my 600 is a nice place to be with a bit of power, quiet when cruising and comfy half leather seats.


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

Best - The little vee. Great fun to drive - the only con is the practicality of her!

Worst - The 197 

I don't care who says Renaults are unreliable, I've had 5 clio's in all my time on the road & only one gave me a little trouble, the 197. Great cars imho


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## Damien89 (May 13, 2007)

Most reliable:

Ford Transit Mk1 with Di engine
Works as a minibus, my dad owned it from 89 till 2009, now i own it.
In all this years it has covered more that 750000miles with needing only maintance parts.

Toyota Hilux 1995 150000km Only parts changed are shaft bellows, thermostat and radiator. Nothing else in 16 years apart from oils and filters and tyres. 

Not very reliable:

Chevrolet Corvette 1989:

Bought it in 2002 with 9000 miles and now has 20000 miles.
In these years its had most of the engine sensors changed, 3-4 clutch packs twice, bushes in headlamp motors, leaking injectors, brake master cylinder and booster. Apart that its great when its in a straight line but not so great in a fast corner.
One of the great things about the vette is that it does not rust.

Rubbish:

Fiat 127 Sport Interior plastics were rubbish, gearbox synchros were rubbish and piston rings were shot in just the 25000 miles that it made from 1982 to 1999 till it was owned by my dad.


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## msb (Dec 20, 2009)

Best has to be my old 1994 e36 m3,bought at 128k sold when it had gone way past 150k with no major breakdowns, or failing that my current 1999 mx5

Worst was probably my 1983 1.3 austin metro or the 1990 renault 5 gt turbo, both of these always had something wrong with them:wall:


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## Method Man (Aug 28, 2009)

Best car - Vx Cavalier 1.7TD h/b. Nothing went wrong with it and always delivered 50+mpg.

Worst car - VW Passat (current drive) 55-plate done 64k miles. I've done 26k in it (90% motorway). Front passenger door lock works when it wants to, handbrake caliper failed, both sets of front coils snapped, bearings failed. A disgraceful piece of engineering.


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## David (Apr 6, 2006)

best: E46 BMW 330 coupe - nothing went wrong on it, it had FSH and the only thing to be replaced in 95k miles is a suspension arm, incredible - interior on an 11 year old car can only be described "as new"

worst: mk1 peugeot 106 1.1 - there was nothing inside to really go wrong, yet it still went wrong, suspension, clutch, starting problems, it leaked, it was flimsy

mk2 vw caddy van (latest shape) it was absolutely solid, i loved it - until everything went at once, rear suspension, dual mass flywheel and clutch, wheel bearing - it had only done 62k miles

i loved that caddy van too, one thing i genuinely cant fault is the interior - it was more solid than an oak tree


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## Suberman (Aug 16, 2010)

Best - 

'08 Impreza WRX STI hatch. Owned from new. Properly maintained, but driven like it should  44k miles, only had to replace power steering pump. Eats brake pads for breakfast though. Onto my 3rd set of fronts, and 2nd set of rears. Properly quick too. 

Worst -

'93 Opel Astra GSI. Bought at 90k miles, sold it at 105k miles. Chassis squeaks and rattles over any roads. Intermittently working traction control. Doesn't like the aircon to be turned on. Hesitated occasionally. Well, to be fair, maybe it fell into the wrong pair of hands before me.


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