What would you buy? Small car for 10k - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

lorainfurniture · #16 11-02-2011, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honus

That's a great point. What do you think of the conventional wisdom I was given back in the '70s that you should always avoid buying a car the first year it comes out? Does that argue in favor of staying away from the 2012 cars?

Some cars, yes. I thought about that when shopping for a new car. It turns out, the fiesta has been out since 08 ish in the us, and many more years in europe.

barry123400 · #17 11-02-2011, 10:51 AM

The change is too signifigant to ignore in my opinion. It is a watershed. Now that it is electronically controlled it would be far more efficient. I cannot forcast the future price of fuel yet this is still playing it safe in my opinion.

I believe that the manufactured have done it well. Warranty issues resulting otherwise would be too costly. Yes of course it may be better to wait a year. But if a person needs a car now that is not an option.

Direct fuel injection is far from new. It has just never appeared in electronically controlled situations in low cost passenger cars before.

nate300d · #18 11-02-2011, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MercFan

VW Golf TDI or Jetta TDI - my sister has the Jetta with over 220K and it runs like new, still near 50mpg!

That looks nice, but VW's quality scares me. I would trust a Ford Taurus over a VW for dependability.....

barry123400 · #19 11-02-2011, 11:08 AM

Volkswagon has systematically been going in the wrong direction the newer they get with their diesels. There are so many issues with their customer service we will never buy another new one.

They have or had some other strong points that are in decline as well. It was a shame so many purchased their models with automatic transmission.Terrible expense when it failed. Not if it failed but when. When we needed a couple of parts for one of their automatics the volkswagon empire would not sell us them for example. You usually do not repair their automatics but replace them with new or factory rebuilds. Hang on to your wallet.

To compound all this is there is unrest at the mexican build plant and I hear that build quality is failing. They almost act like they do not want to be in the north american marketplace but cannot make up their mind.

nate300d · #20 11-02-2011, 11:12 AM

I am in automotive chassis supply. We have bid on a number of VW jobs. They seem to be the worst at looking for the bottom dollar. Their designs always need so much work as the people designing/engineering the parts have no knowledge of how to manufacture the parts.

I had a 1999 Jetta. I loved the 47/48mpg, but the savings are wiped out buy the repairs.

barry123400 · #21 11-02-2011, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nate300d

I am in automotive chassis supply. We have bid on a number of VW jobs. They seem to be the worst at looking for the bottom dollar. Their designs always need so much work as the people designing/engineering the parts have no knowledge of how to manufacture the parts.

I had a 1999 Jetta. I loved the 47/48mpg, but the savings are wiped out buy the repairs.

The last great years in my opinion were 1985 and 1986 for their turbo diesels. I have owned a lot of them up to the 2000 diesel we brought new. There will be no more.

What really erked me is with the tdi engines is little to no real cabin heater. The old models would burn your hands near the vents in comparison. Plus meaningful available heat was the quickest I have ever experienced..I hope this has been rectified by now. You really want a good heater this far north.

The Clk Man · #22 11-02-2011, 11:24 AM

You can get a Volvo 240 for less than half the price and they are super reliable.

Kuan · #23 11-02-2011, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry123400

I forgot to mention also that you are buying a car at the time of a major change. Some 2012 cars have gone to direct fuel injection.

That so makes sense. Like a diesel?

732002 · #24 11-02-2011, 12:26 PM

Mazda 3/6
Honda civic/accord/fit
VW TDI golf/jetta

spdrun · #25 11-02-2011, 01:20 PM

Find a Z3 Break that hasn't been abused. Beautiful AND somewhat practical.

iwrock · #26 11-02-2011, 01:44 PM

If you want something thats solid, reliable, sporty, stylish, and decently fast, check out a W210 E55 or W202 C43.

They can both be had for 10-12k.

tbomachines · #27 11-02-2011, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuan

That so makes sense. Like a diesel?

Same concept, yes. Direct injection paired with a turbo is glorious!

Skippy · #28 11-02-2011, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry123400

Direct fuel injection is far from new. It has just never appeared in electronically controlled situations in low cost passenger cars before.

True. The Messerschmidt 109 had a direct injected inverted V12 in the '30s, supplied by Daimler-Benz. The original 300SL also had direct injection.

As for Foci, I haven't owned one, but I've driven several and they are surprisingly fun for a wrong wheel drive economy car. At the expense of big doors and large trunk space, you could look at the Mazda MX-5/Miata. It's like an MGB that you don't have to work on all the time.

tjts1 · #29 11-02-2011, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry123400

just never appeared in electronically controlled situations in low cost passenger cars before.

Mitsubishi introduced its 1.8 GDI engines in 1996. The only reason you're seeing more of it now is because FE has become more important. Hyundai/Kia seems to be the only manufacturer to bring start/stop in its GDI engines to the US.

tbomachines · #30 11-02-2011, 03:55 PM

My VW has direct injection, many new models have it but I wouldn't say it totally supercedes previous FI engines like EFI did for carbs.

Gasoline direct injection - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia