Having worked for a BMW/MINI franchise for 5 years when I was in the UK, I totally agree with your comments! Nice rant - I enjoyed it. Where are you based? Can I bring you my peugeot?? LOL
So then, what car can you buy today that has all the old attributes?
Does such an animal exist in today’s market?
As well as an old Renault Express van with no frills and a 2CV with a starting handle (bless) and an air cooled engine we have an Opel break with every sensor imaginable and have empathy with the OP. The computer said the sensor was malfunctioning; what it didn’t say was which one and yes, you’ve guessed it, the one that was replaced didn’t fix the fault. The garage didn’t even know there were two until the fault persisted but swore every which way he could that the first one they replaced had needed to be changed after all, having retrieved it from the bin (allegedly) and testing it (perhaps with a hammer on the bench?). Me a cynic? Nyet, non… pas possible.
Both items together, a tidy sum for something no bigger than a finger nail with a bit of wire attached.
the devil is in the detail. The garage function is no longer “mechanic” but “fitter”.
Yes, like, prefer a used and pretty broken in car always. Buy straight from the owner, chat about all the breakdowns and woes you've had, entice him into his/her mishaps and get the gen on the jam jar in question. It if is a real pig, discretely say you have had time to think about it but not this one. Let the owner have a chance with another punter. If people don't talk driving and cars, don't buy, they're not interested so the chances are high they've not looked after it. Move on. An enthusiast at last, he/she runs through the car's history, couple of oil jobs and some bumps straightened out. I buy. Seems to hold me together and my very honest garage do not complain, although I would prefer a Mark Rimmer bill I think.