Toms306's China HDi Estate 2012

[Niall]

No I didn't Tom. Read what I said. I've given you several examples of where new cars have failed which goes to show that newer cars arnt perfect like you think they are. All cars break down Tom, difference being that a clutch in my skoda cost skoda almost 4k. A new clutch in my 6 on 70k (which didn't really need doing) cost £220. I know that's two extremes of the scale but shows that there is no benefit of owning a newer car other than the snobbery of saying you've got one. And don't be under this impression that if a car is under warranty, it will be automatically fixed because it won't. My car was gone for 3 weeks because they had to strip it down then send the failed parts back to the manufacturer for inspection to decide if it was user error or premature failure. It's very difficult trying to claim on a warranty just like insurance. It's in the companies best interests to protect their money and not pay to repair your broken car.
Granted, if you were buying a car from the 1980s, I'd agree to an extent that they are not as reliable without more upkeep due to manufacturing tolerances being substantially lower then. A car hitting 100k then was going well but even cars like the 306, this forum just proves that 100k is just wearing it in. I've seen gtis go on to well over 200k and seen several 406 diesels with over 400k. I got into a old banged up 406 cab once that was on 45k. When I said to him, this is on bloody low mileage for its age, he said nope, it's been round the clock once and I believe that. Look after a car and there is no reason why it won't last but you seem to be under this dillusional idea that if you have to replace any parts on a car, it's crap, expensive to run and unreliable. Not true. Like all things, parts have a limited shelf life but this can be extended with proper maintenance but you don't seem to understand this.
Go ahead and buy your newer car and see what happens. You will be pissed and wishing you still had a 306 when your at a dealers getting a cambelt done on a newer golf and they present you a bill that's in 4 figures.