Courtesy Cars... AAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!
Discussion
Perhaps the most depressing aspect of owning a Datsun is that when I take it in for servicing, I end up driving to work in a Datsun Micra.
It would perhaps be less embarassing for one's other half to announce that you've got a small wanger on the telly. (Not that I have that fate to await
)
I do understand why old people will not drive the things fast - they're completely unstable over about 45mph..
And, I found myself using my mirrors considerably less than in my Primera. Why? Because it's physically much more difficult to do. I won't know the full ergonomic reasons until I've got back into my car to compare, but I think I've discovered that Micras are actually engineered without the use of mirrors in mind..
Still, I managed to get all the way from Basingstoke to London with my foot planted to the floor, without the fuel gauage moving at all
Oh, and there's no aircon (not that the engine could cope) so it gets bloody hot driving in a balaclava
It would perhaps be less embarassing for one's other half to announce that you've got a small wanger on the telly. (Not that I have that fate to await
) I do understand why old people will not drive the things fast - they're completely unstable over about 45mph..
And, I found myself using my mirrors considerably less than in my Primera. Why? Because it's physically much more difficult to do. I won't know the full ergonomic reasons until I've got back into my car to compare, but I think I've discovered that Micras are actually engineered without the use of mirrors in mind..
Still, I managed to get all the way from Basingstoke to London with my foot planted to the floor, without the fuel gauage moving at all
Oh, and there's no aircon (not that the engine could cope) so it gets bloody hot driving in a balaclava
quote:you're kidding me right??? Compared to a 106 or a Fiesta, it's dreadfully unbalanced on the motorway.. and I've had two of them over the last year or so - so it's not just this particular car..
They are not. There used to be one available as a runabout at the last place I worked. It was alright. I certainly wouldn't have called it unstable.
What's the worst courtesy car anyone's had then?
built like and looks like an naff Alba stereo, either quite and no go or bouncing of the limiter and no go, the traffic master shouting at me was also a pleasure until I worked out how to turn it off. Handling? n/aI had a horrible, rusty Daihatsu Charade once. Had to double declutch or crash the gears, power kept fading, drank fuel.
And that from a Main Dealer!
Implication: I owned a Daihatsu at the time. Well I did, it was a quite nice Charade, very stable for a small car up to about 95, if a bit noisy ... They claimed 106 top speed but the day I tried 100 the steering got all light and I really didn't like it. (I can't remember whether this was on a track or in Germany
).
Stable in a crosswind too, which for a fairly high sided car that weighs not a lot is bizarre.
Carzee, why don't you flog the Nissan and get something else if you're that unhappy with it?
And that from a Main Dealer!
Implication: I owned a Daihatsu at the time. Well I did, it was a quite nice Charade, very stable for a small car up to about 95, if a bit noisy ... They claimed 106 top speed but the day I tried 100 the steering got all light and I really didn't like it. (I can't remember whether this was on a track or in Germany
). Stable in a crosswind too, which for a fairly high sided car that weighs not a lot is bizarre.
Carzee, why don't you flog the Nissan and get something else if you're that unhappy with it?
Don't know about the worst courtesy car ever but the best one I've been in was a mate's Ford Ka which he got when he crashed his Fiesta. They can be made to go far too fast if no brakes are used and they're very good for handbrake turns 
Or so I've heard 
I suspect the next person to use that particular car thought it was the worst courtesy car they'd ever had!
Or so I've heard I suspect the next person to use that particular car thought it was the worst courtesy car they'd ever had!
Have to agree that the mighty Micra is the worst car I have ever been given. Adding insult to injury was that it was an sick enducing pastal green colour, plus had a huge sticker down the side advertising that it was from a crash repair company!
But when my Mum saw it she loved it!!
When the guy from the garage dropped it off and picked mine up he almost couldn't stop himself laughing when he said "It's not as quick as your one mate!"
But when my Mum saw it she loved it!!
When the guy from the garage dropped it off and picked mine up he almost couldn't stop himself laughing when he said "It's not as quick as your one mate!"
I got a 1.0 Micra up to 102mph once. Um, it was downhill a bit though.
Had one for 3 months once while my daily driver was being repaired (putting a car sideways through a hedge into a field does it no good at all, take it from me ! ) Hated the thing with all my soul. Did 7500 miles in that 3 months, and tried with a vengence to break the damn thing every day (so they'd give me something different !) At junctions I used to plant my right foot to the floor, then sidestep off the clutch in first ! You could get it to spin an ickle bit in 2nd gear that way. After 3 months of serious abuse all that happened was that the gearbox was whining a tiny bit in 3rd gear .....
Worst thing about it was that you are invisible to other road users .... the number of people who'd pull out of you when I was driving the Micra was unbelieveable ....
Had one for 3 months once while my daily driver was being repaired (putting a car sideways through a hedge into a field does it no good at all, take it from me !
) Hated the thing with all my soul. Did 7500 miles in that 3 months, and tried with a vengence to break the damn thing every day (so they'd give me something different !) At junctions I used to plant my right foot to the floor, then sidestep off the clutch in first ! You could get it to spin an ickle bit in 2nd gear that way. After 3 months of serious abuse all that happened was that the gearbox was whining a tiny bit in 3rd gear ..... Worst thing about it was that you are invisible to other road users .... the number of people who'd pull out of you when I was driving the Micra was unbelieveable ....
Worst must be the Fiat Uno Diesel I got when my R/Rover was in for bodywork after a dozy bint put her Clio into its front bumper on a roundabout (R/Rover - slight dent, Clio - write-off). The Uno was a 1.4ish non-turbo diesel and was utterly horrible, but I did use it all week for almost no fuel use!
quote:A few reasons:
Carzee, why don't you flog the Nissan and get something else if you're that unhappy with it?
(i) For what it is, it's incredibly cheap to run. My drive to work is 98% motorway and is at rush hour, so there's nothing to be gained by changing the car as long as we also have the TT for the weekends.
(ii) There is no other car in the same class that it'd be worth me trading in for, because they're all as dreary and at least the Nissan has been 100% reliable.
(iii) There's been accident damage and I don't exactly nurture the thing so residual value is low.
quote:
Omega 2.0 AUTOMATIC
Agreed. Auto box from hell. Oooh, you've put your foot down a smidge, I'll kick down two gears. Ooh, you've lifted off, I'll change up into the highest gear I can find. No middle ground.
I got so fed up with trafficmistress that I had to pull over and *read the manual* in order to find out how to shut her up. (As an I.T. person, going anywhere near a manual was a deeply traumatic experience...)
Correction : at the time I was digging a soakaway at the front of my house, so I also used it to bring hardcore, bricks, lumps of concrete etc back from my local tip ..... used to have the thing loaded up to the back windows with bricks, with the rear suspension on it's knees !!
(and still the f**king thing wouldn't break !!!!)
(and still the f**king thing wouldn't break !!!!)
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff