I thought £500 for a cam belt was a bit much!
It is absolutely crazy Phil. The new car manufacturers build their cars in such a way that the buyer is totally beholden to them for virtually all maintenance. Even changing xenon light bulbs.
I run a 99 volvo and a 94 merc for precisely this reason. I only keep the 2012 campervan as the missus will not let it go.
Folk will be crippled by car repair bills. My 57 plate s5 was just a money pit. It required loads of warranty work. Then this continued out of warranty. The guys at the independent garage told me that vw audi etc had not made a reliable car since the mid 90s. Having shelled out for a radiator (whole front of the car removed), a water pump, starter relays, intelligent key sensors out of warranty. I was then hit by the xenon bulb scenario. Then the drivers door would not open when it was below zero outside. So you had to get in via the passenger door. I kid you not. Final straw.
Sold the b1tch on about 60k miles and replaced with a 94 merc sl500. This has never required anything other than rotor arm and distributor cleanings by yours truly.
My mate, against my protestations, bought a 2010 audi r8. Absolutely crock of sh1t in terms of faults, repairs. 4 cracked alloys ...... So he sold it and bought a mid 90s BMW 8 series.
Guys who spend 5k on a modern passat with an electronic hand brake that fails are looking at a 2k bill. Folk in independent garages have customers that cannot afford to fix the most elementary faults because of this nonsense
A mate who sells used cars for a living tells me that Mercedes no longer want to sell used cars over 3 years old at main dealers as the faults are cripplingly expensive when out of warranty.
