Over 11 years, and 140,000 miles, a few! But it has never stranded me.
A fuel pump relay, 1 central locking actuator, loads of door handles, valve guide wear, and loads of service items; 4 sets of discs, 8 sets of pads, 5 or 6 exhausts, 2 sets of front shocks, 30-odd oil changes etc etc, but the original clutch!
Totally brilliant car. Still standard. Fast, stiff, with good handling, economical (33-38mpg), comfortable, utterly reliable.
I have towed a lot with this car - race cars, caravans, boats, trailers, rally cars, and just returned from a 2500 mile trip to Spain with a caravan on the back. Needless to say, it didn't miss a beat. Probably because I did not have faith and bought AA insurance..!
Dead cheap to run if you can do it yourself and use places like EuroParts.
Hope it never dies - irreplaceable.
Now, that's a good idea - plenty of those 1781cc engines around - don't they appear in 225BHP turbo-charged form in the TT?? Imagine that power in a 20yr old Audi 80! hehehehe, could be amusing.
Update, from the original author..
I finally sold my car to a friend in May 2003 for the princely sum of £325, mainly because I was starting to get fed up with brake and fuel pipes fracturing every time you had to touch them as they had become weak with rust..! However, I sold it with 250k on it and drove it just recently (Jan 06) and it still goes like stink, new MOT, handles brilliantly, and has done 280k. Same engine, no rebuilds... Superb.
Hello there, I have an opportunity to buy one of these babies for £500. Is that asking too much for it? It's mot'd and taxed, done 95000 miles, has no rust and comes from a reliable source. Any comments would be appriciated. Thanks...