So far the only problem I have encountered is a blown dashboard bulb. As the dials are lit up as soon as the ignition is turned on they can blow prematurely. It isn't the easiest of jobs to do (most of the lower dashboard has to be removed to access and detach the speedo cable) but is hardly a major problem.
Very good car to drive, has some body roll, but the ride is very smooth and you know what the front wheels are doing through the well weighted steering.
The inside is excellent, very comfortable seats and driving position, although the pedals are spaced quite closely together.
Parking isn't too bad, but the mirrors are quite small and are angled upwards and the boot is quite high, so it can be difficult to judge how close the car behind you really is.
The headlights are very good, be warned when getting replacement bulbs. If your car has dual head lamps fitted they are the same bulbs as the driving lamps and not the usual dual filament bulbs.
Well it's coming up to the first anniversary of owning the car so I thought I would let you know how things have gone after nearly 18,000 miles of driving.
Problems out of my control:
Six weeks after buying the car I was unfortunate enough to be involved in accident with it, a Land Rover decided to drive onto a roundabout before I had left it! Luckily enough the damage was minor, but it required a whole new rear panel on the passenger side. The repair was dreadful (done at the "approved repairer" for my insurance company which was a BMW garage no less) I drove out of the garage and had to go back, the trim hadn't been fitted properly. Then a week later back again as the bumper didn't line up properly and they had managed to cut the wires to the central locking in the boot.
However the car withstood all this, but I do get an annoying rattle from the panels on that side of the boot, I have tried to tighten them, but to no avail as of yet.
What's gone wrong:
Very little really. Other than the usual service parts (the servicing is every 9000 miles so have had 2 services), all that has been replaced is a driveshaft, CV boot, handbrake cables (a known problem on these, but cheap to replace) and front brake pads. Oh and an indicator bulb and a couple of dashboard bulbs too. One annoying this is that the electric sunroof will not slide back, it appears that the plastic visor that flips up when the roof is open has jammed under the roof, however I can still tilt it so it's not too much of a problem!
Other than that the car has been wholly reliable. It always starts first time and has not once let me down.
Summary after owning for a year:
The car still amazes me. I took it on holiday to the lake district and it happy drove up hill and down dale without any fuss at all, zoomed up the motor at slightly over the legal limit without any problems at all. I have surprised many more powerful cars at traffic lights when pulling away!
The only criticism I have is that the suspension needs to be stiffer, the ride is pleasantly smooth, but the roll in the corners can be a bit worrying until you get used to it. Making sure you have decent tyres helps (I replaced mine with a set of Michelin just after buying it and the difference was definitely noticeable).
I have made a few changes to the car, adding an instrument light dimmer (the wiring is tucked behind the dash and you just plug the unit it), changed the very tatty wheel trims for a set of ZX Aura alloy wheels (the set of 4 cost me less than one brand new wheel trim). They make the car look nicer, don't stand proud of the tyre so you don't scrape them when parking and have added a bit to the ride. I also added a CD/Radio in place of the standard radio cassette which was easy to do and just required a new facia panel which you can get from most motor stores.
One other thing to think about is the body is incredibly easy to dent and scratch. I have numerous war scars from people opening doors onto it and stones chipping the paint off of the front. It is unfortunate as the interior is still 100% but the bodywork makes it look like a car that has done double the distance.
I would definitely have no hesitation in buying another model, if they came with air conditioning. I would steer clear of the main dealers though as their service is very poor indeed, and expensive. I use the local specialist for servicing as he is incredibly knowledgeable and is significantly cheaper than the dealer!
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