Conti cars worth buying?

pew

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This is not true. I know of people of VW waiting for long time for part to arrive to get the problem fixed. So even the agent has no ready stock.

Vw got stockist in Singapore.

Jap car servicing every 10k, vw every 15k
 

darkmatt

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one advantage of driving jap cars in SG is that almost all workshops know how to do it and many workshops stock parts.

if Workshop A doesnt have, there is always B and C to consider.

for conti, its harder to find even 1 workshop that can do a proper job. only AD.

my uncle bought a BMW and even 6 years later, hes still sending to AD.
 

tatsit

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one advantage of driving jap cars in SG is that almost all workshops know how to do it and many workshops stock parts.

if Workshop A doesnt have, there is always B and C to consider.

for conti, its harder to find even 1 workshop that can do a proper job. only AD.

my uncle bought a BMW and even 6 years later, hes still sending to AD.
kanna chop carrot head for 6 years
 

tmfwy

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kanna chop carrot head for 6 years
My take on conti vs Jap

Parts wise, you pay the same for quality
Jap engineering is more efficient, while conti is geared towards safety at a higher speed
Jap 180km/h vs conti 240km/h min or higher.
Conti cars contain more electronics compared to Jap cars

For the comfort and advanced engineering you get in a conti, you pay more compared to a Jap. ANd depending on how you look at cars, your decision will differ

Also, because of the advanced electronics, not all mechanics can see it
Eg: For DSG / Selespeed / SM / gearboxes there are only a select few specialising in its repairs.

But then again, Jap cars are catching up!

Err, the cars you are seeing, are a bit on the higher sid

My Grande Punto was <$500 monthly

Bravo is an executive class car.

If you want a cheaper ride
Look for the Fiat Grande Punto ( $500+ now ) or Ford Focus ( I think $600+ )

And Tatsit
Going back to AD is not chop carrot.
They do have to invest in training and that is a tangible cost to them, that many of us feel ought to be FREE.

3rd party mechanics, no training. Just OTJ usually. Cheaper. But when they fug up your car, guess who can repair your car? the trained ones. And by that time, you are paying deep deep.
a. Repair Cost
b. Downtime

Though training will not beat experience, it will be a boon if one can find an experienced mech out there, who can diagnose and repair the problem.
 

lattesurf

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BMW 325. just after his 3yrs warranty, lots of their parts faulty due to "car not suitable for singapore weather".. repair costs up to $2k?

While japanese cars, if properly maintained can hit 5yrs without much hiccups.

Yes, u are right.. my cheap vios cannot compare with those conti cars.. and like my earlier post, if u can afford, by all means go for conti cars.

My Fiat Bravo has been problem free since Sept 07.. That's about 4.5 years to date, and still going well, intend to drive till 10 years.
Just go for regular 10k oil change, that's all. I've never paid to replace any parts due to manufacturing problems. Except for once when my dashboard aircon vent motor was faulty, but replaced under warranty within the same day.

My next maintenance will be timing belt + water pump change, parts costs about $250 thereabouts. Labour cost pretty much similar to any Jap/Kor as well. How much is a set of timing belt + water pump for a Jap/Kor? I would say it won't be far off.

Is this a fair comparison of Italian conti vs Jap?

I maybe a lucky case, but likewise with Conti, Jap/Kor also have their fair share of brand new lemon rides full of problems.
 

alantkm

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My Fiat Bravo has been problem free since Sept 07.. That's about 4.5 years to date, and still going well, intend to drive till 10 years.
Just go for regular 10k oil change, that's all. I've never paid to replace any parts due to manufacturing problems. Except for once when my dashboard aircon vent motor was faulty, but replaced under warranty within the same day.

My next maintenance will be timing belt + water pump change, parts costs about $250 thereabouts. Labour cost pretty much similar to any Jap/Kor as well. How much is a set of timing belt + water pump for a Jap/Kor? I would say it won't be far off.

Is this a fair comparison of Italian conti vs Jap?

I maybe a lucky case, but likewise with Conti, Jap/Kor also have their fair share of brand new lemon rides full of problems.

Your Bravo is manual transmission or selespeed ?
 

tatsit

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My take on conti vs Jap

Parts wise, you pay the same for quality
Jap engineering is more efficient, while conti is geared towards safety at a higher speed
Jap 180km/h vs conti 240km/h min or higher.
Conti cars contain more electronics compared to Jap cars

For the comfort and advanced engineering you get in a conti, you pay more compared to a Jap. ANd depending on how you look at cars, your decision will differ

Also, because of the advanced electronics, not all mechanics can see it
Eg: For DSG / Selespeed / SM / gearboxes there are only a select few specialising in its repairs.

But then again, Jap cars are catching up!

Err, the cars you are seeing, are a bit on the higher sid

My Grande Punto was <$500 monthly

Bravo is an executive class car.

If you want a cheaper ride
Look for the Fiat Grande Punto ( $500+ now ) or Ford Focus ( I think $600+ )

And Tatsit
Going back to AD is not chop carrot.
They do have to invest in training and that is a tangible cost to them, that many of us feel ought to be FREE.

3rd party mechanics, no training. Just OTJ usually. Cheaper. But when they fug up your car, guess who can repair your car? the trained ones. And by that time, you are paying deep deep.
a. Repair Cost
b. Downtime

Though training will not beat experience, it will be a boon if one can find an experienced mech out there, who can diagnose and repair the problem.

Mechanics in PML are foreigners from indonesia, phillipines and no idea which third world countries, I'm not sure who trained them, but they cant even change engine oil properly. Their way of diagnostic is slow and usually inaccurate. Even changing of wiper blades takes 1 one.

A few years ago, my car had this steering warning problem where by the chip was blown but no issues with the steering wheel. First time i send to PML, they told me on off problem, put there for 1 day to diagnose. After that they say not coming out already. Problem is not fixed yet.. i send back again, they say leave the car there for 3 days. It took them 3 days to find out the problem and replace the chip.

After i went to bmw sg community, i decided to send my car to a small workshop for servicing based on recommendations and done by a local with passion for bmw and cars. I was there watching as he explained to me various stuff about the car, when he took out the engine oil cap, engine oil was all over the engine block and he had to remove the engine cover to vacuum out all the oil. This is what you get when you send your car for servicing at PML.

Ever since then, i service my car at his workshop for cheaper quality engine oil (Torco) and cheaper quality workmanship. Even when my car has problems, i go there for help.

In bmw sg community, everyone advice not to send your car to PML, unless it is warranty issue. Even my air con issue, the condenser in front was hit by stone causing gas leakage, i send it to one of the air con experts recommended by the community, instant diagnose, instant replace, instantly cheaper by many folds compared to PML.

One more thing, the pinoy CSO at PML, they are very very useless. You want to get things done, you have to ask for the manager or the boss of PML.
 

ZhuTou!

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My take on conti vs Jap

Parts wise, you pay the same for quality
Jap engineering is more efficient, while conti is geared towards safety at a higher speed
Jap 180km/h vs conti 240km/h min or higher.
Conti cars contain more electronics compared to Jap cars

For the comfort and advanced engineering you get in a conti, you pay more compared to a Jap. ANd depending on how you look at cars, your decision will differ

Also, because of the advanced electronics, not all mechanics can see it
Eg: For DSG / Selespeed / SM / gearboxes there are only a select few specialising in its repairs.

But then again, Jap cars are catching up!

Err, the cars you are seeing, are a bit on the higher sid

My Grande Punto was <$500 monthly

Bravo is an executive class car.

If you want a cheaper ride
Look for the Fiat Grande Punto ( $500+ now ) or Ford Focus ( I think $600+ )

And Tatsit
Going back to AD is not chop carrot.
They do have to invest in training and that is a tangible cost to them, that many of us feel ought to be FREE.

3rd party mechanics, no training. Just OTJ usually. Cheaper. But when they fug up your car, guess who can repair your car? the trained ones. And by that time, you are paying deep deep.
a. Repair Cost
b. Downtime

Though training will not beat experience, it will be a boon if one can find an experienced mech out there, who can diagnose and repair the problem.

Ya i know about G Punto
It was my first choice initially :D
 

li9ht5peed

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Problem free for how many years is unimportant. Most important is to measure against the mileage. For the M brand, you probably do not need to worry about the timing chain until the odometer resets at 999,999 km. Timing belts do not last very long though.
 

trento

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Fiat is quite reliable these days. Anyway maintenance isn’t high cos parts r cheap.

Bmw- bring more worries
Vw- very worrisome

Fix It All the Time... :(
Failure In Automotive Technology... :(
 

myviowner

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Depending what you are looking for in a car lor.... Safety, prestige, low maintenance, car handling, interior/exterior look...... the list goes on... last but not least how deep is your pocket.
 

trento

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Depending what you are looking for in a car lor.... Safety, prestige, low maintenance, car handling, interior/exterior look...... the list goes on... last but not least how deep is your pocket.

no such thing as low maintenance for conti car
 

koolaid

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Fiat is quite reliable these days. Anyway maintenance isn’t high cos parts r cheap.

Bmw- bring more worries
Vw- very worrisome

bmw = big money wasted... just saw a thread on how this guy change his fog lamp bulbs so very often cos it kept fusing... :(
 

snipfer

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Aiya Some stuffs let the workshop earn lor. There are many other things you can save.

Sent from Xiaomi MI MAX 2 using GAGT
 
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