When did you last brake down, or how often do you?

alanrowell

At least 16 years ago - Peugeot 205 GT (not GTi) and the gearbox disintegrated. Absolute !!!!!! to get a replacement

grizzly1911

Only one actual breakdown ever in 33 years of driving.

Citroen Picasso HDi that had a low pressure fuel pump failure at probably 70k after 7 years ownership.

Couldn't get it to stop once as the ignition barrel broke. (I know I could have stalled it but drove it to the dealer and left it with them).

Did have a camshaft go on a Nova (Corsa) at 22K the day after getting back from a 3K euro tour and a perforated head on an Astra, leading to continual pre-detonation. Both continued to drive and replaced by Vauxhall out of warranty.

First car a Vauxhall Viva HC 1256 on a K plate (10 years old to me), that would miss fire on the way to work, in the winter. I used to stop, take the distributor cap off, wipe it round, put it back on off it went. WD40 never worked.

mcjordi

erm 2005 in my mk3 astra 1.6. p reg

well 2 in that car.

1st was a gear linkage problem wouldnt go into 1/2 or reverse so had to call out the breakdown guys

2nd was a total failue of the engine had to wait well in excess of an hour to be towed home..

then in 2007 in my 1.0 12v corsa engine went bang (very rattley tiiming chain) thought it was on fire thats how much smoke came outta it. t reg

thats it..

agrinnall

Some time around 2003. I had a Seat Leon Cupra that started to misfire while I was out, I called the AA who said there was a known fault with VAG coils after they switched supplier (I think they were German made, and the good ones were Japanese) and that it would be better not to drive it. They towed me to the dealer who replaced the coils and it was fine after that until I sold it.

Before that, 1996. I was spending 2 months driving around Europe in a Mark 2 Golf GTi 8V, in Italy the clutch cable broke, I knocked it into neutral and stopped. Having determined I couldn't fix it I started up, got rolling then managed to get it into gear, I then drove to the next town, which was only a few more miles, changing without the clutch when I really had to and hoping that I didn't have to come to a halt again. Fortunately there was a VW garage there, and although they couldn't replace the cable (as a RHD car the cable was a different length to all those in stock in Italy) they did a bodged up repair that lasted another 5 weeks and 4,000 miles through 6 more countries until I got home.

TrickyWicky

Touch wood none yet in 4.5 years (i think) of driving.

mikey72

agrinnall wrote: »

Some time around 2003. I had a Seat Leon Cupra that started to misfire while I was out, I called the AA who said there was a known fault with VAG coils after they switched supplier (I think they were German made, and the good ones were Japanese) and that it would be better not to drive it. They towed me to the dealer who replaced the coils and it was fine after that until I sold it.

Before that, 1996. I was spending 2 months driving around Europe in a Mark 2 Golf GTi 8V, in Italy the clutch cable broke, I knocked it into neutral and stopped. Having determined I couldn't fix it I started up, got rolling then managed to get it into gear, I then drove to the next town, which was only a few more miles, changing without the clutch when I really had to and hoping that I didn't have to come to a halt again. Fortunately there was a VW garage there, and although they couldn't replace the cable (as a RHD car the cable was a different length to all those in stock in Italy) they did a bodged up repair that lasted another 5 weeks and 4,000 miles through 6 more countries until I got home.

I had a beetle the clutch cable went on, but that didn't actually stop me as a drove without it, the gearlinkage broke as well at another time, but I drove with the plate off the tunnel and used a mole wrench for a couple of months. (it was behind me, but everything was reversed, so it made sense)

I think the only one that stopped me was when the fuel return line on a 90's fuel injected car went, at midnight, so it was leaking all over the floor.

shortdog

Renault Scenic - broke down early 2009 (6 weeks after I passed my test) - needed an engine rebuild, something happened to the cylinder head, which bent pistons and things. Clutch then went on it (it got stuck in 2nd gear) about 6 months later, then last winter the cooling system froze solid, due to it having a tiny leak and me having topped up with plain tap water, at which point I gave up on it and scrapped it.
Replaced it in Feb with a 54 plate Daewoo Tacuma, which proceeded to break its timing belt halfway down the motorway to Devon, at 6am, with two kids in the back. AA towed me to Devon, where the car stayed in my friends drive for a couple of months, and got scrapped.
My AA membership over the years has saved me a fortune!

nearlyrich

Touches wood !

I have a company car so they are kept in good order, full service history etc and apart from a blip with a VW Golf Plus about 4 years ago when the engine management light came on on the M40 I haven't had any problems with cars for ages. My first brand new car a Corsa was a nightmare, it had an electrical fault that made it cut out randomly and it too months to diagnose and repair that was in 1993, I had another 5 week old Corsa in around 1998 where the engine died, Vauxhall replaced the car. My first company car an Audi A3 Sport had an intermittent fault which also caused random cutting out and involved the AA a few times, that was 10 years ago.

flang

My 1993 BMW 3 series with 190k on the clock has never broken down.
Yet my 6 month old Fiat doblo van 13k, Head gasket failure!!


FACT. German cars break down less often

tim9966

Last time en route was in 2007 whilst driving a 1995 Escort RS Cosworth which decided to split a hose and lose all it's coolant on the M5 and overheat.

Apart from that I've had a car not start when the starter motor packed up on a 1992 Fiesta, this would have been about 2004, and the same car back in 2000 which was a battery problem. That was just before I got a mobile phone, and the time I'd walked 2 miles back from the phone box the breakdown company had already arrived.