[Dartskipper]

I had a Renault 12 estate. Carburettor trouble a few times, and eventually the rear suspension parted company with the rest of the car due to galloping tin worm.

Two Peugeot 406 company cars, one petrol, the other diesel (because of Government tax policy heavily favouring diesel cars in the early 2000's.) Both nice to drive and practical for my job having a large boot (trunk) for samples.

One Renault Laguna. Enough said, the memories are too painful. (I think it's significant that this model of Laguna was the last Renault saloon sold in the UK.)After complaining every month about it I was allocated an Alfa Romeo 156. Gorgeous car, great to drive, but a niggling problem with a fault in the brake light and rear light cluster. One bulb would stop working, so after fiddling with it all would be well again for a few miles, and then it would go out again. There were no loose connections, and the bulb was held firmly in its socket. I spoke to a friend who had spent many years as a mechanic at an Alfa dealership, and he said they are all like that, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's Italian electrics!

My last few cars have all been Opels rebadged as Vauxhalls. One Vectra and two Insignias. They have all been OK, only very minor problems that were insignificant in cars that do 25,000 miles a year.

Years ago I had a Rover 400 (rebadged Honda Civic re-engineered at Longbridge) that was actually a nice car to drive, but it had a huge appetite for front discs and tyres. It chewed through five sets of front tyres and two sets of discs in 85,000 miles. The Rover K engine had the well reported cylinder head gasket trouble, and an air conditioning hose chafed through, leaking all the refrigerant. It also devoured brake lights and side light bulbs, as well as head lights. I had the alternator checked for charge rate, but it was well within limits. When the car was delivered new, the battery leads were loose on the posts, and I had electrical trouble on the motorway for about 25 miles until I could pull into the services to find the problem. Also, one rainy night on the A1 Northbound, the driver's window opened all by itself. Rain had got past the seal and triggered the switch in the door. The car was only a few weeks old.

That's why I enjoy my Series III Jaguar Sovereign 4.2 (XK 6 cylinder lump under the bonnet.). It's reliable. (Apart from the air conditioning which always was a bit hit and miss.)

Roy.