General End of the road

[shrek]

After 6 months and 7k miles with the Ulysse I've traded the Ulysse in.
Overall the Ulysse is a very attractive and well designed car but too much has gone wrong during the short time we had it:

Catalytic convertor rattle/disintegrated innards?
Climate control black box failed
Traction control failed
Cruise control module failed
Engine anitpollution device warning constant
Alarm system showing constant warnings
Reversing sensor failed
Illuminated sun visor broke
Folding door mirror seized
Alarm/ Bonnet switch failed
Motorised headlight washer fell to pieces in use
Headlight unit replaced, no beam pattern
Rear seat mechanism broke
Heated seat control failed
Tyre pressure sensor failed
Roof bar fractured
Electric sliding door seizied

The dealer has been excellent in quickly and efficiently dealing with all the problems under warranty. (Autoworld Sheffield)
We had the car from 12 months old 2k miles to 18 months old 9k miles.
It proved to be excellent for family and business use apart from reliability and an average of 22mpg.

Many thanks to those who have offered advice over the last few months.

Shrek

 

[wolfracepunto]

I dont blame you with that list What have you traded it in for?

 

[shrek]

A new (old model) Discovery 2.5td ES Premium.

 

[wolfracepunto]

Cool Hope you have better luck with the Disco then

 

[poggy]

Hi,

Yours must have been built on the Friday afternoon before a bank holiday weekend to have that many problems.

It's a real shame you had so many problems, I have the same car but I have only had a couple of problems. I get about 26-27 on average from out automatic petrol.

I guess you will be joining the Land Rover website www.lro.com

Good luck with the Discovery, that was our other choice of car. Did you loose much on the Ulysse.

Andy

 

[shrek]

A couple of pictures of my new Disco up a big hill!

 

[wolfracepunto]

I think to give it a test, drive it up the hill in Scotland that JC climbed in the new Disco :idea:

Nice looking off roader...good colour

 

[shrek]

Hi Andy

I'd go further. It must have been built on the Friday afternoon before a bank holiday weekend by b...dy monkeys.
Fortunately I lost very little on the Ulysse as I only paid 14k and it's still well below average mileage. That has allowed me to swap without being too concerned.
I'm tracking several land rover forums before I join.
Shrek

 

[shrek]

I think to give it a test, drive it up the hill in Scotland that JC climbed in the new Disco :idea:

Nice looking off roader...good colour

I'm not getting it muddy!!!!!!!!! LOL

The dealer was great in finding me the black/ black leather combo I wanted. What do you think about dark tints. Too pimp or cool?

Shrek

 

[serin]

i swear those discos are everwhere, theres always one parked in my local car park, and is saw 2 more there aswell, all the same as yours!!!!

 

[dave]

i thought them disco had a bad rep for reliability?

 

[shrek]

Yes, there are some concerns on reliability but much less since ford and bmw input.
It also comes with 4 years (3+extended) warranty and parts are readily available.
I worked on land rovers for 12 years and feel it's better the devil you know

 

[wolfracepunto]

I'm not getting it muddy!!!!!!!!! LOL

The dealer was great in finding me the black/ black leather combo I wanted. What do you think about dark tints. Too pimp or cool?

Shrek

Dark tints on 4x4s........ Its only becomes pimp when you stick 22" chrome spinners on it! But 20/21" Kahns would look amazing on it (not chrome)

I think your Disco looks alot better than the new one.....its rank :yuck:

 

[Stu DemonD]

Shrek,

Sorry to hear about the sale of the Ulysse, but I can totally understand your reasoning - what a duff car you got!!?! At least it all got done under warranty, mind.

Will you still be hanging around the forum/arcade - there are not too many of us, and any help/advice would still be appreciated?

Stu

 

[shrek]

Hi Stu
I'll be staying around and will let you know how I get on with the disco.

We've still got to find a replacement for the Focus in April. The Ford has had quite a few problems, but worse still the dealers are appalling.

With the dealership support we've had from Fiat I'm still tempted to go for another Fiat. The Doblo "Family" diesel is tempting as it's strictly an economical city car we need. A smaller seven seater would be more practical to run locally than the Disco and it will only do about 5k miles per year.

Perhaps a new Forum board for any ex but maybe future Fiat owners out there.....Ok perhaps not.
Shrek

 

[sammiboo]

i gotta admit disco's arent the most reliable things on the road, i drove one for about 12months for work. i think i actually drove it for 6 months in total as it was in the garage for the other 6 lol.

nice cars though - best of luck with it

 

[alexGS]

Yes, there are some concerns on reliability but much less since ford and bmw input.
It also comes with 4 years (3+extended) warranty and parts are readily available.
I worked on land rovers for 12 years and feel it's better the devil you know

Shrek,
That was indeed a dreadful run of problems, but I have to wonder about the next owner's experience now that the problems are fixed and the price is lower (if you get my drift ;-)) We don't tend to buy new cars in NZ.

"I worked on land rovers for 12 years and feel it's better the devil you know" - I think this is a very fair statement. Having worked on Unos for years I am very happy with them, but driving a new Punto in the UK seemed a bit of a disappointment (yet also, when I got back to my Uno Turbo it seemed horrible... hmmm)

As for your other vehicle, why not a diesel Multipla? Looks nicer than the Doblo, is on JC's Cool Wall, and is a very clever design - tried driving one? At least they stand out from the crowd as well as being immensely practical, good performers (1.9JTD), and probably quite cheap now second-hand?

Thanks,
-Alex

 

[shrek]

i gotta admit disco's arent the most reliable things on the road, i drove one for about 12months for work. i think i actually drove it for 6 months in total as it was in the garage for the other 6 lol.

nice cars though - best of luck with it

Thanks sammiboo for those kind words of support. You really know how to encourage people NOT!!!! LOL

Seriously, what went wrong with the disco?

 

[shrek]

Shrek,
"I worked on land rovers for 12 years and feel it's better the devil you know" - I think this is a very fair statement. Having worked on Unos for years I am very happy with them, but driving a new Punto in the UK seemed a bit of a disappointment (yet also, when I got back to my Uno Turbo it seemed horrible... hmmm)

As for your other vehicle, why not a diesel Multipla? Looks nicer than the Doblo, is on JC's Cool Wall, and is a very clever design - tried driving one? At least they stand out from the crowd as well as being immensely practical, good performers (1.9JTD), and probably quite cheap now second-hand?

Thanks,
-Alex

What I've found with the new disco is how much better it is than the work horses I have worked on and driven before. (6 years ago)
The rear air suspension and Ace (self levelling) has transformed the ride and handling beyond recognition and the TD5 engine and auto box provides so much usable torque.

As for the Multipla I have looked at it and it's a fine car.
The three seat accross arrangement is a concern both in the width of the car and the six of us being shoehorned into two rows.
We would like 7 seats if possible. Buying new will give us 3 years warranty and the Doblo is more economical and cheaper to insure.
I get your point though. It's no great looker!

Thanks
Shrek

 

[poggy]

Hi,

Now now boys and girls let's play nicely with each other, Stu don't get the wrong idea I don't mean you & Eve St2 should play together.

I had a new Freelander TD4 GS in 2001 and I don't want to put you off but I traded it in for a BMW 5 series after 9 months because although we had no major faults there were lot's of small faults which I felt shouldn't be on a £20K+ car. It was no worse than the Ulysse though and the dealers were equally if not better than the BMW dealers and much better than Fiat dealers. They were also very friendly and parts took only a day to arrive if they needed to order them.

I did have a Discovery II for a couple of days test drive and we took it through a river (with the guy from Land Rover) with the water coming over the bonnet and I was amazed at what it could do (especially without a breather kit). The only reason I didn't get one is that it wouldn't fit into some of the car parks in central London where I was doing a lot of work at recording studio's.

Good luck with the new car and let us know how it goes.

Andy