mgs
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Dead Electronics/New MGs

To: mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Dead Electronics/New MGs
From: David Councill <dcouncil@imt.net>
Date: Sat, 04 May 1996 08:01:38 -0600
At 12:05 AM 5/4/96 -0400, Ragthyme@aol.com wrote:
>My mailbox demon seems to have some difficulty with the british cars list; so
>if you'v received this already, consider yourself lucky that you get to read
>my rantings for a second time. ;)
>
>ckr
>
>Well, here's ballocks to whomever said the new electronics are 'bulletproof'
>and 'will last nearly forever'.
(rest cut since you may have seen it more than once)


My main cars are a 71 BGT and a 74 Toyota Landcruiser (soft top!). I own
these cars because they are fun to drive and they are easy to work on. I
would be wary of any new car (anything in the 1980's or newer) because of
the difficult and costly maintenance involved. 

And that brings up my dead electronics story. My wife was never too fond of
the two cars mentioned above, and she wanted a roomier family car. Although
I believed that one should never buy a car less than ten years old, I
finally gave in to the thought of buying a new car.

The year was 1989. After careful research, I found the Geo Prism to be the
car that might provide the roominess my wife desired while not losing the
values I desired - maneuverability, acceleration, agile steering, effective
brakes (properties that American cars generally do poor in). Besides, this
was a joint venture between Toyota and GM so it was almost like getting an
American car wasn't it?

I even purchased GM's touted "bumper to bumper" warranty with the new 1990
Prism. A little more than a year later, after 18000 miles, the car developed
a sputter/ surging problem. I figured there was no problem as the dealer's
sophisticated computer would diagnose everything. Instead, they were
baffled, but they also told me that they had another eight Prisms with the
same problem at that dealership alone. They then told me it was GM's problem
and GM would have to tell them how to fix it.

Meanwhile GM told me that the car still drove and it took me from point A to
point B. Wasn't that what a car was supposed to do? So they refused to honor
the warranty even after I complained that a car was supposed to "perform" -
a new car should run smoothly. At that time, the car had a serious surging
problem in first gear (making maneuvering in parking lots tough and
embarassing). Plus the gas mileage had dropped from about 37 mpg to about 30.

Finally I went to the Better Business Bureau, and six months later, the
dealer agreed to replace the car's computer. That fixed the problem for
another 20K miles (a pattern was forming). By then, GM had figured the
problem out (or at least the cheap fix) - it was the throttle position
sensor. So every 20k miles, they now would replace the sensor at no extra
charge.

But before they found the problem, I found a few more interesting facts
about the car -
fuel filters cost $42, rotors were $12 and these were not stock items. And I
can now get the special size oil filters for $5 and air filters for $12 at
most auto parts stores. Compare that to LBC parts!

So my values remain unchanged - I like simplicity in a car - no computerized
gadgets or weird vacuuum thingamabobs. So I agree with Corey - for the price
of a new MGF, I would rather add on a couple of more MGAs or MGBs.


--------------------------------------------------------------------
David Councill                                 
dcouncil@imt.net                               
http://www.imt.net/~dcouncil/home.html         
--------------------------------------------------------------------


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
  • Re: Dead Electronics/New MGs, David Councill <=