Hi Guys,I'm enjoying your Forum, this weekend I went with the better half to look at a 2008 Allure (Jan 2015 Registered) with 2400 miles, its a demo model for sale at £13900. Seemed a good price.
Anyway its one of those with the 1.6 e-Hdi S/S Diesel engine and the infamous EGC Box that many on here seem to have issues or negative views on.
First impressions were we liked the car being well specced, no sat-nav, but never mind, seemed a bit under powered but then it hasn't done many miles yet.
Anyway sorry for digressing, I would like to ask those that have one of these machines a couple of things if I may.
<ul>[*]Firstly, whilst on an extended test drive the first thing that hit home was the gearchange!! when you accelerate as it comes to change gear the thing seems to die/hesitate, to such a degree you nearly end up hitting the steering wheel with your head and then it selects the next gear and you end up forced back in your seat. What is all that about. Alright after a few miles I adapted by taking my foot off the accelerator in anticipation and the change was a lot better. But there were times when I didn't get it right.I noticed from the Forum that both "Pilot" & "terry3fy" mentioned this hesitation back in 2013. Did it ever get resolved?
[*]When one came to a stop obviously the clutch disengages and the engine stops, (Stop/Start), but I hate sitting at lights with my foot on the brake dazzling the drivers behind. So you end up either switching off the S/S or holding it on the handbrake which can't be good for the clutch, so you put it in neutral then when you come to set off you end up with a bag of neutrals and suddenly disappear into the distance. Most disconcerting. Doesn't appear to have been thought out properly.[*]And then there is the issue of because of a little shuffling around in a car park some have mentioned the car stops and refuses to select a gear meaning being stranded for an hour while the thing reboots itself.So those with this strange box, is this a common thing or does it need the "software update" that so many seem to say they've had.
[*]Secondly, the previous two points were gearbox related, that's my excuse for listing this "secondly". The French are famous for loading their vehicles with tech/electrical gadgets, which seem at times to have a mind of their own. Just how reliable are these things. I see that you have reported a spat of radios/cd/sat-navs just rebooting and stop start issues.[*]Thirdly, the quoted figures for the fuel consumption of around 74.3mpg are like every other manufacturers wildly exaggerated. I guess around town with a bit of motorway and dual carriageway 55mpg might be nearer the mark.[*]And finally, has anybody had the Sat-Nav retrofitted to the car after delivery, if so what was involved?[/list]Sorry for the amount of queries, I'm looking to use this has a company vehicle for my business and expect to average 35k miles per year so I'm little concerned on it's longevity.
We currently have two Audi's a TT and a A6 Avant, but the estate is coming to the end of its lifespan, nearly 4 years old and 146k miles and its been a paramount of reliability but the cost to replace is a little ....expensive and the servicing and parts have been a tad wallet emptying.
The 2008 seems a
likable
machine,
obviously not in the Audi class, but none the less fit for purpose. Its just this gearbox
Thanks in advance for all your advice and I'm sure that one can come to terms with these French
idiosyncrasiesgiven time, and if you have any other issues I'll be pleased to hear of them. I will be giving my
decisionto the Salesman this weekend.
Once again thanks for your comments
Tone
Anyway its one of those with the 1.6 e-Hdi S/S Diesel engine and the infamous EGC Box that many on here seem to have issues or negative views on.
First impressions were we liked the car being well specced, no sat-nav, but never mind, seemed a bit under powered but then it hasn't done many miles yet.
Anyway sorry for digressing, I would like to ask those that have one of these machines a couple of things if I may.
<ul>[*]Firstly, whilst on an extended test drive the first thing that hit home was the gearchange!! when you accelerate as it comes to change gear the thing seems to die/hesitate, to such a degree you nearly end up hitting the steering wheel with your head and then it selects the next gear and you end up forced back in your seat. What is all that about. Alright after a few miles I adapted by taking my foot off the accelerator in anticipation and the change was a lot better. But there were times when I didn't get it right.I noticed from the Forum that both "Pilot" & "terry3fy" mentioned this hesitation back in 2013. Did it ever get resolved?
[*]When one came to a stop obviously the clutch disengages and the engine stops, (Stop/Start), but I hate sitting at lights with my foot on the brake dazzling the drivers behind. So you end up either switching off the S/S or holding it on the handbrake which can't be good for the clutch, so you put it in neutral then when you come to set off you end up with a bag of neutrals and suddenly disappear into the distance. Most disconcerting. Doesn't appear to have been thought out properly.[*]And then there is the issue of because of a little shuffling around in a car park some have mentioned the car stops and refuses to select a gear meaning being stranded for an hour while the thing reboots itself.So those with this strange box, is this a common thing or does it need the "software update" that so many seem to say they've had.
[*]Secondly, the previous two points were gearbox related, that's my excuse for listing this "secondly". The French are famous for loading their vehicles with tech/electrical gadgets, which seem at times to have a mind of their own. Just how reliable are these things. I see that you have reported a spat of radios/cd/sat-navs just rebooting and stop start issues.[*]Thirdly, the quoted figures for the fuel consumption of around 74.3mpg are like every other manufacturers wildly exaggerated. I guess around town with a bit of motorway and dual carriageway 55mpg might be nearer the mark.[*]And finally, has anybody had the Sat-Nav retrofitted to the car after delivery, if so what was involved?[/list]Sorry for the amount of queries, I'm looking to use this has a company vehicle for my business and expect to average 35k miles per year so I'm little concerned on it's longevity.
We currently have two Audi's a TT and a A6 Avant, but the estate is coming to the end of its lifespan, nearly 4 years old and 146k miles and its been a paramount of reliability but the cost to replace is a little ....expensive and the servicing and parts have been a tad wallet emptying.
The 2008 seems a
likable
machine,
obviously not in the Audi class, but none the less fit for purpose. Its just this gearbox
Thanks in advance for all your advice and I'm sure that one can come to terms with these French
idiosyncrasiesgiven time, and if you have any other issues I'll be pleased to hear of them. I will be giving my
decisionto the Salesman this weekend.
Once again thanks for your comments
Tone