luokyio
Merc Maniac
And we're back with the US cars. Or Austria to be more exact.
After pushing insane amounts of repair money towards Renault, it was time to go before next batch of repairs would arise. Our fourth kid is due next month, any smaller car wouldn't be suitable. Actually even the Grand Espace was a bit too small, since there was really small room behind the third row seats for luggages. And a family with four kids tends to haul a lot of stuff, so a decent sized trunk is pretty important.
There was actually only two viable options: a minibus (Vito/Caravelle etc) or a Grand Voyager/Caravan. Minibuses tend to be always old taxis, which means odometer readings exceeding 700 000 km and pretty worn out condition all-round. Grand Voyagers are the best-selling MPV's here, so they had easily the biggest selection. Also there's some grey-import Windstars around, but they're rare, and apparently they're horrible in terms of reliability and rust. Did not leave much other choice than getting a GV.
So, long story short, I traded the Espace for a 2002 Grand Voyager Limited AWD. The option pack Limited gives some goodies, like leather/alcantara interior with six captain chairs, electric sliding doors, electric tailgate etc. It has 288 000 km on the clock. Original service history has mysteriously disappeared, but there's a service book that has everything done to the car after 2007. So I cannot trust too much on the reading, but cannot really see it having much more either. Last few years it has gotten only few thousand km per year.
On the way home I stopped by my parents' house, and noticed left rear brake being really hot. We lifted the car up and managed to get brake unjammed, but the cylinder inside the caliber is cracked, so I didn't want to drive the car home. Dad ordered a new caliber this morning, and it should come by Wednesday morning. So yes, again on the first trip home the car I've bought has broken. :lol: I sure know how to pick them.
So, some things to be done for sure, but there's good things too. For instance this:
Fake wood!
Also I cannot resist the column shifter. It's just so much nicer to have than floor shift.
Espace was better to drive, but this is a lot comfier. And I think I prefer comfort over driving feel, it's a MPV after all. Performance is pretty similar on both, of course Renault had more torque because of the turbo, but it's easy to overtake with this too.
Interior and leather are pretty good, some minor scratches on the driver seat, but I'll give them full treatment asap to see how they turn out. Sound system is really nice for and OEM system. A lot better than in Renault.
And biggest advantage over the similarly priced slightly newer low-end Voyagers is the AWD. Cannot wait for the slippery weather. Now I don't have any FWD's on my fleet, only AWD and RWD.
Couple of quick shots, more to come when I actually get the car home...
After pushing insane amounts of repair money towards Renault, it was time to go before next batch of repairs would arise. Our fourth kid is due next month, any smaller car wouldn't be suitable. Actually even the Grand Espace was a bit too small, since there was really small room behind the third row seats for luggages. And a family with four kids tends to haul a lot of stuff, so a decent sized trunk is pretty important.
There was actually only two viable options: a minibus (Vito/Caravelle etc) or a Grand Voyager/Caravan. Minibuses tend to be always old taxis, which means odometer readings exceeding 700 000 km and pretty worn out condition all-round. Grand Voyagers are the best-selling MPV's here, so they had easily the biggest selection. Also there's some grey-import Windstars around, but they're rare, and apparently they're horrible in terms of reliability and rust. Did not leave much other choice than getting a GV.
So, long story short, I traded the Espace for a 2002 Grand Voyager Limited AWD. The option pack Limited gives some goodies, like leather/alcantara interior with six captain chairs, electric sliding doors, electric tailgate etc. It has 288 000 km on the clock. Original service history has mysteriously disappeared, but there's a service book that has everything done to the car after 2007. So I cannot trust too much on the reading, but cannot really see it having much more either. Last few years it has gotten only few thousand km per year.
On the way home I stopped by my parents' house, and noticed left rear brake being really hot. We lifted the car up and managed to get brake unjammed, but the cylinder inside the caliber is cracked, so I didn't want to drive the car home. Dad ordered a new caliber this morning, and it should come by Wednesday morning. So yes, again on the first trip home the car I've bought has broken. :lol: I sure know how to pick them.
- Another big problem that came on the trip was a whine from the belt or alternator. It can be heard only on idle with gear on. Even the slightest press of gas makes the sound disappear. You can also feel some trembling from alternator, so I guess the alternator bearing is dying.
- Rust-wise it is a both good and bad. Wheel arches are spotless, underneath really solid, but there are bubbles on the bonnet and the tailgate. These shouldn't be too expensive to get fixed properly after I'm convinced the car is otherwise worth having.
- The electric trunk opener doesn't open up like it should be, it must be helped manually to get it open. The mechanism seems to be easily accessible, so that needs to be taken apart and check what's wrong.
- Turn signal won't return from the left. Turn signal switch to be replaced?
- Both sets of tires are pretty bad. Summer tires (with aftermarket alloys) are close to legal limit, and winter tires are studless (steel wheels with original hub caps) with some tread left, but I already ordered a new set of Hankook iPike RS, as I don't want to receive a call from my wife that she's in the ditch again. With AWD it would probably have been easily driven with the studless for one more winter, but I don't want to risk it. AWD doesn't help it stop any faster.
- Rust-wise it is a both good and bad. Wheel arches are spotless, underneath really solid, but there are bubbles on the bonnet and the tailgate. These shouldn't be too expensive to get fixed properly after I'm convinced the car is otherwise worth having.
- The electric trunk opener doesn't open up like it should be, it must be helped manually to get it open. The mechanism seems to be easily accessible, so that needs to be taken apart and check what's wrong.
- Turn signal won't return from the left. Turn signal switch to be replaced?
- Both sets of tires are pretty bad. Summer tires (with aftermarket alloys) are close to legal limit, and winter tires are studless (steel wheels with original hub caps) with some tread left, but I already ordered a new set of Hankook iPike RS, as I don't want to receive a call from my wife that she's in the ditch again. With AWD it would probably have been easily driven with the studless for one more winter, but I don't want to risk it. AWD doesn't help it stop any faster.
So, some things to be done for sure, but there's good things too. For instance this:
Fake wood!
Also I cannot resist the column shifter. It's just so much nicer to have than floor shift.
Espace was better to drive, but this is a lot comfier. And I think I prefer comfort over driving feel, it's a MPV after all. Performance is pretty similar on both, of course Renault had more torque because of the turbo, but it's easy to overtake with this too.
Interior and leather are pretty good, some minor scratches on the driver seat, but I'll give them full treatment asap to see how they turn out. Sound system is really nice for and OEM system. A lot better than in Renault.
And biggest advantage over the similarly priced slightly newer low-end Voyagers is the AWD. Cannot wait for the slippery weather. Now I don't have any FWD's on my fleet, only AWD and RWD.
Couple of quick shots, more to come when I actually get the car home...