R D S <rsandr (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

MkII Astra Cabrios were shite. My brother had one - it was the most
rotten, leaky heap of shite I've ever had the misfortune to drive.

Even my 124 Spider was less leaky, which is saying something.

MkI Golfs are generally watertight - I even replaced the hood on mine
and it was still watertight (I lifted off the whole of the hood, incl.
frame and replaced it with a better one from a breakers).

I've not heard of anyone complaining about MX5s leaking, either - just
check the roof out properly before buying.


--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

"SteveH" <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote

Mine leaked like a bastard.
Worse I managed to snap both handles over the time I had it and these were
not cheap to replace.

The pain ended when a fat bunch of wires under the bonnet managed to fuse
together, enough was enough it was sold.

I never enjoyed the attention a cabrio demanded. I can distinctly remember a
staggering pissed up cunt screaming at me that 'if I was going to pose then
I could at least wash it' while sat at traffic lights.

R D S <rsandr (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

Ahhh, they all do that, sir. Just be thankful (or maybe not....) that
they didn't burn the car in the process - which is what I recall
happened to my brother's.

I love cabrios - I just had to chose between selling my MkI or my 75 -
the MkI sold first, so I kept the 75.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

"SteveH" <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote

I've had 2 Celica GT4's. An ST 165 and an ST 185. Neither were were 'money
pits'
..
I ran the 165 as a daily driver for about 3 years, doing about 25k in total.
Even doing a couple of track days with it. During that time, the front discs
were replaced, it had 2 sets of front pads, a new air filter, a new set of
tyres, and 4 oil changes with new filters. That and a couple of bulbs was
all I spent on it. Less than I would expect to spend on any 10 year old car.
It was still running perfectly when I sold it. For about 2 months. The new
owner overboosted the turbo, buggered the pistons, and blew the cyl head
gasket.

I had the ST 185 for about the same time, but it was used as a second car,
so I only did about 10k in that one, but apart from a couple of oil changes
and a new battery it was remarkably trouble free. Both cars were completely
standard.

So IME a well maintained unmodified GT4 is not particularly expensive to run
as far as maintenance goes, but they're not exactly economical. 30mpg on a
run is doing quite well.
Another plus is that they are solid well made cars, and particularly
comfortable to drive, with a fully adjustable s/wheel and seats with
electrically adjustable lumbar and side supports.
Mike.

Mike G <metier (AT) lycos (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Experience of a poster in the modifications group suggests otherwise -
mainly, ISTR, involving prop. and suspension bushes.

ST165s rot rampantly, too.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

"SteveH" <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote

If that's the same one as I'm thinking of, ISTR it was not in good condition
when he bought it. Prop and suspension bush problems are not that common on
165's and 185's. According to what I've heard from other owners, it's the
roll bar drop links that seem to wear out fairly quickly, but they're easy
and cheap to replace.

Most of the later ST 205's seem to have problems sooner or later with the
suspension bushes, arms, etc, which is a more complicated design than that
of the earlier GT4's.

Bear in mind though, that all my comments refer to standard cars. Modified
ones seem to have all sorts of problems. Mainly I believe because those
doing the mods, don't really understand what they are doing.

Well they are 16 years old now, but some seem to fare much better than
others.
There's still some sound ones around.
OTOH my 1990 ST 185 import was completely rot free when I sold it 3 months
ago. About the only rust on it was on the exhaust clamps, and that was more
surface rust than anything. They certainly couldn't be described as rotten.
Mike.

R D S wrote:

Sorry - don't know any specifics on them .... it was the Probe link
which stimulated my interest in the MX6 (and incidentally the 626 too)
which were mechanically almost identical.