Last weekend my GPS T-Jet clocked 100,000 miles, so I thought it was an opportunity to write a quick report on the past five years.
In November 2007, I took delivery. I’d ordered it in September, knowing the T-Jet was just being launched and spec’d it up with Caribbean Orange paint, Dual Climate Control, Subwoofer and side rubber strips. Originally I was going to buy the 1.9 Multi-jet, but I was really impressed by the T-Jet on test drive, so I went for that instead.
The car has been great. It really loosened up around 15k and to be honest I think it’s just as quick now as then. I’m 6ft 4 and find it comfortable, doing regular long motorway hauls for work and also visiting family on a 500 mile round trip. It’s also done two long trips across Europe – once to Italy via South of France and once to Constanta in Romania, the latter taking 26 hours non-stop (it’s quite comfortable to sleep in as well!). It’s also been driven flat out on the Autobahn in Germany
It does a 60 mile round trip commute each day and hardly a day goes by when it’s not in use. It’s economical, I get about 36.4mpg on average, and I’m not one to hang about. I believe that cars are better and more reliable the more they are used, it’s not driven excessively hard , but certainly not cosseted. It’s helped me move house and doubles up as a van carrying stuff around for the charity I work for. There’s a good amount of space with the seats folded.
In 100k I’ve replaced...
· Two new wheel bearings, both replaced under warranty early on
· Five sets of front tyres
· One set of rear tyres
· One set of brake pads all round
· New Front discs
· New Steering wheel – mine suffered the common pealing problem. I found a second hand one with orange stitching on eBay, and my local garage fitted it at the last service.
· New Battery – the car’s only breakdown – where it lost power and eventually ground to a halt at about 70,000 miles.
· New cambelt and waterpump at 76,000 miles
It was serviced at the main dealer (SGM of Southampton) for the first three years and I can’t fault them either, but since it’s been out of warranty I’ve moved to a local independent garage since, but it’s always serviced at 18,000 mile intervals.
There have only been a couple of niggles:
· I fitted a arm rest as I really missed having one.
· The front driver’s seat has torn a bit at the base of the backrest recently, I guess this is just wear and tear.
· It’s not always easy to engage reverse gear, and I know that’s a common grumble with the T-Jet anyway.
· The paintwork has faded a bit, particularly on the plastics but you don’t notice until you open the bonnet and see the contrast between those bits of plastic exposed to the elements and those protected by the bonnet.
· It’s peppered with stone chips over the front bumper and bonnet
· There are a few creaks now, the clutch pedal is quite squeaky at times, but generally it’s survived pretty well, it’s not that badly screwed together.
I’m used to keeping cars for two years before changing them, so to get into its sixth year, just shows how much I’ve enjoyed it. Overall, it was a good choice and has so far done me well.
So, will I be replacing it? Well, we’re just completing the purchase of a new house, so it’s likely to have to see me through until the next MOT in November as money will be a bit tight. It’ll probably be showing around 120k by then. Next time it will be a diesel next time and I’ve been keen on a Alfa 159 2.4 for a while, or maybe a Bravo 2.0 Sport. Not sure yet, it’ll be second hand this time though.
In November 2007, I took delivery. I’d ordered it in September, knowing the T-Jet was just being launched and spec’d it up with Caribbean Orange paint, Dual Climate Control, Subwoofer and side rubber strips. Originally I was going to buy the 1.9 Multi-jet, but I was really impressed by the T-Jet on test drive, so I went for that instead.
The car has been great. It really loosened up around 15k and to be honest I think it’s just as quick now as then. I’m 6ft 4 and find it comfortable, doing regular long motorway hauls for work and also visiting family on a 500 mile round trip. It’s also done two long trips across Europe – once to Italy via South of France and once to Constanta in Romania, the latter taking 26 hours non-stop (it’s quite comfortable to sleep in as well!). It’s also been driven flat out on the Autobahn in Germany
It does a 60 mile round trip commute each day and hardly a day goes by when it’s not in use. It’s economical, I get about 36.4mpg on average, and I’m not one to hang about. I believe that cars are better and more reliable the more they are used, it’s not driven excessively hard , but certainly not cosseted. It’s helped me move house and doubles up as a van carrying stuff around for the charity I work for. There’s a good amount of space with the seats folded. In 100k I’ve replaced...
· Two new wheel bearings, both replaced under warranty early on
· Five sets of front tyres
· One set of rear tyres
· One set of brake pads all round
· New Front discs
· New Steering wheel – mine suffered the common pealing problem. I found a second hand one with orange stitching on eBay, and my local garage fitted it at the last service.
· New Battery – the car’s only breakdown – where it lost power and eventually ground to a halt at about 70,000 miles.
· New cambelt and waterpump at 76,000 miles
It was serviced at the main dealer (SGM of Southampton) for the first three years and I can’t fault them either, but since it’s been out of warranty I’ve moved to a local independent garage since, but it’s always serviced at 18,000 mile intervals.
There have only been a couple of niggles:
· I fitted a arm rest as I really missed having one.
· The front driver’s seat has torn a bit at the base of the backrest recently, I guess this is just wear and tear.
· It’s not always easy to engage reverse gear, and I know that’s a common grumble with the T-Jet anyway.
· The paintwork has faded a bit, particularly on the plastics but you don’t notice until you open the bonnet and see the contrast between those bits of plastic exposed to the elements and those protected by the bonnet.
· It’s peppered with stone chips over the front bumper and bonnet
· There are a few creaks now, the clutch pedal is quite squeaky at times, but generally it’s survived pretty well, it’s not that badly screwed together.
I’m used to keeping cars for two years before changing them, so to get into its sixth year, just shows how much I’ve enjoyed it. Overall, it was a good choice and has so far done me well.
So, will I be replacing it? Well, we’re just completing the purchase of a new house, so it’s likely to have to see me through until the next MOT in November as money will be a bit tight. It’ll probably be showing around 120k by then. Next time it will be a diesel next time and I’ve been keen on a Alfa 159 2.4 for a while, or maybe a Bravo 2.0 Sport. Not sure yet, it’ll be second hand this time though.
