For every car made there is an equal amount of lovers and haters of it. I know people who drive expensive, supposedly reliable cars who tell me it's the worst car they've had and vice versa.
Of course, if you come on a single marque forum, slagging off the vehicle in question, it is usually taken as a personal criticism by the owners in their choice of vehicle.
We all buy our cars for various reasons. Some buy them because they love the styling, some because they love the image, some because they can't afford anything else, some because the insurance was best on that type, some because they had read a good review, or were fleeced by the salesman. Whatever reason, these forums and groups are designed so that users who share a common interest can share information, hints, tips and make friends with like minded individuals.
The company I currently have a contract with, supply me with a car whenever I need to travel, and living in deepest, darkest Norfolk, that's most of the time. Now, in the last year I have driven Toyota Corrola T3's, Peugeot 206 SW's, 307 HDI 1.4 & 2.0, Vauxhall Astras & Meriva's, Ford Focus, Renault Megane's and some others I can't recall. Given the mileage I have to do, I get pretty well acquainted with these vehicles and have my favourites and ones I try to avoid. I therefore feel I am in a position to make some good judgements on these cars as I get to drive them all and compare their good points and bad points. In fact, I think I could create my perfect car from bits of all of them. The handling of the Focus, the seating of the Corolla, the fun of the Megane, the smoothness of the 307.....they all have something I like and something I don't....well, maybe except for the Vauxhall Ashtray, sorry, Astra
Now, my point here is that having driven these cars for lengthy periods, I don't find the need to go on Astra users forums or Focus users forums and slag off the car or even praise it. If someone asks me, I'll tell them.
As Alan rightly points out, you invariably get posts on these forums when something goes wrong, and I disagree with "M" when he says it's a pointless statement. If everything is going smoothly and well, no-one says anything. You don't see people posting on here saying "I got in my car this morning, started her up and drove to work and nothing bad happened at all. Everything worked ok. No problems." Because, as the Honda advert says, the better something works, the more we take it for granted. It's only when something goes wrong that we feel a need to speak up and seek help, assistance and guidance. If you count the times there is a report on the news about
bad NHS service compared to when people experience
good service, it will be 5-1 in favour of the bad news (my estimate, anyway). I am under permanent treatment with the NHS for a life long sleeping disorder and have received nothing but excellent service and treatment. My 9 week old daughter was born in an NHS hospital and we received impeccable treatment and service in there. I thanked the individuals personally but that's as far as it went. Now, had I received poor treatment, had my daughter or partner suffered in there, it would be all over the news.
So, the balance of "Everything is fine" posts to "Everything is wrong" posts is naturally going to be in favour of the negative.
As for the Bravo/a range, I had a wonderful time with my HGT, so I can't fault it. My Tipo was a bleedin' nightmare, both my Punto's were amazingly reliable, my Cinq was 50/50 and my Sei is as good as my Punto's. I've had good and bad experiences with FIAT, just as I have had good and bad experiences with all my other cars. And for every bad story I hear about a Bravo, I can tell you a bad one about any make of car you care to mention. Every time I see my brother in law, who is one of the most respected and decorated FIAT mechanics in the country, he is
always telling me the bad points of every FIAT I own. Understandable as all he does all day is fix the ones that have gone wrong !
There's nothing like a good healthy debate and you'll always get one here
As for Tom and his ****wit statements, in his defence (like he needs
me to do that for him) Tom is a highly experienced mechanic and 99.9 times out of a 100 he solves the problem presented to him. Tom also has his own inimitable style of conversation on here, and any of us that know him know that most of the time he has a smile on his face and tongue firmly planted in cheek when making his statements on here. But it is true, we get some people on here who have done some incredibly silly things and truly deserve the label of ****wit !! LOL
Tom has helped more people out on here than I care to remember and I feel glad to know that I can rely on him to answer my questions honestly and accurately.
Rob
The Temperature At Which Truth Burns
