Faults:
The leather seats were completely worn out when I bought the car, just use some ugly gray seat covers to avoid the mess.
The man who sold me the car claimed to have replaced the timing belt at 90K miles, but I didn't really trust him, so I replaced the belt, along with all the fluids in the car, the spark plugs, and adjusted the valves. I recommend doing this if you buy this or any similar car, but please, do yourself a favor and replace the water pump while you have everything removed. I took a gamble on the water pump, and at about 115K it finally went. Proper maintenance (ie changing the water pump along with the timing belt) would have prevented this.
Also around 115K, A CV joint came apart, also replaced an axle.
The taillights leak when it rains, I have not gone to the trouble of replacing the gaskets though, as I probably should. I just dry the trunk with a towel after a good rain. I've been sealing various leaks with silicone glue, which has greatly decreased the leak, but I have yet to completely solve the problem.
The (front?) rotors are beginning warp (wobble in the steering wheel under braking), this needs to be adressed, but they still have some life left.
Replaced the master cylinder at about 115K.
General Comments:
The automatic transmission is nice in the city.. but performance wise can be annoying. Even still, the car is fun to drive, and power is about right.
The ride is a little stiff.
Brakes are excellent.. but I need to replace the rotors and probably pads as well.
Back seats are tight.. but its not so bad once you get back there. The hatchback design is great: fun to drive, easily seats 4, and can easily be converted to a 30MPG pickup truck.
Gas mileage is quite nice, even with the auto.
1st Jan 2006, 08:39
That sqeak in your clutch is actually a spring that is working its way loose inside the transmission. It is a hard problem to diagnose, but it will keep you from having to replace the tranny. I went through the trouble of having the entire clutch replaced, master, slave and all and it still squeaked. Good Luck!