Looking at '08 Jazz manual with <18k miles

[guest4283]

Hello,

Firstly may I praise this nicely ordered forum, very good info, well presented.

I'm looking to replace my current car 16yr Toyota with the Jazz. But I'm very put off by the gearbox bearing issue, and a bit put off by the leaking cabin issues. I've tried car out and seems to suffer a bit from the ERG value issue (an easy fix I read in this forum). The power steering issue is also a concern.

The gearbox issue is worrying me though. I have thought I'd try for a '06 petrol 1.8 Civic but after reading about rust breaking out on people's roofs, I'm not too impressed here either.

I'm just shocked that Honda make it into the top 3 of reliability surveys yet when you check the forums you see all the problems. Could it be that the surveys only include cars under 3years old? I would be looking to buy a 6year old car and keeping it for at least 6 years if not longer! I would be doing the fluid changes myself.

[guest3824]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I bought a jazz this year and tried the 1.4 on both the gd and ge versions and preferred the way the engine behaved on the ge, it just seemed smoother and had a better pull at lower revs. If you can scrape the extra bunce together I'd go for the GE.

I also test drove a 1.2 and, although it was milano red, it seemed too sluggish for me pulling away and getting up to traffic flow speed.

[Pugsley]

Welcome to the forum. 

I've just got rid of my 08 Jazz (56k miles), px'd for a 2012 1.4i-VTEC ES.  Like you, I looked at a Civic but found that my wife and I didn't fit it all that well because we are both tall!  The thing about the Jazz is that it is a bit like Marmite, you either love or hate them, not many are indifferent.  With sites like Club Jazz, people post if they have had problems or need advice, but that doesn't make the car bad, it just means some have had problems.  Other posts on here having nothing but good to say about the make.

What attracted me to the Jazz was it's reliability and fuel economy and the fact that you still see loads of them on the road in vgc at over a decade old. Bottom line, if you like the one you are looking at, give it a go, I don't think you will be disappointed. I have personally not had any of the issues posted here on either Jazz I have owned.

Incidently, with the back seats down, I recently managed to get two fridges in with a bit of wriggle room at the sides. The Jazz really is cavernous inside, a feature I personally love.

[guest1521]

If price is an issue, test-drive the (cheaper) 1.2. Though badged '1.4' it is, at 1339cc, close to a 1.3. The 1.2 is almost exactly 1.2 at 1198cc. Power is just 10% difference - 0-62mph 12.7 secs vs 11.5 secs.

[guest3735]

with regards to my experience, i was lucky enough to be present when my mum ordered her GD. i picked the colour and the registration. two years later it was mine, so i know everything that has been done to it. i have to say that in 55k of my ownership,now 70k total, i've had a porous alloy (bought another) one sticking caliper (seal kit) and three scheduled recalls (soon to be four) done come service time. in my view, that's as good as things are probably going to get.... it still purrs along sipping fuel and i know that i can go anywhere i want and it will be reliable.
as pugsley says, there's loads of space in the back. my version of packing is a 9 man tent, three weeks worth of camping equipment, three people and still had a bit of room.... was thinking of a van as my boy is taking up body boarding but i don't think i need to bother just yet....

[guest4283]

Ok thanks for the info. Glad to hear you didn't have issues with gearbox!

I really like the car from a practical point of view the 'magic seats' are fantastic!

One thing did scare me though. The petrol cap is not lockable and does not have an internal release lever! I sure would want to fit a lockable one if I purchased it.

Also how expensive are tires? I've read that because of the odd size they are £100 a pop. My current car has massive 150mph p6's and only cost £80!

[guest3895]

On my 2013 1.4 EX CVT  the petrol cap is lockable. It locks with the central locking and can only be opened when the car is unlocked. But it would be nice to have a standby bit of string inside the boot to pull on if ever it won't open.

[Pugsley]

On the tyre price, I guess it depends how much your local tyre suppliers charge.  I did mostly local mileage in the 08 jazz and ran on economy tyres at £55 each from my local tyre shop in Essex. Obviously you can pay more depending on the quality of tyre.

[guest1521]

I found this 'local' tyre shop had surprisingly good prices - at least back in early April when I had a pair of new tyres fitted and tracking reset. http://www.atseuromaster.co.uk/


And 'mytyres' has a great value, wide choice. Convenient online order, deliver to your door (or to your preferred location) and through their website they advise of 'fitting partners' in your locality. Or at least that was my entirely satisfactory experience when I used them about a year ago. http://www.mytyres.co.uk/

[guest4019]

I'm just shocked that Honda make it into the top 3 of reliability surveys yet when you check the forums you see all the problems. Could it be that the surveys only include cars under 3years old?

I think it's more to do with the fact that very few people sign up to a forum just to say
"Hi,
My car is fine, no problems to report".

However, if your car gets a problem, some people will think straight away to come to a forum and either complain or ask for advice.

Simply put, no matter what car you get, you'll find a forum with people posting problems.

[guest2662]

well said minnis, exactly right.

[culzean]

I'm just shocked that Honda make it into the top 3 of reliability surveys yet when you check the forums you see all the problems. Could it be that the surveys only include cars under 3years old? I would be looking to buy a 6year old car and keeping it for at least 6 years if not longer! I would be doing the fluid changes myself.

have a look around t'internet at forums for other makes of cars, you may be surprised at the problems reported there - even the redoubtable Toyota Yaris has its fair share of gearbox and other problems, but without the benefits of all the lovely space and practicality of the Jazz. 

[Pugsley]

That's it then, we all love our Jazzes! (if that is the plural of Jazz)

[madasafish]

have a look around t'internet at forums for other makes of cars, you may be surprised at the problems reported there - even the redoubtable Toyota Yaris has its fair share of gearbox and other problems, but without the benefits of all the lovely space and practicality of the Jazz.

Too true.. being a member of both forums and our household having 2 x Mark1 Yaris and 1 x Jazz.



Most models have some weak points: the key thing is whether they are design faults and what do the manufacturers do. Both Honda and Toyota extend warranties on design issues . If you really want to know how BAD a manufacturer can be, read http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=91541  on the Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI issues  and how the poor owners have to rely on a website to give them details of the manufacturer's own issued technical bulletins so teh Ford Dealers can sort the problem out!

And look at the number of posts - some 260+.

And compared to some, Ford are quite good. Try looking at mid 2002-2007 Renault diesels and the associated electronics.. (See also Peugeot/Citroen)


Our Yarises have been trouble free apart from misuse on son's..

[culzean]

I think it's more to do with the fact that very few people sign up to a forum just to say
"Hi,
My car is fine, no problems to report".

However, if your car gets a problem, some people will think straight away to come to a forum and either complain or ask for advice.

Simply put, no matter what car you get, you'll find a forum with people posting problems.

same with internet reviews on cameras and the like,  it is usually either 10 out of 10 or 1 out of 10 - don't seem too many in the middle  - just the people who are ecstatically happy with their purchase or the ones who say it is the worst piece of junk they ever had in their life