I've read through a few posts today and it's given me some cause for alarm.
On a basic level, most of us are all here for one reason; we want to look after our Elgrand.
When you read through a forum you are going to get a lot of bias from owners, and you'll hear great reviews about the cars (The Good)... you will also hear stories about breakdowns and "help me quick posts" (The Bad)... and you will also hear about the dreaded cat issue (The Ugly).
As a new member to this forum you need to learn to take things on board without allowing panic to set in.
We've got nearly 6000 members. MOST of those members have had effortless, trouble free motoring. But it's NOT common place (albeit there is currently an effort in place to correct this) where people post "I went to the shops today, no dramas". What is common place is if you WERE to have an issue is to see "I went to the shops today and I broke down, help".
Don't allow negative comments from owners to put you off looking at or buying an Elgrand. What you need to take from that is that these people are asking questions NOW and getting help NOW. There is a whole community of people who all pull togehter to help people through a breakdown. I've had ONE breakdown in 5 years of Elgrand ownership... and 3 days later (well, 10 days later, but 7 of them I was on holiday), my Elgrand was back on the road and has purred like a kitten ever since. My MPG has even improved!! I would not have been able to do that if I had not publicly asked about my issue and gleaned knowledge from those who have it.
Look at the meets we have, the shows we attend... see how many people are there. Not many other clubs have a community like this one.
No, the Elgrand is not bulletproof. NO car is bulletproof. You will get issues and problems with ANY car you get, after all they are all just metal, plastic and rubber... and eventually things don't work as they should.
You will always see more negative on a forum than positive, purely because people share bad news, but don't share good news (generally).
I mean how often do you go to your doctor just to tell them that you are absolutely fine and there are no issues? You don't. Why? No on needs to know that you've been successfully managing your weight, your bowel movements are good and regular, and you sleep fine every night.
I've been told countless times that this community has been a lifeline. THAT is the message you should take from anything you read. Look at how many replies people get to problems. Look at how much discussion goes on. Look at how the community guide people through problems and get them to a solution.
If you make all your decisions based on worst case "what if's"... you'll never enjoy the best things in life
