I looked in to the factory a couple of years back and noticed an apprentice struggling to staple some leather around the scuttle. The conclusion reached was of something being cobbled together by hand and totally dependant on a quality controller happening to notice or not notice any flaws.
The second hand 4/4 I bought privately was being sold by a gentleman who probably believed a grease gun required a gun licence. In under 7000 miles he had had to spend about £800 on the front suspension (new SS kingpin and a front brake disk).
In my hands no further issues of any sort at 34,000 miles and it has not seen a mechanic at all except for its' MOTs.
I would not dream of spending on a new one from the factory without an AA vehicle independant pre-delivery check. I have also read in these pages of one German buyer who got better treatment from the factory than he would have if he were a UK buyer.
Is the answer to buy through a Beijing or EU dealership and import back to the UK!
I would say an essential pre-requisit to ownership is an ability to tackle some basic diy maintenance or know of a dependable friendly garage that could be trusted to look after this endangered species of classic motor.
Graham T.
