You're entitled to your opinion "Sarah", just as we are entitled to ours. My Captiva has been thoroughly reliable apart from whatI would consider to be a lower thanaverage level of relatively minor faults over the 2 and a bit years that I've owned it, tyhe majority of which were repaired under warranty.
I agree that the dealers are shocking, but thenI think most dealers are- there are good ones out there, but they're not easy to track down, certainly not as easy as they should be! I think what they charge is obscene when you take it against what they pay their staff and the poor level of service that they give, andI speak as the son of a father who spent his entire life working in the motor trade and as someone who appreciates the skills of the seemingly few workers in that trade currently who have any clue what they're doing. I've had the condescending conversations too.
I need the seating capacity of my 7 seater, so what shouldI choose in it's place? I could have a renault scenile, a Ford S Max at twice the price, a citroen grand picasso- really? All motoring without an unlimited budget is a compromise. I'm full aware of the Captiva's shortcomings and still consider it to be the best compromise for my needs. Now, you may not agree and that's your perogative. I know lots of people who rave about cars thati wouldn't be seen dead in, but that's the joy of the human condition, we each get to make up our own mind.