Time to give up

[BantamBoy]

Hi,

Sorry to trouble you folks but I have a simple question - I hope!

I have a Fabia 1.9 SDi and it is 7 years old and has done 83000 miles. In the last year I have shelled out almost a grand on repairs - back brake system failure, bump stops, door microswitches, key coding, bushes etc.

The clutch is starting to slip and I have been quoted 475 quid for fitting a new clutch at an official dealer. The car also (somehow) managed to get to 83,000 miles without anyone ever asking or notifying me about the need for a new timing belt to be fitted. I have been told that the new itnervals are at 4 years old or 93,000 miles.

In summary, the next bill for a new timing belt, water pump and clutch is about 750 quid. The car is only worth about 2k and I think its just turning into a cash cow for my Skoda franchise.

Has anyone else had experience of Skodas starting to become unreliable at this sort of mileage etc.

Chas

[vRSLen]

Welcome

Thinking back to when I started driving, cars would never attain that kind of mileage without a total re-build

[PeteVRS]

7 years and over 80,000 miles is pretty good going by today's standards and particularly for a cheaper make. With my previous cars my Peugeot went tits up at 45k and my Vectra at 40k (both at about five years old).

You're at that stage with any car when bits and bobs start going wrong, it's the point when I normally give up and replace it. As you say, when your car is only worth £2k why spend too much money. My Vectra was worth £2k and needed £1k of work on new HT leads and some other stuff I can't remember so I traded it in for my Skoda.

[BantamBoy]

Pete,

thanks for your thoughts mate. Its just an unsuitable time for making new investments in a new or fairly new car. However, if i spend the money and then more things go wrong I will be very upset.

Thanks again

Chas

[BantamBoy]

Hi,

Just to confirm. I was saying that is i spend money on my Fabia and then more goes wrong or shows up at MOT in October then I would feel upset and foolish for investing in a car on its way out.

Chas

[Timelord1.9Tdi]

Most dealers are feeling the pinch at the moment so are over charging, at work someone filled up petrol into a diesel Navara, and kept driving it until the pump split. Took it to a dealer and they basically quoted a rebuild of the engine at a cost of £9,800 so we recovered to Fleet Works and or tech guys can fix it for £730 if this is not a plain pish take I am notsure what is, I have also had issue's with several oter brands, so as I said they are feeling the pinch, look for a small independant (busy) workshop, you'll probally get a bette deal:D

Timelord

[skodakid]

I'm sure if you shop around some other dealers (by phone of course), you'll be offered a much better deal on repairs. My local dealer service manager said they would try to price match anyone local. The benefit to me is they use genuine Skoda parts and repairs/work are guaranteed for 2 years. I had brake pads/discs/ fluid change and an MOT for £230 which I thought reasonable, considering my car had done 75,000 miles in 5 years on the originals. Brakes, clutches, cambelts are all items that you can expect to change at around 5 year intervals on most cars (maybe if you are gentle you could get somewhat longer)

I understand how you feel, however cambelt/water pump (not sure if you really need a new water pump) is a once every 4/5 year expense and clutch is (for you) a once every 80,000 mile expense. You need to have these items done anyway to optimise the value of your car if you want to sell.

[MoggyTech]

Not wanting to sound picky here, but people can't expect cars to live forever. All moving parts wear over time, and a clutch at that mileage is good going, same for the cambelt.

30 years ago, a decoke was needed quite often, and bottom end rebuilds at 60,000 miles were common. Back in 1969 a Morris 1000 cost £600 which was probably a years wages for most people. Small hatch now £9K and wages around 20 to 30K. Cars are cheap (well sensible ones are.)

So it looks like we have reached throw away cars now :rotz:

[DayVe]

With the car now being worth a lesser amount have you not considered going elsewhere other then the main dealership? In the past on old, not so valuable cars ive well over half the price from main dealers on jobs!

[wja96]

Where are you based? Most independents are a bit cheaper than official dealers on labour, but much cheaper on genuine parts. If you live anywhere near Milton Keynes then you are really spoilt for choice (at least half a dozen decent independents) and I hear Alex Laurie Skoda in Liverpool are extremely competitive if you're anywhere near them.

£700 spent on a car worth £2000 might seem like a lot, but you know the car and the things that are wrong with it are normal wear and tear items, not unexpected failures.

To buy another car would be much more than £700 and you could potentially buy yourself a load of trouble anyway.

[Tailhappy]

I am in the camp where I feel that it is worth spending money on cars. I look at it like this. Even if you were to spend £3000 over a couple of years replacing major components and getting your car ready for another 5 years or so of motoring, you end up with a car you know has been cared for, has no issues and owes nothing. You will end up being better off and have more cash in your pocket than if you went for a new/nearly new example. Keep it well polished and clean and you can be proud of it too.

[Babs]

Sounds as if it's just not been maintained properly to me...

[cam7777]

My car is nearly 6 years old and covered 104k miles.

I would never consider taking my car to a main dealer as they would rub their hands in glee.

Cambelts are general items that need doing every 60k and should be about £200 from an independant.

I doubt the clutch would be any more than £250 so bearing that in mind, I would spend on it and get another few years out of it.

I believe the SDi can rack up impressive mileages so I would invest and enjoy.

All cars go wrong and cost money.

As you have spent a grand already you are fairly commited (unless you have loads of excess cash)

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[skomaz]

At seven years at 83,000 miles it should have a lot of life in it yet - ours is 9 years and 117,000 miles. It's had a few niggles but still drives really well with no rattles, although it is starting to feel like it could do with new shock absorbers as it's getting a bit bouncy.

[yegnold]

My brother's got one on 134,000 miles.. only problems we had when we bought it were leaking shock absorbers on the rear, and a broken engine mount - not too shabby!

[skudmissile]

Let me Know if you decide to get shut. ill take it off your hands

[skomaz]

7 years and over 80,000 miles is pretty good going by today's standards and particularly for a cheaper make. With my previous cars my Peugeot went tits up at 45k and my Vectra at 40k (both at about five years old).

I beg to differ but cars are better made now than they have ever been and a whole lot more reliable. 7 years and 83,000 miles is not much for a well designed modern car - but would have been for something 20 years ago!

With regard to the Peugeot and Vectra - I think you'll find that's just Peugeot and Vauxhall for you!

[skomaz]

The car also (somehow) managed to get to 83,000 miles without anyone ever asking or notifying me about the need for a new timing belt to be fitted. I have been told that the new itnervals are at 4 years old or 93,000 miles.

The advice changed for ll VW's recently - I recall it used to be 5 years and 80,000 miles but has now been reduced to 4 years and 60,000 miles (possibly to reduce the risk of failures) but our TDi was in a similar situation and managed 80k miles on the first cam belt.

[Fab Estate]

For a 7 year old car I wouldn't bother going to a main dealer that would save a lot of money.

[PeteVRS]

With regard to the Peugeot and Vectra - I think you'll find that's just Peugeot and Vauxhall for you!

Yep, well the Pug was just a 1.1 petrol so not designed to be thrashed, I was not really surprised at its short lifespan (I was a lot younger then and driving like a knob). That's why the Vectra was a bit more sporty - a 2.5 V6 - hoped it would last a bit better - it did last a good five years of trouble free motoring before it started to go wrong and maybe I was unlucky in that all the problems were expensive ones. One of the things that swayed me towards Skoda was the generally good comments in places like this.

Why is it that the problems only start when you have just finished paying off the loan? You know when you're thinking, from next month the car will be "free". Then something goes wrong!

[MoggyTech]

Why is it that the problems only start when you have just finished paying off the loan? You know when you're thinking, from next month the car will be "free". Then something goes wrong!

Two laws involved with that, Sod and Murphy

[rum4mo]

I am in the camp where I feel that it is worth spending money on cars. I look at it like this. Even if you were to spend £3000 over a couple of years replacing major components and getting your car ready for another 5 years or so of motoring.

I totally agree with that sentiment, this idea of not being able to justify spending £1000 on a car with a current market price of say £3000 just does not hold any water - even as the belief is that its still a £3000 car, to replace it with another car that is still going to go or is nearly there already will cost a lot more. What most DIYers that run what starts off as newish cars for a longish time should really concentrate on the total cost of ownership and budget for maybe £2000 >£3000 (depending on car size) money "grabs" on average per year of ownership - including the initial buying costs, as I've read elsewhere, true if not just a bit hurtful, if you can't afford that then you really can not afford to have a car!

My previous pair of family cars were a Fiesta 1.6Si and a Cavalier 2.0 GSI 4X4 and both of them managed to stay within my desired "money spend" over the 8>9 years of ownership. Current pair of family cars bought new Polo 9N 1,4SE and Passat B5 2.8HL do cost money but seem to be within what I'd hope they would be (roughly £1750/year for the Polo over 10 years and £2500/year for the Passat over 10 years) - the Polo is 6.75 years old and the Passat is just over 9.00 years old.

Edited 28 June, 2009 by rum4mo

[chrisw880]

Mine just failed its MOT on siezing rear brakes (discs) and emissions, then I found out the car has a knocking sound coming from the front (which wasn't even picked up on the MOT), also my car is 9 years old and has 88200 miles on the clock

[Ricko]

Interesting discussion about how they last now compared to what they used to be like .....

In the old days if you bought an Escort or something similar, you expected the thing to drop to bits from rust about the same time as the mechanicals and electrics died. 60K and 7 years was about as much as anyone expected unless you got a complete engine rebuild and lots of welding. After that point it was a case of throwing good money after bad as the cars were worthless at that age.

Nowadays the bodywork lasts so long that we've almost forgotten the mechanicals still need maintaining ....

Still, many people have had 200K miles and more on 1.9 Sdi's and TDi's if they are properly maintained

[rum4mo]

I think that it is a case nowadays that modern cars give you maybe £0.0 spend for the first two or three years - then hit you with £1500 unexpected repair bills - frequently. Talking of the "old days", decokes might be needed every 4 years along with a complete change of cooling pipes and brake flexi and rigid pipes, then the clutch plate would die along with the complete exhaust - then maybe a steering box for good measure, it all seemed to a DIYer at least, that you were quietly drip feeding your car with money - and we accepted that, so normally very few BIG money hits.