Hi

Firstly, I will apologise in advance for such a lengthy thread, as I need your thoughts to help me make a big decision on whether to stick with the Fabia or to sell it!

Over the past couple of months I have had some extremely bad luck with this Fabia. Firstly, the turbo popped about mid September. Then I got it back and 4 days later it’s the jam in the middle of a three car pile-up! I finally got the car back mid October and since then I’ve replaced a few turbo pipes due to splits and now it appears this brand new Garrett PD130 turbo is faulty! I’ve got the dreaded Police siren noise!! To accompany this issue my central locking system is playing up too. Sometimes I can’t get into the boot, which is annoying the hell out of me!

So far this car has set me back about £1500 and looks like it’s going to cost another £1500 by the time I’ve replaced the turbo and intercooler including labour costs. I do have the car booked into Awesome GTI for a diagnostic test, as they will put a camera into the turbo housing to see if any impellers are damaged. I then have the central locking issue which may cost some, dependant on the fault and the auto electrician’s costs!!

Due to all this bad luck and financial hole in my pocket, my wife has asked me to sell the car as it seems to be the only thing we talk about these days. Recently, we’ve moved into the in-laws to save a house deposit, which isn’t happening right now due to keep paying out for this car.

You may say stick with it and replace the turbo. But what’s next? I would’ve spent more on this car than it’s actually worth. I’ve got to remember its over 8 years old, so anything else could likely be ready to be replaced.

At the minute my thoughts are to either stick with it until the turbo pops again, which could possibly be in the next few days/weeks/months or to sell it for probably not much money!

Based on the information above, what are your thoughts on this?

1. Pursue it until the turbo pops next time and sell for peanuts

2. Pursue it until the turbo pops next time and replace the turbo/intercooler + sort the other bits

3. Sell it now

Cheers

Depends what you want the car for...

I personally need mine to for 4-5 people and reliable on the big roads. I can afford to have some power with it but if I really couldn't, then I would look at something temporary, bigger and slower like an octy mk1 sdi. Pure a-b car, but not saying they won't have their own problems. Depends if you got the time to hunt for a reliable one, sort the insurance, sell your current one etc.. Time=money=time..

In terms of the missus, I don't entertain her with car problems generally :p unless she's ready for bed.

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To add, a good example is that a friend of mine spent 1k on cars over the 3 years in uni by buying cheap bangers.. Running it till mot is up, sell, buy another etc.. Cheaper than the bus, but possibly spent as much time looking for a car as waiting for late buses!

(his last car was an mx5 and kept it as a trophy/toy).

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A mate of mine has done the above for 6 years, buys a banger, runs it dead, scraps it. Buys another, only taxes it if he think itl last the 6 months if not it gets scrapped, doesnt spend money on them at all, saves him a fortune!

Once you have your problems sorted the car will be good for 200k miles if maintained (oil changes etc) surely the cost over that kind of distance is not too much of a problem? (Looking at the long term)

It depends how your finances are otherwise.

If you can only afford a similar age/mileage car it's tempting to just keep what you've got and resolve the problems, better the devil you know etc. I

f you can afford to go newer/low mileage/better running costs it might be worth selling it on now.

It depends how your finances are otherwise.

If you can only afford a similar age/mileage car it's tempting to just keep what you've got and resolve the problems, better the devil you know etc. I

f you can afford to go newer/low mileage/better running costs it might be worth selling it on now.

Well, it's funny you should mention that! I was speaking to the Mrs last night and we agreed that, if I was to get another car, I will be no older than 12 months. However, this would mean getting some form of loan to fund it.

All my wife keeps saying is 'no more turbo cars'! That rules out diesels, which limits my market! The Mrs also doesn't want to buy another aged car as we could be back to square one. I totally agree with that statement, so there wouldn't be any point in selling my car.

So at the minute it's either, run the car into the ground, hoping the turbo holds out for a long period of time, sell it now or trade in and buy a nearly new car! :think:

To add, a good example is that a friend of mine spent 1k on cars over the 3 years in uni by buying cheap bangers.. Running it till mot is up, sell, buy another etc.. Cheaper than the bus, but possibly spent as much time looking for a car as waiting for late buses!

(his last car was an mx5 and kept it as a trophy/toy).

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A mate of mine has done the above for 6 years, buys a banger, runs it dead, scraps it. Buys another, only taxes it if he think itl last the 6 months if not it gets scrapped, doesnt spend money on them at all, saves him a fortune!

This does sound like a plan, but with reference to my post above, the wife won't allow me to buy a car that's over 12 months old! How can I sell this to her?

Edited 14 November, 201213 yr by Mounty

You could argue that any time is bad to sell a car. I've been considering selling up, so I've been watching the market for the last couple of months. It's definitely not a sellers market at the moment.

On the flip side you could bag a bargain?

Tricky I'm afraid...

What value do you think I'd fetch for mine based on this turbo issue?

It's a silver 54 reg, 86k, Awesome remap, H&R springs, new shockers, brakes & discs all round, alloys fully refurbed 6 months ago, full service history and two previous owners. Car is in good condition for year. No rust, just a few scratches here and there (nothing major as i usually spend time getting them out) and a few stone chips on the bonnet. Would I be lucky to get £3.5k based on my current issue or not?

What value do you think I'd fetch for mine based on this turbo issue?

It's a silver 54 reg, 86k, Awesome remap, H&R springs, new shockers, brakes & discs all round, alloys fully refurbed 6 months ago, full service history and two previous owners. Car is in good condition for year. No rust, just a few scratches here and there (nothing major as i usually spend time getting them out) and a few stone chips on the bonnet. Would I be lucky to get £3.5k based on my current issue or not?

I'd say about that but more if the cambelt has been done to?

If it was me i'd keep it, work through the problems and as said it will be good for a long time. If your turbo is brand new surely you have a guarantee to fall back on? if it was me i'd get rid of the awesome map if two turbos have been eaten. :(

If you bought a 12 month old car you'd loose more in depreciation on that than you would to keep yours on the road. If your saving up for a deposit you could add the extra expense of a new car and put it toward the deposit instead?

Have I missed something, or are you saying the brand new turbo is failing? Surely it's still under warranty?

If you sell it now with a broken turbo you'll get nothing for it. So fix it firstly (as above if turbo is under warranty get them to replace it). Turbos arnt disposable, replace it and it should be good for the rest of the time you own the car. Same with any car.

After its fixed its up to you really, you may have spent loads on it, but that should be all the expensive jobs are done and you'll have a good few years of cheap motoring ahead. I replaced the clutch/turbo/gearbox on mine in the first couple of years, but that's been it, nothing expensive left to go. You could buy another newer car and still inherit someone else's problems. At the rate things are going I don't know how many non turbo cars will be available in a few years lol.

I'd say about that but more if the cambelt has been done to?

If it was me i'd keep it, work through the problems and as said it will be good for a long time. If your turbo is brand new surely you have a guarantee to fall back on? if it was me i'd get rid of the awesome map if two turbos have been eaten. :(

If you bought a 12 month old car you'd loose more in depreciation on that than you would to keep yours on the road. If your saving up for a deposit you could add the extra expense of a new car and put it toward the deposit instead?

Have I missed something, or are you saying the brand new turbo is failing? Surely it's still under warranty?

The cambelt was replaced at 68k in October 2010, so it has been done fairly recently.

WIth regards to the warranty on the turbo, I've spokent to them and their comments were:

"If it is the turbocharger that is defective of faulty, we will replace the turbocharger free of charge. Whilst this is possible and does happen, over 95% of the time the issue is likely to be as a result of an outside influence – which is not covered by us and therefore we would not pay out for a replacement. I know this sounds like the usual warranty excuses, but ultimately it is true! Turbochargers very rarely go wrong.

Unfortunately with this type of turbocharger there is no safe or genuine (in that you cannot source any genuine parts) way to overhaul the turbocharger. If it is stripped for inspection, regardless of the outcome, we will not be able to put it back together and a new unit will be required."

I like your comment Phil about the new car thing. That totally makes sense and I can now use this statement with my wife.

Edited 15 November, 201213 yr by Mounty

My 2p's worth: keep it, get the bits done and think of it as better the devil u know.

Ps. I have a battered yr 2000 vauxhall combo van, MOT failed sitting on the drive all sad. Still can't bring myself to sell or scrap her. She's like a good old faithful dog, riddled with sickness, but u just can't put down :-(

Sounds good mate, liking that too

Think it's just a case of bearing with things. Just makes me wonder what's next though, due to all my recent bad luck!!