The inevitable has happened. My old Felicia estate has succumbed to a bunch of things at the same time - thermostat packed up, exhaust split at catalyst, rear wiper on the blink, etc. So should it go to the breaker's yard or shall I spend money on a high miler?

Typically it's just got a year's tax and MOT.

Just think, how much will those relatively minor things cost to fix v. purchasing another car with an unknown history.

I was in the same dilema when the auto box went on my mondeo, was going to scrap it but in the end got it fixed because the costs. If you scrap the car you get a tiny sum if anything from the scrap dealer, who will if thats all thats wrong with it fix it and sell for a big profit. You will also then need to find what is most likely more money than the current repairs cost to get another car with who know what maybe wrong with it. As it has 12months tax and MOT it cant be to bad, I say fix those issues. Thermostat is a few quid, and a cat should be around 120ish from an ATS type place.

If you are up for it DIY the rear wiper and thermostat and exhaust tape/wrap the exhaust until you can afford ot pay for it to be done.

They do proper exhaust things now with metal support brackets to held the thing together too for not much.

Yep, I say the stat is definitely worth doing, and use good coolant too, G12 plus is the stuff - it will prolong head gasket failure if nothing else!!! Total cost, under £20 and 1hr of your time.

Rear wiper - is it worth fixing? Could be a number of things, the switch, motor, wiring between the two...

As for the CAT, if its a 1.3, then you are looking at not a lot of money, certainly under £100. As said above, some exhaust wrap could be the answer here!

Rear wiper - is it worth fixing? Could be a number of things, the switch, motor, wiring between the two...

Yeah i;'d check things like the relay etc, but from experience with them on older cars you can get the motor, relay and switch from a breaker for about

Cheers guys. The cat seems to have rusted through rather than gone at the join. A quick look at at the Butts catalogue suggested the cat and pipe was £249 + postage. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong column?

Hi is this any good ?

eBay.co.uk: CATALYTIC CONVERTER SKODA FELICIA FAVORIT CUBE PICK UP (item 140075493836 end time 16-May-07 21:01:52 BST)

Thanks All. I've just had some work done on the estate and will keep it for a while. Sod's Law dictated that my wife's Felicia went up the Swannee in the same week. She's had it from new in '97 and it has 112k on the clock. Apparently the oil light had been showing and she'd been topping it up.

She insisted I put some in the other night, followed by clouds of white smoke. Looks like there was too much in already and we've blown a head gasket. Surely there's no point in keeping such a high miler on the road?

Any estimates on a blown head (if that's all it is)?

Thanks All. I've just had some work done on the estate and will keep it for a while. Sod's Law dictated that my wife's Felicia went up the Swannee in the same week. She's had it from new in '97 and it has 112k on the clock. Apparently the oil light had been showing and she'd been topping it up.

She insisted I put some in the other night, followed by clouds of white smoke. Looks like there was too much in already and we've blown a head gasket. Surely there's no point in keeping such a high miler on the road?

Any estimates on a blown head (if that's all it is)?

Of course there's a point! Those old engines rattle on for ages, a head gasket is no big deal. If it's done all those miles already it just proves it's determined to live! If you're handy with general DIY stuff then have a go at it yourself, there isn't a simplier engine to work on. A gasket set will cost you less than