Is it worth repairing this car...

[donglefan]

I have an L reg Ford Fiesta, 63 000 on clock, a fair bit of rust on body, had £300 of welding underneath at the last MoT.
MoT due next month and garage pre-check last week indicated that only max £30 of welding needed this year and it should pass.
Engine good, gearbox a bit stiff between 1st and 2nd, otherwise good.
Tyres OK.
Electrics OK although no longer beeps to tell me when I leave the lights on.

Just broken down, Green Flag mechanic informed me that a new alternator is needed and it will be 150 -200£.
Is it worth repairing? I could buy another second hand car for about £1000; would not like to spend more just now.
GF mechanic advised against a secondhand alternator. How do you get hold of secondhand car parts anyway, when your car is bust so you can't get to the scrapyard?

[Mookfish]

I think it is worth repairing, but ignore the green flag mechanic, it would be a waste of money to buy a new alternator for a 12 year old car.

As to getting a second hand one when your car's off the road, you could scrounge a lift off freinds/family, not an ideal choice. Otherwise try ebay, for a popular car you can probably find one off a scrap car for under £50 including postage. Or you could get the bus to the scrapyard, I did this once, got some disaproving looks from the old ladies on the bus.

[CA]

Go to

http://www.eta.co.uk/tools/carcalcstart.asp

add all the details of a new (or secondhand) car and also for your existing car.

This will then give the a yearly comparison for which one would be cheaper.

[mrbadexample]

£30 welding, £20 (ish) for 2nd hand alternator from scrappy = £50 for another years motoring. No reason why a 2nd hand alternator shouldn't last a year, and even if you got through 2 it's not that expensive.

I'd keep it going. You could spend your £1000 on a car only to find the alternator goes on that too. Or the starter motor. Or the water pump...you get the picture...

[donglefan]

Thanks guys. Friendly local garage can do me a new alternator for £60 so here's hoping that the starter, water pump etc are good for a while.

[lilac_lady]

I posted a similar questiona and got good advice. Don't spend any more on an MOT (including repairs) than 50% of the value of your car.

[nives316]

Don't spend any more on an MOT (including repairs) than 50% of the value of your car.

Than is a good way of looking at it.

[blue_haddock]

places to try for used car parts include

www.247spares.co.uk
www.findapart.co.uk
www.sniffydog.co.uk
www.breakeryard.co.uk
www.breakerlink.co.uk

Between those you can find virtually any part for any vehicle so you should be ok for your fiesta!

[trigger_mike]

Just about to sell a fiesta, my brother in law has just brought a new fiesta freedom and want's to sell his old fiesta, it's a L-red 1.3 LX, 2 owners from new, 43k, FSH, no rust at all, Met blue, mint condtion apart from a big dent in wing where a man backed into it and he's hoping to get £250 for it.

[icecoolbabe]

It depends how long you have had the car and how reliable it is the rest of the time.

A new alternator will still be cheaper than buying another car -especially a used car who's history you don't know.

My car is 10 this year - last year I had to spend £600 on it. I did this however because, I had owned the car from new, it has a full service history, there were no other problems and I am trying to pay my mortgage off and do not want anything else financially to put me off track of doing that.

[tomstickland]

I've had no gripes with paying reasonable money to keep a car on the road. It's not what it's worth to someone else, it's what it's worth to you. Plus, better the devil you know etc. However, I would probably draw the line at spending any more than £300 on Fiesta welding.

[Quinny]

Instead of getting a second hand alternator from a scrappy,with no guarantee that it'll work,seek out a re-conditioned one from a local service agent.You take yours in,and get the new one as an exchange unit,and you'll usually get a 12 month gurantee on it.


They're not rocket science to fit,usually 2 bolts,and a bar to get the tension right on the alternator belt,and then putting the plug back in.

The only thing that usually goes wrong on an alternator,are the brushes or the bearings,and these are replaced when re-conditioned.

I'm guessing that your local garage is supplying a re-con alternator,and you need to be asking the question.If he is,then it's not worth getting your spanners out for the price he's quoting you.

Keep us posted.

Ken.