Cambelt gone on Renault Scenic

Quickblood

I'm so guttted. Managed to get my first car today, a 1999 facelift Scenic for £1050. I was pretty pleased it wasn't perfect but didn't seem any better or worse than most I see advertised and was gonna fix the minor faults in time.
I had enough money in the budget to have the Cambelt and associated kit done by a Renault Specialist tomorrow but it went on my way home, on a dual carriageway, 5 minutes from home. Add to that it was during my first solo drive since passing my test. I feel utterly defeated cause I knew how important it was and it was first thing to do on my list. I almost started crying when the AA man told me what happened.

I'm just wondering now what my options are. I suspect it'll most likely be sold for spare parts but what's the best case scenario and assuming I can get a replacement engine for say £300 off ebay or whereever how much will it cost to have it fitted.

hewhoisnotintheknow

sooooo unlucky

Morning_Glory_2

It's not the end of the world. It may just need a few valves replacing. Worst case scenario is it needs a whole new engine. It just depends on what damage has been done.

Quickblood

I barley got any sleep last night, it's so maddening.:mad: The one thing that prevented me from buying a car for weeks was the lack of cars in my price range with evidence of the cambelt being changed.

So I figured if people can drive 100,000+ miles without failure surely I'd be able to do 50 and get it done, just my luck. Everyone will have a good laugh when they find out cause it is pretty funny but I can't see the funny side just yet.

Anyway I'll call a local garage and find out how much it'll cost to have them take a look at it. I guess I'll have to have it towed there. The car has already cost me £1300 including 1 month insurance deposit, petrol, tax & AA emergency membership, Geez I'll be close to broke & just before Christmas too.
I'm not even entirely sure I can afford to fix the problem even if it's not too bad.

Oh well I'll be off the road for at least 6 months if it's bad news.

jeannieblue

Very very unlucky.

I think that it will cost at least what you paid for it again to get it repaired, possibly more.

I'm so sorry for you.

Quickblood

Got two quotes. One from a local garage was £600 and the other from a Renault Specialist was £900. Both told me the 16 Valve would be more expensive to fix.

I definitely want a Scenic sized car, I liked the space and driving position but I'm completely soured by the whole thing now. I have this horrible feeling that if I stretch myself to get the money that I'll somehow get stung again and the bloody gearbox will go.
Either way I've now become a cam chain guy.

I need to find out how to minimise my loss. Any idea How much a car is worth in this condition?

goldspanners

Quickblood wrote: »

Either way I've now become a cam chain guy.

cam chains arent without thier faults either. ask any unlucky vectra driver.

simongregson

To be honest, the £600 repair bill doesn't sound too bad. I would get it fixed, at least you know you'll have a car with a cam belt that shouldn't break for a while then :-)

Morning_Glory_2

Quickblood wrote: »

Got two quotes. One from a local garage was £600 and the other from a Renault Specialist was £900. Both told me the 16 Valve would be more expensive to fix.

I definitely want a Scenic sized car, I liked the space and driving position but I'm completely soured by the whole thing now. I have this horrible feeling that if I stretch myself to get the money that I'll somehow get stung again and the bloody gearbox will go.
Either way I've now become a cam chain guy.

I need to find out how to minimise my loss. Any idea How much a car is worth in this condition?

I should imagine that £600 is for a worst case scenario. As I said earlier, it depends what damage has been done. Get a few more quotes and see how they differ. I'd probably avoid going to a Renault specialist. Simply selecting one type of car to work on is no justification for having your pants down and robbing you blind.

vaio

did you buy it from a dealer or privately?

Quickblood

I bought it from one of those people that Trade from home. From what I know it was just bad luck and I don't have any comeback. I was relatively thorough with my checks if a little bit amateurish and perhaps I should have spent that little bit more time giving it the once over but I did go through almost everything Usedcarexpert.co.uk suggest you check including the incredibly akward alternator test.

Anyway as it's the cambelt that went, unless I'm mistaken, there's not too much I could have done. I did ask him if it had been done and he told me he has no idea and that if he were me he'd get it done even if it had a documentation to show it had, which was the route I was gonna take anyway.

As for the mechanics I called, I thought they'd want to have a look at the car to asses the damage before deciding how much it'd cost to fix and I tried to suggest that to the first one I called but from the sounds of it they'd have to really tke it apart to find out. So £600 & £900 were the prices that they gave me and nothing they said suggested that it could be done for less.

I'd be very tempted to repair it for say £500 or less but £600+ makes me want to cut my losses and buy different car next year.

goldspanners wrote: »

cam chains arent without thier faults either. ask any unlucky vectra driver.

Don't say that. I am now kinda considering spending the next 9 months saving up for a Nissan Almera Tino if that went wrong I'd be off motoring for life.