Car repairs

Johns1984

Hi there, i'm new on here so i apologise in advance if this is in the wrong section!

My Vauxhall Astra is in need of some repair. When I go into 5th gear the car cuts out and then I have a rough drive for a couple of miles. It only does it in 5th gear!

I rang my local vauxhall garage up and they are going to charge me £69 per hour just to look at it and diagnose the problem, and we havent even discussed the cost of repair yet!

Do you think i'm wise letting the local vauxhall specialist look at it, or will any normal garage just be able to do the same thing but cheaper?

John

goldspanners

how old is the car?

does the engine sound different when its idling? or does it have any loss of power in any other gear?

Johns1984

goldspanners wrote: »

how old is the car?

does the engine sound different when its idling? or does it have any loss of power in any other gear?

Its a 51plate, 1.4 petrol. 16v.
After its cut out, when I restart the car you can hear it sounding sluggish, and its very juddery to drive.

I really need it fixing as I have a 13month old son who relies on his dads car lol. And I have some important motorway trips coming up soon

goldspanners

an independant garage should be able to diagnose and repair this fault for you. it could be anything but a sensor,especially with the rough running after start up could be a possiblility or possibly a faulty H.T lead/coil or even spark plug.
do you have any warning lights lit up on the dashboard before it cuts out or after you have restarted it?
it does really need someone to look at it and test the above items.

sir bendy, where are you? you know how to look at the fault codes on these rubbish astras dont you?;)

Johns1984

Cool, So i don't have to take it to an official vauxhall garage?

I don't get any lights before. One light does come up afterwards but I couldn't say which one.

In all, yeah the astra is rubbish. Maybe next year I'll get something more reliable

Thank you for your help

Viper_7

Definitely don't take it to a Vauxhall Garage. Any bacjstreet mechanic should be able to diagnose it well within an hour, that's not a complex engine. And for around £35-40

Look around on the net for Vauxhall forums, there will be some out there, and there are bound to be folk who have had the same issue, so you can go armed with information.