My car rattled after an oil change and died! What could be wrong?

liam8282

ladycorsair wrote: »

Right the garage just called and said the tension belt has snapped, and they'll replace it, the warped valves and the cam belt for £300. The mechanic said luckily, the head isn't damaged. What do you guys think?

Thank you,

Arielle x

How much would you get for your car on Ebay or if you scrapped it?

Maybe you would be better off cutting your losses and getting rid?

Even if you spent £300 repairing it, it is a 13 yo fiesta, and you would be lucky to get that money back when selling it.

IMO get rid, put your £300 plus whatever you get for your car towards a new car.

Tough decision to make, but that is what I would do.

Horizon81

As above, call it an omen to get rid. A 13 year old fiesta, I'm surprised it hasn't rusted away by now. The engine is usually the last thing to go on those cars so get rid before it keeps costing you more. It's only worth a couple of hundred quid anyway.

pendulum

There are still loads of 13-year-old Fiesta's around, they are still popular, and worth much more than a couple of hundred quid. Most importantly they are actually nice cars. £300 isn't that much of a repair bill, and don't forget it would have needed a cambelt replacement anyway as it was overdue one, so a big part of that bill is being spent on a routine service item. My only concern is the final bill rising, but if there's a really good chance you can get it repaired and working again for £300 I say go for it.

ladycorsair

pendulum wrote: »

There are still loads of 13-year-old Fiesta's around, they are still popular, and worth much more than a couple of hundred quid. Most importantly they are actually nice cars. £300 isn't that much of a repair bill, and don't forget it would have needed a cambelt replacement anyway as it was overdue one, so a big part of that bill is being spent on a routine service item. My only concern is the final bill rising, but if there's a really good chance you can get it repaired and working again for £300 I say go for it.

Thank you. According to Wisebuyers.co.uk it's worth about £800 in good condition, as most Fiesta's that age have £120k on the clock and mine has about £75k. The bodywork is pristine, there's no rust, apart from teeny bits underneath it which have all been treated. The engine is quiet (especially since it died), and I've never had any problems with it up until now. Plus it's the Ghia X, so it has a front heated windshield, air con, electric mirrors and windows, sunroof etc. and I couldn't buy a similar spec./mileage car for anything less than about £800+, according to AutoTrader.

Thanks for the encouragement, and for those that think it's a waste of money, you just take a look at my cars' sad pre-Fiesta-headlight-facelift "face" and tell him (yes, him) that. He looks so sad... lol. But seriously, guys, thank you. Positive and negative, I really needed your help, so thanks!

Arielle xx

liam8282

I wasn't trying to be negative, just the voice of reason.

At the end of the day you have a 98 fiesta, there are plenty on autotrader for around the £500 mark.

If you are spending £300 on a car that is worth £500 to £800 at the most, you need to step back and think is it really worth it?

It is totally your decision to make, but your money may be better spent putting it towards a new car, rather than trying to keep the old one on the road.

Paradigm

liam8282 wrote: »

If you are spending £300 on a car that is worth £500 to £800 at the most, you need to step back and think is it really worth it?

It is totally your decision to make, but your money may be better spent putting it towards a new car, rather than trying to keep the old one on the road.

I'd be taking the opposite view!

If the cars in good nick with low mileage (OP says it is) & it's been reliable up to now then IF it can be sorted for £300 or so it's a no brainer....keep it!

Why gamble & spend more on another car that could be an utter nightmare?

Horizon81

Well it sounds like the OP is still very much attached to her car so I don't think it mattered what anyone said, she was going to keep it. I can't believe there's no rust on the bodywork though. Yours is a mark 4 (frog face) and I regularly see mk5s covered in the stuff - boot lid, rear arches, sils, round petrol cap etc, as well as on year 2000+ Focuses and Kas.
Still, as I said above, the early zetecs are strong engines as long as they're well looked after and the right oil is used (5w30 from memory), its the bodywork that normally goes first, so I'm impressed your electric windows, central locking, etc are still going strong!

It's not that awful burnt orange colour is it?!

Flyboy152

Paradigm wrote: »

I'd be taking the opposite view!

If the cars in good nick with low mileage (OP says it is) & it's been reliable up to now then IF it can be sorted for £300 or so it's a no brainer....keep it!

Why gamble & spend more on another car that could be an utter nightmare?

I think because, "My car rattled after an oil change and died!" gives us a clue.

asbokid

£300 is a very optimistic quote... without stripping it down, how does the garage know that the damage is limited to the valves?

The pistons could be wrecked, valve guides damaged, cylinders scored, camshaft and bearings damaged, perhaps the conrod bearings have suffered, too, and maybe even the big ends...

£300 is a typical cost of a full cambelt replacement with new tensioner and idlers and water pump.

Any work beyond that has to be warranted by the value of the car.. 13 year old fiesta... hmm...

bigjl

£300 for a cambelt replacement including tensioners and a waterpump?

That is seriously expensive! What car did you get that quote on? Or is that a main dealer quote?

I have been given a quote of £225 for the wifes Clio DCi, including full cambelt kit and waterpump, and that is a pig to do apparently.

The quote for £300 for the work mentioned on a simple engine like the Fiesta's is about what i would expect, only a days job, parts are pennies as the head isn't damaged, hasn't overheated so no need for a skim, just clean everything up and put it back together, though hopefully they are replacing the valveguides, though it is possible they were not damaged.

When a cambelt goes, sometimes you can be very lucky.