2nd hand car parts problem

Delivery_Driver

I don't see a problem in fitting a 2nd hand clutch kit for this car, if its at the right price(I'd say £100 max) and you trust the mileage/condition to be correct.Have to weigh up the risk vs reward and see if its worth it.I've sold 2 used clutches on a car I have and both buyers were happy with their heavily discounted, low mileage purchase.
Enthusiasts trade parts like this all on the time on car forums, especially on models that are trickeir to get parts for than a Fiesta.

Notmyrealname

P1key motoring, brought to you courtesy of Delivery Driver.

How do you prove what mileage they've done? The clutch on my last Mondeo was the original one. Its done 165,000 miles. You cannot judge mileage on wear. And unless you've got a new one to compare it to, you can't say what percentage its worn by. And unless you've driven the clutch from new, you can't say how much hammer the damping springs have had. And all of this before we even get to the pressure plate. I assume you have a gauge to accurately measure the spring tension of every single finger on the pressure plate and know when the end of the fingers are worn beyond tolerance?

Delivery_Driver

Notmyrealname wrote: »

P1key motoring, brought to you courtesy of Delivery Driver.

How do you prove what mileage they've done? The clutch on my last Mondeo was the original one. Its done 165,000 miles. You cannot judge mileage on wear. And unless you've got a new one to compare it to, you can't say what percentage its worn by. And unless you've driven the clutch from new, you can't say how much hammer the damping springs have had. And all of this before we even get to the pressure plate. I assume you have a gauge to accurately measure the spring tension of every single finger on the pressure plate and know when the end of the fingers are worn beyond tolerance?

An average mondeo isn't remotely the same kind of car we are talking about here.Some cars you are limited for choice on spares and fellow owners do trade parts like this.There's a thriving cottage industry in used parts amongst enthusiasts.
Its generally based on trust and I am always honest about the condition and what kind of mileage/driving its been exposed to when selling any part and expect the same when buying myself.
Its not hard to find out how thick the original plate is-just email the manufacturers and then you take several pictures with a ruler for scale to give them the general idea.
If the price is right its worth gambling the potentially wasted labour charges against.Even more so if you are fitting it yourself as what could be a £750 job is then only a £100 gamble.

As for your spring guage, yeah I have one hanging in the garage next to my lefthanded screwdriver.

s_b

Delivery_Driver wrote: »

An average mondeo isn't remotely the same kind of car we are talking about here.Some cars you are limited for choice on spares and fellow owners do trade parts like this.There's a thriving cottage industry in used parts amongst enthusiasts.
Its generally based on trust and I am always honest about the condition and what kind of mileage/driving its been exposed to when selling any part and expect the same when buying myself.
Its not hard to find out how thick the original plate is-just email the manufacturers and then you take several pictures with a ruler for scale to give them the general idea.
If the price is right its worth gambling the potentially wasted labour charges against.Even more so if you are fitting it yourself as what could be a £750 job is then only a £100 gamble.

As for your spring guage, yeah I have one hanging in the garage next to my lefthanded screwdriver.

the op went to an online spares seller to save money
nothing more nothing less
ive already said that a 5000 mile clutch has come out of the sellers yard for a reason and if we are indeed to believe this mileage then the clutch was probaby still engaged when the car hit the wall as i also explained

would you like to tell us another reason this clutch would have done only 5000 miles?
are you the seller for a start?

Delivery_Driver

s_b wrote: »

the op went to an online spares seller to save money
nothing more nothing less
ive already said that a 5000 mile clutch has come out of the sellers yard for a reason and if we are indeed to believe this mileage then the clutch was probaby still engaged when the car hit the wall as i also explained

would you like to tell us another reason this clutch would have done only 5000 miles?
are you the seller for a start?

You are picking bits of my post out and taking them out of context as per usual on this forum.I was saying how in principle I wouldn't have a problem selling/buying a 2nd hand clutch given certain criteria for a certain type of car where spares can be harder to come by.The 350z would fall into this bracket.

I am certainly not the seller and I have sold very low mileage clutches before(way less than 5k miles), the reason being I had large torque increases and they were no longer suitable for my needs and beefier ones installed(went from 230lbft>290lbft, then 290lbft>350lbft).Nothing wrong with them at all and a total waste to throw them away.The buyers got very low mileage, great condition clutches that cost £400+ new for £100 so everyone was happy.
If I increase torque much more then its £1k+ for a new clutch so I would be looking to buy a used, low mileage one from someone I trust for half of that(the going rate).

s_b

Delivery_Driver wrote: »

You are picking bits of my post out and taking them out of context as per usual on this forum.I was saying how in principle I wouldn't have a problem selling/buying a 2nd hand clutch given certain criteria for a certain type of car where spares can be harder to come by.The 350z would fall into this bracket.

I am certainly not the seller and I have sold very low mileage clutches before(way less than 5k miles), the reason being I had large torque increases and they were no longer suitable for my needs and beefier ones installed(went from 230lbft>290lbft, then 290lbft>350lbft).Nothing wrong with them at all and a total waste to throw them away.The buyers got very low mileage, great condition clutches that cost £400+ new for £100 so everyone was happy.
If I increase torque much more then its £1k+ for a new clutch so I would be looking to buy a used, low mileage one from someone I trust for half of that(the going rate).

ha ha ha
hows the delivery driving going by the way?

red_eye

Second hand clutch! There really should be an idiots guide to motoring on this forum:rotfl: