Our car has died - what to do now?

Catriona_P

I can't remember exactly what's wrong with it (other half has been dealing) but it's a list of issues - the main one being a leak in the steering rack. It has an MOT next month so these things need to be fixed. Unfortunately neither myself or my other half are good at DIY jobs on cars which is a shame as that'd save money.

Tricky, laughed a bit to myself about KA's rusting away in front of your eyes - ours definitely has a fair few rusty spots!

Forgot, thanks for the bit of info on what we could look at as a replacement, it's good to know what ballpark we're in.

TrickyWicky

Lol they rust like crazy. We went out on my birthday for a pub dinner in the evening. Got there and I got out of the passenger side to find that the front wing panel and plastic were hanging off the car at the bottom. The metal that the screw goes into had completely rotted away whilst driving. We were lucky enough that we have a neighbour who does welding so he did an emergency repair for us the next day.

Steering rack.. we had that done about 6 months ago. I think we paid £250 - 300 all in. I was going to DIY it but due to health problems and the Ka being a bit cramped for space I decided to get a mechie to do it instead. If you can find anyone who wants to DIY it for you the subframe has to come off to get it out. You may be able to find a used one on ebay or at the local scrap dealer.

Polish blokes can be quite inventive at getting cars repaired cheap. They're not all good, some bodge things but if you know a good one they'll be a lot cheaper than a mechanic.

It's gotta be said though, we've had almost no engine or gearbox trouble with it. We ran it bone dry of oil once without realising. I decided to check the oil level one day and it was empty - the dipstick had absolutely no trace of oil on it at all. When I poured in new oil you could literally hear it hit the bottom of the sump as it went through the engine head. It still runs with no issues. The only slight problem we do have with it is that the engine sometimes revs up uncontrollably so we have to put it in first and hold it on the biting point for a few seconds to calm it down.

The main weakpoints with the Ka are:
Rust (anything thats metal)
Front shock absorbers (springs, shocks, bearings)
Wishbones / bushes / tracking
Brakes
Steering racks
Exhaust back boxes.
Speedo / gearbox sensor thingy

maninthestreet

Dacia Sendero.

Catriona_P

Wow thanks Tricky, you certainly know a lot about KAs! The only gearbox problem I know of ours was due to the previous owner who didn't treat it very well meaning the gearbox was replaced, but not much in the way of engine problems. We had the suspension go one but that was probably due to my husband - the drive of the house we were renting didn't have a fully dropped kerb...

Waiting for my other half to get home so we can have a look at the quote and make a decision.

mkirkby

Point 1:-

If you decide to sell your KA, stick it on eBay as spares or repair. You will get *far* more than scrap or trade in value. My OH had a dead rover 25 that was worth £130 scrap and it went for £280 on eBay. It needed a new clutch and a host of other little issues. Even at £280 it will be pulled apart for spares and the buyer will still make money.

Point 2:-

You can buy a hell of a lot of car for even 1/2 your savings. Look at this for example:-
http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/what-car-reliability-survey-2012/top-10-most-reliable-small-family-cars/263555
The top car there (Volvo S40/V40) will be infinitely more reliable than you old KA and good ones can be got for £1000-£1500.

But when buying, always try to go for something with a full service history (doesn't have to be main dealer)

& if you're not doing a lot of mileage, stay away from diesels. They get better mpg but are more expensive to buy and more expensive to repair if they go wrong. You have to do a fair few miles before making your money back

forgotmyname

If the biggest issue is the steering rack you can get that fixed for less than £200.

The issue with £1000 - £2000 cars is that a single fault can cost 1/2 or more of what you paid.

Complete clutch and flywheel on a modern car can be £400 - £1200.
Common Rail diesel injectors £500 - £2400 for a set of 4.
+ a trip to a dealer for programming.

A KA is peanuts to repair compared to some cars.

If my car had 300,000 miles and worth £500, But running well with no issues.
I would rather spend £800 on a clutch than risk buying an unknown car.

Tobster86

pinkteapot wrote: »

how reliable is an £800 second hand car going to be?

It depends what it is. The most reliable car I ever had was a 1994 Audi 80 that cost £80 (plus a £200 overhaul of the brakes and suspension).

worried_jim

pinkteapot wrote: »

how reliable is an £800 second hand car going to be?

Hi Pinkteapot- sorry to hear about your car woes but all is not lost. Small cars have a higher value as they are in more demand which makes larger cars dirt cheap to buy so some real bargains can be had.

I have been running a Rover 600 since Feb after my Astra died. I paid £500 for it, from a dealer with a years MOT. Besides normal running costs I have purchased a second hand Haynes manual, 5 litres of screen wash and a can of spray lubricant- and that's it!

It is essentially a Honda accord with a Rover body and has a Honda engine and came with loads of service history. I check the oil once a month(it hasn't needed any) and have washed it just twice. I am hoping to get at least three years out of it and then scrap it for about £160. Three years motoring for £340.

To find out more about myself and others on this site doing the same have a look at this thread-
Your Bangernomics successes
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3803929


Good luck!

cepheus

What does it cost to buy a half decent car nowadays? Surely one of the less fashionable makes would have devalued to less than £1000 within 10 years. Check here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1826753

http://www.centralcontracts.com/news/top-ten-cars-which-can-be-bought-for-less-than-1000-5824

Tobster86

worried_jim wrote: »

I have been running a Rover 600 since Feb after my Astra died.

My Mrs had the same car (620i, Honda F20 engine). £300 for a 96 model in 2008 bought from a mechanic. We had two years use out of it before rust ate it. Not the best we ever did with a car but can't exactly complain.

It shifted too!