Repairs to a 2006 VW Polo - new clutch?

jenny-wren

My mother's car 'gave up' at the weekend after suffering loss of acceleration on hills. Not knowing much about cars, I've googled it and narrowed it down to a few things - fuel filter, failing clutch or simply something loose.

The car isn't driveable and I need to organise getting it repaired for her. A friend advised that it could cost up to £900 if it needs a new clutch if I take it to the main dealer.

Can anyone advise if the main dealer are likely to charge to diagnose the problem? Once we know what's wrong we can consider whether to get it fixed by the main dealer or whether to try to find a smaller garage to fix it which should be cheaper.

She's with the AA but only has the basic roadside assistance package. We towed the car to her house as she broke down late at night on a busy road.

Grateful for any advice.

ballyblack

unlikely to be the clutch

what area are you in?

get a local mechanic to have a quick look at it.

Steer clear of the main dealer unless you have no other option

jenny-wren

ballyblack wrote: »

unlikely to be the clutch

what area are you in?

get a local mechanic to have a quick look at it.

Steer clear of the main dealer unless you have no other option

She's in Newtownbreda, south Belfast.

spacey2012

To be honest if you dont know what a failing clutch symptoms are i would suggest taking it straight to a local garage and not get involved in what friends say or mention this to a garage, they can smell a noob miles away and love suggestions of what you think is wrong.
mention the symptoms but dont mention your mates diagnosis or the bill may go through the roof.
Most will try it on if they have a line to follow.

dmxdave

Try Nigel McFarland, he is just off the Castlereagh Road near St. John's Church

Address
1A Orangefield Crescent
Belfast
BT6 9GG
Phone
028 9002 9849
Opening Times
Monday - Thursday 9am - 5:30pm
Friday 9am - 3:30pm

Indo77

I would recommend the garage the poster above suggested, he repaired a pedalbox for me (VW Polo) about 4 years ago. I have to say I sold that car (Polo) some months later as for about 2 years it gave me nothing but trouble. It went through 2 sets of brake discs, 2 clutches and a pedalbox. Could never understand why I had such bad luck with that car.

jenny-wren

The car only has 26,000 miles on the clock. Hopefully it won't be too expensive a repair bill.

macman

A slipping clutch is unmistakable. If it will rev in neutral but won't hold speed uphill, with the revs rising, then it's going to be the clutch. Unlikely to go at 26K though, unless it's been subjected to mainly short town trips with heavy clutch use. If all Google can throw up is 'something loose', then I think you need to involve a bit more expertise. Didn't the AA man do a basic diagnosis?
A blocked fuel filter wouldn't show up just on hills.

jenny-wren

macman wrote: »

A slipping clutch is unmistakable. If it will rev in neutral but won't hold speed uphill, with the revs rising, then it's going to be the clutch. Unlikely to go at 26K though, unless it's been subjected to mainly short town trips with heavy clutch use. If all Google can throw up is 'something loose', then I think you need to involve a bit more expertise. Didn't the AA man do a basic diagnosis?
A blocked fuel filter wouldn't show up just on hills.

We didn't call the AA because it was late at night and I didn't want a 73 year old sitting in her car in the cold waiting for them to arrive when we could have her towed home within 20 minutes. The car is now at her house and she's only covered by the AA if she's more than 0.25 of a mile from home.

She told me that the car has been progressively worse over the last few weeks. The time she first noticed it would have been the time to take it to the garage. Tut tut mother!

Google suggested it could be a loose pipe connection somewhere but if there was an issue like that I would imagine it wouldn't be a problem that's only really noticeable on hills or from a standing start.

I think we will try Ava Garage tomorrow as it's close by. They got an ageing Focus through the MOT for us a few years back.