Advice required from Bangernomics experts!!

motorguy

Ok so heres the scenario. Around May time this year i 'acquired' this 2002 Fiat Marea 1.9 JTD, 118K miles, MOT to 18th Nov, TAX to 31st Oct.

I've put 4,000 miles on it so far.

Car is probably worth £400-£450 on the open market.



Car drives exceptionally well. Starts half a turn of the key, no smoke, turbo pulls strongly. I'm doing a 90 mile return commute in it daily and its averaging 54mpg.

General observations - small oil leak from somewhere underneath, suspension 'clunky'. Mechanic thinks its either anti roll bar (£60 + fitting) (you cant just get the bushings) or front struts (£80 pair + fitting). Not too concerned, was going to worry about it come MOT time.

Left the car up to get serviced (£50 including parts) and to get a timing belt put on it (not sure of history and can get a belt kit fitted for about £90 all in)

Mechanic observed rear brakes badly worn, would recommend changing the pads at this stage BUT and heres the BUT, the car has significant ROT underneath. Major areas down both sides of the underside near the middle. My mechanic does normally do welding but he says to repair it would be beyond him and would need someone who specialises in that sort of work. He estimates £200 minimum.

He checked the belt and he said its ok for at least another 10,000 or so - ie, there is no cracks or indication that it is about to give.

The only other thing of note is that it doesnt particularly suit our needs at present as we've two retrievers that currently we put on the back seats with a dog seat hammock to protect the seats from the worst of it. Ideally we would want an estate car or small people carrier that we could drop the seats down on.

So, heres the conundrum. Do I

1. get the service + belt done in the meantime, with a view to getting the welding done. Outlay now, including rear brakes probably £200. Further £200 in November for welding plus say £150 for suspension clunks. Total outlay £550.
2. Do nothing, and drive on with a view to scrapping the car once the MOT is up. I can get approx £160 as scrap. And buy another car then.
3. Technically i could sell it as is, and release £450 to buy another car BUT i would have a moral issue personally with doing that.
4. If i put it through auction as is, it would release approx £250

Any advice from true Bangernomics experts welcome!

Rolandtheroadie

I'd go with option 2, start looking now incase the right car comes up and look to have something before the tax is up.

Weird_Nev

Do nothing, drive it until you can't drive it any more for some reason.
Use the time and cash you would have spent and put it towards something better.

And throw your mechanic a drink for being such a good sport and giving you his honest assessment.

mad_rich

If the car is otherwise reliable, I would be tempted to spend the money. Better the devil you know.

£550 in repairs that *should* get you to Nov 2014. That's 16 months at £35/ month. Reassess in Nov 2014 and see what it will cost to get through another MoT.

That's if you're willing to forego the inconvenience with the dogs.

jase1

Shame about the rot, looks like a nice car otherwise.

But no, definitely don't waste time and money getting that sort of work done at this stage -- and hopefully your mechanic told you about this before he sorted the timing belt!

System

the rust monster will eat your money - unless you can weld/have a mate that welds - then just run it till it dies, as you said, it's not ideal for your uses anyway so run it into the ground and then try and pickup something else shed-like but more suitable!

Strider590

DO NOT wait to get stuff done before the MOT and tax, your lining yourself up to get ripped off. If you go in for MOT and it needs lots of work, they can charge what they like because they've got you by the balls.

For successful bangernomics you need to be proactive in your approach to maintenance and possible faults.

jase1

Disagree. OP clearly has an honest mechanic -- I would not be wanting to spend on a car that may flunk an MOT anyway.

Jamie_Carter

Does your mechanic say that it is safe (and legal) to drive in it's current condition? If not, then you shouldn't be driving the car on the road anyway. And you could get nicked for doing so, especially if you are involved in a RTC.

Timing belt, brakes and suspension aren't so much of an issue, as they can easily be replaced. But what could be a problem is the rust. It is quite common once you start cutting the rust out to find that it is far worse than originally thought. And you could end up chasing it until it costs you a small fortune.

Is it really worth throwing good money at it, when you could put that money towards a replacement car?

I would ask the mechanic if it is safe (and legal) to drive. And if not, then replace it now by either trading it in, or scrapping it (depending on what you are offered for trade in.

Strider590

jase1 wrote: »

Disagree. OP clearly has an honest mechanic -- I would not be wanting to spend on a car that may flunk an MOT anyway.

My gearbox started making terrible noises..... What did I do?

Did I turn the radio all the way up, say i'll get it done at the MOT and wait for it to explode, leaving me a huge repair bill + recovery costs and loss of earnings?
(Reactive)

Noop, I started looking for places to get it replaced, 2 weeks later when reverse gear had completely stopped working and forth sounded like someone had filled my gearbox with golf balls, i'd booked a day off work and organised someone to collect and repair the car, at £300 less than my local garage and £600 less than a VX dealership.
(Proactive)

jase1

Bit of a difference between a knackered gearbox and terminal rust though.

The latter is a sure indicator that you should stop spending and allow the car to expire gracefully.

There just isn't any point in feeding the rust monster, as an earlier poster put it.