SportKa MOT advisories question - oil leak

AliceBanned

Hi

My Ford Sportka, 12 years old failed MOT a week ago on emissions - but sensors were cleaned out it passed after that.

I am trying to stick to a budget but not sure what to do. Ideally it needs a service very soon as it has been 10k miles since the last service, but it has been seen my a local mechanic for a brakes issue so was fitted with new discs and pads - they gave it a glance over at the time.

On the advisory from the MOT it states 'oil leak from area of filter'. As it hasn't had an oil filter change for a bit over 10k miles should I get this looked at, and should I really have at least an interim service done?


Another advisory this time is 'nearside front wheel slightly distorted' and some corrosion on offside outer sill. I can see the rust - two 2" diameter sections where the paint has gone completely.

I just had to fork out for the break discs and a new windscreen..so trying to budget but it is a nice car and it seems to be slowly becoming less so and/or needing a lot more spent on it. I know that's normal with older cars but I am just trying to weigh up what my options are.

I am also considering whether to keep it. I only do about 4k miles a year. I do like driving it but as it is 1.6L engine the road tax is £240 per year so it is not the cheapest. MOTs - it has passed since I bought it about 4 years ago apart from tiny issues such as bulbs and then this time it failed for the first time on emissions.I only use it socially as I get public transport to work but I live in a town so do need it at the weekend and eves. I know some newer cars cost nothing in road tax and might cost less in repairs in the future - but at the moment have no funds for a newer car unless by HP.

Foxy-Stoat_3

Yes, get it serviced...at least change the oil and oil filter every year or 10,000 miles, whichever comes soonest.

tykesi

4k miles a year and it's not been serviced for 10k miles!

Keep that up and it's going to cost you more and more, regular servicing is just as important, if not more so, when doing low miles as it is when doing many!

mattyprice4004

You're debating whether to change the oil at over 10,000 miles? :eek:
Poor car!

Joe_Horner

As a general rule, any existing car that's reliable and that you trust will be cheaper to run and maintain than replacing it. The cost of finance and depreciation will far outweigh any reduced road tax and (probably small in practice) improvement in fuel consumption, not to mention any unknown problems that arise with the replacement. At £240, that road tax is maybe 2 months worth of finance payments? So you save 10 months of payments right there!

Oil leaks are usually minor, unless you're getting a puddle every time you park up - which I'm assuming you wouldn't have needed the MOT tester to tell you about!

From the servicing point of view, by far the most important part is the oil and filter change - most of the other items in modern service schedules are "inspection" tasks, looking for faults before they develop. Getting an oil and filter change (shouldn't be more than £50 - £60 - cheaper if you decide to DIY) is the single best way to maintain reliability, and may well deal with the leak at the same time.

For the rust on the sill, get some rust converter (Kurust, jenolite, naval Jelly or similar) and treat it yourself before it becomes more serious. You'll never stop it completely once it's there but you can slow it down a LOT!!!

Once treated, you could always give it the classic 70's / 80's look of black stone-chip over the sills. It tends to look better than half-hearted paint matches and protects better against future damage as well. Total cost for treating and stone-chipping both sills shouldn't be more than about £10 - £15 DIY and it's a nice feeling of achievement when it's done

AliceBanned

Wow very helpful replies, thanks everyone.

I have booked it in for a service at a local garage recommended by a friend, early next week. I took it there for the MOT and brakes and was happy with all of that.

Re the point of low mileage - yes actually I was scrimping on service thinking it might need less! But message now understood.

The rust on the sill goes slightly under the car and wasn't there a year ago. I wouldn't have noticed it if not for the MOT. Happy to have a go at that myself to prevent further corrosion so thanks for the advice on how to do that.

Fingers crossed I haven't caused any problems by neglecting the filter changes.

straighttalker

Try National tyres for an oil and filter change. They list your car at £34.20 so not a bad price if you can't do an oil change yourself. The oil leak might be caused by the old oil filter failing or the filter seal failing. Changing the filter may cure it.

On the issue of changing car, why change car for the sake of a maximum £240 a year saving on road tax??? You'd be disposing of you old car at trade prices then buying a new car at retail prices and on top of that paying interest on your loan/hpi/pcp. You can't afford to service your current car properly yet are thinking of buying a new car. I don't get people that change cars to save a few quid on road tax. Depreciation is the biggest cost of motoring!

AdrianC

Bulbs, oil & filter, brake pads and discs aren't "repairs" - they're basic maintenance.

KAs do rot badly, from the inside out - the paint loss is a symptom of structural rot coming through - and what you're seeing on those sills needs PROPER attention very soon, unless you accept that the car only has two to three years life left in it.

Ebe_Scrooge

straighttalker wrote: »

The oil leak might be caused by the old oil filter failing or the filter seal failing. Changing the filter may cure it.

That was my initial thought as well. And as has already been said, if you only do 4K a year the oil really should have been changed long ago.

OP, it would be well worth while learning to change the oil & filter yourself. If you do nothing else, then changing them regularly is the single most important thing in maintaining a healthy engine. It's very easy ( on most cars ! ), and well within the scope of a novice DIY-er.

Joe_Horner

AdrianC wrote: »

Bulbs, oil & filter, brake pads and discs aren't "repairs" - they're basic maintenance.

KAs do rot badly, from the inside out - the paint loss [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] may be a symptom of structural rot coming through

Fixed that for you. Especially around the lower sill area it may just as easily be a couple of stone chips that have gone unnoticed and started rusting from the outside.

In fact, an area that had got to 2 inches of paint loss starting from the inside is very likely to have failed the recent MOT as any tester worth his ticket will have paid extra attention to that area and thumb pressure alone would have been more than enough to show it as seriously weakened if it was spreading from the inside over that sort of area.

AliceBanned

straighttalker wrote: »

Try National tyres for an oil and filter change. They list your car at £34.20 so not a bad price if you can't do an oil change yourself. The oil leak might be caused by the old oil filter failing or the filter seal failing. Changing the filter may cure it.

On the issue of changing car, why change car for the sake of a maximum £240 a year saving on road tax??? You'd be disposing of you old car at trade prices then buying a new car at retail prices and on top of that paying interest on your loan/hpi/pcp. You can't afford to service your current car properly yet are thinking of buying a new car. I don't get people that change cars to save a few quid on road tax. Depreciation is the biggest cost of motoring!

Helpful advice, thanks. As there a couple of other advisories I will take it to local mechanic this time. I had looked at Haynes manual re doing the oil filter but am a very basic DIYer - however I will consider it now for the future. I am only just starting to learn from Haynes and so it is just starting to make sense. Previously I had more money and always got regular services.

Good point, the road tax is nothing and I am not seriously considering a newer car, it was just an idea. I can't afford it for a couple of years anyway.

I paid £1800 for this one from a dealer 4 years ago. So no great loss if I don't sell it on as it will be near the end of its life soon I guess. I will need 2 or 3 more years out of it ideally, without shelling out much beyond maintenance. It's a nice little car.:)