Car repair costs...

squinz

Do you have a limit that you are prepared to pay?

This year, since March, it has been one thing after another to maintain my 10 yr old car. It's generally running ok and no real problems until this year.

front brakes discs and pads replaced 127
Mot, new tyres 278
new spark plugs 71.40
fit engine sump and oil filter and change £187
brake shaft 97

I'm beginning to feel like it's a never ending list of work that needs doing.

I did ask at the garage if I should get something newer but he said these are problems you may get with a 3yr old car so I may have just been unlucky?

Rolandtheroadie

For my 15 year old car, this year, I spent around £650 before and for the MOT.
The car only cost £450 to buy, but I know where it came from and it's history, and I'm confident it'll pay me dividends come the next MOT.

straighttalker

All of those are general maintenance or wear and tear items. Now that it's in fine fettle, I'd keep it.

forgotmyname

So other than service items that a fairly new car will require you replaced a sump and a brake shaft whatever that is?

Change the plugs yourself and that would have only cost £20, maybe less?

mcjordi

as i do 95% of my own work i dont have a limit as such

only things i cant do are fit tyres and i dont trust myself enough to do a timing belt..
i suspect the "brake shaft" is the driveshaft..

GwylimT

Nine year old car, this year

EGR valve £180
Two new radiator hoses £96
Two shock absorbers £300
All new glowplugs £60
New pump £30
Exhaust £98

Some idiot drove in to it in a carpark and drove off so now it needs a drivers side head lamp, wing replacement and some filler and paint on the bumper if I can't find a decent one at the scrappy.

angrycrow

As others have said after doing all that work keep it.

The trick to owning old cars is learning how to do basic jobs yourself. First time it will not be much cheaper than a garage due to buying tools but you then have them for later jobs. Do you have family or freinds who could teach you the basics.

When I met her my wife refused to even open the bonnet, now she does basic body and mechanical repairs when I am not about. She still refuses to put fuel in it though. This shows anyone can learn if they want to.

SailorSam

I think if you were to splash out on a Haynes manual it would more than pay for itself. You're paying someone else to do some pretty simple jobs.

Strider590

Those aren't even problems, they're just normal wear and tear items, which to be fair you should have done as and when they needed doing, not as one lump.

If you let things stack up, then of course they're going to look bad (on paper at least).

The sump is a bit odd......... Did you smack it on something?

It's rare my car will ever need more than one repair at once and it's 12 years old. My other car is 25 years old and whilst it does a lot less miles, it's running costs are tiny.

squinz

Re: the sump. IIRC, it was leaking, corroding and needed replacing. I don't remember smacking it over anything. We have a lot of speed bumps round here but not that I'm racing round and wrecking my car on!

I hadn't really thought I could do it myself but it might be worth trying to learn if I could save some money doing so...

Strider590

squinz wrote: »

Re: the sump. IIRC, it was leaking, corroding and needed replacing. I don't remember smacking it over anything. We have a lot of speed bumps round here but not that I'm racing round and wrecking my car on!

I hadn't really thought I could do it myself but it might be worth trying to learn if I could save some money doing so...

I didn't suggest you were, a lot of speed bumps are actually high enough to knock a sump.
There is a legal limit to the height of them compared to the road, but what they seem to do is lower the road in front and behind the bumps to make them even more severe.

Corrosion is common where the sump has previously been scratched/damaged OR in cars that do short journeys + low mileage, where the owner thinks they can stretch the service intervals out to 2, 3, 4 , 5 years......... Moisture forms in the crankcase, this gets into the oil, it doesn't get to evaporate off, it sinks to the bottom of the sump and it rots it from the inside.