Worth replacing 2009 VW Golf?

ginashamz

Hello, my partner has a 2009 VW Golf 1.4 S petrol. About 2 months ago the engine light came on and she took it to the garage (VAG specialist) who replaced one of the coils for £40 which appeared to cure the problem temporarily. The light came on again and off the car went back to the garage and they suspect it could be a damaged valve in one of the cylinders - apparently a common issue with these VW engines. They won't know the exact cause unless they open up the engine. If they repair one of the cylinders the total cost will be around £1500. The car is also due a service and cambelt replacement so realistically the total will be closer to £2500.


The car is only worth around £3500. Is it better to replace or repair?

foxy-stoat

Is it worth £3500 with the faults fixed, cambelt & water pump changed and serviced?

Seeing as you well into cars, what with having a RX8 that is track ready, you should be able to crunch the numbers and work out if its worth spending the money and keeping it for a few years or replacing.

missile

Hm...….. how have they diagnosed damaged valve? Have they done compression test or just guessing?

alan_d

I'd get the opinion of another garage.
And since when did a service and service and cambelt cost ~£1000 ? I'd expect around half that at a typical small garage.

Inner_Zone

So are we getting closer to the fantasy, Yaris to RX8 to Golf to Hotwheels?

ginashamz

missile wrote: »

Hm...….. how have they diagnosed damaged valve? Have they done compression test or just guessing?

They did do a compression test and found low compression in cylinder 4 but don't know the root cause. They will have to take off the engine head which will cost money

bigisi

ginashamz wrote: »

They did do a compression test and found low compression in cylinder 4 but don't know the root cause. They will have to take off the engine head which will cost money

Yeah but it's only an imaginary car so just use monopoly money - simples!

Or even just imagine the money, even cheaper!

mollycat

bigisi wrote: »

Yeah but it's only an imaginary car so just use monopoly money - simples!

Or even just imagine the money, even cheaper!

The car might exist; think you'll find it's the partner that's imaginary.

AdrianC

If the head's coming off for the burnt or bent valve, then the cambelt's coming off anyway - so the marginal cost of that is just the cost of the parts.

Inner_Zone

mollycat wrote: »

The car might exist; think you'll find it's the partner that's imaginary.

Probably both.

ginashamz

Partner has decided is isn't worth it and will sell the car for scrap. Looking to replace with a car that's small, economical and ideally automatic for short cuty journeys. Her budget is £2000. Any suggestions?