Repair or get red

dontknowwhattodonext

Hi

Have a 2006 MK 3 Mondeo estate, done 180k and running well, had for 5 years and no major issues.

A couple of weeks ago had a coil go which slashed the front tyre, the bill came to £180, (this did include a Michelin tyre)

Question is, do we replace all coil and all shocks at the same time?

There is also a knocking noise at the back which could be the sub frame bushes

I have estimated will be around £500 to repair

We don't really want to get finance for a 3 or 4 year old car and buying a car around 5k have the risk of unknown


Would be throwing good money at it?

AdrianC

If you're replacing dampers, do them one end at a time. Springs, though, you're fine just replacing the broken ones.

Scrapit

500 quid to keep running for a year or more? Cheaper than buying. And a motor you know.

walwyn1978

Scrapit wrote: »

500 quid to keep running for a year or more? Cheaper than buying. And a motor you know.

Absolutely this. You know the past 5 years. 500 quid would probably be less than the depreciation if you bought newer.

Keep on keeping on until something substantial goes wrong, which will cost four figures to sort and the car isn’t worth that. Then consider a change. In terms of part ex the value of yours isn’t going to change much now anyway.

kinger101

I agree with the above too. The car might not be worth £500 even after the work is done, but you know more about it that a potential replacement.

lincroft1710

I had a coil go on the front nearside. Two weeks later front offside failed, which I was told is quite common, as the springs are not well made and if one fails, the opposite is also likely to fail. So the probability is that the opposite coil will go.

AdrianC

lincroft1710 wrote: »

I had a coil go on the front nearside. Two weeks later front offside failed, which I was told is quite common, as the springs are not well made and if one fails, the opposite is also likely to fail. So the probability is that the opposite coil will go.

They've had very different usage, though - how many potholes and kerbs go across the full width of the road?

lincroft1710

AdrianC wrote: »

They've had very different usage, though - how many potholes and kerbs go across the full width of the road?

Only repeating what I was told by the mechanic who replaced them. He told me this whilst replacing the second, that coil spring failure often happens on both sides within a very short time of each other. I've also read this somewhere else. At the time mine both failed I'd owned the car for over 10 yrs, so metal fatigue due to age, could be a possibility.

Jono111

My 2003 MK3 is on 150000 and has seems to be getting even more reliable the older it gets. I don't see any point in replacing it for an unknown car.
Knocking in the rear can also be the anti roll bars, around £20 each, simply jack up, unscrew and replace.

dontknowwhattodonext

Thanks for your comments, I will go ahead with the repairs this week

Goudy

The rear suspension on these are fully independent, there's plenty to cause knocking!

As already written the anti roll bar D bushes and links are likely culprits.
I remember the cheap trick for the D bushes was to wrap a few winds of electrical tape around the anti roll bar where they fit to take up the slack in the bush and the wear in the bar where they rub.

All the other bushes tend to hold the wheel geometry straight, so when one of those goes the rear end tends to steer the back of the car which you normally feel and that tends to chew up the rear tyres.