Car needs Repairs - Need some advice

sarah1975uk

Hi im looking at buying a 2nd hand car. The seller has been honest and told me that the 2000 PEUGEOT 306 LX needs a CV boot on the passenger side front. The car is otherwise in really good condition for its age and seems perfect for me and the kids.

Just need help here as to what sort of price im looking at to get a local garage to repair this fault, as i have no idea on cars and dont want to get ripped off. Also need to know if this is a serious fault with the car or just a minor repair? could it have a more serious underlying fault??

Again only a mere female and absaloutley no idea about cars other than petrol, oil and how to drive them lol

Help would be much appreciated, as cant afford to pay out for the car then find out really expensive repairs are then needed.

Inactive

If it is just a CV Boot then it is not very expensive, under £50 I would guess.

Why not say to the seller, get it fixed and I will buy the car.. sorted.

Assuming everything else is OK.

Good luck.

sarah1975uk

how many miles would you expect this car do do?

Inactive

sarah1975uk wrote: »

how many miles would you expect this car do do?

It may well go for 200,000 miles if looked after properly;) .

However I think you mean what MPG would it do, no idea because I don't know the engine size or type eg. Petrol or Diesel.

sarah1975uk

Inactive wrote: »

It may well go for 200,000 miles if looked after properly;) .

However I think you mean what MPG would it do, no idea because I don't know the engine size or type eg. Petrol or Diesel.

I did mean total miles not MPG . BTW have you brought me that lotto ticket yet? lol :P Sarah xx

Inactive

sarah1975uk wrote: »

I did mean total miles not MPG . BTW have you brought me that lotto ticket yet? lol :P Sarah xx

Still saving for it. xx.

vaio

sarah1975uk wrote: »

……….Hi I’m looking at buying a 2nd hand car. The seller has been honest and told me that the 2000 PEUGEOT 306 LX needs a CV boot on the passenger side front.

An honest seller, that’s quite rare. I might be tempted to stuff him and keep him on the mantelpiece

sarah1975uk wrote: »

……….only a mere female and absolutely no idea about cars other than petrol, oil and how to drive them lol .

Hmmm, if I used a phrase like that in this house it would be the dog house for me!

sarah1975uk wrote: »

……….Help would be much appreciated, as cant afford to pay out for the car then find out really expensive repairs are then needed.

Three options…either take a knowledgable friend along or get the AA/RAC to have a look or take the car for an MOT.

I assume the friend isn’t on otherwise you would have done it already, of the other two I’d be tempted to go for the MOT, that way once you’ve had the boot done you end up with a new full MOT

anewman

A CV boot joint is probably one of things I wouldn't have checked if I was going to buy a car as usually getting to see it involves jacking up the car - and I'm sure a seller wouldn't be impressed if I did that. Suppose the alternative is to take some ramps and overalls along whilst viewing a car, but probably still wouldn't impress the seller.

I can't believe a car seller would openly tell you a car needs a CV boot replacing, unless the car has just failed it's MOT. Sounds like a decent seller.

As for whether it is serious, depends on how long it's been split. Bear in mind it can't have been split at previous MOT as it would have failed. The thing is there to keep out grit. If you can't hear any funny sounds when driving the car at full lock both left and right I don't think any serious damage will have been done.

If you can't afford extra repairs, have you considered geting a cheaper car? There's some great cars at the £1k and under mark.

vansboy

Not wishing to sound cynical, but why hasn't he simply replaced this split boot?

You've no idea how long he's driven it like it, it may only be a tiny split, or it might well have a big hole & lost all the lubricant, causing future damage, to the drive shaft.

Do get someone to look at it for you - the whole car, paperwork,,, & the split boot!

VB

sarah1975uk

Thanks everyone. Have decided to give this car a miss.

Can anyone suggest a good car that is cheap to repair if in future please? Anything up to £1k ish, what mileage am i looking at as a maximum when im looking at cars cheap insurance 5doors petrol or deisel and has 5 seats Cheap to run. Safe and reliable as i have 3 kids and when looking at cars what are the important things i should look out for as in not being ripped off etc. I remember years ago i brought my 1st car on my own, (tried to be indipendant etc lol) the car was from a garage that had been there for years and thought mmm trustworthy anyway saw a car i loved drove it and brought it, it had years MOT and Tax and seemed perfect for what i needed. I took the car home really pleased and showed my mum and dad, dad looked at it and moaned his !!!! off said sills were gone and other bits and that no way would it have passed its test, thourgh a lot of arguments garage refunded me but took what seemed like forever. So really weary now and that was in 1992 lol Thanks Sarah xx

anewman

I would always say don't worry about mileage, look at the condition. A very well looked after car with 120,000 miles is a better buy than a car with only 60,000 miles that's never been washed or properly serviced to MFR's schedule. Also, if you blind yourself by the mileage you may well end up with a clocked car if you don't take into account the condition.

As for "safe" you can be killed in any car if you have the misfortune to have a stupid driver smash in to you. Better to do all you can to avoid an accident than put yourself in harm's way.

A Skoda Felicia 1.3 is cheap to buy, run and insure, 5 doors 5 seats and plenty of room. As for repairs, for some things the main dealers can be relatively expensive for labour, but parts tend to be relatively cheap and they are an easy car to work on so should pose no problem for any independent garage, or even DIY for some jobs if you don't mind getting your hands dirty. Common problems that come to mind at moment, rusty spring cups on suspension (if these go the spring goes boing and not fun - top easily and cheaply replaced, bottom one is part of chock absorber which means the shock absorber needs replacing and will cost a bit more), rusty rear arches, rust in the tailgate. Open up the fusebox in passenger side under the dash and check for any signs of water ingress in the soundproofing and the fusebox itself. Check spare wheel well for water. Check sunroof for any leaks. Check oil cap for any "mayo" inside it, and take off the coolant cap and look closely at the coolant for any signs of oil - either of these two problems are likely to indicate head gasket failure. Also look out for worn gear linkage - gear stick moves left to right too easily or may rattle in certain gears and speeds.