please help about car!!

kayleighb_2

i recently passed my driving test in september 07 so only a few months back & it took me 5times to pass so I was over the moon when I finally passed!so I wanted a car asap & im a 19 year old female & im sure they saw me comeing cause firstly i paid £1200 for an S reg 1.2 renault clio petrol!But anyway I was sooo excited about being able to drive that silly me just didnt ask questions & went for it....then a few weeks down the line I noticed a knocking when I turned to the right,i found out that I neede a new drive shaft so thats problem one which I still havent fixed, then i dont think this is such a problem but i took it for the wheels balancing cause it shook when i went over 70mph & the mechanic said it needed a new o/s anti roll bar bush,then more recently I was happily driving along & my accelerator cable snapped,which made me panic & loose a little confidence,anyway I got that fixed.Then last night, to top it all off, I was driving on the motorway & all of a sudden my car just cut out,there was no power, now luckily it was very quiet & I was able to pull into the hard shoulder very quickly,I called the recovery people & turns out my cam belt had snapped & as I was going about 80mph he said the chances are its damaged quite abit so I havnt bothered ringng a garage or anything because I just dont trust them!i want people to say how much they think its going to cost to be fixed or its just best off to scrap it!im so upset now though because I feel like I got sold a dogjy car,it had done 68k when I got it & ive never heard off a cam belt before!i no some of this is my fault for not asking questions when I originally got the car but ive just lost so much confidence in driving now,if that motorway had been busy I wouldnt have know what do do & it w3as pitch black & I had to wait an hour for the recovery people to come.I feel like ive been ripped off & I want a rough idea of how much its going to cost to repair so as I no if im getting ripped of again!
please help...
thanks
kayleigh
x

kayleighb_2

This is an add on after recieving some info last night!
Sooo last night after ringing round a few friends & them asking thier friends/families someone has come to my rescue or so I think!they have said that they have found a scrap yard with an engine for my car for £150 but the guy at the scrap yard has said that he will sell just the cylinder head for £95, then he's said I need some bolts which are £11, a head gasket which is £12 & a new cam belt which is £23 so all in all comeing to a total of £142ish & then theres labour on top of that which he said he wont charge much for so I think im looking in the region of £200 for it repairing which I really dont mind paying however, as I am not a mechanic & do not have a clue about cars I just want to no if this will work because i dont want to pay £200 & then it doesnt work but he says its not his fault or something like so im stuck in the same situation but £200 poorer!!Also he said there are 2 cylinder heads at the scrap yard,ones from a none starter & one missfires or something like that & he said that this could be a number of faults why & when its put into my car it is more than likely that it wont miss fire?is this true?!
please help again!!
kayleigh
x

kenb2

Bum deal.
My advice is to take time and look around for a better low mileage engine from a preferably crashed car.which can be heard running.
Its a straight swap which ought to be cheaper and quicker
Do not mess about with bits of engine, its a waste of time, and subject to too many variables.
These engines are not scarce, try ebay.

Cambelts are fitted to most cars these days, except the quality makes which use chains.
It pays anyone to have the cambelt changed on any vehicle when you buy it, or preferably get one from a dealer who changes them on the cars they sell as routine.
And you certainly paid far too much for the car in my opinion.

kenb2

Look here Kayleigh
You need to check it will match yours as its a different year.
delivery ought to cost 50-75£


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-2-RENAULT-CLIO-ENGINE-AND-GEARBOX_W0QQitemZ110220134381QQihZ001QQcategoryZ10410QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

hartcjhart

bad luck, sadly cables and belts can break at any time and a chattering CV joint is no great problem,so I dont think the car was dodgy,1200 is a little high but hey ho,

now to the engine,if the breaker will fit the whole engine not just parts of it for £200 then that is not such a bad deal IF and only IF he will give say a 3 month warranty on the engine,if he does then go ahead and get him to put a new cambelt and water pump on while he is doing the job an extra £25ish for the pump and £30ish for a cambelt and new tensioner

steveo3002

its at least a days work to sort that...so i cant see them not charging much , get the quote in writing or it could end in tears

as for the break down and problems...cars need maintenence, they break and go wrong all the time so get used to it lol

kenb2

Ye Gods!!!

Whatever you do, do NOT get the engine fitted by a breaker of cars!!!!!!

Find someone who knows what they are doing;
A car breaker is NOT a mechanic, most of those I have met during nearly half a century of motor trade are pure Neanderthal
you will end up even more peed off
On your head be it.

hartcjhart

YE GODS some people that work at breakers ARE mechanics,

yes some are of the missing link type,:eek:

30 years motor trade:beer:

davetrousers

kayleighb wrote: »

so all in all comeing to a total of £142ish & then theres labour on top of that which he said he wont charge much for so I think im looking in the region of £200 for it repairing which I really dont mind paying

You have made an assumption on the labour charge!!! Labour is typically £40 to £50 an hour imo, it is going to take more than an hour and a half to change engines. Plus they will probably add the VAT on top so £200 would become £235.

Do plenty of research and get plenty of quote!

kayleighb_2

the guy thats doing it said he usually charges £10-£20 an hour labour & i was just presuming it wouldnt take that long & he is a mechaninc,working in a hgv garage though but does foreneirs on cars for people, I think the 3 year warranty thing is a good thing to mention though!thanks

hartcjhart

3 month warranty or more ,there is no way he will give a 3 year,

apx labour in hours for a COMPLETE engine change is 8/10 as i say apx