When to replace car?

Crazy_Diamond

At what point is it worth replacing a car?

I have a Hyundai Coupe which is 8 years old which I just failed its MOT.
On the points it failed on the estimated cost is £600
-1 new tyre
- replacement parking brake recording
- replacement wheel bearing
- replacement parts to parking brake (at 14% of efficiency)

There were also lots of expensive advisory points (not needed to pass)
-2 further new tyres
- brake pads
- 1 brake disc
- replacement exhaust £400
- leak in power steering £600
- engine rattly (said could cost up to £2000 but could not give me any reasons without further investigation)

On Parkers the car was valued at around £1500 (poor condition) and a local garage has offered me £1000 for a trade in.

I am happy with my car (apart from all the costs!) as it is lovely to drive and I am uncertain which of the following options to take -

a) sell car now (has 4 weeks left on old MOT) and buy second hand car

b) part exchange car now for £1K off a new car

c) get car to pass MOT and then sell and look for new car

d) pay minimum costs to get through MOT and run car into the ground - I bought the car for £6K 3 years ago so have already lost a lot in depreciation and calculate that a repair bill of even £1K per year will be less than the depreciation on a newer car. My Hyundai should only depreciate at £200 per year from now on.

Any advice please?

anewman

Crazy_Diamond wrote: »

At what point is it worth replacing a car?

I have a Hyundai Coupe which is 8 years old which I just failed its MOT.
On the points it failed on the estimated cost is £600
-1 new tyre

Stick the spare on £0

Crazy_Diamond wrote: »

- replacement parking brake recording

no idea what that is - probably related to efficiency...

Crazy_Diamond wrote: »

- replacement wheel bearing

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HYUNDAI-COUPE-LANTRA-1-6-2-0-REAR-WHEEL-BEARING-HUB_W0QQitemZ230240019980QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116 £65 for part for rear

Crazy_Diamond wrote: »

- replacement parts to parking brake (at 14% of efficiency)

Most likely the rear shoes need adjusting or replacing, shouldn't cost too much. £600 seems a bit pricey IMO unless I am missing something.

Crazy_Diamond wrote: »

There were also lots of expensive advisory points (not needed to pass)
-2 further new tyres
- brake pads
- 1 brake disc
- replacement exhaust £400
- leak in power steering £600
- engine rattly (said could cost up to £2000 but could not give me any reasons without further investigation)

Tyres, brake pads, discs, and exhausts are usually considered wear and tear items although all the lot going at once is unfortunate. Discs should ideally be replaced in a pair. Exhaust price seems a bit OTT - call around the exhaust places in the phone book. The advisory should state exactly which parts are needed. Power steering - what is needed exactly? Just the rack or the servo as well http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2002-Hyundai-Coupe-2-0-Power-Steering-Rack_W0QQitemZ230158742252QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

Crazy_Diamond wrote: »

On Parkers the car was valued at around £1500 (poor condition) and a local garage has offered me £1000 for a trade in.

I am happy with my car (apart from all the costs!) as it is lovely to drive and I am uncertain which of the following options to take -

a) sell car now (has 4 weeks left on old MOT) and buy second hand car

b) part exchange car now for £1K off a new car

c) get car to pass MOT and then sell and look for new car

d) pay minimum costs to get through MOT and run car into the ground - I bought the car for £6K 3 years ago so have already lost a lot in depreciation and calculate that a repair bill of even £1K per year will be less than the depreciation on a newer car. My Hyundai should only depreciate at £200 per year from now on.

Any advice please?

Difficult to say, only you can decide. But hopefully you can save money somehow on the repairs by calling around for quotes.

tomstickland

Most of those things are general wear and tear and can be fixed for less than quoted.

On the points it failed on the estimated cost is £600
-1 new tyre
£45 from blackcircles
- replacement parking brake recording
no idea what that means
- replacement wheel bearing
£15 for part, an hour to fit
- replacement parts to parking brake (at 14% of efficiency)



There were also lots of expensive advisory points (not needed to pass)
-2 further new tyres
Blackcircles
- brake pads
service item
- 1 brake disc
service item
- replacement exhaust £400
sounds reasonable
- leak in power steering £600
source recon rack, usually abour £120.

- engine rattly (said could cost up to £2000 but could not give me any reasons without further investigation)
Ignore.

There is a saying about "better the devil you know".

Conor_3

£600? You were robbed. There's £200 of work there at most.

Keep it and find another garage especially if they're saying to only replace one brake disc. You do those in pairs and from a motor factors, they're under £50 a pair. In fact you'd be pushed to find somewhere happy to sell you them in singles.

tomstickland

I usually buy them in sets of 3.
Reliant Robin owners prefer sets of 4.

jeannieblue

£600 is a bit steep for the parts and labour to get it through the test.

Basically, I think it is up to you. It is an 8 year old car, it needs some work, and it is your choice whether you spend money on putting it right or not.

Your call ...

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

The wheel bearing may just want tightening up, depends on the design. I agree with others, the costs are excessive.

Put the spare wheel on and don't put the wheel in the boot. They can't fail you for a spare that isn't there.

jeannieblue

Think they would've put the spare on if that was what it needed - we would, but if its not there or in a worse condition?? And if the wheel bearing has failed the MOT - then it needs replacing, tighten up, my ap5e.

anewman

This place sounds more interested in the money than common sense so I doubt they'd be suggesting using the spare when selling a tyre makes them money - it's the business principle that kept kwikfit going, sell the customer what they do not need. Plus the MOT does not check the condition of the spare, although if the spare is illegal it is against the law to use it.

MOT fail will either state excessive roughness or poor adjustment of wheel bearing so they are usually quite specific about what needs to be done to pass MOT.

Crazy_Diamond

Thank you all for your replies - really good advice.

I will certainly not be going back to this garage for the repairs. Can anyone recommend a good garage or mechanic in the Cambridge/Bury area as I have yet to find one. A friend recommended this one! I would like to do a basic car maintenance course but can't find one locally.

What most concerns me was the engine - the garage suggested that it may need to be replaced on the basis of it being rattly - is this likely? Should I be worried? It was making a rattly noise which was the reason I took it in for an early service but since the service the noise seems to have stopped - could it just have needed an oil change? - the oil had not be changed since the last service in June 2007.

I am also a bit annoyed about the tyres. They were all replaced in June last year and were not cheap, Dunlops at around £80 each from BlackCircle!
The readings are now N/S front - 2/4/2 (and cut in side wall) pass, O/S front 2/4/1.6 (cut in tyre) fail, O/S rear 4/6/3, N/S rear 3/5/3.
What could have caused this uneven wear after about 10,000 miles? - I had them aligned when fitted. One of the advisory notes said 'nearside and offside anti-roll bar linkage has slight play in a ball joint' - could this be to blame?

I do live in a rural area and the roads are not great with a few potholes. Does anyone have any suggestions for what tyres to use next time?
For the power steering the advisory note was - centre power steering component has slight seepage from a component. For the exhaust the advisory note read ' front exhaust system has a minor leak of exhaust gases'. Should I try to get these points sorted out now or can they be left for a while?

anewman

Crazy_Diamond wrote: »

What most concerns me was the engine - the garage suggested that it may need to be replaced on the basis of it being rattly - is this likely? Should I be worried? It was making a rattly noise which was the reason I took it in for an early service but since the service the noise seems to have stopped - could it just have needed an oil change? - the oil had not be changed since the last service in June 2007.

If you've done 10k miles and it's been a year you would most likely be due an oil and filter change. But I doubt it would stop the engine rattling. Try looking through these forums listed here http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hyundai+forums&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a and ask those if the rattling is anything to be concerned about. If the engine is chain cam (as opposed to a cam belt) it could simply be a loose chain.

[quote=Crazy_Diamond;10840899Does anyone have any suggestions for what tyres to use next time? [/quote]

Michelin Energy one's don't seem too bad for wear although I can't say I have done 10k miles on mine.