Maybe another 75 about to be scrapped :(

[DaPol]

The GF's Connie SE has just been in for MOT, and has failed on the dreaded rear upper suspension arm having a dose of galloping tinworm.

£305 to replace is a quote I just had - judging by Autotrader the car isn't worth much more than that these days - especially with the list of "Could do with" it has - both front strut upper bearings etc. etc...

Does that sound like an anyway sensible number to replace the offside upper suspension arm, or are we going to see a lot of 75s scrapped soon because a very common failure is dratted expensive to fix?

[Si-monogram]

Heart and head situation. If it's had its day then it's time to say goodbye and move on.

[EastPete]

A new arm is about 100 pounds, and should not take much more than an hour to fit for someone who knows what they are doing - it only involves undoing the lower damper bolt, then either 2 or 3 bolts on the arm (depending on whether you have an anti-roll bar or not) to remove, and then bolting the new one on. I would have thought no more than 200 pounds. If both sides need doing, then obviously you have to double this.

Pete

[F-Superman]

I've never been able to understand the logic of 'It costs more than the car is worth to repair it, so I'll scrap it'.
Surely your question should be 'If I go out to buy another car with £305 will I get better than I've got?'
Get another quote for the repair, get the job done, have other work done as you can. If in doubt, see what three hundred quid will buy you on the used car market and then decide to keep the Rover.

[DaPol]

Originally Posted by EastPete

A new arm is about 100 pounds, and should not take much more than an hour to fit for someone who knows what they are doing - it only involves undoing the lower damper bolt, then either 2 or 3 bolts on the arm (depending on whether you have an anti-roll bar or not) to remove, and then bolting the new one on. I would have thought no more than 200 pounds. If both sides need doing, then obviously you have to double this.

Pete

Quote I just had was for 3 hours labour plus the arm and a bush and bolts, with the arm at £89+VAT, the bush at £19+VAT and the bolts at another 4-5 quid - they reckon they need to cut the bushes to get it off.

[DaPol]

Just pricing around to see if anybody else will give me a lower quote - that one is from a "Trusted" Rover place near me - they've never yet come out with a quote within a country mile of anybody else, but hey - supposedly you pays your money and gets what you pays for

[kbonney88]

Not sure how good or bad that quote is.. and I have not done a rear upper arm yet.. no doubt I will eventually..

but, if it was me i'd get it done anyway.. so she can keep the car on the road and enjoy it

[DaPol]

It's less what £305 will get 2nd hand, it's more that £305 now, and another £305 next MOT, and incidentals between now and then - it adds up quite quickly and leads to sense of impending dread.

Of course, the Jag XF I got rid of a few years ago was very much a case of "Repairs cost more than car is worth, get shot of" - £1800 for EGR replacements (they went about every 25k miles - one or other), £500 for cracked EGR coolant housing, and an impending "You need a fully refurbed pair of turbos" that would have let me buy a brand new Dacia for less.

With the 75, the maths tends to be a little different

I'll see what she says when she gets home - it's her car, she can pay to get it fixed, or alternatively get the MG6 GT TSE Diesel she's been lusting after for some reason

[EastPete]

Originally Posted by DaPol

Quote I just had was for 3 hours labour plus the arm and a bush and bolts, with the arm at £89+VAT, the bush at £19+VAT and the bolts at another 4-5 quid - they reckon they need to cut the bushes to get it off.

The bushes/bolts may be well rusted, but a good garage should be able to shift them quite easily with the tools at their disposal (air wrenches, heat etc.) - I managed to undo mine at home with a liberal dose of penetrating oil and some good sockets/breaker bars.

Pete

[GeoffWW]

Hi Dapol,

I have just sent you a pm.

GeoffWW