Had enough, now want rid

[NigelOBB]

Originally Posted by Mike Noc

Where did that figure come from Nigel?

Some can go at 110-120k miles, but they can last 3 times that and more - it is just the luck of the draw.

Seems to be the average life span.. like most things these days. The pulley on my Connie has just started to get noisy at just under 110k, which is around the same as my Contemporary did.

But your quite right some may last longer.


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[steve-45]

If the OP really feels that way about "older cars" then the obvious alternative is to get a brand new vehicle on some form of personal lease plan.

Give them a few thousand pound as an initial payment, they pay £200 to £300 per month for 3 years then give it back to them.

You maybe about £10,000 poorer but that should give you stress free motoring.

[Sector-9]

Nah, IMO PCP is a mugs game - you're technically renting the car long term (with all the pitfalls of a hire vehicle such as mileage restrictions) and have nothing to show at the end of it. What I'd do is buy a base-model Dacia for £6K, add on 5yr warranty for £600ish and pay around £110/month for 5yrs: at the end I own the car and, should I wish to get rid of it, it'll still be worth £2K.

Anyway I've stripped it down a bit and can see that the idler and tensioner pulleys are okay, but the water pump one is wobbling all over. Strangely it hasn't lost any coolant, though it has turned a murky black colour. I'm not looking forward to swapping the pump as I only did the thermostat last year due to a leak and that took me ages because of the non-existent clearance between the engine and inner wing. Still, with the engine mountings and stuff already removed (though not the wheel or arch liner), it'd be crazy to put it all back together now without replacing it. I just need to search the forum for how-tos. I've also noticed the hydramount thingy bolted to the chassis rail has split and leaking so yet more expense, and of course the bolts holding it will be seized/rounded off/snap, whichever causes the most inconvenience!

[trikey]

It’s easier changing the stat and pump together 👍

[Heddy]

I think if you buy one of our cars, and keep it a few years then most of the parts prone to failure will have been replaced. You end up with a car that has so many new parts it becomes pointless/uneconomical to change it. Had mine 4 years now, it has a new crank pulley/belts, slave, master cylinder, wheel bearings and many other new parts.....what can go wrong? Answer is....loads of things, but a few hundred quid a year is cheap motoring compared with a couple of grand on an unknown

[Sector-9]

There may be a pull-it-yourself type yard somewhere around here; though I did have a complete diesel tourer for scrap just a few months ago (a few members came and took bits off it) and contemplated keeping it for parts but I needed my driveway back. I've got the mount off suprisingly easy, but then I've got the mother-of-all-chisels (about 5' long iron bar from the pit) to 'persuade' it with. Just trying to order one from ebay but looks like my paypal account isn't working for some reason.

I've considered replacing the crank pulley too, but I've not had any issues with the one on it, and if replacing that, why not the tensioner, idler and alternator too, y'know, just to be sure... Fact is the car is 16yr old, pretty much worthless even when running, has some corrosion issues (only driver's side wierdly) and getting harder to pass the MOT every year: sooner rather than later I'm going to have to replace it or spend 3x it's value on repairs (rear arms will probably be next but I've got no appetite to do them myself).

If it can last until mid August without costing me anything more then I'll be happy, but equally I'd not be suprised if it broke down purely out of spite the night before I'm due to go on holiday!

[timspencer]

I would fix it, and forget about it, one less thing to worry about!

[Richard1973]

Originally Posted by Sector-9

There may be a pull-it-yourself type yard somewhere around here; though I did have a complete diesel tourer for scrap just a few months ago (a few members came and took bits off it) and contemplated keeping it for parts but I needed my driveway back. I've got the mount off suprisingly easy, but then I've got the mother-of-all-chisels (about 5' long iron bar from the pit) to 'persuade' it with. Just trying to order one from ebay but looks like my paypal account isn't working for some reason.

I've considered replacing the crank pulley too, but I've not had any issues with the one on it, and if replacing that, why not the tensioner, idler and alternator too, y'know, just to be sure... Fact is the car is 16yr old, pretty much worthless even when running, has some corrosion issues (only driver's side wierdly) and getting harder to pass the MOT every year: sooner rather than later I'm going to have to replace it or spend 3x it's value on repairs (rear arms will probably be next but I've got no appetite to do them myself).

If it can last until mid August without costing me anything more then I'll be happy, but equally I'd not be suprised if it broke down purely out of spite the night before I'm due to go on holiday!

Vale Road scrapyard in Mansfield Woodhouse is very good although they now go up the yard with you and remove the part. You can still go into the yard though and have a nosy at what else is being broke.

[setter]

I was born in Cheltenham , dad had an MG Magnette YDF 78 bought from Wicliffe Motors in the town ...stupid me sold it to a mate in the late 70s who wrecked it , knew someone with a SD1 with ONE 2 on it thats probably worth a fortune now

[bl52krz]

You mention company cars being serviced? Are you joking? In 2002 when I had my last accident ( not my fault as acknowledged by my insurance company at the time). I had a Micra car for six weeks as a courtesy vehicle. I had to change the air filter because it was u.s. When the time came to hand it back when my car was returned to me, I told the delivery driver that I had changed the filter. He said he did not know why I had bothered because it was going to the auction when he got it back.It was 18 months old and ‘we don’t bother servicing them because we get rid of them after 18 months). Take your pick.