Run into ground, repair or p/x?
Discussion
My family wagon's getting on a bit now. It's a Zafira 1.8. It's by no means knackered but is starting to suffer from several niggles that could eventually add up to big bills.
Basically it's not idling correctly. If I allow it to idle for more than a few seconds the warning light comes on. When the air con is on the alternator sounds like it's going to explode. The passenger rear door doesn't unlock or lock. The gearbox is getting a bit whiney. The offside rear brake disk guard has rotted clean off. The dashboard rattles a lot. The offside balljoint gaitor has split causing the balljoint to creak a lot. The engine is drinking 2 litre of oil every 1,000 miles. It's only doing high 20's to the gallon when it should be doing mid 30's. The brakes grind like hell (rubbish front pads).
In theory it will run on for a while as it is (probably) but there are always the niggly bits in the back of my mind. So I'm at a bit of a crossroads really. Do I just leave it and scrap it if / when it dies, throw some cash at it in the hope that it lives a bit longer, or P/X now while it's still running and worth something? I paid £3,700 for it two and a half years ago so if it's worth £1000 now that makes £1000ish per year depreciation which ain't half bad!
Any thoughts?
Basically it's not idling correctly. If I allow it to idle for more than a few seconds the warning light comes on. When the air con is on the alternator sounds like it's going to explode. The passenger rear door doesn't unlock or lock. The gearbox is getting a bit whiney. The offside rear brake disk guard has rotted clean off. The dashboard rattles a lot. The offside balljoint gaitor has split causing the balljoint to creak a lot. The engine is drinking 2 litre of oil every 1,000 miles. It's only doing high 20's to the gallon when it should be doing mid 30's. The brakes grind like hell (rubbish front pads).
In theory it will run on for a while as it is (probably) but there are always the niggly bits in the back of my mind. So I'm at a bit of a crossroads really. Do I just leave it and scrap it if / when it dies, throw some cash at it in the hope that it lives a bit longer, or P/X now while it's still running and worth something? I paid £3,700 for it two and a half years ago so if it's worth £1000 now that makes £1000ish per year depreciation which ain't half bad!
Any thoughts?
Edited by flakeypaul on Saturday 29th May 17:37
If it's a daily that you don't care about and you just want to be reliable it's going to be a PITA if it breaks down.
You can give a toy / classic some leeway if it breaks from time to time, but if it is a daily it's not funny IMHO.
Sounds like a lot of expense there. Would be tempted to sell it on and buy something in a better state of repair.
You can give a toy / classic some leeway if it breaks from time to time, but if it is a daily it's not funny IMHO.
Sounds like a lot of expense there. Would be tempted to sell it on and buy something in a better state of repair.
It depends on how deep your pockets are to replace it. At least you know the history of this car, and how much would a replacement cost, and despite your best efforts could have a costly problem you don't find before purchase.
My Galsharalhambra just ate its clutch, 6 months after I replaced it. And the radiator started to leak whilst it sat on the drive waiting for a repair. I think I am looking at about £750 to sort and I only paid £1500 for it a year ago. However, used values have definately gone upwards and a similar car would be about £2 - 2.5k now (caveat to say these seem to be ebay asking prices so I could be talking out of my bottom).
My Galsharalhambra just ate its clutch, 6 months after I replaced it. And the radiator started to leak whilst it sat on the drive waiting for a repair. I think I am looking at about £750 to sort and I only paid £1500 for it a year ago. However, used values have definately gone upwards and a similar car would be about £2 - 2.5k now (caveat to say these seem to be ebay asking prices so I could be talking out of my bottom).
flakeypaul said:
It's by no means knackered
and,flakeypaul said:
Basically it's not idling correctly. If I allow it to idle for more than a few seconds the warning light comes on. When the air con is on the alternator sounds like it's going to explode. The passenger rear door doesn't unlock or lock. The gearbox is getting a bit whiney. The offside rear brake disk guard has rotted clean off. The dashboard rattles a lot. The offside balljoint gaitor has split causing the balljoint to creak a lot. The engine is drinking 2 litre of oil every 1,000 miles. It's only doing high 20's to the gallon when it should be doing mid 30's. The brakes grind like hell (rubbish front pads).
It just needs a new engine, new electrics, new suspension and new brakes then? I'd hate to see your description of knackered then! 
OnTheOverrun said:
flakeypaul said:
It's by no means knackered
and,flakeypaul said:
Basically it's not idling correctly. If I allow it to idle for more than a few seconds the warning light comes on. When the air con is on the alternator sounds like it's going to explode. The passenger rear door doesn't unlock or lock. The gearbox is getting a bit whiney. The offside rear brake disk guard has rotted clean off. The dashboard rattles a lot. The offside balljoint gaitor has split causing the balljoint to creak a lot. The engine is drinking 2 litre of oil every 1,000 miles. It's only doing high 20's to the gallon when it should be doing mid 30's. The brakes grind like hell (rubbish front pads).
It just needs a new engine, new electrics, new suspension and new brakes then? I'd hate to see your description of knackered then! 
Dr.Doofenshmirtz said:
If you know your way round a socket set, you could fix it up yourself. If you need to pay someone to do these jobs for you then I would get rid.
Buy a Honda next time.
You do know that the Honda Accord, 2008 model year, has the most problems of any new vehicle, of any manufacturer, don't you?Buy a Honda next time.
And that the 2001 Civic is rated as the number 2 worst vehicle of all time by carcomplaints.com?
Oh, guess you didn't.
OP, your car is worthless in the real world. I'd just run it until it dies in a spectacular fashion. I know from experience that Vauxhalls of that era can pretend to be terminal and yet still keep hacking on for thousands of (unpleasant) miles.
skyslimit said:
OP, your car is worthless in the real world. I'd just run it until it dies in a spectacular fashion. I know from experience that Vauxhalls of that era can pretend to be terminal and yet still keep hacking on for thousands of (unpleasant) miles.
Yeah I thought that. It's probably worth very little as a p/x and will probably run on for ages before dying in an inconvenient spot in a huge cloud of fire and brimstone 
.The Riddler said:
If door neither locks or unlocks, what does it do?
I shall clarify 
- the door does not lock or unlock with the other doors via the central locking. It has to be done manually (not a major problem in itself - just a niggle).flakeypaul said:
The Riddler said:
If door neither locks or unlocks, what does it do?
I shall clarify - the door does not lock or unlock with the other doors via the central locking. It has to be done manually (not a major problem in itself - just a niggle).Edited by The Riddler on Monday 24th May 07:18
flakeypaul said:
It's a 2000W Zafira 1.8 Elegance. It's by no means knackered....
The engine is drinking 2 litre of oil every 1,000 miles.
Yes, it IS knackered! Especially when you factor in all those other problems. Your recent "major service" must have been done by the clowns at Jerry Cottle's Circus.The engine is drinking 2 litre of oil every 1,000 miles.
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