80k mile 120d - replace clutch or replace car?

[MitchT]

The OH's early 2005 120d needs a new clutch and possibly a new flywheel. The mileage hit 77777 this afternoon. Is it worth replacing the clutch and flywheel or is this likely to be the beginning of a series of big bills? It's currently okay to drive but those issues need to be sorted sooner rather than later. She's wondering whether to px it against a new car or repair it. She mainly uses it for her 22 mile motorway commute, so the DPF shouldn't be an issue but I'm aware that turbos can fail too.

[tjlees]

Early for a clutch replacement, given it's a mainly motorway car.

There are some weak points on this engine, but mileage is low so maybe ok? Someone will be along to confirm or otherwise

If the car is under 10 years old it might be possible put a warranty on it for peace of mind. A swap to a younger car will cost you the best part of £5k.

[andyiley]

77k is not particularly early for a clutch on an O/H car, although most of us males get much more our prettier halves normally ride the clutch more.

I have never worn one out yet in over 30 years of driving, my O/H has just had hers replaced at 70K in a Clio.

[tjlees]

andyiley said:

77k is not particularly early for a clutch on an O/H car, although most of us males get much more our prettier halves normally ride the clutch more.

I have never worn one out yet in over 30 years of driving, my O/H has just had hers replaced at 70K in a Clio.

Yep. always telling swmbo not to ride the clutch! To be fair, we have never replaced a clutch yet and her last vag car had 160k on the clock.

[ftypical]

The first (or second) owner after you will replace same and sell the car for a profit.

So the question is more about how big a depreciation hit have you already taken, and what's the price to change for its replacement?

I mention this as my shopping car (E46 330ci) is worth less than 10% of the first year of depreciation on my other car, but it's value doesn't drop provided I maintain it. A £500 bill on a car worth £2k might seem disproportionate, but it's chicken feed compared to the depreciation on s newer car. Plus, it continues to be fun to drive.

HTH

[MitchT]

Thanks for the replies and apologies for the delay in responding ...

tjlees said:

Early for a clutch replacement, given it's a mainly motorway car.

Well, it's half stop-start traffic to get to the motorway and then a short (in distance) crawl on the M62 from J26 to J28. Plenty of clutch action!

tjlees said:

A swap to a younger car will cost you the best part of £5k.

Correct, but we want to establish that the 120d (just over ten years old with 80k miles) isn't about to throw up £5k of bills anyway as she might as well have a new one of that's going to be the case.

[themanwithnoname]

I just did this on my 120d. Its not a difficult or time consuming job. Auto data gives it 4 hours. I did it going way over a weekend on stands with hand tools on my driveway. Parts were under £400

ETA: Over a weekend taking it very easy, having a chat with friends, a beer or two, a bbq, some shopping etc. Would estimate 6-7 hours of actually working on it.

Edited by themanwithnoname on Monday 27th April 09:44

[MitchT]

There's no way we'll be doing it ourselves - we don't have the equipment or the knowledge. It'll go to the local indy that the OH uses and it'll cost about £1k (if the flywheel needs doing as well as the clutch). The purpose of my original question is whether this is the first of a series of large bills that these cars throw up around this age/mileage, in which case she might as well replace the car, or if it's going to be fine for another 20k+ miles if the clutch (and possibly flywheel) are replaced now, which which case she'll keep it.

[Vee]

Without getting the clutch done you're going to lose almost £500-£1,000 on the trade in / sale value anyway.
Get it done and then decide on what to do about keeing the car or not.

[themanwithnoname]

MitchT said:

There's no way we'll be doing it ourselves - we don't have the equipment or the knowledge. It'll go to the local indy that the OH uses and it'll cost about £1k (if the flywheel needs doing as well as the clutch). The purpose of my original question is whether this is the first of a series of large bills that these cars throw up around this age/mileage, in which case she might as well replace the car, or if it's going to be fine for another 20k+ miles if the clutch (and possibly flywheel) are replaced now, which which case she'll keep it.

Sorry, should also have added, I paid retail prices for parts and it took an accomplished amateur 6-7 lazy hours to do the job. If it costs more that 6-700 to have done, your mechanic is expensive or having you over.

[MitchT]

I think she was quote £900 for the clutch and the flywheel. Seemed OK after I did a quick Google to see what people in the wider world were being charged.

[nottyash]

my 56 plate had 98000 miles on and became noisy.I bought the LUK clutch and flywheel off eBay for under £400, then a local Indy fitted and did a full service including fluids and filters for £500, so £900 all in.

[De Sisti]

My 2003 320d SE (112k miles) needs a new clutch and DMF. For those items, Inspection II and new wiper blades
came in at £1250 (in vat). Not bad.

[MitchT]

Just noticed that this had been bumped...

After a bit more reading it seemed to be a case of "they all do that sir" so we never bothered changing the clutch or flywheel. The juddering seems to be consistent with what's mentioned by people talking about what's normal for these cars. It's never got any worse and I usually find I can kill the judder with a few extra revs. A mate has an F30 320d and has described the same issue with that!

[De Sisti]

De Sisti said:

My 2003 320d SE (112k miles) needs a new clutch and DMF. For those items, Inspection II and new wiper blades
came in at £1250 (in vat). Not bad.

Oh, that price included an MOT.

Edited by De Sisti on Wednesday 17th January 09:26