Why I like old cars and forums
Discussion
A few weeks ago I was having a couple of issues with the fan motor of the E30. Suddenly began to make a hideous noise like a hideous noise making machine (although to be fair this was on a background number of months of 'chirping' which I ignored).
Started a thread over on E30Zone and it was diagnosed that the bearings on the fan motor were b
ksed. Using the forum I sourced a good condition second hand item for £15 inc delivery and then found a write up on how to replace it on the forum's Wiki DIY section.
Swapped this morning and it all works perfectly.
Total cost: £15 and a few hours of my time including all the foruming.
I can only imagine a similar scenario with a new car and the owner taking it to a dealer to be sorted.
- Cost for 'diagnostics'.
- Cost of the part
- Labour cost (Wouldn't be surprised if a swap on a new 3er would be rather more complicated/time consuming).
Plus the feeling of satisfaction of doing the job yourself is priceless.
Old cars FTW (until the next problem/niggle/foible/act of 'character').
Started a thread over on E30Zone and it was diagnosed that the bearings on the fan motor were b
ksed. Using the forum I sourced a good condition second hand item for £15 inc delivery and then found a write up on how to replace it on the forum's Wiki DIY section.Swapped this morning and it all works perfectly.
Total cost: £15 and a few hours of my time including all the foruming.
I can only imagine a similar scenario with a new car and the owner taking it to a dealer to be sorted.
- Cost for 'diagnostics'.
- Cost of the part
- Labour cost (Wouldn't be surprised if a swap on a new 3er would be rather more complicated/time consuming).
Plus the feeling of satisfaction of doing the job yourself is priceless.
Old cars FTW (until the next problem/niggle/foible/act of 'character').
This is exactly why I've just 'downgraded' from a 2003 Mondeo TDCI to a 1996 525i Touring (E34). I was not looking forward to the usual expensive failures on the Mondeo since it was on 135,000 miles, and when it did go wrong it would've needed a specialist to fix. When BMW goes wrong I will open my tool box and get cracking.
Happens on newer cars too... I pay to subscribe to ClioSport (£10 annually I think it is) but have saved at least £200 with finding the regular little things that go wrong.
For instance I've never taken a dash apart, I hear Renault charge £100... but I thought I'd give it a go with their guide and 15 minutes it was off!
For instance I've never taken a dash apart, I hear Renault charge £100... but I thought I'd give it a go with their guide and 15 minutes it was off!
kayzee said:
Happens on newer cars too... I pay to subscribe to ClioSport (£10 annually I think it is) but have saved at least £200 with finding the regular little things that go wrong.
For instance I've never taken a dash apart, I hear Renault charge £100... but I thought I'd give it a go with their guide and 15 minutes it was off!
Seconded, I had a boost problem on the Focus ST, got a brand new part that someone on the STOC forum had as a spare lying around for about £30 and found a guide to changing it which really helped, it would have been a couple of hours work for Ford as they'd have it on the ramps and dismantle half of it to get near the turbo. Not been on Cliosport for a while but was always a good forum when I used it.For instance I've never taken a dash apart, I hear Renault charge £100... but I thought I'd give it a go with their guide and 15 minutes it was off!
kayzee said:
Happens on newer cars too... I pay to subscribe to ClioSport (£10 annually I think it is)
Not that i am an internet guru, nor do i take anything away from its perceived value to you but paying for advice that others have given for free.. i dunno.. it just doesn't sit right with me.glad its saved you money though
Pixelpeep said:
Not that i am an internet guru, nor do i take anything away from its perceived value to you but paying for advice that others have given for free.. i dunno.. it just doesn't sit right with me.
glad its saved you money though
I think that £10 probably went to the cost of running the site. I know viserdown had to go down that route eventually. glad its saved you money though
I had some odd running issues with my Puma where it would kangaroo two times when coming back on the accelerator after coasting along. To cut a long story short I posted the problem on projectpuma forum and discovered another guy on there had the same problem and had been replacing the usual suspect bits without any fix (lambda, clutch pedal switch, ICV etc) but eventually fixed it by replacing his HT leads and coil pack. Replaced same on mine and was running sweet-as after that. If it hadn't been for the other chap's posts I'd have probably ended up spending a mint replacing the same 'usual suspect' bits too. Cost me about £45 for both bits and I even fit them myself! 
Pixelpeep said:
kayzee said:
Happens on newer cars too... I pay to subscribe to ClioSport (£10 annually I think it is)
Not that i am an internet guru, nor do i take anything away from its perceived value to you but paying for advice that others have given for free.. i dunno.. it just doesn't sit right with me.glad its saved you money though
You do however get some decent stuff in the membership packs each year... tax disc holders, Cliosport branded bottle openers, stickers etc.
Why can't you do all that on a modern car just as easily?
Some things are more difficult on modern cars, and there's certainly more to go wrong, but on the other hand some things are easier - if my MGB develops a misfire, I have to faff about looking at the colour of spark plugs to work out which cylinder it's on and it's not certain to tell me; if the Elise does, I just plug in my laptop and ask it which one...
Some things are more difficult on modern cars, and there's certainly more to go wrong, but on the other hand some things are easier - if my MGB develops a misfire, I have to faff about looking at the colour of spark plugs to work out which cylinder it's on and it's not certain to tell me; if the Elise does, I just plug in my laptop and ask it which one...
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