Drop money on something hateful, or start again?
Discussion
Hi folks,
This is rather long winded, but think of it as helping a fellow petrolhead. It's like venting to an understanding friend.
After getting shot of my much loved, and SOTW featured, SEAT Tolly V5 last year, I have been using my other halfs horrid 2005 307 S HDi 90. A practical move, born out of not needing a need to have something that would be a little cheaper to run. I regularly do 2-3k mile runs across europe while travelling from Austria back to the motherland to visit the folks and friends. Swapping mid 30MPG for low to mid 40's has certainly made a difference. Diesels cheaper than Petrol out here too. This is the only thing that has been an improvement. I can think of nothing else. The Pug of Poo, is styless, smells (ex vets car), and generally in rubbish condition inside and out. It's noisey, uncomfortable, and roasting in the summer as the aircon in kaputt. NSF electric window is out, column stalks are so loose that it indicates when it feels like it, trip computer display also disapears when too hot, and the stereo is woeful when its cold enough to want to work. It has a very loud knock upon take off, which I am fairly sure is a engine mount towards the back of the engine somewhere. Rear split seat release is broken on the 60% side, and the washers have packed up. It is a shed of the highest order.
Now, I've put up with this since Spring. My inner petrolhead on one shoulder, doing battle with my sensible side, aided by the GF having zero desire for all things automotive. A service is due, MOT time is looming, and it's going to need a bunch of money spending on it. Winter in Austria is pretty harsh though, and replacing it with something nicer didn't seam like a good idea. Funds could be found for a replacement though, but they had been shortlisted for something else, and would leave the savings pretty much depleted. After much deliberation we decided to get the tyres done, and get it through the MOT. Ordered the new boots, and had them fitted last week. I was pretty happy. It was much quieter now the horrid Nexan's were gone. At least we didn't have to worry that a rear wheel bearing had given up the ghost.
Then 2 days later, the clutch started to slip......... Sick, furious, depressed.
So lets do the math.
Service £120-150
Engine mount £100
Clutch £300 (if its got a DMF, and I have a horrid feeling it has, more like £600)
£550 to £850 as a best guesstimate. I am unsure about if it needs any thing else. I'm fairly sure it needs something on the front right suspension. The summer tyre on that corner had a bald outter edge. Might just be an adjustment issue though. Lets face it, the bill could easily stretch to a grand, and I am still left with a piece of sh/t. A POS thats not even rolled in glitter. It'll just get some new nuts and bits of sweetcorn inside. It will still stink, the aircon will still be broken, it will still be noisey, and all the other things. It will you would hope be reliable after that though. Better the devil you know?
I can't sell it out here in Austria. Can't even scrap it. I could try to make the 1000mile trip home. 12-14 hours of stress, and my biggest fear of not being able to get up the loading ramp of the ferry at Dunkirk, would make for a less than stress free trip. Could get some euro breakdown cover.... Still a PITA if it went, and not exactly safe if the clutch went south on a fast stretch of autobahn. If it was just me, I would try. GF, not up for it though. When a clutch starts to slip, how much more life can you expect to get out of it? Very careful clutch control, and rev matching might eek it out, right?
If I get it home, put the summer rubber back on, and sell it, it might make 800-700. It's got ticket until Jan, and is a small diesel hatchback after all. This is annoying, as I know of similar aged 307's with shot clutches,that recently sold very quickly at £400-500. They were in better overall condition though.
So what about replacements? £2k Max
330d tourer (can't go saloon as need to carry boards, skis, etc)Seen some nice but miley ones around 2k
Swirl flap, rear sub frames, suspension arms, etc etc etc, mean it could be a minefield. MPG reports vary alot too.
Like this, though it would blow the budget. Speaks of a warranty... but expect its not worth the paper its written on.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
S60 D5 SE. I had a 2.0t from new. It was very comfy, ace stereo, but never really loved it. liked it alot.. just never bonded.
Accord CDTi. Iw ould love another Civic CDTi, but they are out of budget. The Accord is just about in, but DMF stories scare me a bit
Mondeo Zetec-S. Best value / handling combo, but the build quality is poor in my eyes.
I think the Honda if I can find one with a recent clutch replacement would be favourite.
This is rather long winded, but think of it as helping a fellow petrolhead. It's like venting to an understanding friend.
After getting shot of my much loved, and SOTW featured, SEAT Tolly V5 last year, I have been using my other halfs horrid 2005 307 S HDi 90. A practical move, born out of not needing a need to have something that would be a little cheaper to run. I regularly do 2-3k mile runs across europe while travelling from Austria back to the motherland to visit the folks and friends. Swapping mid 30MPG for low to mid 40's has certainly made a difference. Diesels cheaper than Petrol out here too. This is the only thing that has been an improvement. I can think of nothing else. The Pug of Poo, is styless, smells (ex vets car), and generally in rubbish condition inside and out. It's noisey, uncomfortable, and roasting in the summer as the aircon in kaputt. NSF electric window is out, column stalks are so loose that it indicates when it feels like it, trip computer display also disapears when too hot, and the stereo is woeful when its cold enough to want to work. It has a very loud knock upon take off, which I am fairly sure is a engine mount towards the back of the engine somewhere. Rear split seat release is broken on the 60% side, and the washers have packed up. It is a shed of the highest order.
Now, I've put up with this since Spring. My inner petrolhead on one shoulder, doing battle with my sensible side, aided by the GF having zero desire for all things automotive. A service is due, MOT time is looming, and it's going to need a bunch of money spending on it. Winter in Austria is pretty harsh though, and replacing it with something nicer didn't seam like a good idea. Funds could be found for a replacement though, but they had been shortlisted for something else, and would leave the savings pretty much depleted. After much deliberation we decided to get the tyres done, and get it through the MOT. Ordered the new boots, and had them fitted last week. I was pretty happy. It was much quieter now the horrid Nexan's were gone. At least we didn't have to worry that a rear wheel bearing had given up the ghost.
Then 2 days later, the clutch started to slip......... Sick, furious, depressed.
So lets do the math.
Service £120-150
Engine mount £100
Clutch £300 (if its got a DMF, and I have a horrid feeling it has, more like £600)
£550 to £850 as a best guesstimate. I am unsure about if it needs any thing else. I'm fairly sure it needs something on the front right suspension. The summer tyre on that corner had a bald outter edge. Might just be an adjustment issue though. Lets face it, the bill could easily stretch to a grand, and I am still left with a piece of sh/t. A POS thats not even rolled in glitter. It'll just get some new nuts and bits of sweetcorn inside. It will still stink, the aircon will still be broken, it will still be noisey, and all the other things. It will you would hope be reliable after that though. Better the devil you know?
I can't sell it out here in Austria. Can't even scrap it. I could try to make the 1000mile trip home. 12-14 hours of stress, and my biggest fear of not being able to get up the loading ramp of the ferry at Dunkirk, would make for a less than stress free trip. Could get some euro breakdown cover.... Still a PITA if it went, and not exactly safe if the clutch went south on a fast stretch of autobahn. If it was just me, I would try. GF, not up for it though. When a clutch starts to slip, how much more life can you expect to get out of it? Very careful clutch control, and rev matching might eek it out, right?
If I get it home, put the summer rubber back on, and sell it, it might make 800-700. It's got ticket until Jan, and is a small diesel hatchback after all. This is annoying, as I know of similar aged 307's with shot clutches,that recently sold very quickly at £400-500. They were in better overall condition though.
So what about replacements? £2k Max
330d tourer (can't go saloon as need to carry boards, skis, etc)Seen some nice but miley ones around 2k
Swirl flap, rear sub frames, suspension arms, etc etc etc, mean it could be a minefield. MPG reports vary alot too.
Like this, though it would blow the budget. Speaks of a warranty... but expect its not worth the paper its written on.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
S60 D5 SE. I had a 2.0t from new. It was very comfy, ace stereo, but never really loved it. liked it alot.. just never bonded.
Accord CDTi. Iw ould love another Civic CDTi, but they are out of budget. The Accord is just about in, but DMF stories scare me a bit
Mondeo Zetec-S. Best value / handling combo, but the build quality is poor in my eyes.
I think the Honda if I can find one with a recent clutch replacement would be favourite.
Getting home with a slippy clutch: obviously, going slower is good (60mph maybe), but surprisingly you also want to be in a lower gear than usual. If you need (say) 50bhp to maintain your speed, then the engine torque delivered to the flywheel and clutch is 50 lb ft at ~5200rpm, 100 lb ft at ~2600rpm, and 200 lb ft at 1300rpm.
I've managed to persuade a nearly clutchless MX-5 all the way from San Francisco to my mechanic in Los Angeles this way, including using light throttle but 6000 rpm in 2nd gear to maintain adequate speed over the Grapevine Pass...
I've managed to persuade a nearly clutchless MX-5 all the way from San Francisco to my mechanic in Los Angeles this way, including using light throttle but 6000 rpm in 2nd gear to maintain adequate speed over the Grapevine Pass...
If you are worried about slipping clutch why don't you just have the clutch and nothing else done. If it does have a DMF it will be vibrating through the clutch pedal if its on its way out, you will feel a pulsing if you lightly rest your foot on the pedal. When you get it home shove it on Ebay for spares or repairs.
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