Pay for expensive maintenance or move on?
Discussion
2005 Skoda Octavia 1.9 DSG, I got it in July at 90k miles. The car cost £2500. It needed a new turbo in the first month, so that is done. I now believe it needs a new DMF and it is also due a cambelt + water pump. (£1050 total)
Would it be sensible to assume that given the good reputation of this engine/car, that if I pay out for this work, that the car should be good to go for at least double the current mileage of 100k?
If I were to decide against paying out for the work and were to sell the car and move on, it'll cost me at least £2000 to get anything similar plus I may then have big bills anyway. Am I best off to just get the bits done and hope for the best?
The flywheel may not be too bad just yet. I can only hear the metallic rattle when it is quiet outside and I am listening for it. Can't hear it inside the car mostly.
I think the car may need a new alternator clutch pulley too, but that is cheap.
Would it be sensible to assume that given the good reputation of this engine/car, that if I pay out for this work, that the car should be good to go for at least double the current mileage of 100k?
If I were to decide against paying out for the work and were to sell the car and move on, it'll cost me at least £2000 to get anything similar plus I may then have big bills anyway. Am I best off to just get the bits done and hope for the best?
The flywheel may not be too bad just yet. I can only hear the metallic rattle when it is quiet outside and I am listening for it. Can't hear it inside the car mostly.
I think the car may need a new alternator clutch pulley too, but that is cheap.
I do like the car, the xenon's and auto lights are nice... Never massively got on with the DSG box though, it works okay, but I do find it takes away a bit of control. But if I got a manual, I'd want it to drive nicely and not need to rev the nuts off of it everywhere ...
Perhaps I could venture into shedding?
Perhaps I could venture into shedding?
There's not a lot of point doing the dmf speculatively. You might as well keep going until it fails.
On the other hand I think the pistons will hit the valves on this engine if the cambelt fails so unless you feel lucky, I wouldn't go too far past due date before you change it.
Slightly O/T, I bought a Kia Sportage with a noisy DMF. Six years and 60000 miles later, including regular towing it was a fair bit noisier, but still holding together.
On the other hand I think the pistons will hit the valves on this engine if the cambelt fails so unless you feel lucky, I wouldn't go too far past due date before you change it.
Slightly O/T, I bought a Kia Sportage with a noisy DMF. Six years and 60000 miles later, including regular towing it was a fair bit noisier, but still holding together.
I suppose the answer depends somewhat on why you bought the car. Was it to save money / because that's what your budget allows / for the long term / as a stop gap etc?
I bought a 2007 Audi A3 a few months ago as a stop gap. It has a fantastic spec (2.0T, pan roof, xenons) and is in great nick for a 12-year-old car. As a result, I decided to spend a further £1k sorting out stuff that wasn't optional and £500 giving it some things you'd give a miss on a Shed.
I'm hoping to break even on the maintenance through doing lots of business mileage. However, something like a clutch failure would make me think twice.
Sub £5k cars can throw-up some seemingly difficult maintenance decisions, as the bigger fixes and maintenance bills are on the borderline between clearly adding value to the car and being one mishap away from the scrapheap.
I bought a 2007 Audi A3 a few months ago as a stop gap. It has a fantastic spec (2.0T, pan roof, xenons) and is in great nick for a 12-year-old car. As a result, I decided to spend a further £1k sorting out stuff that wasn't optional and £500 giving it some things you'd give a miss on a Shed.
I'm hoping to break even on the maintenance through doing lots of business mileage. However, something like a clutch failure would make me think twice.
Sub £5k cars can throw-up some seemingly difficult maintenance decisions, as the bigger fixes and maintenance bills are on the borderline between clearly adding value to the car and being one mishap away from the scrapheap.
I got the car because I live in a rural area and my newer, more expensive car was getting scratched to pieces, so I decided to get rid of it and buy the Octavia as a stop gap for a while. But then I realised that I do quite like saving money and it didn't seem to be throwing any bills at me, but now we have this situation!
We prefer a diesel as our combined mileage would be fine for it and I prefer driving diesels (only ever driven 1.0L n/a petrols). My concern is, if I spend all this money eventually and fix the car up, what if more goes wrong? The air con doesn't work and I know for a fact that it's either the compressor or the condenser, so that's another hefty bill as I won't go another summer without Aircon, driving up the M3 with the windows down on a scorching hot day was not fun. The parking sensors don't work, but I'm sure that's an easy fix...
The biggie is the fact that the gearbox isn't the best. I find it labours at around town speeds and can be quite jerky sometimes.
However... I wouldn't know where to start for a replacement for it though
It is worth noting that I do like it more than I'm making out, it is a decent car and for the money it is nice and comfy.
We prefer a diesel as our combined mileage would be fine for it and I prefer driving diesels (only ever driven 1.0L n/a petrols). My concern is, if I spend all this money eventually and fix the car up, what if more goes wrong? The air con doesn't work and I know for a fact that it's either the compressor or the condenser, so that's another hefty bill as I won't go another summer without Aircon, driving up the M3 with the windows down on a scorching hot day was not fun. The parking sensors don't work, but I'm sure that's an easy fix...
The biggie is the fact that the gearbox isn't the best. I find it labours at around town speeds and can be quite jerky sometimes.
However... I wouldn't know where to start for a replacement for it though
It is worth noting that I do like it more than I'm making out, it is a decent car and for the money it is nice and comfy.
One way of thinking about it is to add up potential maintenance costs.
My A3 has cost me £5.5k in purchase and maintenance since December. Let's say I sell again for over £3k later this year, with £1.5k "profit" from business miles in the meantime. I'm therefore expecting it to cost me less than £1k net, for a year's use as our family's second car. If I had a £1k bill in the meantime, the net cost rises to £2k...and so on.
You just need to decide the point at which you give up. Most newer cars will cost a bucket load in depreciation; at least several thousand per year. A benchmark I have in mind is what a new / lightly used 2.0 turbo 200+hp 5-door hatchback with a nice spec would cost, which I find to be typically be around £4k per year.
So, I'm happy with a net cost of up to £2k for the year I intend to own this old A3.
My A3 has cost me £5.5k in purchase and maintenance since December. Let's say I sell again for over £3k later this year, with £1.5k "profit" from business miles in the meantime. I'm therefore expecting it to cost me less than £1k net, for a year's use as our family's second car. If I had a £1k bill in the meantime, the net cost rises to £2k...and so on.
You just need to decide the point at which you give up. Most newer cars will cost a bucket load in depreciation; at least several thousand per year. A benchmark I have in mind is what a new / lightly used 2.0 turbo 200+hp 5-door hatchback with a nice spec would cost, which I find to be typically be around £4k per year.
So, I'm happy with a net cost of up to £2k for the year I intend to own this old A3.
Again, that makes a lot of sense... Before anything with the DMF cropped up, I had decided to keep it for a couple of years at least as it was treating us very well and felt dependable. I know a DMF is a wear and tear item, so I'm not shocked or annoyed that it is on its way out.
It is tricky, for the amount I want to spend on a car nowadays, I won't get anything as nice or as potentially reliable as my Octavia is (that I know of), it is a very nice place to be I think.
It is tricky, for the amount I want to spend on a car nowadays, I won't get anything as nice or as potentially reliable as my Octavia is (that I know of), it is a very nice place to be I think.
The 1.9tdi is pretty much bullet proof, the DSG box isn't. A compressor supplied and fitted is going to be £500 ... the condenser probably £400, the cambelt £450, a DMF £700 .... but the unknown is the gearbox, given its jerky - have you had the fluid changed - £200 or the mechatronic unit - £1200 as a guess .... Yes you could get the belts done but the gearbox could give up a week later ...
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