Frying pan into the fire.

[Murphyv310]

Hi.
Car wise the last couple of months have been horrendous. My 2017 Panda Cross developed a fault very suddenly. All of a sudden there was a petrol smell and power loss, noticeable on overtaking and hills. I started investigating myself. Known issues like the fuel evaporative system, carbon canister and purge valve were checked or replaced. Plugs, coil pack etc were swapped out, no fault codes showed up and no EML on the display. Eventually I got suspicious of the ECU and unplugging the Map sensor didn't flag up the EML so the ECU wasn't responding to faults. There were also hot smells from the cat and exhaust. I eventually resorted to contacting the dealer. The ECU was reported as faulty and the CAT had been toasted. The problem was the ignition advance was badly retarded and this of course made sence. A bill of just under £2000 was quoted, I wasn't in the position of affording that kind of money in one go so declined the repair. I then decided that I'd cut my losses and part company with a car that I particularly liked. The online car buyers actually offered me a good price but I thought it would dramatically drop when it was given a test drive. No in fact the examination didn't even a test drive and all was done was a switch on of the ignition to see if any warning lights were illuminated.

I then looked around for something a bit bigger but older. I saw a Citroen C3 Picasso of 10 years old in very nice condition in a dealer 57,000 miles and very good service history. It though is the 1.4 vti with the dreaded prince that I didn't know about at the time. I bought it but felt it was noisy engine wise, although allegedly serviced I replaced the oil and filter with the correct spec and it quietened down. We went away up north, had a good few days but a wheel bearing started making a lot of noise, this was repaired by the dealer after an argument. Now I've timing chain issues and they refuse to fix it. Its now in the hands of trading standards but I'm off the road indefinitely until its resolved.

[boater sam]

I always buy late model right offs, cat N, low mileage, on the principle that the damage is obvious and repairable also that it was a near new vehicle unlikely to have faults pre accident.

My best buys are hail stone damaged, I can live with the dozens of dents.

[Doodlebug]

My car is only 1 litre. That should stop global warming exceeding 1.5 degrees. :-)

[ppppenguin]

I've seen hailstone damage. Looked like somebody had been over it with a ballpein hammer. A neighbour's car was written off for it.

[Pye Man]

As someone who for years maintained his own cars down to engines out and apart, etc., modern cars are largely a mystery to me.

I’ve always driven bangers as in the bad old days I knew what I was looking at (I stuck to particular makes) and could (usually) tell the reasonable prospect from the wreck. I’ve had cheap yet reliable and good motoring in presentable cars over the years. On the odd occasion I bought one that failed drastically too soon I figured that I hadn’t lost a lot.

Today, with all the electronics, etc., it’s in the lap of the gods. I have to confess, Trevor, that half of what you discuss in your post is Hungarian to me. My current runabout has just gained another MOT certificate with no work required – just a couple of advisories that are no big deal – as it enters its twentieth year. I’m always apprehensive these days as, despite the fact that it runs reasonably well, given the tightness of the regulations there might be some problem that renders it beyond economical repair. I used to know where the local guys handy with a welding torch were but these days corrosion is the least of worries. That is one change for the better. Back in my youth I couldn’t imagine a car ten years old that hadn’t seen a torch let alone twenty!

A friend of mine has just scrapped a BMW Mini. A blown head gasket – the sort of thing I used to fix in an afternoon on an Escort – has seen it off. Another one with a two-year-old Citroën currently has it beached on the drive until a repair slot is available because some warning light (and consultation with the garage) advises him not to drive it.

My car has a niggling problem with the gearbox but as I’m the only one who drives it I can work with it. It’s the sort of thing I would have fixed in previous times but it’s too complex for me to have apart. Is it worth having done – the car has only done 68k – or should I just be grateful for another year on top of the five so far? There are other minor annoyances with accessories which are mainly down to the vagaries of electronics: like having to open a rear side door first otherwise the hatch won’t release and always remembering to remove the key from the ignition as it might decide to lock me out, and one of the interior lights not behaving properly – stuff that was purely mechanical and a five minute fix on old cars.

What I look for in a car is as simple as possible and with the least non-essential gadgetry possible. No air con – great! Mechanical window winders – yes please! I’m doing my research but it is an increasingly difficult quest. Suggestions welcome!

[ppppenguin]

I don't have the option of running an older car unless I go for something over 40 years old. This October the London ULEZ will be extended to within a mile of my house. I frequently cross into it so paying the T(oxicity) charge would mount up very quickly. Incidentally I'm nowhere near central London and the C charge zone. Other UK cities have, or soon will have, ULEZ.

I'm not looking for a political discussion of the ULEZ extension, but it's a fact that Londoners will have to live with. To avoid the T charge you need Euro 6 diesel(approx 2015) or Euro 4 petrol (approx 2006). A friend who has a 2006 Fiesta (utterly reliable, a bit shabby) just scrapes in. His partner has a rather flash 2015 diesel Jaguar which is Euro 5.

I started by saying I couldn't run an older car but a 15 year old petrol car would be OK. Demand for that sort of car will be high around here. Actually demand for all s/h cars is high at the moment. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/35511...-time-high

From what I've read, if you want reliability then buy Toyota.

[boater sam]

My best buys are hail storm damaged, I can live with the hundreds of dents.

[peter scott]

My 17 year old Mondeo had a very strange fault recently. If I went around a sharp right hand bend or if I accelerated away from rest on an up hill then the oil pressure warning light would come on momentarily. I replaced the warning light switch and changed the oil and filter without making any improvement. I then came to the conclusion that the oil strainer in the sump must not be properly connected to the oil pump. I dislike doing any serious maintenance on "modern" cars so asked my garage to remove the sump and investigate.

   

There was no external damage to the sump so it's a mystery to me how it came to fracture. Just the pressure of oil sloshing around in the sump or perhaps vibration caused fatigue failure?? Very weird!

Peter

[boater sam]

Its just time expired Ford plastic, they were not meant to last 17 years.

Its a very brutal environment in the sump of an engine.

[Murphyv310]

The issue with the Prince engine that is a PSA BMW collaboration used in many Peugeot, Citroen, Mini and BMW 1 Series, is its very high tech with twin cam, VANOS VVT, but let down on a piddly simplex timing chain running in plastic guide rails.
I've had the cam cover off and the chain is OK as is the tensioner and guide rails.
The fault is actually sludge from inadequate servicing and short runs in its previous life.
I've already changed the oil and filter twice in 900 miles and one month. Today I added a bottle of Forte engine flush and let it idle for 45 minutes. Then I dropped the oil, changed the filter and refilled with new 5w30 ACEA C2 OIL...... result a nice quiet engine, I will see what the cold start sounds like tomorrow.
My advice, on low mileage cars an oil change and filter should still be done twice a year no matter the oil it still gets contaminated by blow by, condensation, acids and other nasty stuff.