Need HGF opinions/advice please

Oxide™

Oxide™

Oxide™

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Joined
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Story is..... I bought a '99 bora v5 about 3 years ago for £3k.

Today I booked it in for a full service as I have been avoiding it for about a year (naughty I know). I had a list of things for them to look at, one being that I need to keep topping up the coolant every 2 weeks.

The guy said they would then concentrate on this as it sounded like a HGF and they will run a test and let me know. So this afternoon I get the call that it needs a whole new HG and it will cost £860 alone for the full job, add to this the cost of a full service and MOT. I will only get my car back Thursday 25th at the earliest.

Now as much as that is a massive kick to my nads (I will need to cash in all my premium bonds and won't have any left for the car insurance renewal next month, yay overdraft) I reckon it needs to be sorted once and for all.

Is this the normal price for this? am I being molested hard? is it worth me doing it?

I'm total motors mechanical noob but what do you people in the know think please? I value your opinions.

Oh and today is my bday, way to go bummer news.

(BTW I took it to rutlish auto garage in wimbledon who do the Merton council MOT'S - suggested by moneysavingexpert - the garage does look tidy and respectable)
 
First things first, if youre a mechanical noob then replacing a head gasket is not for you...

Secondly, get another diagnosis before committing to replacing it. Was the coolant dirty, and is there "mayonaise" under the oil filler cap? If not, you've probably just got a leak.

Finally, phone around other places for prices - look at http://www.goodgaragescheme.co.uk/ for places to call. I'm guessing being a "V", it'll have 2 head gaskets, so might be worth trying to find out if both have gone as replacing one would be cheaper (although maybe not reccomended)
 
Ah you learn something new every day :)

In which case the cost does sound like a lot, never had to have one done myself but when my dad did a few months ago (lol MGF) it came to about £350
 
iaind said:
First things first, if youre a mechanical noob then replacing a head gasket is not for you...

Secondly, get another diagnosis before committing to replacing it. Was the coolant dirty, and is there "mayonaise" under the oil filler cap? If not, you've probably just got a leak.

Finally, phone around other places for prices - look at http://www.goodgaragescheme.co.uk/ for places to call. I'm guessing being a "V", it'll have 2 head gaskets, so might be worth trying to find out if both have gone as replacing one would be cheaper (although maybe not reccomended)
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I'm not doing the repair hence why the garage has quoted £850.

I'ts kind of hard to get a second diagnosis as the car is at the garage, I've told them to go ahead with the repair. I'm just asking if the price sounds about right. I do agree that theres something wrong with the car and HGF sounds right from what I've researched so far.

Rutlish garage is on the good garage scheme :)
 
So you've come on here asking if the price is right after giving them the go-ahead?

What if people had said you could have gotten it done for £300?!
 
I admit it doesn't make much sense, I was hoping for someone to put my mind at ease and say 'yip that's about right' or 'no you being shafted' then I would quickly call them to halt action stations and get a second diagnosis (hoping this won't be the case)
 
It is very unusual for the head gasket to go on the V5 engine. They do however have a few common problems with coolant leaks !

The cap seals can go on the coolant bottle, there is a coolant pipe into the back of the block where the orings can perish causing a slow leak and one under the throttle body that can also perish. It is not unknown for the radiators to need replaced after 7-8 years also.

I would be asking how the garage diagnosed headgasket failure.
 
get the car back take a few pics of the water, under the oil filler cap etc, and we can take a look to see if there is anything amis.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, just got in now and read the updates :)

Unfortunately the garage has already dismantled the engine and sent it off to get the heads skimmed so it's too late to halt them. Lesson learnt though, next time I'll ask them more questions on how they diagnosed the fault and also take pics and get second opinions.

I type whilst still laying on the floor after this kick to my goonies and my budget consciousness :eek:
 
Just got off the phone with the garage - the engine is with the guys that skim it etc.

They said it was tested by doing a block pressure test and it failed immediately with carbon dioxide in the water etc.

Most of the cost is due to the labour, apparently being a v5 makes it more labour intensive *weep*

I suppose this is what savings are for although I never imagined I would have to use all of it for the car.
 
How Much!!!!!!!!

Dear lord, did they at least give you some lube? They must be fapping themselves silly while getting wasted on the champagne you have paid for.

With skimming, £400. At the very most.
 
rover416i said:
So they definitely tested it properly?

Seems an awful lot, how much would have a replacement car been?
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rover416i I unfortunately don't know a lot about car mechanics so I'm not aware if what I described is the proper way to test for HGF. To try and compare, it's like my mum (of 69) coming to me and asking how to turn a pc on, no clue tbh.

I'm guessing I may only be able to sell/partex my car for £2k if it didn't have this HGF issue (everything else is in good nick, 90k on the clock)

MrLOL said:
question is why did it fail in the first place

V5s are not known for head gasket failure.
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I can't answer that but the more I think about it, the more I believe this car has had this issue since I bought it 3 years ago, as I've had to top up coolant every 2 weeks since I've had it and also on cold mornings the exhaust smokes/steams a lot (not sure if this is a sign). The temperature gauge always warms up quickly and just sticks in the middle. This problem has only been found now as I've taken it to a proper garage (although expensive)

Problem is, the only other car I want is a 2001 BMW 330i which a good example goes for ~£7k, so until I can afford one of those, I can only get the bora fixed in the meantime.
 
mejinks said:
How Much!!!!!!!!

Dear lord, did they at least give you some lube? They must be fapping themselves silly while getting wasted on the champagne you have paid for.

With skimming, £400. At the very most.
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Unfortunately no lube was included, I still have ring sting and feel totally deflated.
 
£650 is our average price on a 4 cylinder engine for headgasket replacement.

some of the cambelt kits are fairly expensive on those engines which can drive he price up a bit.
 
Thats a point, if they did a cambelt replacement while they were at it, its not quite as bad....still high but not quite so outrageous

It does sound like the issue has always been there - a bit of a concern about the history of the car, sounds like its been cooked at some point. Never mind, its fixed now - the Bora's a nice little car and if its in good nick you shouldnt be getting any other suprise bills any time soon
 
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