Decisions decisions....MOT Stuff....

timbob

timbob

timbob

Soldato
Joined
27 Nov 2002
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So, the Cavalier failed it's MOT fairly well this morning.

It needs a new suspension arm/bushes, new brake pipes, at least one new tyre, and various other serious-ish things, amounting to £450-550 worth of work.

That's just to pass the MOT. The engine is also leaking oil like a seive - it looks like the rocker cover gasket, sump gasket, crankshaft oil seal, and from around the gearbox bellhousing. I'm pouring in anywhere up to a litre of oil a week into it at the moment.

The coolant is also a gunky black/brown colour, which doesn't bode well.

So - it's N reg, 2.0 16v CDX with 128,500 miles. The same car, in better condition, with a lot less miles are up on Autotrader between £650-850.

Do I spend £500 on the MOT, then anywhere up to another £300+ on the oil leak problems to keep it for another year, or do I chop it in? Only then I've got the hassle of looking for a new car...I do fancy a Nissan 200sx s14, and I have the money in my inheritance to buy one, and insurance is fine, but I do a lot of miles. I could buy another cheap banger for a year instead though...

What do you reckon?

Oh, and - Fun cars, ~200bhp, reliable for under £4000 - any suggestions welcome!
 
Yup go for a 200sx for the money! Can get a nice spec one for that money. About 95-96 i bet you could get with £4k.
 
Get rid! Spending £450-£500 repairing any cavalier that isn't a Turbo or be madness IMO :).
 
Bit of an update - the oil leak isn't as terminal as first thought - they've cleaned up the engine, warmed it up, and taken it for a spin. Turns out it's not falling out the bottom of the engine. The nice oil coating on the blockmust be a build up over the last x thousand miles - so I'm not worried about that.

They've quoted £440 to put it through it's MOT, which I'm going to do - here's the reasoning:

That £440 will get me another year's motoring out of it - show me where I can get another car like the cav that'll be on the road for £440, and I'll take it. If I were to buy another cheap car, it's bound to need work doing on it - a new tyre or two or whatever. I always have a cambelt change on a new second hand car for peace of mind anyway - so that's not worth it.

Besides - this cav had a new clutch last november, and all the sensors that do go wrong have gone wrong, and have been replaced - so the car itself is a known quantity.

Motoring is expensive aint it!

[edit] A little more good news - one of the "leaky" brake pipes isn't leaking - it's just a glob of grease sitting there that the tester assumed had leaked from the pipe. And the £440 (now less, as that brake pipe isn't leaking) includes a full service - new plugs, oil change, other fluid changes etc. So it's not too bad afterall! I'll save the 200sx as a summer present when I've finished my first year at work!
 
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My only argument is that with 'bangernomics', once you spend money on a car, you've invested in it and are then compelled to fix anything else which fails. If the HG goes next month for instance, are you prepared to shell out again on the same car?

For the record, I've got an M plate 2.0 16v LS which I paid £220 for with nearly a year's MOT. 6000 of the hardest imaginable miles later, it's still running. Damn thing is indestructible. I have had to top up the oil once or twice though ;).
 
Well for a start what sort of car will you get for £450 with a years MOT?

Secondly if you spend another £450 quid getting the non-MOT items repared would the car be better than others you can buy for £900?

Up to you mate but sometimes it's better the devil you know.
 
If you like the car then its worth it but otherwise you might as well buy another at that milage, thats extinction time for an average Cav isnt it.

Just not getting the expensive to insure car for another year will probably save you money..
 
Adz said:
My only argument is that with 'bangernomics', once you spend money on a car, you've invested in it and are then compelled to fix anything else which fails.
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Its the same with my Volvo 740. Its going for MOT soon, but then again all it needs is new exhaust bit (not sure which bit but garage say £60) and some new wiper blades, so its not too bad, and the car only cost £100 to start with, so like you, if i can get another years motoring out of it, it will be worth it :)
 
[TW]Fox said:
A whole 6000 miles doesn't exactly make it indestructable does it, hell most Renault Lagunas manage that :p
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It was on its last legs when I bought it and I've been driving it like I stole for those 6000 miles. I let the oil level drop so low it didn't even register on the dipstick. I thrash it from cold. I've used it to carry all sorts of things you wouldn't think that you could fit in a cavalier.

I'm almost inclined to say it's the best car I've ever had, in its own unique way ;).
 
penski said:
Ecotec or C20XE?

If it's the latter, let me know if/when you flog it.

*n
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N reg CDX will be an Ecotek... unless you mean mine, that's an Ecotek too :).
 
Yeah, sorry mate - it's the X20XEV....

I fully appreciate the "once you've fixed it once, you're more inclined to fix it again" theory. Last year, it cost zilch to put through the MOT apart from the cost of the test itself - this is the first major expense I've had on the car - I changed the cambelt last summer myself, and tried my hand at fitting various sensors and stuff when they went wrong.

Rest assured if something else goes pop that's £££ to fix, it's going! I'm not prepared to pour money into a dead car. In fact, if the cost of this service/MOT was as little as £100 or £150 more, I probably would have said no.
 
I think you did the right thing fixing it up. Reason being is that you KNOW the car, you KNOW how you've treated it and you KNOW what the current status of it is. That alone makes it worth £100+ on top of its pricetag to YOU. If you was to buy another car of similiar price, you wouldn't know the aformentioned despite anything the owner can attempt to prove. Therefore, like some mentioned above - better the devil you know than then devil you don't.. that about sums up anyone in your position with a car like yourself.

Also, no one can talk about cars being indestructible until they've owned a Toyota :p
 
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