Catastrophic Engine failure

rtbiscuit · October 24, 2007, 15:13

not quiet, but when i told her i fancied a VX220 she was not impessed

her response is that its missing loads of stuff (carpet)

it has got me thinking and i have spent the las tfew days trying to work out whats best,

and to be honest i am doing a lot of milage and if i kept going i'd be up to 80,000 on the car in no time, and i didn't want to try and keep upping the performance. i don't have the time to keep going off road to tinker and tune. i am back to needing a regular car.

it may well be just for the next year or 2 while i travel from ipswich to chelmsford. but until i either move or change jobs these are things that will stay the same.

it was the car that became the thing that had to go, and let me tell you it aint half caused some rows, and afternoons of deep thought. it feel like giving away my own child. she has been my only company while i was single, and was the one thing i looked forward to after a tough day at work.

but i'm struggling for cash now, i have a part mortgage to pay, and the fuel costs and all the parts i kept buying are making things difficult. s:cry: :cry: s:cry:

i may have to sell some bits off to help fund the engine change.

loadswine · October 24, 2007, 15:23

Mmm, tough decisions Rich, never easy mate, but sometimes you have to go where your brain says ! Or girlfriend! lol s:lol: :lol: s:lol: only teasing mate. s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
The trick now is planning your next car , so that it still can give you a bit of a buzz when driving it, but won't be too obvious to non petrolheads, a Q car if you like.
I think the choice is for a separate thread, before everyone jumps in.

More immediate matters then, finding a good source for a used 1zz, or a decent rebuild for less than a grand.

Anonymous · October 24, 2007, 15:31

*nosey time*

Part mortgage? Details, man! s:D

s:D

rtbiscuit · October 24, 2007, 15:45

i live alot of the time at lucy's, so i help withthe mortgage, especially as she is training as a teacher and income is tight. i also do all the food shopping etc. to try and ease things a little, but my teachers salary don't go that far. s:cry: :cry: s:cry:

right back to cars.

i have a couple of places for an engine and mark has offered to help do the refit for a small cost. which i think is perfectly fair. he is a legend.

Liz · October 24, 2007, 19:32

Quote from: "rtbiscuit"i live alot of the time at lucy's, so i help withthe mortgage, especially as she is training as a teacher and income is tight. i also do all the food shopping etc. to try and ease things a little, but my teachers salary don't go that far. s:cry: :cry: s:cry:

Word of advice - if you are going to pay into the mortgage - get your name on it!

DannyN · October 24, 2007, 19:41

Quote from: "Liz"Word of advice - if you are going to pay into the mortgage - get your name on it!

I definitely agree with that one I know of at least 3 people who have fell foul of this
Get your name on it, asap

Its not being rude, untrusting or out of order - its only being sensible

Danny

rtbiscuit · October 24, 2007, 19:56

i understand, and agree, currently waht i pay is more like rent

Anonymous · October 24, 2007, 21:58

Then make it rent where you get a share of it should she sell up s;)

s;)

Chris_h · October 24, 2007, 22:42

If the doom mongers are correct, you may want your name well away from any official paperwork!

Back on topic....

ChrisGB · October 25, 2007, 00:08

That is rough Rich, but understandable. What you have to balance is how much will the new car cost vs how much will you get for yours vs how much would it cost to just run it until it is a high miler. Sometimes, it can seem like a good idea to splash out on a newer more economical car with a car loan or similar, but don't be too hasty. The MR2 driven in commute can still get around 37mpg. It is light and has a small frontal area, so is no slouch in economy terms.

My thinking:

If you are going to spend out to get something more economical, it will either be very small engined or very new and expensive. With the MR2 being so cheap to run, the economics may be more favourable if you keep it than sell it. Say you do Ipswich to Chelmsford for 235 days a year (oops I forgot your job, you wont even do that) you are covering maybe 15500 miles a year. If you get a car that does 45 - 50 mpg, which is realistically about as good as cars get these days, you will save a whopping 60 gallons of fuel a year. It will be a diesel, which costs more per litre, so you will potentially save about £250 - £350 per year. But something decent to drive and that economical could cost you more to buy than you will get for the MR2.

The only way you will be financially significantly better off is to go into something much cheaper to buy, so a used car at a couple of grand. But then you will spend more in parts and will be unlikely to get something half decent to drive and economical.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to start trouble between you and SWMBO, but I sold my Senator when the aircon went, having just got a mortgage. The theory was to run Fiesta Zetec 1.25 or 1.4s (and I get them on employee discount so cheap). Now the senator did 22mpg on a good day, I was commuting Chelmsford to Basildon and travelling for the company, so clocking anything up to 45,000 miles a year. At the time, the swap to Fiestas looked good, but doing the mathematics with hindsight, taking depreciation into account over 6 cars in 54 months, I would have save a fortune fixing the Senator aircon at £1600 and keeping it.

My point is, don't be hasty, do the maths. Every buy / sell with a car loses you money. It could be that fixing and keeping the '2 will be a cheapest viable option. If you do want economy and fun, the Fabia vRS with a remap will commute at

Back OT, as you have another car available to use, is there any reason why you don't strip the engine and see if it is fixable? Could be something relatively cheap or simple. Even rebore and pistons does not cost much if you do the labour yourself.

Chris

rtbiscuit · October 25, 2007, 10:22

part of why i'm selling up is to afford the repairs.

and with my car dismantled and returned to stock i don't have the heart to do it all again, money isn't a major issue, but has played its part in the decision.

will keep you all posted on progress etc

Gbirch · October 25, 2007, 11:09

Hi Rich,
Am in exactly the same boat as you. plus im a teacher also so can agree when you said the salry doesnt stretch that far. For others in a similar situation this is how much my repair has cost me:

Engine- £850
CAT - £155
Labour - £400 (engine, cat, breaks and other MOT work, towing)
MOT - £45

Total spend so far - £1450.

Car is misfiring so this needs to be sorted, hope its only spark plugs not ignition packs.

My car has 84,000 miles on a 2000X, black with red leather, new 17'' tyres with nice alloys, TTE spoiler and A/C. Once repaired i will sell for about £5000 i hope. This leaves me with £3500 to pay off my remaining loan of £6000 - big loss!!!. Fortunately i have a free 1.1 saxo on a S plate with 65,000miles with 12 months MOT from my girlfriend as she got a new car after the saxo was CAT D written off 3 months ago. We fixed the panels dirt cheap and i kept it as my MR2 had just gone bang! This was fortunate and saved the £1000+ to buy a half decent banger to use.

The saxo is that rank pinkish red colour. The kids at school have a field day gunning me over my demise from a gorgeous sports car to the saxo!!

My advice is keep your head up, ive had sleepless nights over this but there is always a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. I would sell the car, get a cheap run around untill you have cleared your finances then start again. A year or so with a crap car but settling with the bank will help you sleep easy. You also mentioned a mortgage - with our salaries!!!??? Another good reason to clear all outstanding finance if you ever want to get on the property ladder, this is one of my motivations to sell the 2 also. Plus i think you will agree you lose a little bit of faith in the car! Best of luck.
Gordon

rtbiscuit · October 25, 2007, 11:18

cheers gordon,

nice to know i'm not alone, i am lucky that i have no outstanding finance on the car, everyhting is paid for. but i have a large overdraft which means no emergency expenditures like engines.

i am lucky in the way that i'm due a nice tax rebate as well. been on basic rate for over a year.

i hope you get yours sorted soon. i shall be driving a nice pale blue 206 1 litre jobbie, but at least it gets me to work.

ChrisGB · October 25, 2007, 15:04

Hi Rich

Seriously, get the problem diagnosed before spending on a new engine. Bore wear does not often end in a pop, ring failure could and that means rebore / pistons, but cheaper things like head gaskets and dropped valves go pop too. Either could be well under £100 to fix if you have time to take the top off yourself. Even if you are selling up, it will potentially save you a shed full of cash to find out what has actually gone wrong before spending £X00 on an engine change.

Chris

PS if you need to get your car home (or wherever), I am sure the Fabia could tow it. Recovery costs a small fortune.

rtbiscuit · October 27, 2007, 17:35

just managed to tow it home with my dad. that was fun s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

managed to get it on to the drive, and now the battery is flat.

I'm not back at my parents until next week end which is hopefully when i'll start stripping the car for parts.

Anonymous · October 27, 2007, 18:07

I have just caught up on this thread as i have been away for a week and i am gutted for you. s:cry: :cry: s:cry:
Horrible thing to happen mate and i wish you all the best.

A few points,

be sure that you want to sell, you originally thought 2zz, reflected upon it and changed your mind.

i know that you are thinking long term, about both the car and where you see yourself and Lucy going, hell you are to all intents and purposes living together! s:wink: :wink: s:wink: s:D

s:D
thing is, at this point in time, the car should soley be your decision as you guys are not entirely pooling resources yet, still your call.

finally, it is more than just a car, this forum and the people on it ensure that. yes you can stick around if you sell (and i hope you do)
but will it feel the same?

Take your time, think it through, and best of luck whatever you do s:)

s:)