Hi all,

 

Stopped off at a garage on my way home to get my front suspension checked because of a loud creaking sound coming from the front suspension.

 

Things didn't start well: the guy comes immediately into the waiting room and goes "who's put a hole in your floor!?" I walk out and sure enough, there's a hole a couple of inches wide going through the sill on the passenger side, then we had a look at the drivers side and it's completely stoved in too :mad:

 

Anyway, the car went up on the ramps and the diagnosis is that the lower ball joint on the passenger side has completely gone, and the upper arm on the driver's side is knackered as well. The guy said it's not worth replacing the individual parts as the rest doesn't look to good either, and that the whole lot needs replacing on both sides.

 

He's advised me to weigh up how much the car is worth to me, as to sort both sills and replace the front suspension is going to be big ££££.

 

Gutted :(

Edited November 21, 200916 yr by FuZTT

Cheers Paul, my mate's cousin is a mechanic and is hopefully going to give the car a very good look over for a few quid and give me a definitive list of any part which isn't 100%. I've been offered a couple of transverse links in very good condition which I'll hopefully be getting, and I know I definately need new upper links. When will you be going to see Mike? I'm going to try and get a list together ASAP so I can start buying parts.

 

Thanks to all who have been offering parts, as soon as I know what I need, I'll be in a position to start buying!

 

Not sure when im going yet, not in any rush. Can wait till you know what you need and give Mike a chance to get the bits stripped.

Edited November 1, 200916 yr by Paulzx

If you think the mot was obtained with the vehicle in an unsafe condition and this has all happened recently you should get a full list of all defects and contact the garage that did the mot, you can then take the car to be examined at your local vosa inspection place, I had a similar problem to this years ago, the car had been given an mot by a friend through an mot station, the car was rotten, contacted the owner of mot station and ended up with half the value of the car back to put it right.

If you think the mot was obtained with the vehicle in an unsafe condition and this has all happened recently you should get a full list of all defects and contact the garage that did the mot, you can then take the car to be examined at your local vosa inspection place, I had a similar problem to this years ago, the car had been given an mot by a friend through an mot station, the car was rotten, contacted the owner of mot station and ended up with half the value of the car back to put it right.

 

This is well worth thinking about!! - We all know it is illegal to just dish out an MOT for a dodgy motor and, if you can prove it (with Jeff's help of course) that the damage predated the MOT issue then you will have a really strong case but it will require you fronting them up and threatening to go to VOSA. Their MOT licence is their bread and butter work and VOSA will have it off them as soon as look at them if they think they are putting shifty cars on the street. I may be wrong but I would think they could be charged with criminal negligence to put an unsafe car on the road and if one of those "no win no fee" solicitors would love to get their teeth in to a case like that!!!

:dance:

There are guidlines that VOSA follow when dealing with MOT complaints. Mechanical defects can be considered up to one month after the test, Corrosion defects can be considered for up to three months.

Hmm, for the advice guys, I didn't think about contesting the MOT. I still haven't had the car looked over by a pro yet, but TBH I doubt very much that the car is unsafe or anything, I just think that a number of things were probably left out of the advisories section. That said, I'll know more later this week. I honestly don't think the car is a dog and that the previous owner was trying to pull a fast one as he spent a lot of cash on it, right up to the month he sold it: Zedworld remap, BOV's, rear sills, 2 services within 2000 miles, new discs & pads all round, new alloys with tyres and more. This lot's just caught me off-guard I think.

 

Jeff - thanks for the offer, if there's anything that comes up that the guy's not sure on, we'll give you a bell :D

£60-80 oh god i would love that, lol

My trip costs me each time i go, best part of £300 and that's without overnight staying which i have to do in one direction, dohhh the perils of living on an island :cry:

smithy

 

oh my heart bleeds for you tax free, jet set living manx-men :D ;)

 

where shall i send a donation for your next trip paul and can i get gift aid?

if you havent noticed we live on an island too?

:rofl:

 

cheers

chris

Edited November 2, 200916 yr by Uno

Right, I've taken the car in to see a friend of a friend, who's an experienced mechanic. I basically said "here's my car, can you look over it all and tell me what's wrong with it" and here's the list:

 

Front ARB Bushes

Adjustable Tension Rods (or non-adjustable)

Front Brake Pads

Front ball joints

NSF Flexi brake pipe

Rear crank oil seal

OSR Shock absorber boot

Rear hydraulic brake pipes (all)

2 Rear track rod ends

Rear link bar bushes

Rear ARB bushes

Rear subframe bushes

OSR Hub (bearing shot, hub possibly damaged)

Knackered front sills

Questionable rear sills (previously been repaired, but covered with underseal)

 

So, now I've got the decision, declare the car SORN for the winter while I fix the above issues...

 

OR

 

Sell the car with the above issues. The car's a K-reg LWB TT with leather interior, stainless exhaust, ZedWorld remap, aftermarket alloys.... but how much is it worth like this? £2k?

 

The parts aren't majorly expensive, but the labour is going to be very expensive as the whole rear of the car needs to be dropped out to replace the rear subframe bushes and the brake lines. The leak from the rear crank oil seal isn't too bad so that can wait for the moment. The stuff on the front isn't too bad.

 

I'm really split between the 2 decisions because I'm struggling to weigh up which would be better for me financially :S

probably worth a lot less than that not fixed unless it's a real nice example. I've had no interest at all in my 93/4 L plate in my ride at £2800 with lots mods no rust, long mot etc so money wise prob best fix it or break it

hmm... I don't think breaking it is really an option for me. As for fixing it, is it possible to drop the rear subframe out of the car when I've only got axlestands and jacks and limited garage space?

I reckon I'll be putting the car on eBay tomorrow :(

sorry to hear that mate - never good to have to do that

sorry to hear that mate - never good to have to do that

 

Yeah, I think it's the best course of action - I don't have the resources or time to fix it. I'll list it up with all the history, all the mods and what the guy told me today, and I'll see what happens.

hmm... I don't think breaking it is really an option for me. As for fixing it, is it possible to drop the rear subframe out of the car when I've only got axlestands and jacks and limited garage space?

 

Yes mate you can, I'm in the middle of doing mine. It's a long job but not technically difficult. Have a look in the FAQ section for the "Subframe bushing replacement" threads.

Gutted like, I've only had it since July :(

Yes mate you can, I'm in the middle of doing mine. It's a long job but not technically difficult. Have a look in the FAQ section for the "Subframe bushing replacement" threads.

 

Hmm, that's good news then. That leaves the brake lines as the next major job - anyone know how much of a chew on that is?

The car's now on eBay, and can be found in the 'Cars for sale' section.

 

Thanks for all the guidance and advice with this everyone, it's very appreciated.

The car's now on eBay, and can be found in the 'Cars for sale' section.

 

Thanks for all the guidance and advice with this everyone, it's very appreciated.

 

Whoaaaa! I was bidding on this car when I was looking for one - it reached a price higher than I was willing to pay.

 

Sorry you've got to sell mate.