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Post by racingteatray on Oct 2, 2019 12:14:19 GMT
To be fair, until today my wife's 500, which will be six years old at the end of this month, hadn't cost her a bean other than routine servicing and MoTs.
But today, it was in for servicing and MoT, and that clean run has come to a rather expensive end.
I'd asked the garage to check the front suspension because it had been making fearful clonking and creaking noises from the front for some time, and the other day when she gave three colleagues a lift in it, she said the din was embarrassingly loud. I had suspected the clonking was from the passenger-side front suspension mount and indeed that proved to be broken, resulting in the 500's first-ever MoT failure. Unfortunately, however, the creaking noise was caused by it also needing two new front suspension arms as the bushes are shot and the ball-joints are on their way out. Apparently they are integral units (confirmed by a quick call to the parts department at the local main dealer). So that's around £500's worth of repairs all-in.
On top of the service cost (the garage have graciously waived the MoT charge).
Ouch.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 2, 2019 12:20:27 GMT
£500+ in six years isn't too bad and I expect the proliferation of speed bumps doesn't help. Plus she's Italian and probably drives it like an Italian!  |
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Post by michael on Oct 2, 2019 12:29:38 GMT
Sounds about right for Fiat. My Puntos chewed through suspension components. I think the reality is the parts are made to a price and so they fail quicker than most. The exhaust will go next if it follows the Punto pattern.
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Post by johnc on Oct 2, 2019 12:40:58 GMT
£500 after 6 years has to be a bargain. It cost me more than that for a 1250 mile running in service.
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Post by PG on Oct 2, 2019 12:44:25 GMT
As others have said, it is 6 years old, so that's pretty cheap repair wise in that time. Although as I found with our Shogun, even though your brain tells you that it is not bad after x years with no bills, it is still painful when it happens.
The key question now is whether to stick or twist?
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 2, 2019 12:54:59 GMT
As others have said, it is 6 years old, so that's pretty cheap repair wise in that time. Although as I found with our Shogun, even though your brain tells you that it is not bad after x years with no bills, it is still painful when it happens. The key question now is whether to stick or twist? Given it's 10% or more of the value of the car, I asked my wife that very question, because technically only the top mount was required to get the car through the MoT. But apparently (a) no immediate plans to change car and (b) she hates the creaking noise and would rather pay the full amount to eliminate the noise completely rather than pay some of it and still endure the noise. |
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 2, 2019 13:01:47 GMT
£500+ in six years isn't too bad and I expect the proliferation of speed bumps doesn't help. Plus she's Italian and probably drives it like an Italian! It is indeed the fact that there are many speed-humps around us and she doesn't always slow down for them as much as she should!
She's a funny one. When not in a hurry, she drives really quite slowly. If in a hurry, she goes like the dingbat Italian you'd expect.
We are also lucky that the two other things I flagged to the garage (a low moaning noise in reverse and an illuminated bulb warning light that refused to go out when I changed the offending brake light bulb) they either resolved at no cost or said didn't warrant attention. Overall, front suspension apart, they said it was overall in remarkably good condition.
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Post by Stuntman on Oct 2, 2019 18:58:23 GMT
After reading the original post, I was going to suggest that taking speed humps at pace may have contributed to the wear rate.
And I agree with Michael that the components are probably built to a price or expected service life.
I have worked with some very smart Automotive consultants in a previous life, and basically they told me that pretty much every component on a car could be designed or built to have a much longer service life for not much more cost, but of course this doesn't suit the manufacturers.
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 2, 2019 20:31:25 GMT
Well, picked it up this evening and you can at least certainly tell the difference. Quiet and smooth over speed-humps, and feels much tighter to drive.
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Post by Alex on Oct 2, 2019 20:51:43 GMT
No surprise to me. The wife's panda does a pretty good job of rattling its suspension to pieces and as it's the same car underneath I wouldn't be surprised if the 500 has the same weakness.
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Post by Martin on Oct 2, 2019 20:52:20 GMT
At least spending the money has made a difference to how it drives and has removed the annoying noise, nothing worse than spending money and getting no noticeable benefit.
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Post by johnc on Oct 3, 2019 8:09:22 GMT
The "Tony" bit of "Fix it Again" must be a London thing because in Glasgow it was always Fix It Again Tomorrow
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Post by Alex on Oct 3, 2019 8:15:17 GMT
I thought it was said as a question “fixing it again Tony?”
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 3, 2019 8:31:32 GMT
No idea! Right up there with Fixed or Repaired Daily and, my personal favourite, Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious.
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Post by Roadsterstu on Oct 3, 2019 11:45:05 GMT
£500+ in six years isn't too bad and I expect the proliferation of speed bumps doesn't help. Plus she's Italian and probably drives it like an Italian! True, and the Craptur had a similar experience last week, but it's still painful after a good run. Ours failed on two split CV boots and the initial thought was that it was going to need two driveshafts as, again, they are a complete unit. Thankfully any wear was minimal and new CV boots and grease sorted it. However, it also needed a major service, brake fluid and the MOT, so cost 536 quid all in. It's also due a timing belt at 6 years old/90000 miles. It hits that on age (52k miles). I've asked them to leave that for the moment. |
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Post by Tim on Oct 3, 2019 12:17:40 GMT
The 3 series has oil filled bushes at the front and while those can be replaced individually its recommended you only do that once and the second time replace the whole arm.
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 3, 2019 12:43:36 GMT
£500+ in six years isn't too bad and I expect the proliferation of speed bumps doesn't help. Plus she's Italian and probably drives it like an Italian! True, and the Craptur had a similar experience last week, but it's still painful after a good run. Ours failed on two split CV boots and the initial thought was that it was going to need two driveshafts as, again, they are a complete unit. Thankfully any wear was minimal and new CV boots and grease sorted it. However, it also needed a major service, brake fluid and the MOT, so cost 536 quid all in. It's also due a timing belt at 6 years old/90000 miles. It hits that on age (52k miles). I've asked them to leave that for the moment. My Cap turd service thus summer cost around £800 but that included 4 new Crossclimate tyres and tracking adjustment and some other work like full aircon draindown and re-gas and stuff I can't recall off the top of my head. didn't have the work done by a main dealer for the first time since buying it. Theoretically it should have the cam belt done next summer at 6 years old. |
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 3, 2019 14:11:02 GMT
Mercifully the Twinair engine has a timing chain, which should last indefinitely provided the car is serviced regularly.
Ours is serviced religiously every year, even though the service record shows my wife only did 1,000 miles in it in the past year!
Little wonder the garage commented that it was in good nick. |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Oct 5, 2019 19:41:18 GMT
Renault refers to the Clio/Captur timing belt as a "long life timing belt". Not at 6 years, it certainly isn't and nor is it particularly "long life" at 90k miles. 10 years/100k could be considered long life, but not 6 years. I am going to look into what's involved and whether doing it myself is possible.
Chris, you referred to yoyrs as the Cap turd. Was that a typo or a souring of the relationship?
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 5, 2019 20:02:03 GMT
^
Diesel Capturs are Cap Turds, petrol ones are Cap Turps.
No souring of the relationship with the car, it's going as well as it should be. Just a shame that all the wheels have been kerbed by my OH and that it has picked up a few small battle scars
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Post by Roadsterstu on Oct 5, 2019 20:12:37 GMT
^ Diesel Capturs are Cap Turds, petrol ones are Cap Turps. No souring of the relationship with the car, it's going as well as it should be. Just a shame that all the wheels have been kerbed by my OH and that it has picked up a few small battle scars The wheels are not going to be the cheapest to refurb to an as new finish, certainly. Probably all one colour wouldn't be too expensive, though. Thankfully Mrs R is pretty good at avoiding curbs. She was less so at avoiding a gatepost with the offside rear door... My sister in law recently bought a Clio 1.2 Tce and my brother hates driving it with a passion. |
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 5, 2019 20:19:50 GMT
 ^That's what they looked like when the car was delivered, so yes the silver-grey finish, not diamond cut |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2019 20:45:17 GMT
If you think your other half's can be clumsy you're lucky it's not my eldest sister. She is a high maintenance thing. Her ex had a type 3 fastie,his pride and joy which he lavished attention on. If he was tardy at getting home from work she use to have a go at the car. Once a few weeks after a spray job they visited our parents and sis accidentally on purpose smashed the passenger door into a concrete lamp post.
He escaped eventually.
Being self employed he had little choice but to work his backside off to establish himself and could not take off whenever the idiot demanded he did.
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Post by grampa on Oct 10, 2019 16:46:33 GMT
It happens - I think it was on it's fourth MOT (7 years old) that it cost me well over £1000 to get the Scirocco through its MOT. It's the one and only time it hasn't flown through (touch wood) - I'm sure the time will come when it will happen again, and I want to keep it long term so I accept that I may one day have to pay for repairs that are more than the value of the car.
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