Poxy older cars...

Mr Benevolent

Bah. My brother's '99 Bora is beginning to cost more than it's worth to keep. The following jobs need to be done:

Rear disc replacement (discs are warped) - €400 to replace and fit
Four new tyres - €200 inc fitting
Washer pump motor - €20
Handbrake is unreliable (related to warped disc problem) - €50
Service - €100 (if I do it)

That's around €700. I know it doesn't sound like much but it's only worth €2300 at best at 176,000 miles, TDI and ten years old. It's red too, so the usual paint fading/lacquer problems. The NCT is out too (since June but due in October because of the waiting list). Another problem is the lack of cabin ventilation, but that's a known VAG issue and I'd need to take the dashboard off to get to it. Not worth the bother really, especially since it's not my car.

Other than that it's a good solid tee-diddly-eye 90hp that starts and goes when asked. Problem is he's not enthusiastic about getting his hands dirty :rolleyes: and wants to sell it. Is there any point when there's too much to do on it? It'll go to 250,000 miles easily.

And does anybody know how easy it'd be to replace the rear discs as a DIYer?

Edit: In retrospect we should never have even looked at the damed thing. There's a hole for an old tuning box on the passenger side of the transmission tunnel and the cabin air filter is missing, causing the ventilation problem mentioned above. Grrr.

8vjohn

400 euro to supply and fit rear discs??????!!!
Is that from the main dealer?

Mr Benevolent

8vjohn wrote: »

400 euro to supply and fit rear discs??????!!!
Is that from the main dealer?

Nope, local indy. Uhoh :eek:

Edit: Rear discs are €82 per pair inc p&p. Hmm.

pred racer

Check on the price of the discs , not sure about the bora in particular but brake discs are easy enough to change.

8vjohn

It's an absolute disgrace to quote 400 for rear brakes. Granted it probably includes pads but still.
I paid £80 stg in gsf for brembo discs and pagid fast road pads for my mk4 golf and delivery included in that price. Fitted them then myself.
My advice is to get yourself a haynes manual and do as much as possible yourself. Failing that as someone with experience to help and guide you through some jobs

unkel

Confab wrote: »

That's around €700. I know it doesn't sound like much but it's only worth €2300 at best at 176,000 miles

Poxy old cars? 10 year old cars aren't typically poxy but that one seems to be. That said, tyres need doing on even nearly new cars and discs depend a lot on the way the car is driven - nothing really to do with how old the car is. And as others said, €400 for the rear discs seems high. So let's say it will cost €500 for the lot. If you are confident it will pass the NCT it might be worth it to keep the car going for another year or two.

On the other hand, the car in that condition isn't worth anywhere near €2300. You can buy a 10 year old family size car in half decent condition without major issues and with remaining NCT for about a grand in the current climate. There's something to say for dumping the car (selling it for cheap or scrap) and getting something else...

Mr Benevolent

10 year old cars aren't typically poxy

True, I over-generalised

Heroditas

Confab wrote: »

Four new tyres - €200 inc fitting

I wish it only cost me that to replace all 4 tyres

8vjohn

Heroditas wrote: »

I wish it only cost me that to replace all 4 tyres

I was thinking that too!
Great tyres at 50 quid supplied and fitted :eek:

Volvoboy

Pah, the car isnt even a teenager!!

Wait till she reaches her early teens and then the fun will start, speaking from experence here!!

But like most things ya get back what ya put in, i'm sure with some work it will trundle on for many more years and miles.

tossy

1999 is not old!

ToxicPaddy

If I were him, Id offload it.. why bother putting money into a car that isnt worth that much anyway..

To be honest the question should be would he be able to sell it??


I think he would be lucky to get €2300 for it.. with problems like that, you will have to fix them to get the NCT, so no NCT if no money spent.. not worth it.. Put it up for sale €1k - €1.5k and take the hand off anyone who offers you around that money.

Unless someone out there is able to do all that work themselves and willing to buy it as a fixer upper over time and then maybe sell it on, a breakers yard might be the best place for it unless you could get second hand parts over time from one of them which might get you through the NCT and then offload it

There are a few around that age on various sites, NCT'd., Tax'd and ready to go for between €2k and €3k..

maidhc

ToxicPaddy wrote: »

If I were him, Id offload it.. why bother putting money into a car that isnt worth that much anyway..
.

The way to look at spending money on old cars is the return you will get on the investment, not the value of the car. If the car is good and the money spent will prolong its life, then why not?

EasyFold

I kinda agree with you. I've seen so many times people selling what they have due to a few simple fixes just to buy another 2nd hand car which turns out to be a bigger lemon.

TBH any car would need a service from time to time even if it is old. If a car is well maintained then these costs are normally spread over a period of time and not a single hit to the pocket which makes it look expensive. O yeah and the way the car was driven

Some of the quotes you mentioned is a bit excessive :P

maidhc wrote: »

The way to look at spending money on old cars is the return you will get on the investment, not the value of the car. If the car is good and the money spent will prolong its life, then why not?