Can you ignore car problems and keep driving into ground

monkeysnapper

I bought a peugeot partner car 2004 1.4 petrol with 160k miles. I paid for a clutch replacement and a service last july. So ive basically put 1850 into this car in total with cost of the car.

The engine light has been on since i bought it and my mechanic plugged it in and said the cat has come up as a fault , but might just be sensors. Weve established it also needs a new coil pack but drives ok at moment .

Its leaking oil at a rate that means every 2/3 months it goes down to half way down the dipstick .

Im happy to just keep driving it but nct is out at end of year plus have 1 years tax on it, so if I was to sell it, now is the time really, but a part of me is thinking just keep driving it because by end of year if its still driving ive had a year and half and i can drag nct out a few months then that was a good investment in car terms. Worse comes to the worse sell it for 500 quid and go laughing into the night.

Im just sick of pouring money into cars.

johnayo

monkeysnapper wrote: »

I bought a peugeot partner car 2004 1.4 petrol with 160k miles. I paid for a clutch replacement and a service last july. So ive basically put 1850 into this car in total with cost of the car.

The engine light has been on since i bought it and my mechanic plugged it in and said the cat has come up as a fault , but might just be sensors. Weve established it also needs a new coil pack but drives ok at moment .

Its leaking oil at a rate that means every 2/3 months it goes down to half way down the dipstick .

Im happy to just keep driving it but nct is out at end of year plus have 1 years tax on it, so if I was to sell it, now is the time really, but a part of me is thinking just keep driving it because by end of year if its still driving ive had a year and half and i can drag nct out a few months then that was a good investment in car terms. Worse comes to the worse sell it for 500 quid and go laughing into the night.

Im just sick of pouring money into cars.

Probably worth getting the emissions issue diagnosed properly. If it was an oxygen sensor for instance, then relatively cheap to fix. The mechanic just plugging in a scanner is usually not enough to diagnose a fault like this.

fasttalkerchat

If you're not worried about the consequences of it dying suddenly I would drive it until the end of the year. My only concern would be that the car will die some day and you will pay €100 in taxis to get to work while you jump into buying a new car and lose out big time when selling on the car not running.

Stheno

I'd not be happy driving something with known faults, much prefer to get it fixed and be confident I'm going to be able to get up in the morning and get to work in a car that won't collapse.

dgt

I'd make sure the car was alright. You don't eant the hassle of wondering will it just stop dead, will it break down.

Look after it, make sure it's working right, put your mind at rest

Bigus

Keep driving it and put it in for the NCT 3 months early and they'll make up your mind for you, but steam off any excess oil leaks first.

If the NCT list is too long move on ,if not fix it . If its burning oil and not leaking put some engine oil flush in and then change oil and filter, you could be pleasantly surprised.
Good luck

monkeysnapper

Bigus wrote: »

Keep driving it and put it in for the NCT 3 months early and they'll make up your mind for you, but steam off any excess oil leaks first.

If the NCT list is too long move on ,if not fix it . If its burning oil and not leaking put some engine oil flush in and then change oil and filter, you could be pleasantly surprised.
Good luck

I asked the car if oil was leaking or burning and she told me to ask the driveway the same question I like the idea of chucking it into nct early and see what that brings up thanks.

I feel it drives ok , although she sounds a bit rough, but no more than loads of other people's cars . When I bought it she hadn't been serviced in a long time, it had a good service at that point.

How do I get car diagnosed properly ? My mechanic is a small operation outfit and has basic laptop equipment . Would I have to take it to a proper Peugeot dealer , and how much would you be looking at to get it diagnosed .

JohnBoy26

I couldn't ignore problems and keep driving. Any thing that needs doing I usually do straight away to keep on top of things. The longer you leave maintainance the more it's going to cost you in the long run.

Wicklowandy

Those peugeot / berlingo / kangoo kars are really the most practical all rounder you can buy, and the petrol peugeot is a simple thing.

If you had to put €500 (or even a bit more including tyres) its 04 so 2 yrs test, its always going to have a value and wont take too long to sell.

Its been cheap driving so far; a couple of small jobs now and its going to be no sweat to test it when the time comes.

I'd have to fix it; i hate oil marks on the driveway, and they're often enough not a hard fix.

Pottler

The Good Lord gave me a radio, and I turn it up. This drowns out the noise of the failed steering pump, the duff front wheel bearing, misc rattles of a worrying nature and several bad squeaks and squeals. NCT on my car is up in Feb, and I shall squish it then. Until then, I'm turning up the radio. It has great brakes though, that's one thing I'm not ignoring. You gotta stopper. Car was €450, I've driven it for 8 months, and will get another similar one in Feb. It will make €200 over the weighbridge, giving a cost of ownership of €31.25 per month excluding fuel. It got nothing else. If I'm feeling mingy, I'll sell the good tyres, keep the excellent stereo or flog it, and flog the headlights and tail lights(they always sell). This will probably reduce the cost of ownership to about 50c. :-) How bad?

Merch

monkeysnapper wrote: »

I bought a peugeot partner car 2004 1.4 petrol with 160k miles. I paid for a clutch replacement and a service last july. So ive basically put 1850 into this car in total with cost of the car.

The engine light has been on since i bought it and my mechanic plugged it in and said the cat has come up as a fault , but might just be sensors. Weve established it also needs a new coil pack but drives ok at moment .

Its leaking oil at a rate that means every 2/3 months it goes down to half way down the dipstick .

Im happy to just keep driving it but nct is out at end of year plus have 1 years tax on it, so if I was to sell it, now is the time really, but a part of me is thinking just keep driving it because by end of year if its still driving ive had a year and half and i can drag nct out a few months then that was a good investment in car terms. Worse comes to the worse sell it for 500 quid and go laughing into the night.

Im just sick of pouring money into cars.

you sound happy enough to pass this heap on to someone else with all its problems?
Lets be honest most people wouldn't tell potential buyers, it doesn't sound like its worth €500

if you dont sort the engine light it wont pass the NCT, nor would i suspect anyone want to buy it.

So what will you tell a buyer? that it drinks oil or that its a great runner for the miles?

Bigus

The faulty coil pack will put on the engine light.

Stheno

Merch wrote: »

y

if you dont sort the engine light it wont pass the NCT, nor would i suspect anyone want to buy it.

So what will you tell a buyer? that it drinks oil or that its a great runner for the miles?

Engine light on is not a fail for Petrols in NCT, just diesels. Don't ask me why!

Bigus

sheldon on check engine light

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhp2ShPVQw

Wicklowandy

Merch wrote: »

you sound happy enough to pass this heap on to someone else with all its problems?
Lets be honest most people wouldn't tell potential buyers, it doesn't sound like its worth €500

if you dont sort the engine light it wont pass the NCT, nor would i suspect anyone want to buy it.

So what will you tell a buyer? that it drinks oil or that its a great runner for the miles?

If someone wants to buy a car privately for €500, it really is up to them to know what they're doing. I'd never tell someone something was right if it wasn't, but if they didn't know it already at this price its buyer beware, and if every private sale was dealt between people on the same page, we wouldn't have threads such as
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056857743

Couple more threads like that lately. If you want a perfect car, go buy a new one from a dealer, if you want to spend €500, expect it not to be the same:)

SouperComputer

Find a new mechanic TBH....

Failing coilpack = Incomplete combustion = Excess oxygen in exhaust gases.

The excess oxygen is picked up by O2 sensor, ECU reacts by richening the mixture on that bank to compensate. This means more fuel consumption and potential clogging of the cat from carbon. In addtion to the unburned fuel from the cylinder with the bad coil.
If the amount of fuel that the ECU has to add exceeds a certain amount the it will throw code and light the check engine light. P0172 is a common code for this. Yes, a P0172 (System too rich) is caused by a lean condition (Vacuum leak, misfire). The code means that the ECU has ADDED to the point where it can do so no more.

Replace the suspect coil, it will probably pay for itself in petrol pretty quick. I dont get too hung up on the money I spend running/repairing my cars vs their value. All I care about is cost per mile. If you have a car that meets your needs and the cost per mile is decent, the its actual value doesnt mean a lot.

Merch

Stheno wrote: »

Engine light on is not a fail for Petrols in NCT, just diesels. Don't ask me why!

I thought it was, cant see it in the NCT manual,

Wicklowandy wrote: »

If someone wants to buy a car privately for €500, it really is up to them to know what they're doing. I'd never tell someone something was right if it wasn't, but if they didn't know it already at this price its buyer beware, and if every private sale was dealt between people on the same page, we wouldn't have threads such as
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056857743

Couple more threads like that lately. If you want a perfect car, go buy a new one from a dealer, if you want to spend €500, expect it not to be the same:)

A lot of people only spending this much dont have a clue whats up with a car, I agree that for 500 what can you expect, but the vehicle the OP describes has a few problems, some could be easily fixed, but driving it on while it has them doesn't improve things for them. You say you wouldn't tell someone its right if its not (Im not saying you wouldn't) thats not my point, would you tell them whats wrong though, honestly I dont think most would.
With that many problems and potential to swallow money no one would want it, maybe I took it wrong but to say "sell it and go laughing into the night"
I've had people try to rip me off, seen it attempted and I've come across other people that have been. If someone only has 500 to spend on a car then they likely cant afford to lose it or start sinking money into it.
For 500, I wouldn't stiff someone.

That other thread is about someone that said they revealed the full details of the car and that they had only one problem.
Not trying to get into an argument with you, just I dont like the idea of people selling cars when they know of serious problems.
Maybe thats not what the OP meant at all though.

Stheno

Merch wrote: »

I thought it was, cant see it in the NCT manual,



.

Only for diesels see section 2 on smoke test

Merch

Stheno wrote: »

Only for diesels see section 2 on smoke test

I checked after you said that earlier in thread, I thought I had seen it in was necessary before, obviously and strangely not.

Stheno

Merch wrote: »

I checked after you said that earlier in thread, I thought I had seen it in was necessary before, obviously and strangely not.

Yeah it's a strange one alright isn't it? If your airbags are giving an error you'll fail but shure if you're in a petrol what's wrong with letting you drive off with an engine management light fault?

monkeysnapper

If I was selling car right now it would have coil fixed , if engine light was still on after that then it would be still on and new potential customer would see it and we,d be having a conversation about that. The oil leakage would be brought up and I'd be honest about that.

Loads of cars have oil leaks anyway, the car right now would have 1 years tax, 1 years nct and I'd be asking 1800 for it.

At that price I still feel car is very attractive in my opinion.

If I left it go till end of year then I'd chuck in in for nct and see what happens, I'd then probably either fix troubles and try sell it with nct or sell it mighty cheap with the nct fail list. At end of day I don't want any hassle for the sake of 500 quid, I'd rather crush it for 200 in that case.

But I take on board what people have said on here and ill look at another mechanic and see what it will cost to get this car a bit better health wise.

I just want to explain , when I said go laughing into the night I ment it in a

" I didn't loose to much money in this car in end"

NOT

" ha ha I pulled rug from under you sucker!!

Stheno

I have this awful streak in me.

It makes me tell waiting staff when I've been undercharged (they generally go into shock), give back shop staff money when they give me too much change, you get the drift.

If I was selling a car, I'd not only point out the faults, but I'd research others of it's ilk and price it accordingly, and tell people upfront what they could expect.

At the price point you are proposing now if you were to sell it, I"d feel like a sham.
Sure the engine light is on and the oil is leaking, but it's worth 1800e?

No way in hell.

Merch

monkeysnapper wrote: »

If I was selling car right now it would have coil fixed , if engine light was still on after that then it would be still on and new potential customer would see it and we,d be having a conversation about that. The oil leakage would be brought up and I'd be honest about that.

Loads of cars have oil leaks anyway, the car right now would have 1 years tax, 1 years nct and I'd be asking 1800 for it.

At that price I still feel car is very attractive in my opinion.

If I left it go till end of year then I'd chuck in in for nct and see what happens, I'd then probably either fix troubles and try sell it with nct or sell it mighty cheap with the nct fail list. At end of day I don't want any hassle for the sake of 500 quid, I'd rather crush it for 200 in that case.

But I take on board what people have said on here and ill look at another mechanic and see what it will cost to get this car a bit better health wise.

I just want to explain , when I said go laughing into the night I ment it in a

" I didn't loose to much money in this car in end"

NOT

" ha ha I pulled rug from under you sucker!!

with the problems you listed doesnt mean its worth that or what you paid for it, I'd have said a lot less especially with those miles on it, you said 160k miles?

monkeysnapper

Stheno wrote: »

I have this awful streak in me.

It makes me tell waiting staff when I've been undercharged (they generally go into shock), give back shop staff money when they give me too much change, you get the drift.

If I was selling a car, I'd not only point out the faults, but I'd research others of it's ilk and price it accordingly, and tell people upfront what they could expect.

At the price point you are proposing now if you were to sell it, I"d feel like a sham.
Sure the engine light is on and the oil is leaking, but it's worth 1800e?

No way in hell.

Well tax is worth 350 which brings cars value down to 1450 , the car has 2 brand new tyres on it and 2 say 50/50 tyres. I also have 4 spare wheels with good tyres on them because I had a van that was crushed before I bought it and they fit Peugeot so I kept them in case but haven't used them as yet.

I feel car is worth this . But as I've said I will look into getting this fixed up before I made any decision on wether I want to keep it or not

Stheno

monkeysnapper wrote: »

Well tax is worth 350 which brings cars value down to 1450 , the car has 2 brand new tyres on it and 2 say 50/50 tyres. I also have 4 spare wheels with good tyres on them because I had a van that was crushed before I bought it and they fit Peugeot so I kept them in case but haven't used them as yet.

I feel car is worth this . But as I've said I will look into getting this fixed up before I made any decision on wether I want to keep it or not

Most buyers in the current market will look at that price and with the errors will run a mile.

Well worth your while just for your own peace of mind to get the errors resolved.

Merch

monkeysnapper wrote: »

Well tax is worth 350 which brings cars value down to 1450 , the car has 2 brand new tyres on it and 2 say 50/50 tyres. I also have 4 spare wheels with good tyres on them because I had a van that was crushed before I bought it and they fit Peugeot so I kept them in case but haven't used them as yet.

I feel car is worth this . But as I've said I will look into getting this fixed up before I made any decision on wether I want to keep it or not

I am not trying to have a go, but I dont think the value of any car is the value of the sum of its parts, there just selling points to me, unless a vehicle is something special or a very good spec, I dont think extra tyres are a bonus, people will be happy with one good set
Good luck with it

Wicklowandy

Theres more of an appetite for this style (berlingo, kangoo kar etc.) than people seem to think.

€1200-1800 is probably its value (with oil light sorted and coil replaced) but if it was for sale today for €500 with no test and its faults plain to see, it wouldnt be long finding a buyer, not one getting the wool pulled over their eyes, but one buying a vehicle with faults visible knowing they were getting it cheap, and willing to fix it.

As ive said, id lead no one wrong selling a car, but cheap cars are always buyer beware; my OH runs a €500 car for one to two years, scraps and starts again. And weve bought some amazing cars which needed very little, and some which were only worth what we paid.

But everyone was bought with OUR eyes open, knowing the mantra buyer beware, and not relying on the seller to tell us what it was our responsibility to find out:)

Wicklowandy

Merch wrote: »

I thought it was, cant see it in the NCT manual,



A lot of people only spending this much dont have a clue whats up with a car, I agree that for 500 what can you expect, but the vehicle the OP describes has a few problems, some could be easily fixed, but driving it on while it has them doesn't improve things for them. You say you wouldn't tell someone its right if its not (Im not saying you wouldn't) thats not my point, would you tell them whats wrong though, honestly I dont think most would.
With that many problems and potential to swallow money no one would want it, maybe I took it wrong but to say "sell it and go laughing into the night"
I've had people try to rip me off, seen it attempted and I've come across other people that have been. If someone only has 500 to spend on a car then they likely cant afford to lose it or start sinking money into it.
For 500, I wouldn't stiff someone.

That other thread is about someone that said they revealed the full details of the car and that they had only one problem.
Not trying to get into an argument with you, just I dont like the idea of people selling cars when they know of serious problems.
Maybe thats not what the OP meant at all though.

As a private seller, its not my business to know every fault, if im aware of something, ill pass that on, but let buyer beware and use a qualified professional to assess their purchase if they cant themselves:)

monkeysnapper

3 years ago I was selling my Audi a4 1.8 petrol 1999 , the car was in good condition , low milege , 98k but the car needed timing belt doing , a good service and I was going to sell it with all the above done and ask 2 grand, but felt I was going to have a tough time getting it.

So I just stuck it up on done deal for 1500 and was honest about car , I got a call on Xmas eve of all days from some nice Albanian fellers and they came over, I pointed out the faults and they couldn't care less and said they can fix themselves .

Car was gone for 1400.

My point is if your honest in your ad your better off . Loads of people out there can fix cars themselves . I had a few polish people look at the Audi as well and would have taken it only I wouldn't come down to what they wanted to pay for it. And that's ok.

I do feel the low engine size (tax ) is in its favour . Plus it's a good size for a family vehicle and can be turned into a van with the seats laying flat. I actually think I'm going to find it easier to sell this car than the Audi .

Wicklowandy

I think you will as well, and with so little wrong with it just fix it and maximise its value. The only negative is mileage, and personally ive little interest in mileage, only condition. Id still use it as a stick to beat someone with when buying though;)

And even fixed and tested and looking 1.8k, its not your job as a private seller to be able to say its perfect. Its up to a buyer (or their paid professional) to decide its good and worth buying.

And if it blows up leaving your gate, its the buyers (and their paid professional or knowledgable friend) problem:)

monkeysnapper

So anyway I fixed the coil issue a few weeks ago and all was going well until yesterday . I'd say its blown its head gasket. It overheated big time on way into work and now ill have to get it from work today. im not gona drive it so its a rope job i feel .

When I opened the water it's all creamy inside. I was taking it in next week to get oil leak fixed anyway .

Other than this the car was running ok . Can I ask . Getting oil leak fixed and now the head gasket gone . Would all this have been same ish job . I don't have to much money to pour into this car .

I've had car car nearly 12 months and poured 1800 including price of car . So I'd nearly load it off at this stage and cut my losses. When I bought it the wife told me so with it having such high milege and now she's delighted she was right .

It's Mother's Day today so she Might go easy on me