What type of garage/mechanic do I need

Whispered

Hi. We need to get a bit of work done on our car and we have no idea how much it will come to or if it's worth doing at all.

It's a diesel skoda Octavia estate 2001 and has the following problems:

Needs four tyres
Passenger doors front and back cannot be opened from the inside
Passenger windows front and back held in place by tape as they fall into the door and obviously don't work (they're electric)
Reverse lights don't work
Back wiper works only sometimes
Lighter, charger etc doesn't work
gears feel to be slipping back out occasionally

Should we bring it to a crash repair place for a quote, or another type of mechanic? We don't have time to go looking for parts, pricing seperately and getting a price for the work ourselves so would like somewhere that can give us a price for the whole lot.

Any suggestions? Somewhere between Naas and tallaght or within a reasonable distance from there.

We're also considering scrapping it for a better car if the repairs are going to be really expensive. It's hard to decide how much is worth spending on car repairs!

MuppetCheck

Take it to a decent independent mechanic for the work.

Then a tyre place for the tyres.

I wouldn't get he tyres first as the list could well be terminal on a car like that of the gearbox is goosed. The reverse lights could be something simple like a bulb you could do yourself, some of the other bits a fuse gone. All easier to do yourself rather than pay someone to sort.

Whispered

Thanks. We have a mechanic who does all of our servicing and stuff but he doesn't do electrics. We've tried replacing the reverse bulbs but no joy. It seems none of the electrics from the passenger door to the back work at all. The previous owner wired up a phone charger that never worked so that might have something to do with it.

Is there a difference between a mechanic and an auto electrician. And if we need to have the doors taken apart for the windows to be put back on their tracks, and have the handles fixed do I need to go to two different places (electrician and crash repair for example). Sorry for the silly questions but I don't have the first clue and if I leave it to my husband I'll still be waiting next year

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

Whispered wrote: »

if I leave it to my husband I'll still be waiting next year

You should've married a real man.

A few of the motors forum regulars are likely to be available.

tossy

IMO it's decision time....

Whispered wrote: »

Needs four tyres
Passenger doors front and back cannot be opened from the inside
Passenger windows front and back held in place by tape as they fall into the door and obviously don't work (they're electric)
Reverse lights don't work
Back wiper works only sometimes
Lighter, charger etc doesn't work
gears feel to be slipping back out occasionally

4 x tyres (can spend as much as you want) but conservative est 200 euro
Passenger doors could be just snapped or loose cable,could need locks (from a breakers - maybe 20 - 80 euro depending.
Passenger window regulators are gone, repair clips could do the job or you could need regulators so from 20 euro to 200 euro depending.
Could be a bulb or reverse light switchm also could be electrical fault so anywhere from 5euro to whatever it takes to fix it.
Gears feel to slipping back out? Could be anything from a syncro mesh to a wonky gearbox - so pick a figure.

Do you really want to spend an unknown amount of money on a 13 year old Diesel skoda? (no offence intended just being brutally honest)

If i t was me i'd put tyres with thread on the car, check the reverse light bulb to see if it's an easy fix, see if window regulator clips will get the windows working again (doorcards have to come off for this job so door locks can be investigated) and then try sell it.

Whispered

tossy wrote: »

Do you really want to spend an unknown amount of money on a 13 year old Diesel skoda? (no offence intended just being brutally honest)

If i t was me i'd put tyres with thread on the car, check the reverse light bulb to see if it's an easy fix, see if window regulator clips will get the windows working again (doorcards have to come off for this job so door locks can be investigated) and then try sell it.

No offense taken at all and thanks for such a detailed post. You could be right. Personally I'd rather get something else but We have 1500 to a max of 2k to spend on a new car so we are not likely to get anything too great for that anyway. It's a tough decision!

Who would I need to go to to check if the window clips would work. (The inside panel of one of the doors is busted slightly after trying to do a self fix)

biko

It's going to get expensive.
Many electrical issues and gear problem - I would start looking at another car.

But do get quotes from 3 local mechanics and see if you think it's worth it.
Get the quotes itemised, you may not want to fix the rear wiper, cig lighter and such.

tossy

Whispered wrote: »

No offense taken at all and thanks for such a detailed post. You could be right. Personally I'd rather get something else but We have 1500 to a max of 2k to spend on a new car so we are not likely to get anything too great for that anyway. It's a tough decision!

Who would I need to go to to check if the window clips would work. (The inside panel of one of the doors is busted slightly after trying to do a self fix)

I honestly would google some DIY guides , there is a great skoda forum called Briskoda and you will get a lot of helpful guides i'm sure. Tackle the clips issue yourselves some Saturday you might be surprised how easy it is.

Whispered

Thanks again

I'll get himself to look at the skoda forum. I'd have no ability myself.

Good idea re the itemised quote. We might not need to get everything done.

Would any mechanic be able to look at the rest or do I need someone who specialises in electrics. I would have thought anybody, but our usual mechanic wouldn't look for us so I'm unsure what type of mechanic to look for.

Chimaera

First thing to do is find out what's wrong with the gearbox and how much that will cost to repair. That's probably the single most expensive item on your list, and really is the deal breaker. This might be no more than worn shift linkages, or the gearbox internals could be done for. I'd find a garage that deals specifically with VW group brands (Skoda is part of that group) and get their opinion.

A quick google suggests several VAG specialists in the Dublin area. If you don't mind travelling to Port Laoise, member George Dalton runs a garage there that specialises in VAG brands.

Passenger doors not opening from inside is probably malfunctioning electrics inside the lock. Usually due to solder joints cracking inside the module. It's about an hour's fix per door if you're handy.

The lights, cigarette lighter, etc. are probably blown fuses. This is 10 minutes work with the owner's manual to check for and replace blown fuses. This is something any owner should be able to do anyway.

Wiper motor could be done for, or it could be a faulty relay.

It's also worth while seeing what you can buy for your budget if you do decide to change. A quick search on Carzone suggests a 2001 Octavia TDI will sell for around €1300-2000. In the condition you describe, yours would be on the lower end of that scale I think.

There are too many variables in this to be able to reliably advise you over the internet, but getting it to a good specialist is probably the best first move.

Whispered

Thanks. If selling I'd probably let it go for parts. It's not worth anything as it is!

Sorry guys. Just been told that the mechanic checked fused and bulbs so it is definitely a wiring problem.

So getting it to a mechanic is the best bet.

Thanks

Edit: when you say the member George dalton do you mean forum member. I'd happily travel to portlaoise if it was to
Someone who could look at the whole thing for us and maybe advise if it's worth our while putting so much money into it.

Chimaera

Yes, he's a boards.ie member.

Whispered

Thanks I'll message him tomorrow to see if he's at all interested in taking a look. It might not be worth his while.

Appreciate all the help.

Yawns

Seriously constant shilling from this guy madfish111.

Whispered

Yawns wrote: »

Seriously constant shilling from this guy madfish111.

??

Yawns

There was a poster called madfish111 who had like 8 posts, 6 of which were recommending 1 particular garage on several different threads.

Whispered

Ah thanks - I missed that