Car Advice

S

S1ght

Expert Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,301
Reaction score
27
Location
Berlin
Hey all,

I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to cars so thought I'd seek some advice from the experts o/

So I have a 2003 Opel Corsa 1.4. According to my last service, about half the car needs replacing and they quoted me around R37 000 (book value is currently at R34 000 so I told them to just do the basic service and leave the rest).

So now the situation is that those problems are obviously going to eventually kill the car. The radiator isn't working 100%, the shocks are shot, the disk brakes need replacing and they a bunch of other things but a few of them I'm writing off as them just trying to get as much money out of me as they can.

The question now is do I bother trying to get all of this sorted? Or should I just sell it and get a new car? I took a quick look at autotrader and it looks like if you want any sort of decent car it's going to be from R100 000 these days? Ideally I've been trying to avoid putting myself in more debt as I've been trying to focus on paying my bond off :o

Thanks in advance,
S1ght
 
The repairs listed are general repairs it's normal to replace shocks, brakes and an occasional part. It's going to cost you way less to fix up the old car than buy a new car.

Just don't take it to a dealer or high end workshop try and find a regular trustworthy mechanic that can do the repairs at a reasonable price. Your local supaquick does shocks and brakes as well.

I would fix up the old car.

If you buy another older cheaper car, you will run into similar problems in a couple months. The only way to avoid maintenance issues is to buy a new car with a maintenance plan.
 
Last edited:
S1ght said:
Hey all,

I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to cars so thought I'd seek some advice from the experts o/

So I have a 2003 Opel Corsa 1.4. According to my last service, about half the car needs replacing and they quoted me around R37 000 (book value is currently at R34 000 so I told them to just do the basic service and leave the rest).

So now the situation is that those problems are obviously going to eventually kill the car. The radiator isn't working 100%, the shocks are shot, the disk brakes need replacing and they a bunch of other things but a few of them I'm writing off as them just trying to get as much money out of me as they can.

The question now is do I bother trying to get all of this sorted? Or should I just sell it and get a new car? I took a quick look at autotrader and it looks like if you want any sort of decent car it's going to be from R100 000 these days? Ideally I've been trying to avoid putting myself in more debt as I've been trying to focus on paying my bond off :o

Thanks in advance,
S1ght
Click to expand...

Are you still paying off your current car or is it paid off?
If it's the latter, get a 2nd opinion and get it fixed.
 
Pho3nix said:
Are you still paying off your current car or is it paid off?
If it's the latter, get a 2nd opinion and get it fixed.
Click to expand...

It's paid off.

Can you guys recommend a good mechanic? Am in the Bryanston area.

I thought of getting a second opinion and was looking at Car Service City...till I started Googling them which lead me right back to MyBB and another thread saying they're just as bad when in comes to finding any small problem with the car in order to push the price up >.<
 
Sell it.

If your car already needs so much work, it will only get worse. You don't want that headache. You don't want your car overheating on the highway and screwing up the engine - trust me.

You won't get much for it, but at least you won't be wasting any more money fixing it up. It's "cheaper" to fix the old car up than buy a new car, but think about this - how much of that money is being wasted?

Let's say you can find an independent mechanic who can do the work for R20 000. So the car is fixed up for now, I give it 6-12 months until problems appear again. Not only that, you will NEVER see that R20 000 again. If a taxi crashes into you the next day, you don't get a refund on your R20 000.

Now let's say you buy a new car for R150 000. Total cost with interest over 5 years will probably be around R190 000. The thing is, not only do you get a new car with less issues or no issues, but you also get a warranty, service plan and possibly a maintenance plan, which means that you don't have to spend money on maintenance. Plus, you could sell your R150k car for probably R90k after years. That means that, let's say you are spending R3k per month, you will see at least R2k of that again when you sell the car. Compare that to spending R20k on your old car which you never see again.
 
I don't want to swim against the stream here, but the best car is one that is paid off. Get a second opinion from a reputable independent mechanic and then reconsider your options. When buying a decent second hand car (without residual / balloon), you will end up paying in the region of R3k per month for 5 years. That means, that in your first year, you would have already paid R36k towards your new (secondhand) car, excluding services / maintenance / repairs. Then you still have four years of paying that left :wtf:.

Consider carefully ;)
 
Vaper's Corner said:
I don't want to swim against the stream here, but the best car is one that is paid off. Get a second opinion from a reputable independent mechanic and then reconsider your options. When buying a decent second hand car (without residual / balloon), you will end up paying in the region of R3k per month for 5 years. That means, that in your first year, you would have already paid R36k towards your new (secondhand) car, excluding services / maintenance / repairs. Then you still have four years of paying that left :wtf:.

Consider carefully ;)
Click to expand...

How much of his R36k repair bill will he get back if he sells the car in a years time?

Or if he writes the car off tomorrow. Will insurance reimburse him for what he has spent on maintenance?
 
Ancalagon said:
How much of his R36k repair bill will he get back if he sells the car in a years time?

Or if he writes the car off tomorrow. Will insurance reimburse him for what he has spent on maintenance?
Click to expand...

The same principle applies to a new vehicle. Ifs are just that, ifs. If he buys a new vehicle at R160k, and if it is a lemon, and if he spends another R50k repairing it (because new vehicles are more expensive to maintain due to more electronics etc), how much would he loose if he can only manage to resell the lemon a year later for only R100k?

I had an old Toyota Corolla 1.6 GLS Twincam. The day I sold it, it was 20 years old (1992 model), still regret selling it to this day. Apart from an engine overhaul on 280k kms, that car cost me R 600 per year to maintain.

My newer vehicle cost me R14k in 14 months :(
 
Ancalagon said:
How much of his R36k repair bill will he get back if he sells the car in a years time?

Or if he writes the car off tomorrow. Will insurance reimburse him for what he has spent on maintenance?
Click to expand...

That can apply to any car, new or not.

I say fix it up, you will be spending a lot less and these are all maintenance items that wear out on any car.
Some of those things you can do it your self, it's not as hard as it looks. Put the list here of what needs to be done and we could confirm if it really is 37k and also you don't need to do it all at once, safety items get preference...
 
Thing is, what is the car used for and how often is it used?
Also, why is the condition suddenly so bad?

1. Look around for pricing on spares. You might be amazed at how much agents add to spares.
2. Find a reputable independant workshop.
3. Start with the safety stuff first, like shocks and brakes.

Sometimes a diffrent fix, like radiator flush, might just sort out the issue instead of replacing it with a new unit.
I'm sure if you shop around you can repair everything for under R5k.
 
Vaper's Corner said:
The same principle applies to a new vehicle. Ifs are just that, ifs. If he buys a new vehicle at R160k, and if it is a lemon, and if he spends another R50k repairing it (because new vehicles are more expensive to maintain due to more electronics etc), how much would he loose if he can only manage to resell the lemon a year later for only R100k?

I had an old Toyota Corolla 1.6 GLS Twincam. The day I sold it, it was 20 years old (1992 model), still regret selling it to this day. Apart from an engine overhaul on 280k kms, that car cost me R 600 per year to maintain.

My newer vehicle cost me R14k in 14 months :(
Click to expand...

Not if your new car has a service plan and warranty - your maintenance costs will be R0.
 
Ancalagon said:
Not if your new car has a service plan and warranty - your maintenance costs will be R0.
Click to expand...

Well I don't think looking at a vehicle around R100 000 is going to include a Service plan.
I myself think buying a brand new car is not economically viable, you loose a big chunk of the value just driving it off the showroom floor.
Demo or very low KM newer cars are a much smarter option.
 
psion said:
That can apply to any car, new or not.

I say fix it up, you will be spending a lot less and these are all maintenance items that wear out on any car.
Some of those things you can do it your self, it's not as hard as it looks. Put the list here of what needs to be done and we could confirm if it really is 37k and also you don't need to do it all at once, safety items get preference...
Click to expand...

better the devil you know, than the devil you dont
 
You always get a long "snag" list from garages.

Rather fix the urgent things first. Rather do it gradually over a period of time. Start with radiator and then do rest. Stay away from agents. They will bleed you dry.
 
Uploaded the initial "minor service" quote I got from GM in March to dropbox.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12560337/Estimation - Cresta Auto.xls

Just some extra info of the car. Has about 133 000km on the clock and I mainly use it for short trips. So it's a 15km trip to work and then about 15km - 20km trip when I go out places like climbing which occasionally has some dirt roads.

Looking at the quote again. What do you think about getting the following fixed:
- Radiator
- Themostat
- Water pump
- Front shocks
- Front brakes

Dunno about the steering gear and steering knuckle? Not even sure what those do but I know the car feels fine to drive and I've never had any issues with the steering.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X