Can't Afford to Repair Your Car?

[spindrift]

....in a garage? well do as I do......go to a car dump and buy the part you want at a knockdown price

In the town where I live there are gangs that wander the streets at night breaking car wing-mirrors and windscreen wipers just for fun

When I recently returned from India I found that my car had, yet again, been vandalized. My offside wing-mirror had been shattered.... I asked for a quote from the garage up the road and I was told I would have to pay £216 for the part and labour.

This afternoon I drove up to our nearest industrial estate and asked my Pakistani friend, who runs a body-repair shop, for help. He very kindly made a phone call and told me that I could visit a site where cars are towed when they're write-offs. Apparently the wing-mirror that I need is on a car in the yard and so I will drive there on Thursday and buy it for £30.....and my friend will put it on my car for a minimal amount.

I'm telling you all this in case you don't know how cheap parts can be purchased.

[onlymark]

Good idea for a thread, I like that.

A little further info - car parts usually fall in to three categories.

1. Original. This is a spare part made by the car manufacturer or it's licensed partner. These are fitted when you take your Ford to a Ford garage for example and are usually the most expensive option. Whilst a car is under guarantee it is usually stipulated that original parts are fitted when needed otherwise the warranty is voided.

2. Pattern parts. These are copies of the original and are the next cheapest option. These are very common when it comes to things like exhausts and when you get a new one from a 'Quickfit' type supplier rather than going to a proper garage.
Care must be taken to get the parts though from a reputable supplier due to poor quality parts from China or some other countries, especially brake parts.

3. Scrapyard parts. These come from used cars that have been dismantled due to age, test failure or crashes. They are the cheapest option as they have already been fitted to a car and driven for how many miles. But it's only a viable option if you or someone you know, knows what they are on with. Otherwise you end up with the part you want, but it's absolutely knackered or maybe doesn't fit because it's from an older version of your car.

Further posts from Spindrift will explain in laymans terms how an engine works and the relevance of "suck, squeeze, bang, blow".

[Deleted]

And don't forget that Mark could repair your car with what he finds in your paper clip drawer and your recycling bin.

[onlymark]

The best place is that drawer you always seem to have in your kitchen for all those bits and bobs you don't know what to do with.
You think that nut and bolt you found in the yard will be useful one day, but you're not sure whether to chuck it away or not.
So you put it in the drawer.
Along with the IKEA spanner.

[spindrift]

Well, if the guy in the scrapyard sells me the wrong wingmirror then he'll have the Pakistani to answer to!

[Deleted]

There's no such thing as a "wrong" wingmirror. It merely becomes a "mismatched" wingmirror.

[cristina]

I wonder if the vandals and the garages are in cahoots with each other...

What is an IKEA "spanner"?

[Deleted]

When you buy furniture from Ikea, they usually provide ONE little tool that tightens all of your nuts and bolts. If you buy a dozen items from Ikea, you end up with a dozen of the spanners.

[spindrift]

I must phone the scrapyard dealer today and ask him to take the mirror off the crashed car!

Well...I just phoned the dealer and asked him to take the mirror off and have it ready for me tomorrow and he refused to do anything until I had paid him by credit card! He made me pay £30.. he even refused to take cash from me and made me pay VAT! .the garage up the road quoted me £72....so there's a lively market in secondhand parts.
He was very cagey. There are 8 of them working in the scrapyard.

He said to phone them after lunch tomorrow with a view to collecting the mirror during the afternoon.

[spindrift]

Mark - I had no idea of the existence of 'Pattern' parts. I am pleased to know about these. I will be very sure to have my brakes repaired at my local garage. I wouldn't want to have parts from China foisted upon me. Luckily I had my cam belt changed there recently for the enormous sum of £300.
I'm sure that anyone can change the brake fluid and oil so I don't need to pay through the nose for this sort of thing. Do I

Could you please tell me about Tyres? I don't particularly want tyres from SEA....

[onlymark]

Short story -
When we returned to Germany from the Philippines we needed a car. I was persuaded by the family to buy a large black Chrysler Grand Voyager, used, with electric mirrors. But on the test drive I found the mirrors didn't move or fold away. So I told the salesman that we'd buy the car but the mirrors needed doing, would he see that they were sorted as part of the purchase price, otherwise we'd move on.
Fool that he was said, No Problem, and I made sure he wrote it down (plus a couple of other minor things) on the paperwork.

What he didn't know is that each side, to replace, costs about 600 Euro plus VAT and labour. I suspected it was expensive but didn't know for sure.
When he found this out he refused to do them. I'd already bought the car as we needed it straight away. So I told him I'd bring it back and I want my money back. He refused to do that.
So I asked him for the name of his Manager, phoned up the Manager and made an appointment to see him. When I arrived for the appointment the original salesman was waiting for me and asked for the keys so he could get the car done.

I said he could have them there and then but because I hadn't made any alternative transport arrangements I wanted a 'loaner' until it was done. He refused. I said where is the manager and he relented.
Then I got it done.

Spindrift, easily enough, just go to your local Quickfit or whatever and ask them for the prices of several makes. Make sure the one you choose is not a 'remould' and get one about middle of the range of the prices supplied. I'm sure it'll be fine.

Brake fluid and oil - oil change is easy enough anywhere, again Quickfit type place. They'll probably also do your brake fluid (why do you think you need it changing?).
Brake fluid is corrosive to paintwork so after it's done make sure they've cleaned up under the bonnet.
When you pick up the car, the first thing you should do is start the engine and press the brake pedal to see if it feels OK. Then slowly go forward or back and press them to try them.
The point is, don't just drive off thinking it's all hunky dory. Check first, especially with brakes.

[cristina]

Mar 24, 2010 8:53:37 GMT kerouac2 said:

When you buy furniture from Ikea, they usually provide ONE little tool that tightens all of your nuts and bolts. If you buy a dozen items from Ikea, you end up with a dozen of the spanners.

I thought those were called allen wrenches. I've never heard the term spanner before. (And I have dozens of the from Ikea.)

Spindrift, I would have been concerned about giving my credit card number over the phone to someone who sounded cagey. When did people stop accepting cash for payment?

[lola]

Spindrift, I can see there'd be a very lively market for side mirrors in your town. Where my brother lives in the country, kids bash your mailbox with a bat or something as they drive by. I have a genius idea for a bashproof mailbox, if I can ever get around to making the prototype.

oM sounds like someone you and Deyana want for your drive to India, spindrift.

oM, you could rent yourself out accompanying women to car dealers. The one time I tried it on my own, the dealer seemed to think my purse was gift-wrapped and had a tag with his name on it.

[bjd]

Car dealers/mechanics/tire salesmen all work on the idea that women know nothing about cars and that they should be fair game.

Although I indeed know nothing about cars, and care even less, I still am the one who has to deal with the car when it needs a repair, new tires, to go to the biannual check for road-worthiness, whatever. I am usually the only woman in the place and don't like it. But I have gotten over not wanting to ask questions, so always ask, "what does this/that do?" when I'm told about something. And after being conned once into buying 4 new tires, instead of 2, I am much more careful about where I go.

Actually, the only garage I have found here where they don't treat women customers as idiots is at Toyota. Unfortunately, their hourly rate is similar to that of a brain surgeon's.

[onlymark]

cristina, you are right about the Ikea tool, though it is called an Allen key. But I thought if I'd used that name not many would understand it, so I just said spanner.

lola, good idea. Are flights included?

The thing with being overcharged or fooled at a garage doesn't just happen to women. It happens still to me, even last week. The regular garage I use for services has a new mechanic who tried to pull the wool over my eyes, this being witnessed by the son of the owner who knows me and had a word in his shell like.
I do think that every woman who has a car ought to learn at least a few things about it, like changing a wheel stuff.

Sometimes you go to a garage and they do a service and it's three times the cost of the last one. This can be because on the service schedule for the type of car certain things have to be done at certain mileages, like cam belts. It's handy if you can get hold of one, usually they are on the internet somewhere if not available in the garage. Then you can see if you've been ripped off and you can plan ahead for the expensive services.

[spindrift]

Luckily a friend told me about a large garage (repairs and services only, no car sales) called 'Independent'. It's on a trading estate in Chandlers' Ford. Whenever i need a service I get a written quote from my local garage then phone the Independent guys and bargain the price down. They even lend me a car for the day. Times are hard in England these days and everyone is having to get used to bargaining whereas, previously, it was unthinkable.

As for my brake fluid I can look up the docs ...perhaps it just needs topping up and not changing. Mark - thanks for telling me that it is corrosive.

Anyway I'm committed to the scrapyard now and will go there tomorrow.

Mark - please give us a little lecture about Tyres (cheap & otherwise)....I don't trust the local tyre & exhaust chaps...I try and go to Micheldever Tyres - a top quality place.

[lola]

You might want to start locally, M, until your fame spreads more worldwide.

[onlymark]

lola, locally, to me that is, no woman takes her car to a garage. The husband or a male relative does.

Miss(Ms) Drift, tyres are a big subject. It depends where to start. But we'll see how we go.
Most things are obvious, like the bigger it is or the faster the car, the more expensive they are. Or a strange size.
I don't know of a car now that has tyres with tubes in, they are all 'tubeless' (the tyre and the rim form a seal to stop air escaping).
Don't buy second hand tyres from a scrap yard and try and get them from a reputable named dealer, maybe have a word at work with others and see where they got theirs from, or a neighbour.
Good makes are Goodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Firestone, Goodyear, Michelin and Pirelli (in no particular order).
Next best are General, Kumho and Yokohama.

Maybe have a quick look at - www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/ - find your car (if it's there) and see if there are any reviews on different tyres.
Unless you are really wanting top notch tyres because you use them to the limits of weather, speed or load, then a mid priced one from a selection at a garage are easily good enough.
Or if you are on a really tight budget, get the cheapest but be fully aware it'll have limitations on how long it will last and how good they are in the wet. I'd never buy the cheapest unless I was just about to sell the car.

Try not to get your tyres from the local garage bloke round the corner. He'll only have a small selection, if any, and all he'll do anyway is usually sell them to you for a higher price than a specialist with a high turnover and a big stock.
Most car makes will recommend a certain brand of tyre. With a car out of warranty you can virtually ignore that. The car maker will have a connection to a tyre manufacturer and will obviously then say they are the best.

So, if there's anything you particularly wanted to know.....?

Generally then - unless you know what you are on with, go to a reputable supplier garage, ask for some tyres for your car.
The bloke will ask you what car it is, make and model and possibly year. If he doesn't know the sizes or have them to hand he or a lad will go out and check them.
Don't be satisfied if he says he's only one make. If so, go elsewhere and try and get three or four makes.
After you've recovered from a heart attack at the prices, choose a mid range price unless - a) you're a boy racer in all weathers, or b) you are severely financially challenged and need to sell the car before it is repossessed.

If you've decided, give the nod and they'll take it inside.
After you've had a cup of very poor coffee and sat on a grease stained uncomfortable bench reading a Hot Hatch magazine from 1966, you car will be returned to you.
ASK - have the wheels where the new tyres are been balanced?
Have you put new valves in?
The bloke may look offended, but ask anyway. I always do.

Then I piss them off even more by when it's been pulled outside, whipping out my wheel brace and checking the wheel nuts before I drive away. I also check the pressures they've put in with my handy digital gauge from Halfords (UKers know this place).
I'd rather not get too technical about load and speed rating and stuff, but I can if you want.

[onlymark]

Just seen on the website for Micheldever Tyres a bit about the law in the UK for if a tyre is legal or not.
It says - The legal minimum tyre tread depth in the UK is 1.6mm- this must cover the central 3 quarters of the tyre width and around its entire circumference.
Fairly clear, or not?
If in doubt, get it checked.

[Deleted]

I have never owned a car and would be a total victim consulting a mechanic. But I rent cars regularly and generally do not take a full Collision Damage Waiver, so if something happens, I have to pay. Twice I have had wing mirrors damaged, and the very first thing I did was to jump on the internet to see the price of the mirror as a spare part. That way, when I returned the car and had the full deductible debited, which is what they do automatically, I at least knew how much to expect as a refund, after factoring in a bit of labor obviously. In any case, both Hertz and Europcar refunded quite honest amounts.

[Deleted]

Mar 23, 2010 19:32:31 GMT spindrift said:

In the town where I live there are gangs that wander the streets at night breaking car wing-mirrors and windscreen wipers just for fun

When I recently returned from India I found that my car had, yet again, been vandalized. My offside wing-mirror had been shattered....

That's awful, Sprindrift. Kind of reminds me of the area that I lived in the UK. Something or other was always happening. I remember my neighbours motorbike was stolen, and a lady down the road has her car tires punctured three times. Eventually she just gave up and got rid of the car. Poor thing.

I don't know an lot about fixing cars, but I have learned the basics just out of necessity. I've had so many old bangers in the past, that would last me only a few months at a time (if I was lucky). Each time one broke down I learned what was up with it and how to fix it. Didn't help with the next one much though. It was always something different.

I hope it all gets fixed for soon without too much more hassle.

[Deleted]

I have a question of Mark regarding tyres. (sorry for the threadjack, Spinny).

Here we need to change from all-season (or summer) to winter tyres each winter. It's not the law here (yet), although it is in Quebec. Anyway, what I was wondering was, is it best to invest in a winter tyre with the rim intact, and so change the whole type over each year, (which can be done at home). Or would it be better to just go to the garage every winter and have the tyres changed on to the same rim? I have heard that this can damage the tyre after a while, is this so? What do you think? What's the best thing to do for the long run? And which would turn out most cost effective do you think?

[onlymark]

When I was living in Germany I also had to change tyres every Winter. I had the tyres and rims as it is true that tyres can be potentially damaged every time they are removed and replaced. But with professional tyre places it's not often really.
Does it make financial sense though? Can't really answer that, it depends on how cheaply you can pick up a set of rims I suppose. I found it a lot easier for the sole reason that I'd always change them over myself so I always saved a bit of money by not taking it to a garage to do.

[Deleted]

Yeah, winter weather can suck big time.

It's good if you know how to change them over yourself, I wouldn't have a clue. But there is a mechanic down the road where I ususally take my car, he's pretty good.

I have to have it undercoated too, have you ever heard of that? It coats the underneath of the car so that it protects if from the (very harsh sandy substance they use on the roads here every winter), other wise cars can get rusty quite fast around here, due to the harsh winters/sand.

[lola]

K2: "I rent cars regularly and generally do not take a full Collision Damage Waiver, so if something happens, I have to pay."

We have one car for 4 drivers (pretty much unheard of among middle class in our driving town) so I've been renting regularly for road trips. My credit card is supposed to cover CDW etc, so I always decline the insurances. Haven't (knock wood) had mishaps so far to test how that works.

We have a pleasant little Enterprise car rental office a 10 min walk away; before we discovered them we were schlepping out to the airport.

We deal with a garage that has a knowlegable woman at the front desk. When I lived in northern NM, I took my car to a shop run by hippie (reputed) lesbians. (or maybe that was just the male fantasy story.)

[onlymark]

deyana, undercoating your car is said not to be such a good idea when it gets older. The reason is for it to be totally effective the underside has to be completely clean, otherwise it will trap the dirt and accelerate the rusting process.
Ask what they think before you do it.

[spindrift]

Mark - I'm pretty sure that my present tyres are ok. I had my car MOT'd a couple of months ago, they checked the tyres and I had to have one tyre replaced. Although the tyre in question was not worn, it had a weakness in the rubber and it was illegal.

Thank you for telling me about (1) balancing and (2) checking the valves and (3) where to buy a mini pressure gauge. I'll go and get the latter asap.

TYRE PRESSURES

I am given different recommendations wherever I go. Micheldever told me to have the same pressure in all four tyres (28)...but other suppliers have told me other numbers.

There is rarely anyone sitting in the back (although I sometimes put heavy shopping on the back seat but it's not THAT heavy)... what is the general rule, please?

[spindrift]

This afternoon I enjoyed my visit to SilverlakeAutoparts.co.uk.

www.silverlakeautoparts.co.uk/

Their bumf says: Drop off your Scrap Car - and Get Paid for It! Used tyres, mirrors, lights. Save on car parts.

And I'm really impressed at their set-up. They have industrial sheds on a huge site with thousands of old and crashed cars piled up in layers as far as the eye can see. I found it quite exciting and would like to wander round there one day with my camera, if they'd let me.

The staff at Silverlake are most efficient and had my newly-removed mirror waiting for me. There wasn't another woman in sight!

Now I must ask when my Pakistani friend can fit it.

[onlymark]

What car have you? It does vary.

Tyre pressure gauge - www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_566807_langId_-1_categoryId_165648
This is what I've got.

It's dead easy to work. Just take the cap off and press it on. Read the reading then it'll switch itself off to save the battery. No need to switch it on or off. And it's on offer at the moment.
However - petrol station pressure gauges are notoriously inaccurate, and you don't know if this gizmo you've just bought is as well. So, nip to your pet Micheldever when you're passing, get them to check the pressures, their gauge should be accurate. Then try with your new toy and see if it reads the same. If it does, fine. If it doesn't there's no need to do anything other than remember what it said, and when you check next time with it just pump up or down to that figure.

[spindrift]

Thanks Mark. I'll buy the pressure gauge and pop over to Micheldever....that's a great idea of yours...

I dare not say which make of car I have in case I'm vandalized yet again ....lol....