Just quoted £630 to get car through MOT - any point?

[chadwick]

I've just been quoted £630 to get my much loved 92 GTII through the MOT, and I'm wondering whether it's worth it....
The car is in great nick generally, engine is sound, and it had a full prof respray last year (looks mint ). However, it has done 160,000 miles, the clutch has no more adjustment left (although it's not slipping), and the gearbox is pretty noisy. It's failed on brakes, shocks, cv joint, fuel pipes, etc. There's no wielding, as the body is absolutely fantastic. It starts first time every morning (even after I left it standing for 3 weeks in the snow).

I love that car, but I could end up with another bill for £1,000 in a year to overhaul the gearbox and replace the clutch....

Should I cut my losses, or keep throwing money at it?

[Chaps]

Just get a 2nd hand gearbox and a new clutch? that'll be 100quid tops... I take it the £630 quote is for them to supply, fit and re-MOT??

[ash-lough]

By the sounds of it, it would be a shame to see it go...is there any work there you could do yourself to maybe reduce the cost a little?

If you could get it through, you then have time to start thinking about sorting your gearbox and clutch, providing they don't break of course.

Is it a daily driver? Do you have another car you could use while you chip away at the work yourself?

With no MOT it is going to be worth very little to someone else so you may as well keep hold of it.

Sorry if I've rambled on a little.

[chadwick]

Thanks for the quick responses!
The £630 quote is just to fix the brakes, shocks, etc, etc. That’s before we start thinking about the clutch and gearbox. I should probably add that the garage I take it to is Kent VW, who are great. I’ve been taking it there for about 5 years or so and I don’t think they’d try and pull a fast one. They told me it could cost over £500 to overhaul the gearbox though, and about £300 to supply and fit a new clutch.
To be honest, I doubt the clutch and gearbox are going to give out on me in the short term. The clutch isn’t actually slipping, it just bites really high (I’m talking REALLY high). The gearbox is a bit stiff when it’s cold, but is fine after that, it’s just a bit noisy.

It's not a daily driver and only does about 5,000 miles a year. We tend to use my husband's car because her likes his home comforts However, my skills under the bonnet of a car are practically nonexistent.

[bluestreak56]

If its structurally sound, then I would say its worth it. All of these parts you've listed are not things I would associate with needing doing again in the next 5 years (estimate).

Therefore I'd think of it as a 5 year investment, however its up to you to decide if you will be keeping the car that long and if that seems a reasonable price over that period of time..

[the edmundator]

A decent independent garage could do that work for much less than a VW dealer. If you intend to keep the car for a long time, then a year or two when the bills are expensive will be followed by several years when the bills are small. If you replaced it with a different car, you'd be starting again with an unknown quantity. And if you compared it to the money you'd lose on the depreciation of a modern car, it's peanuts.

[bensspares]

Its better the devil you know, all the stuff that needs replacing will last for 10,000's of miles (except brake pads).once the clutch is done thats good for 100,000 and a gearbox can be bought for £50 - £100 and will only take 4 hours labour at a gararge to fit.....Save it if you love it.

[ash-lough]

How long until this MOT runs out? Or has it already?

My knowledge was nonexistant until I got the Scirocco and with the help of a couple of people managed to get jobs like suspension, brakes, fuel filler neck etc done. If you have the time I would look into doing some of the things from the MOT to cut the cost a little or take it to a different garage maybe, I've not had much experience with dealers Im sure a better price could be found elsewhere.

It all depends on the time you have left/free and if you want to risk trying these things, but if you were to replace the car who is to say the same things will not go in a years time on that one, at least with yours you know the faults.

It would be a big shame to lose it though, especially with all the good bits you mentioned about it!

[ianaudia4]

Find an independant specialist (there are plenty of Kentish people on here!), buy the parts yourself from GSF using your paid up member discount and get them to fit the parts. Nothing you have said that has caused it to fail are especially expensive (shock inserts are £27 each for the front).

[Nate]

not worth doing. i'll give you £50 for it

[chadwick]

Alright, You've convinced me. Just coughed up the cash (well, the credit card has).
Cheers for the tips - (thanks Nate )

[Mr Funk]

I know John and the guys at Kent Vw really well. Been using them for the past fifteen years. Superb venue.
If I'd have read this earlier I'd have been able to help you, while I'm based in ashford I come from the planet Thanet and there's a load of us that'll gt our hands dirty.
I'll pm you our local club info in case you need anything else!

[Jester 76]

I know this problem, a couple of years ago an oil seal went on my gearbox presenting me with a dilemma similar to what you are in, I bit the bullet though and forked out just shy of £700 to have the gearbox re-conditioned and a new clutch fitted, it was a sting at the time, but well worth it in the long run, I couldn't scrap her, just didn't have it in my heart. By the sounds of it you've already spent a bit on the bodywork, it would be a shame to call it quits now!!

Good luck!

Jester.

[chadwick]

Cheers for the advice guys,
Mr Funk, yup, Kent VW are brilliant, really know their stuff. We're about to move about 30 miles away and I'm still going to be taking the rocco back to them.
I didn't know there was a local club in Kent? (btw, thanks again for the window mechanism a few years back - haven't forgotten I still owe you one) .

[Mr Funk]

I'll pm you the link, there's a meet this Sunday in broadstairs but I won't be there as the engine is currently sitting ten feet in front of the car, not a great look.

I've still got a fair few spares here as I've been overhauling the Bandit if you need anything.