Well that was expensive 😳

Just had required work done to my "new to me Aygo" just under £1000. Full service, new tyres, discs, pads, rear drum adjusters (they were missing) new brake pipes, rocker cover gasket, drop pins and bushes, brake cylinder (it was leaking) a new Battery oh and a side light bulb. I think that's everything. Hopefully it's sound now, just needs a small weld on the offside sill. 

That's a few quid and no mistake.

But a lot of work and parts too, did you allow for these repairs when you bought the car?

As in, were you aware of them, and the price was adjusted to take them into account?

Unfortunately not, I bought the car from a used car dealer who told me it was in good order. Due to age and price it was without warranty. I live in a city called Bradford in the UK. It has a reputation for poor used car salesman. I know it has cost me a lot but the car is now right and I have peace of mind so yes it's a financial hit but I could easily have spent more on a different used car and ended up in the same situation if not worse.

Crikey Carl....And there was me, only yesterday saying that you shouldn't stress!.....Sorry about that!

On the other hand, when you break it down, Service £120-£150, Tyres £240, Full brake refit, including pipes £300, other bits and bobs £150 - £200 it doesn't sound too bad.  The biggest problem is that you've had the jobs all done at once rather than over a period of time like the rest of us.

I know that it's no comfort but you've done 5 or 6 years worth of repairs in a day, the good thing is that the car has been thoroughly checked and repaired and once the welding is done should go back to being cheap, reliable motoring for you.

Let's hope so anyway....I still say that with the Aygo you've got a better car than other makes/models of a similar age/price and so, I hope that you can now get on with enjoying it.

All the best and keep us informed with how you get on. 

There's the sale of goods act, it must be road worthy, fit for purpose. You have comebacks to the car garage! But you went on to repaired it. You can actually reject the car and get a full refund if the car garage doesn't put it to a road worthy state. This is one reason used car dealer cost more than a private sale. 😞

@Agent Orange yeah it was a big hit to take all at once, I actually went to the garage with a list from the pre MOT done at a different garage yesterday. I don't know why but I felt something was a miss with the pre MOT garage. When I spoke to the mechanic today I explained my concerns, especially the axle mount welding. The mechanic then put the car on the lift and looked showing me both rear axle mounts and said they were fine and required nothing other than a good wire brushing and if I felt like it paint them with anti rust and a rust preventing Paint over the summer. He then did a very very thorough inspection. My instruction was actually any repairs required for an entirely clean MOT, no advisories at all. My reason being, if I know everything is done I can continue to maintain it appropriately and not allow it to fall into such a state again. Yes it uncovered some more issues the most concerning were the missing adjustments from both rear brakes and retaining springs from the front pads. The discs were acceptable but I just opted for new so I now know I have new pads, new disks, new pins and bushes and new tyres. That's pretty much the front corners covered as the springs and dampeners looked rather new. The Battery was weak so replaced. Full service was done, the plugs were very old and tired, the oil was black and the air filter was horrendous. The brake pipes were badly corroded on one side so I just said do it all front to back both sides. I knew I had an oil leak but couldn't establish where from. The mechanic said it was the rocker gasket which I thought was going to be a huge job but I was told not to worry he can do it. Everything was started at 9:30am and I had the car back by 4pm. It drives like a totally different car to the one I took this morning. I have also discovered that using the mmt in manual mode is awesome. For getting E +  & - is how to drive the mmt....... Wow sorry, that's a novel not a reply 😂

I'm glad you got it to a state where you're happy with it! That's the most important thing.

While it's good if you can pick these things up to haggle the price down before buying it, it can be hard unless you've driven the car for a while.

And at least yours didn't need a new gearbox, engine, and entire AC system like my Mk2 Yaris did  (I no longer have that Yaris...)

On the contrary, Carl, that's a brilliant reply!

You seem to have found a really good, honest mechanic there and you've done everything and more so that you are satisfied and happy with the car.  It's a shame that it has cost you so much when you could do without the expense but you don't sound too disheartened (which is good) and you can now start to enjoy the car knowing that you have got it sorted.

Well done and let's hope for some better days to come for you,

All the best

1 hour ago, Digg3r said:

...Bradford in the UK. It has a reputation for poor used car salesman.

Aye Carl,it can be a bit tricky to spot a lot of things that need doing when looking at used cars.

Still, pleased you have it sorted now, and fingers crossed 🤞 that it will run well now.

I browse around a few sites like fleabay to keep up with prices etc on cars for sale, and have noticed as you say,a few dealers around there with funny sounding motors.

Then again, they are everywhere really, the difficult bit is finding one with a good local rep,who is happy for you to have a real good look before buying.

One of these round here (now sadly retired) encouraged buyers to have a look underneath with the car up on the ramp, aswell as a good look around the tyres and under the bonnet without interrupting for half an hour.

Not many of those, I know.

@Rhymes with Paris I looked at a few motors and as a rule checked previous MOT history. I was gob smacked how many had an MOT fail with numerous dangerous faults and countless advisories yet on the same date or a day later the MOT was re-done and 100% clean. Maybe it is my suspicious mind but I find that highly peculiar. I cannot imagine a dealer selling a car for under £3k yet spending huge amounts on repairing it prior to sale. Surely it would be worth more in scrap. For example I looked at a golf, it was a 1.6 that failed it's MOT due to a severe issue with the subframe and emissions it also had various issues with suspension and many advisories including for tyres perished and headlights being UV damaged. The entire list was gone on another MOT the same date with the only change being 1 mile on the odometer. Bit odd if you ask me. 

Aye Carl, but I think the learning curve we all go through when buying used cars helps others on here who are looking for similar.

So thank you for coming back with such detailed replies, it all helps a lot with the collective knowledge on here.

I was going to mention Arthur Daley but Xanadu 999 beat me to it. As Arthur used to say.....my word is my bond. Any complaints.....see Terry.

Yes Digg3r i have also noticed that when doing online car check sites how many cars fail MOTs but pass the same day or the next day. I have been looking at buying an MG Midget 1500 for week end fun and this strange MOT practice seems to happen a lot. I wonder if a Nice Little Earner is involved. 

Ah Bradford car dealers they wear CCJ's as a Badge of honour

At the end of the day the vehicle is nearly 20 years old 😀 Hopefully you'll not have any more big spends in the near future Carl 👍

1 minute ago, Hybrid21 said:

At the end of the day the vehicle is nearly 20 years old 😀 Hopefully you'll not have any more big spends in the near future Carl 👍

Absolutely, I totally appreciate the car is nearly 20 years old. I was expecting to need to have work done. I wasn't expecting it to be so much work though. The missing parts from both the front and rear brake assemblies was the biggest surprise. I can only imagine it was due to them being fitted wrong by the previous owner rather than a mechanic, or at least I hope that was the case. The other things were definitely the accumulation of general wear and tear that hadn't been addressed as and when needed. I'm hoping there are no more big spends for a while too 😂. Hopefully I now have the car in a condition of which I can maintain it rather than need to repair it. I spent a good few hours today with T-cut and black plastic restorer and it's looking good again. Just gonna put some black trims on it because the original ones are bad.

2 hours ago, Digg3r said:

was expecting to need to have work done. I wasn't expecting it to be so much work though.

Especially not buying from a dealer.

But if the overall cost has not exceeded the value by a lot, then not too bad.

What's the mileage on it btw?

No bother if you don't want to say, I'm just nosey.

25 minutes ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

What's the mileage on it btw?

 

Oh she's done some miles. Just over 130k. 

On 6/13/2024 at 5:49 PM, Digg3r said:

Unfortunately not, I bought the car from a used car dealer who told me it was in good order. Due to age and price it was without warranty. I live in a city called Bradford in the UK. It has a reputation for poor used car salesman. I know it has cost me a lot but the car is now right and I have peace of mind so yes it's a financial hit but I could easily have spent more on a different used car and ended up in the same situation if not worse.

Sounds like the dealer should be liable for misrepresentation under the Sale of Goods Act.