Goodbye my friend

[Troll]

Make sure the cars you buy next have a proper chain drive not plonky belts
HTH

[TimberWolf]

On a positive note - how is the rest of the car? Is its bodywork etc ok? If it is just the timing belt then yes it is a bigish bill, but not huge in the whole scheme of things. A few 100 and that should be it. If you are happy with the car (you obviosly know its history) then why not get it repaired rather than take a punt on some other sub £1000 car. I had a cam belt go on an old sierra years ago and it was just a case of new valves (although mine only had 4 in the engine) if it is a 16 valve engine obviously its more expensive to replace. My old sierra did another 50,000 miles after that.

The rest of the car is fine, and she looked a beauty when polished.

I’ve had some disappointing news on the repair front. First, my local garage, where I usually have it serviced, doesn’t do diesel repairs (WTF), which I hadn’t realised before having it towing there. They will take a look, but have given me the number for the environmental agency for scarpping And second the scrap yard whose contact number I was given don’t have a suitable engine in stock. I would pay £1000 or perhaps more to have a second hand engine put in, but don’t see this happening since I would have to find a garage able to find a second hand engine and have it collected or towed there. The number of IFs and unknowns is getting uncomfortable high on the repair front.

[Chantho]

That's actually quite a clever little motor, and for the price, I reckon it's going to the the car of choice for the youngsters who have just passed their test. Small, compact, funky and affordable on McDonald's wages.

Not so sure about this, if you have just passed your test and are 17 or 18, would you really want a car which costs more to insure for a year than to buy?

[TimberWolf]

How fast were you going when it went?

Only around 20-30 mph. I went to change gear and heard something, which on reflection may have been the wheels skidding in the nanosecond before I selected neutral and safe place to glide to a stop.

[Churchill]

Make sure the cars you buy next have a proper chain drive not plonky belts
HTH

Bollocks, the Cam-Chain went on my Ford Explorer. Every time I had the car serviced I asked them to check the Cam Chain. "There's no need sir, it's a chain, they don't need servicing..."

Bastards!

[Dark Black]

...I had a cam belt go on an old sierra years ago and it was just a case of new valves (although mine only had 4 in the engine) if it is a 16 valve engine obviously its more expensive to replace. My old sierra did another 50,000 miles after that.

A 4-valve Sierra.... that would be a quite a rarity. Did it only have two cylinders then?

Apart from the Cosworth all Sierras had 8v engines (yes, including the late twin cam lumps).

To the OP: Engine swap's a doddle, get one from a scrappy, hire or borrow a hoist and do it in a weekend (even on a "modern" car like a mondy).

[Troll]

Bollocks, the Cam-Chain went on my Ford Explorer. Every time I had the car serviced I asked them to check the Cam Chain. "There's no need sir, it's a chain, they don't need servicing..."

Bastards!

Ford... say no more

What kind of mileage did it go at? & presumably if that was their position you would have a cause for compensation?

[OrangeHopper]

I wept buckets when my trusty Mk I mondeo ghia auto disappeared into the distance on the back of the scrap yard's truck.

The scrapy said he had always had ford mondeos before moving on to jaguar mondeos.

Our other sub £2000 mondeo ghia is a joy to drive, far more comfortable than the sub £300 focus ghia I bought to replace my beloved.


Who wants to drive a common car like a BMW or Audi?

[Dark Black]

Every time we talk about cars on here I'm gobsmacked by some of the tulipe people drive or even aspire to drive.

Fords, Vauxhalls, Peugeot, Citroen, Renault, Lada, Skoda, Nissan, Honda etc - them's all chav / permy / photocopier salesmen cars.

VW, Audi, Saab maybe for the helpdesk level guys but after that surely we should be into Beemers and Mercs as entry level?

Where's your self respect?

And I'd want to look like an arrogant tosser because?

[DimPrawn]

And I'd want to look like an arrogant tosser because?

Women love 'em.