Credit Crunch Hits - Demoted To Public Transport

[Venger]

So that's my tip. Next time buy a higher mileage but newer car.

My tip is to buy a car which was built towards the end of the model line, prior to the launch of a new model design.

From when the Golf MK4 first came out in 1997, I've got a long list of design and parts improvements through the years until they ceased making the MK4 in 2004. Those build improvements coming about due to fault discovery by many owners after they've racked up miles and over time.

I'd rather let other people discover the faults in new model builds, including the latest Golf.

[Frank Hovis]

My tip is to buy a car which was built towards the end of the model line, prior to the launch of a new model design.

From when the Golf MK4 first came out in 1997, I've got a long list of design and parts improvements through the years until they ceased making the MK4 in 2004. Those build improvements coming about due to fault discovery by many owners after they've racked up miles and over time.

I'd rather let other people discover the faults in new model builds, including the latest Golf.

Seconded.

The high water mark of daftness was achieved by those people who bought the new Beetle at the start of its production life, thus guaranteeing it will have lots of faults, in LHD because they couldn't wait a year for the RHD to come out. Well duh...

[Venger]

The car is 10 years old so I am not inclined to take either route. My own mechanic is going to have another look but if he can't come up with something, we may have to change our car, which really was planned for next year. Does anyone have any suggestions, pretty please?

If you can get a cheap fix for the problem, maybe selling it on now could make sense. Without wanting to worry you too much, I'd be concerned about gearbox failure for any Golf MK4 built before 2002. There seems to be a high failure rate for them breaking around the 60K to 90K mileage mark, especially the DUU gearbox code. Repairs aren't cheap.

It was something to do with VW having used rivets in the original design. They can weaken over time, loosen themselves, and smash up the gearbox. After the problem became known to VW I'm told they came up with an improved design with bolts in models built from 2002 onwards. During the last few years I've read too many threads with people suffering the rivets busting up their MK4 gearboxes.

# DUU THE NASTY illegitimate child

# Failure yet? OF COURSE ITS A DUU

http://uk-mkivs.net/forums/t/74888.aspx

With some pics.

http://uk-mkivs.net/forums/p/91609/669239.aspx#669239

Apparently it is the same across the range with DUU.

Volkswagen Gearbox Failure

This happened on my Seat Toledo 1.6 S (1999, UK : V reg) which uses a VW gearbox – code : DUU.

The VW gearbox is used across the range of VAG cars - Audi, VW, Seat, Skoda. Especially : Golf, Bora, Polo, Leon, Toledo.

http://www.btinternet.com/~a_hutton/VW_Gearbox_Failure.htm

[Mikhail Liebenstein]

It's probably the fuel injection relay. The PCB cracks and causes intermittent cut out. It's located above the fuse box by your right knee. It's the tallest relay in that box. Take the cover off the relay and bend the PCB gently. You should see a tiny hair-line crack on a solder spot around the middle of the board if it's faulty. Very common fault.

Good tip - it definitely sounds like a fuel starvation issue.

Interestingly, I think we in the UK are going to have to get more used to fixing out own cars.

I haven't done this for years (since just after being a student), but I did have the benefit of getting to learn how to when younger. Anyone a few years younger will probably not have had the opportunity as engine management systems seemed to kill off activities like setting the distributor timing and changing breaker points.

[Grime- skint wouldbe ftb]

10 year old Golf with 68K on the clock, its only just run-in!

We can guess about the cause but I'd suggest you need to get it properly diagnosed. If you don't want to pay main dealer prices, look up your local Bosch Automotive approved garage..

Bosch Car Service

[nickincash]

It's very worrying reading all this. Methinks I'll stick to my 20 year old (Mk 2) Golf. Cost me £250 6 years ago and never gives any problems. No computer or complicated electronics either.

[lulu]

Interestingly, I think we in the UK are going to have to get more used to fixing out own cars.

But the way they build modern cars it is less and less likely we are going to be able to fix them ourselves. More and more electric gadgets will be harder for even some garages to fix and we will need to keep taking them back to the dealers and suffer their inflated rates for parts and labour.

[thombleached]

But the way they build modern cars it is less and less likely we are going to be able to fix them ourselves. More and more electric gadgets will be harder for even some garages to fix and we will need to keep taking them back to the dealers and suffer their inflated rates for parts and labour.

Quite. Anything with an ECU and I'd be extremely nervy about doing anything other than your basic oil/filter change

[HenryWeston]

68k

tsk.

BUY JAPANESE. DO NOT TOUCH EUROPEAN CARS.The above cannot be emphasized strongly enough.

If you want massive repair bills when it goes wrong, which contrary to popular belief they do.

[Sour Mash]

Now all I have to do is to get my current old banger to start just one more time to get it to the dealers - I think it knows its time is up and so does not seem to be willing to oblige.

It doesn't need to be running to be eligible for scrappage - but it does need to be MOTed, taxed and insured. Also, it has to have been registered before 31st Aug 1999 and you need to have owned it for 12 months.

I was initially pretty sceptical of the scheme but it let me get 2k 'trade in' for my old car - which was optimistically worth three or four hundred quid at best - and I got a decent discount on top of that which will eat the first year's depreciation.

Yes, from a wider economic point of view I don't agree with it as it means destroying often perfectly fine, fully paid for old vehicles and the new buyer (probably) taking on credit but as I could get my new car without credit I felt that I might as well get my nose in the trough of government cash as I'll be paying for it all through higher taxes over the next decade anyway.

[athom]

Interestingly, I think we in the UK are going to have to get more used to fixing out own cars.

I haven't done this for years (since just after being a student), but I did have the benefit of getting to learn how to when younger. Anyone a few years younger will probably not have had the opportunity as engine management systems seemed to kill off activities like setting the distributor timing and changing breaker points.

But the way they build modern cars it is less and less likely we are going to be able to fix them ourselves. More and more electric gadgets will be harder for even some garages to fix and we will need to keep taking them back to the dealers and suffer their inflated rates for parts and labour.

Quite. Anything with an ECU and I'd be extremely nervy about doing anything other than your basic oil/filter change

Nah this is mostly an illusion. Or it certainly is to a greater extent than people seem to think these days. For a start most of the money we spend fixing cars is actually mechanical replacements not engine reprogramming. In the main if you have a brake problem, suspension problem, exhaust holed, and body work problem, what else? These things are no more difficult to fix than in old cars PLUS we now have the Internet where you can find the answer to any question within a few minutes searching.

If you have a VW group car you can buy this cable and software (which i have) - http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/ which allows you to read your own fault codes, you can run graphs of engine output and make modifications to many engine systems. It will diagnose electrical faults in many non-engine parts like window winders and door locks which are all connected to the main system but are no more difficult than before to replace. You can also take it with you when you go to buy your next VAG car, it will pull up any fault codes and in newer models can read the genuine mileage from the ECU. When VW want £70 just to tell you what 1 warning light means it's a worthwhile investment.

The one problem i find with modern cars is the modular nature of the parts. One thing that went wrong with my passat was a door lock started working intermittently. It cost me £100 for a door lock module. I'd rather be able to dismantle it further and only replace the broken bit. However i still saved myself big time by replacing the module myself.

The problem these days is people rarely have the tools or the confidence to get stuck in.

[DTMark]

Don't bother taking it to VW

When I had my VW, I took it to a fantastic independent garage - if you can make it there, well recommended:

http://www.marktempestautocentre.co.uk/

He'll know what's wrong with it... ten years old? Should be plenty of life in it yet.

[BufferBear Bitcoin Bull]

Thanks for all your comments, thus far.

[DEATH]

Sell it on ebay on one of the kids accounts. Sound really surprised when they phone the next day saying

it keeps cutting out!

Edited September 1, 2009 by DEATH

[BufferBear Bitcoin Bull]

Get smart. Join the Carless.

Move, if you need to. You wont regret it

You are not being demoted (despite whatever the idiot Joneses may think.)

You are being promoted... to a place where you can laugh at those with car problems,

and you will be better set for the coming jump in oil prices.

Unfortunately, with a family and our school, holiday, and work logistics, it would be very difficult to organise our lives without a car. I was a frequent cyclist until recently but due to a knee problem I stopped but haven't made it to my GP yet!

I can tell you it is no fun travelling on PT. Many commuters values seem alien to me. No queing, pushing in, glares from near and afar, grunting, intimidation, talking loudly on mobile phones and to top it off it can be nearly 2 hours to get my children to holiday scheme and myself to work. I guess the saving grace is that my husband and I take turns undertaking this challenge. By the time I reach work I am pi$$ed off.

We could move (and this PT experiment has started me thinking again..............as I am no longer cocooned from the more undesirable around us) but this would involve removing ourselves from our support network / family, which is invaluable to us both. If the car is not fixed soon we will simply bring our car purchase forward. We have just had a few weeks in Florida and had not planned another substantial outlay so soon, as we are supposed to be adding to our deposit, not spending it, but needs must. Whilst others lived the boom we didn't so we have sufficient reserves . We are still driving a 10 year old car quite happily. I quite like the image actually. Interestingly, the staff I manage drive more expensive cars than my boss or I do .....and almost every driver I know has a 'better' car than us but they do not necessarily have a higher income. As I do love cars, however, at some point I will treat myself for all my hard work.

[BufferBear Bitcoin Bull]

Sell it on ebay on one of the kids accounts. Sound really surprised when they phone the next day saying

it keeps cutting out!

Naughty!

[Harry Sacks]

Is it fixed yet?

[ScaredEitherWay]

Based on my car knowledge gained in the late 70s/80s, I'd guess at: tightness/cleanliness of the earth strap on the battery. Is it tight enough on the connectors, is it making a clean connection with the bodywork of rhe car. Get some sanding paper and a wrench and clean up all the connections and make sure they're all tight and clean.

[BufferBear Bitcoin Bull]

Is it fixed yet?

Should be back on the road tomorrow. Will post an update. So far I know that an engine sensor has been changed and 2 other parts but I deleted the message on my voicemail by accident and don't recall what the mechanic told me. Will have a full update tomorrow. So far the parts replaced cost £120.00 x 2 and £70. I will find out the labour charges tomorrow

[BufferBear Bitcoin Bull]

Based on my car knowledge gained in the late 70s/80s, I'd guess at: tightness/cleanliness of the earth strap on the battery. Is it tight enough on the connectors, is it making a clean connection with the bodywork of rhe car. Get some sanding paper and a wrench and clean up all the connections and make sure they're all tight and clean.

I believe my mechanic has ruled this one out.

[BufferBear Bitcoin Bull]

Mislaid my invoice but labour charges were £150.00. I've assumed this is a competitive rate..... Regardless, the car is back on the road and I have not had any subsequent problems.

Thanks for all suggestions / tips.