copperband
Member
Some of you may have read my thread over a month ago "I'm Fffffreeezing" where I was having ongoing issues in trying to get to the bottom of my I had to heat in the car.
Well after many weeks (almost 4) at the garage, they have concluded that the car must have an issue with a leaking head gasket or worse a cracked head.
The car (1.6FSi Blue Storm) is a great runner and shows little sign of problems except that as the garage has fixed one issue to try and get the car warm again, it seems to have created a new and more expensive issue.
The problem is clearly pressure related, the coolant can be at a normal level and then just bubbles over (if allowed to run from cold and warm up with the cap off).
The garage have replaced the expansion tank, which was found to be cracked. They then found a pipe that was cracked and replaced that. They also replaced the water pump twice and fitted a new Thermostat.
Driving back from the garage yesterday the car temp went suddenly from 90 to 120, chimed loudly to warn me that it was overheating and then went back to 90 again. I went back to the garage who checked fault codes which said something like "air leak". The sprayed all around the engine with a special spray to highlight an air leak and found nothing. They reset the fault codes and sent me on my way. Driving home (10 mins) the car suddenly on idle started reving up to 1900rpm and then back to 800.
Give it a good run I thought. So, today I drove an hour to Bristol with my 3 and 1 year olds to visit the Zoo. Car absolutely fine on the motorway cruising at normal motorway speeds.When I got the Bristol and in a bit of stop start traffic the strange revving happened again and the temp went up again temporarily to nearly 120. I stopped to get a sandwich, left the shop and the car cut out with battery light on and engine fault light on. It would then turn over. Not fun in the pissing rain, in the middle of a dual carriageway with 2 young children. RAC came out and of course the car started with no problem. His kind advice was to sell it asap and get something more reliable!
My dilemma is that I bought the car for what I thought was a reasonable deal at the time, last September for £1900 and I got him down to £1300 on the basis that the cambelt was due and the wheels needed a complete refurb and new tyres.
I've since spent a further £1700 at least of various things. So it stands me in about £3k
Do I:
Sell it on to an unsuspecting purchaser which feels like bad karma to me.
Sell it on to an enthusiast (possibly on here) who has the time, skills and inclination to further investigate this.
Find someone who is a specialist and used to dealing with these cars on a regular basis and can ID the issue for me once and for all.Someone like the A2 specialist who used to be in Milton Keynes but I understand closed up shop)?
I love the quirkiness and practicality that the A2 offers. I hate the unreliable let down that this particulalr one has been for me and the children (they never did get to the Zoo today).
I don't think I could bring myself to buying another after this one, for fear that it will be the same load of issues again....
Thoughts please?
Well after many weeks (almost 4) at the garage, they have concluded that the car must have an issue with a leaking head gasket or worse a cracked head.
The car (1.6FSi Blue Storm) is a great runner and shows little sign of problems except that as the garage has fixed one issue to try and get the car warm again, it seems to have created a new and more expensive issue.
The problem is clearly pressure related, the coolant can be at a normal level and then just bubbles over (if allowed to run from cold and warm up with the cap off).
The garage have replaced the expansion tank, which was found to be cracked. They then found a pipe that was cracked and replaced that. They also replaced the water pump twice and fitted a new Thermostat.
Driving back from the garage yesterday the car temp went suddenly from 90 to 120, chimed loudly to warn me that it was overheating and then went back to 90 again. I went back to the garage who checked fault codes which said something like "air leak". The sprayed all around the engine with a special spray to highlight an air leak and found nothing. They reset the fault codes and sent me on my way. Driving home (10 mins) the car suddenly on idle started reving up to 1900rpm and then back to 800.
Give it a good run I thought. So, today I drove an hour to Bristol with my 3 and 1 year olds to visit the Zoo. Car absolutely fine on the motorway cruising at normal motorway speeds.When I got the Bristol and in a bit of stop start traffic the strange revving happened again and the temp went up again temporarily to nearly 120. I stopped to get a sandwich, left the shop and the car cut out with battery light on and engine fault light on. It would then turn over. Not fun in the pissing rain, in the middle of a dual carriageway with 2 young children. RAC came out and of course the car started with no problem. His kind advice was to sell it asap and get something more reliable!
My dilemma is that I bought the car for what I thought was a reasonable deal at the time, last September for £1900 and I got him down to £1300 on the basis that the cambelt was due and the wheels needed a complete refurb and new tyres.
I've since spent a further £1700 at least of various things. So it stands me in about £3k
Do I:
Sell it on to an unsuspecting purchaser which feels like bad karma to me.
Sell it on to an enthusiast (possibly on here) who has the time, skills and inclination to further investigate this.
Find someone who is a specialist and used to dealing with these cars on a regular basis and can ID the issue for me once and for all.Someone like the A2 specialist who used to be in Milton Keynes but I understand closed up shop)?
I love the quirkiness and practicality that the A2 offers. I hate the unreliable let down that this particulalr one has been for me and the children (they never did get to the Zoo today).
I don't think I could bring myself to buying another after this one, for fear that it will be the same load of issues again....
Thoughts please?
