Pretty sure this is going to start a flame war...
Our 'dirty' car is a 2007 Jazz. With almost 90K on the clock its used value is about £1500 right now. Came back from the MOT with an advisory that the brake lines are corroding and need repair, and last night the exhaust silencer just fell off, looks like it just rusted straight through. Also the drive shaft is 'rattling' so that's going to need something doing to it, and there's a leaky seal on the roof which means the spare wheel bay usually has a few inches of water in.
We're taking it to a local garage next week to get a quote to repair the brake line and exhaust, and I'm wondering at what percentage of the cost of the car do we call it a day and just sell it for parts/scrap? I'm not really looking for another hobby of taking the car to the garage every quarter (or learning motor repair) so I think this may be the proverbial straw.
It really depends on what you could swap it to.
Get the garage to look at the driveshaft when they do the other work. It may be something simple.
Worst case the brake lines need the fuel tank moving to do the job - otherwise these are trivial jobs and should really not cost you much at all. Jazz is a perfect run about , ecologically you should keep it.
Fix it keep it - its the dirty devil you know .
My last car had the same advisory for corroded brake lines for five years. They were fine. Exhausts will rust and are inexpensive to replace. If the driveshaft isn't too spendy my main concern would be the water in the boot causing misting problems. Get your drill out. 🙂
I've had a couple of advisories for brake line corrosion. Best thing is go and take a look at them - most likely near the wheels - wire brush them clean and coat them with paint and grease. Stops the corrosion. All depends upon how bad though.
Worst case the brake lines need the fuel tank moving to do the job
Under the front seat in a Jazz iirc.
Just to reiterate, the brake lines might well need doing, but best to check as per fossy's advice.
It sounds like it's far from being sold for parts, but if the trips to the garage might get too much for you, sell it as a runner and get something newer.
The only thing that really isn't worth fixing on a car is general rot (If it appears in one place it'll be about to appear in others, and unless it's a classic it's not worth the ongoing effort). For the boot I would check first that there aren't any drains (either around the tailgate or from the boot) blocked with leaves etc.
But ecologically, there's a lot of pollution put out to make a car in the first place. Keeping a car (or at least not replacing a car) is massively better for the environment though not necessarily town centre air quality.
Sounds about half way through its life to me. My interpretation is that you've been letting maintenance issues build up and now you want to take an expensive way out.....financially and environmentally.
Usually better the devil you know. Nothing big in that list. Exhausts go, happens to newish cars too. Easy to replace. Worth getting a price from the quick fit type places. Local guy did mine for £120. As for brake lines, it seems a common advisory.
Worth keeping for now. I'd fix the leak before that causes some rot.
My Nissan Primera is 16 years old (last model). Only rot was the unprotected radiator support - which has been extensively protected with grease/oil and underseal by me as it's a known issue - the rest of the car is rot free. Rusting brake lines are fine - most just need a clean up - and it's usually an indicator you need to do maintenance - my advisory was a few years ago, so I keep an eye on it - nothing since - no advisories this time.
It's up to you ? We decided to sell my wife's Yaris a couple of years ago after the fuel pump failed - wasn't expensive, but it was time as the car was 18 years old, and being red, was starting to fade (colour). The car is still going apparently. We did trade up for something bigger - a Qashqai - great car - another Nissan !
My annual maintenance bill has been small, just need to keep on top of jobs. The biggest outlays have been a new cat about 8 years ago (£400), new air con radiator (£400 - road debris damage) and a new aircon pipe (£300) - that's it. New shocks in rear were less than £200, and I do oil changes myself. Every thing still works, lots of toys sat nav etc, and the car isn't worth anything.
Had both front ABS rings go, which has been a new CV joint for a £2 part, but those fitted were about £150 each - damage is usually pot holes - the near side goes first.
It's used every day !
I intend to get something better soon, but not until this car is not reliable/costly.
Wear and tear now is vastly lower then depreciation. If you fancy something better, go for it. Otherwise happy with the car, just maintain it. That's what we do. I had two new company cars that spent more time in garages in 3 years, than my 16 year old car has in all those years.
You can't go far wrong with Honda, Toyota or Nissan
The water in boot is a common problem with the Jazz. Cause is the sealer between the roof and the side of the car cracking. If you lift the bit of black trim on your roof up, you will see the cracks straight away. Give it a good clean and put some automotive sealant there and your boot will be dry from the on. Some of them have the crack extended to the boot lid hinges so you need to check and apply sealant as required.
It is such a common problem Honda do an extended warranty with it but they will essentially just be doing the same as what I described above. You might be a bit late for that but could be worth ringing the dealer up to see if it's still covered.
Exhaust is also a common problem.They always crack between the pipe and the silencer. If you replace it with an OEM one, it would be ridiculously expensive and last for the rest of the life of the car. An aftermarket one will only last around 2 years.
However, if it's a manual, the bearings in the gearbox will go at around 100K. That will be a lot more expensive to repair as you need to take off the transmission housing to replace them so is a gearbox out job. Once that is done, there's pretty much nothing more to go wrong with them.
Mine has all the above done + a new clutch at aroudn 100K. It's used as a bumper shopping cart for my wife. It is on 140K now and hasn't gone wrong since.
Nearly forgot, there's also the rear wheel bearing that goes but that's on extended warranty again and I think the dealers are still giving away the part away for free if you ask.
Yeah I'd gathered from googling that the water thing is common, I just need to get around to fixing it. It's an CVT which is driving like a dream still (a slow dream, but smooth) so apart from needing a professional valet I'd actually be sad to see it go!
If you replace it with an OEM one, it would be ridiculously expensive and last for the rest of the life of the car. An aftermarket one will only last around 2 years.
An aftermarket stainless steel one would last the life of the car.
I had a custom S/S exhaust for my old Honda built for £300. That's from the Cat back with two silencers and a decat pipe, no catalytic convertor. Guarantee for the life of the car. MIJ exhausts in Walsall, IIRC.
