During the summer my 2006 Kia Carens started making a crackling noise at low speeds. I took the car to my local dealer and was told it was a problem with the CV joint. I was informed that I would need to pay for a new left and right front driveshafts at a cost of £591 each, which came to £1300 with labour.

I have since tried to find a cheaper solution. A local garage said they could have my current driveshafts reconditioned and refitted by them for around £330 each + labour. I also went online for quotes on second hand driveshafts and supplied the part numbers the Kia dealer gave me and received two phone calls from dealers who could supply recovered ones, presumably in reasonable condition (one was said to be from a vehicle that had done 46,000 miles) and was quoted about £200 all in by each + labour for fitting them.

This sounded good so I asked a garage if they'd fit a reconditioned driveshaft, but they virtually refused saying all sorts of problems could arise. Were they reasonable or do they have more to gain from having my driveshafts reconditioned? Can reconditioned driveshafts be guaranteed to be any better than recovered ones?