Hi all,
My next-door neighbour has an F reg Micra 1.2 GSX. He bought it 10 years ago with 3k on the clock, it now has 11.500. Over the last 6 months or so he has been having problems starting it. He bought a new battery and had the car serviced a few weeks ago, but today it wouldn't start. After a lot of turning over it finally fired up, so i took it out for an 'Italian Tune Up'.
It coughed a bit at first, but that cleared up after a couple of miles and went smoothely enough after that. I have told him to take it for a run once or twice a week, but he just nods and carries on regardless.
He now wants to have it serviced, so what do the backroomers suggest he has done apart from the oil, filter and plugs ?
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what can one say? If it's just been serviced, there seems no need for another one. Good money thrown away, IMHO.
850 a year for 10 years? why doesn't he just take a Bl**dy taxi, it would be cheaper!
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exactly, he is really wasting his money for 850miles a yr, that's about as economic as flying around town in a helicopter. Get an account with a taxi firm which will do him a reduced price.
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My uncle said exactly the same things as you two earlier whilst watching the football ! " Tell him to get a taxi and save himself a wad of cash in the process " was his comment. The car sits in the garage most of the time and he only uses it to go shopping 3 times a week, and thats about a 3 mile round trip.
The trouble is i can't really see him giving his car up. He lives on his own and the car is one of his pleasures ( even though he's doing it more harm than good ). I'll have a chat with him tomorrow and suggest he thinks about using a taxi, but i'm not betting any money on me winning.
It's lucky the car hasn't got a 'cat' fitted......
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Not trying to be unhelpful, but if the car is one of his pleasures, why does he use it so little?
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There is talk of a shortage of taxis soon due to the increase of insurance premiums, in Belfast typical quotes for a taxi man is £2000 > £3200. People are giving up driving taxis in droves
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Having explained that we disagree, maybe we can come up with some suggestions assuming that Ashley would like to help the neighbour anyway ?
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I would check and renew in the following order 1. distributor/rotor arm 2.Plug leads 3. carburation/choke.
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In addition to the routine service items you mentioned, change the cambelt and water pump, install fresh coolant, change brake fluid and carefully check front discs and pads as I would imgine they are badly corroded on the inner faces and the rear wheel cylinders need to bechecked for siezure and leakage.
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look, whilst i can appreciate that this chap want's to drive his car, he is paying an absolute fortune for the priviledge of doing so. For what he uses it for (3miles a week) it seems ridiculous for him to spend money at a garage getting it fixed.
If you are able to persuade him, he really needs to consider whether it is worth maintaining a car, especailly with all that that demands in the UK and the prices it incurs. I will concede however, that if he loves motoring so much, then any amount of time and money seems justifed.
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but if he loves motoring so much, why only 3 miles a week in the thing?
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I wouldn't worry about it too much. What can the car be worth ?
Other than the starting stuff - electrics, plugs, etc; stopping stuff - brake pads & fluid and an oil change every 75 years or so, why worry ?
Although I guess it depends whether he is doing 17 niles per week or 400 tice a year. I would have thought that even 17 miles per week would keep the thing in some kind of servicable order.
Normal servicing and throw it away when it breaks.
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Because he's got the option.
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Martin, 850 per year may not be much, but its more than three miles per week.
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When you reach the end of your life small things like still having a car mean much , expense is of no importance you pay for your pleasures in life , i would imagine giving up your car is admitting life is nearly at the end.
Let the old man have his final pleasures with out your derision.
Ps i thought the micra was chain driven?
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I don't care if he just did 3 miles a month I'd never advise anyone to give up their car, it is a life thing.
David
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The car sounds fine is it the owner that is past it?
Age comes to us all.
DVD
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He needs it go shopping. There obviously isn't a suitable village shop, or he lives out in the country (Guessing here). I'll bet there is NO suitable public transport so it is keep a car you have always had and pay for the privilege or go shopping in a min-cab full of lager vomit and pizza boxes!
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Is an Italian tune-up the same as an Essex tune-up?
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except the soundtrack's different !!
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I bet he pays about £100 to200 p.a. for insurance. He wont use hardly any fuel. OK so he has toservice every now and again. no big deal really.
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I've learned little from experience, but one nugget I've grasped is that when it comes to motoring no-one, but no-one, can even begin to get into someone else's head.
If I ask myself why one of my daughters loves and cherishes Ronald the 1984 Renault 5 (ex-grandma's with 40K on the clock) and won't consider replacing it, and a second daughter is about to sign up for a BMW 330ci (new) and wouldn't be seen dead in anything I could afford, I end up nowhere. They just do. And who am I to argue - there's been little logic in my own car history.
The Renault, when grandma was alive, did about 1500 a year. She bought it new, spent more time cleaning it than driving it, had it serviced on the dot every year, had every spot and blemish dealt with immediately, inspected it for evidence of ill-use if anyone even approached it, let alone drove it (even to the MOT garage and back) and loved it like nothing else apart from her family.
Seven years later the old girl and her Ron the Renault are still a good family tale. Nothing would have tempted us to come between them. 'TAXIS' I can hear her snort, 'What do I need them for?'.
Cheers Colin S
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I take it you've explained to daughter no.2 how much the thing will fall in value the moment she drives it away from the garage (not to mention how much she will attract all the wrong sort of admirers)...
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But the driving experience is worth it!
Anyway, you can save loads by importing (I have done just that).
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If you smell petrol in the engine compartment, then the mechanical fuel pump diaphragm has gone and neat fuel is leaking into the crank-case turing the engine into a potential time bomb. More common than you might think on mk 1 Microbes.
HJ
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Well, thanks for all the advice and comments. I'm going to print off some of the suggestions for servicing the thing, and let him do what he thinks is right. After all, it's his car and he pays for it, so why argue ?
As for the 3 miles a week thing. His brother was ill in hospital for a quite a while and he was using the car every day ( around 10-15 miles a trip ). Sadly his brother died last year. He also went shopping more frequently as there was more mouths to feed. Now he only drives when he needs to so the car is sat in the garage more. I have tried to instill into him to drive it more, and i'm going to keep on at him until he does ( cruel to be kind i promise ).
He did ask me how much i paid for my Polo, as he is thinking of changing ! Heaven help me !
Once again, thanks to you all,
Ash.
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Bet the petrol in the tank is old.
Try to run as near to empty as possible, then fill up with some fresh juice.
Worth a try, he will use it anyway (eventually!!) so a no real cost option for a possible result.
Mark
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