Hi all.

Seems I am spending more and more time repairing and maintaining my car than any other I have owned.
I don't mind as I love the way the car drives, looks and feels but It makes me angry knowing how much I paid for it and knowing I paid for full service and cam belt change before picking it up.

Ok so I have had the car for about 15 months now but a month or 2 after purchase I noticed things were not quite as they should be.

1. Air-con doesn't work. (still work in progress on this as I have had other issues more important)
2. Spotted various fluid leaks.
3. Speakers not working correctly on ice system.
4. Passenger window wouldn't open.

Going to no.2.

I had noticed fluid leaks under my car at work but never at home. (Was raining a lot at the time)Checked around engine, rad, pumps etc and found nothing. Then it stopped. Air con didn't work so I concluded it was the oil leaking out of the air-con radiator. Which I have subsequently found is full of holes.
A few weeks later came another fluid leak.
Same Malarky check here n there. Found nothing.
Leak got worse. Coolant dropping from radiator. More in-depth searching revealed nothing.
Then I gained an oil leak on top of this.

Kept topping up coolant in radiator and it kept losing it quicker and quicker.
Decided to replace radiator.
Replaced radiator (Found Air con condensor full of holes)found that a spring clip that holds the top hose onto engine block wasn't clipped on.(was just clipped onto pipe BELOW the fitting on the engine)
Also found a hole in the rear of the radiator so was happy my money wasn't wasted.

Now this happened in the colder months and since then my oil leak has gotten worse. Grrrrrrr!

So I buy an new oil filter, sump bolt washer and new oil. Castrol EDGE (£30 for 4 litres at Asda right now )
Now to find where this oil is leaking from.
Up on ramps, remove under-pans. Oil leak found...
Only the bloody oil filter. Went to undo it with chain wrench only to find when i got the chain on, the filter turned with the weight of just the wrench handle. More Grrrrrrrr!
So now I have sorted the leaks other than air con.

Speakers.
When I viewed my car at the forecourt it was stereo less. They told me they removed it for security reasons and they would fit one for when I pick up the car.

Picked the car up and as told. Stereo was fitted.

Now being the driver and my g/friend not so techy minded. It took me sometime to find out the passenger front speakers weren't working.
Turned out that the wire supposed to be feeding them had been cut behind the glove box and I had to drag a new line through to get it working. Minor Grrrr but still a Grrrr!

Passenger window not opening...

This was a good one.

It seems I have in the past had the passenger window put through. (Looking at the damage around the trim around the stereo I would say it was to steal that)
Well whoever replaced it was great.
Inside the door you have 3 plastic clips that hold the glass and some adhesive is used to bond them onto the glass.
Unfortunately for me they had done 2 of them but the third they had managed to bond the clip to the outside window seal.(The tapered one that is in contact with the window and stops water getting inside the door)So when I tried to open the window, all it did was try to pull the door seal out and down with it. I have since sorted that too.

Now I know I should have checked everything and had a check done etc etc. But it was a proper carsales place, they gave me 12 month warranty blah blah but I really want to make this point.

ALWAYS make sure if you have work done via a mechanic that they are trustworthy, reliable and reasonably priced. (Very expensive does NOT guarantee excellent service)
Look around and ask around.
If you have work done. Ask to see the old parts they took off.
Ask to see the work they did and have them explain why? if required.
And if you buy a car from a garage. HAVE IT PROPERLEY CHECKED!!!

I am pretty handy on most things which saves me a lot of money but it really got me riled when I find out that all my problems have been caused by the mechanic who supposedly carried out my work only did half a job.

My biggest worry now is...

What sort of a job did they do on my cam-belt change? YIKES!!!

For reference I live in the Midlands and the car was purchased from London. No short hop.
When I rang the garage all I ever got was leave it with me and I'll get it sorted.
This included the lack of a REAL MOT instead of the photo-copy they gave me.
Also the distinct lack of my V5 after 3 months. (Cost me £25 to get it myself)
The garage in question were evasive, unhelpful and un-coperative with all issues.

So my lessons have been learned...

I will go back to buying from private traders using AA/RAC for vehicle check.

Not going to name n shame the garage in question but willing to pass it on if you PM me.
It's in Hammersmith btw

Oh while I'm here. I had to replace my fan switch too. Warmer weather has made car run warmer and let me notice the fans weren't cutting in.

Any way peeps.

Thought I would have a good old grizzle on here to make myself feel better. lol
Seriously...

MAke sure you get the service you deserve and pay for. NOT the service SOME places may give you.

[quote name='Kiefels' timestamp='1302803877' post='752124']
Hi all.

Seems I am spending more and more time repairing and maintaining my car than any other I have owned.
I don't mind as I love the way the car drives, looks and feels but It makes me angry knowing how much I paid for it and knowing I paid for full service and cam belt change before picking it up.

[/quote]
You certainly seem to have everybody's rotten luck in one lump with your car. Sadly the "Sport" is often a bad buy, having been well-abused by owners when they find there is nothing sporty about it apart from the name and an LSD. Hopefully, all your issues are now well sorted and behind you. I suppose the lesson is not to rely on "Inspections" etc. from those who might gain by not noticing what they hope are minor faults - because they would have to fix them. As to the cam-belt change, assuming that it was actually done, it is hard to make a mess of doing it. That being so, if you have suspicions, change it yourself and fit a new water-pump (unless it has already been changed) while you are at it because they are inclined to dribble.

Ahaaaaa....

Water pump!!!

Yep, I have pink crusty stuff around the connection to the head.
Have been keeping a close eye onit as I originally thought it was the source of my water leak but tbh if it does leak I have never seen it.

Guessing cam belt may have been done then and left the old water pump on.

When I have recovered from all the shock I may get one and replace that too. lol

I am hoping I have sorted most of the troublesome problems and can sort out the not so important things now.
I have already changed front and rear discs and pads so I can strike that off the list too.

AA/RAC checks are nto fool proof my friend. Unless you have the car inspected by them as in actually pay them to come look at the car. All the online checks, ALL of them hpi the lot will not reveal a cloned car. You are only checking the id numbers (reg and chassis) as long as the car hasnt had anything on it then it will show clear. The problem with a cloned car is the id numbers your checkign dont belong to the car they bolted to. My neighbour recently bought a cloned Corsa. She had hpi and free online AA check (was free as a member). Nothing showed up on it. I even ordered and changed the gear linkages on it using the reg and chassis number. It was only when she came to tax it things went a bit wrong. The tax was a copy and numbers changed. The chassis number stamped into the floor was glued on over the origional one. AS the chassis number in the floor is checked through a little windown in the carpet, it was only when i pulled the carpet out that i saw the big stuck on cover plate. The chassis plate under the bonnet on a corsa is a sticker which any decent sign writer can knock up i bet even a decent comercial printer could do one,when stuck over the origianal its very hard to tell theres actually 2 there. Any just thought i would add that information that an AA/rac? hpi check doesnt reveal everything.
Also with insurance being so expensive these days loads of people are not claiming after a crash and just having the car fixed out of their own pocket. This would show up on a hpi check either as no insurance company was informed of the crash. so the car could still be a write off.

sorry to hear of your bad experience mate. hopefully your past the worse of it :-)

this is why when i purchased my motor.. it was important for me to buy private and one that the previous owner had for a while and maintained.. naturally thank god its perfect. i paid a little more than what some of the others were going for.. but i was fine with couple hundred more for a lower mileage well looked after model.

also with regards to garages.. i know so many people who will point refuse to buy a car from london..especially from a Garage in london.. all them wide boys!!

Wish you the best with the motor bud.

Izzy

I agree. The ideal buying situation is to find a private sale IS200 owned by the seller from new. You can go over all the paper work to confirm you know where the car has been and who is selling it. We all know the danger signs. I would do all those things first before examining the car. You can usually get the car cheaper privately and use the savings for any remedial work.