MDMetal Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 So my car's finally ticked over to 90K, it's a 54 plate and I've had it for 5-6 years now. The big decision.... do I sepnd money on doing it up (respray and refresh) or look at moving on (sadly ) What I want to understand is if I'm looking to keep the car for the next 3-5 years what should I be looking at? For example I know my banana arms need swapping, that's £500 right there just for parts. My exhaust is an NVidia and berk hfc's so hopefully they're sorted. Brake discs and pads have been replaced so should just be pads as needed. Callipers probably need tidying though. W brace is apparently starting to pick up corrosion so that's £150 ish for a new one. Clutch is original as far as I can tell so that's going to need a change. Before anything major I want to put it in for a good body work/rust inspection to make sure it's sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colesl4w Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 If you're still loving the car I wouldn't let that mileage put you off it. You'd be wise to get a full inspection to get rid of any nasty surprises. Have you kept on top of the maintenance schedule? A full P3 service is a considerable cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 My view would be (corrosion aside), unless you are looking at anything thats considerably newer, you may still have the same problems, clutch, tyres, brakes, suspension issues, they are all consumables. I am not sure why you would buy a new w brace, just get the old sand blasted and paint in smoothrite or get powdercoated, cant see it costing more than £50. If the car is structurally sound and you know whats on the horizon (pads maybe clutch) it would seem an odd reason to get out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 This is exactly my point It was 8K when I bought it and I got 4K for my Clio at trade in so it was 4K to switch, there's nothing even remotely close to that price that interests me, even look at 15K the cars available don't offer anything special. So I'm left thinking why not spend 4-5k on new paint, new chairs, etc etc but to do that I want to go in eyes open about what mechanical costs I'm looking to incure in the next few years so what I get at the end is a good as new car. I'm not sure it's had a P3, it's had oil changes, probably needs coolant changes, I swapped both the belts last weekend. I guess I should look at a terra clean, new spark plus etc as well. To be honest I'm leaning towards self servicing it I was paying a lot for a service ~400 for what seems to have been oil changes basically and I'd rather do that myself and do everything correctly. Overall the plan is to do a new colour and a new interior and really make it special to keep for many years as it's a gorgeous car (red) and I love it to be honest Basically sounds like there's not much to worry about? Fix the niggles it has and move on to the big jobs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strudul Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 even look at 15K the cars available don't offer anything special. 4.2 XKR? 5.0 XK? Cayman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colesl4w Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 This is exactly my point It was 8K when I bought it and I got 4K for my Clio at trade in so it was 4K to switch, there's nothing even remotely close to that price that interests me, even look at 15K the cars available don't offer anything special. So I'm left thinking why not spend 4-5k on new paint, new chairs, etc etc but to do that I want to go in eyes open about what mechanical costs I'm looking to incure in the next few years so what I get at the end is a good as new car. I'm not sure it's had a P3, it's had oil changes, probably needs coolant changes, I swapped both the belts last weekend. I guess I should look at a terra clean, new spark plus etc as well. To be honest I'm leaning towards self servicing it I was paying a lot for a service ~400 for what seems to have been oil changes basically and I'd rather do that myself and do everything correctly. Overall the plan is to do a new colour and a new interior and really make it special to keep for many years as it's a gorgeous car (red) and I love it to be honest Basically sounds like there's not much to worry about? Fix the niggles it has and move on to the big jobs! Horsham Development do a great service pack. You can order all of the components of the service in one go. Takes all the head scratching out of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayd350 Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Performance cars cost performance money to maintain. Maintenance is always going to be a cost but keep on top of it and you'll be less likely to get hit with anything too big. No point having a shiny new paint job and buckets in a non runner. If your having night terrors thinking of the mileage just remember there's an increased amount of members in the 200k club now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 You might not even need new paint! It's amazing what a machine polish can do to bring back the gloss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 I fancy grabber blue or something unique Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Brake fluid Gearbox oil Diff oil Inspect timing chain tensioner Compression test Leak down test (depending on comp tst) Unless instructed, don't bother with any engine flush, do a double oil change (drop old oil, put cheap new same grade in, run for 20 mins or so, drop it and change to proper oil and filter). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Inspect timing chain tensioner This sounds beyond a DIY job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Inspect timing chain tensioner This sounds beyond a DIY job? Only if you can't use a tube of RTV and a spanner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Inspect timing chain tensioner This sounds beyond a DIY job? Only if you can't use a tube of RTV and a spanner. Sorry isn't the timing chain tucked away inside the engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Inspect timing chain tensioner This sounds beyond a DIY job? Only if you can't use a tube of RTV and a spanner. Sorry isn't the timing chain tucked away inside the engine? There's an inspection 'window' for the main tensioner, so you can get a rough idea of what's happening in there He's pointing at it here in the beginning: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Inspect timing chain tensioner This sounds beyond a DIY job? Only if you can't use a tube of RTV and a spanner. Sorry isn't the timing chain tucked away inside the engine? There's an inspection 'window' for the main tensioner, so you can get a rough idea of what's happening in there He's pointing at it here in the beginning: How accessible is that without taking apart large bits of car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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