95N Micra 80k miles.
Had a front shunt last year, I replaced the appropriate panels and kept on driving. It chugs along OK, brakes and steering seem OK.
It has just failed its MOT and requires quite a lot of work:
1) Nearside rear brake pipe corroded
2) Offside rear brake pipe corroded
3) Front to rear brake pipe corroded
4) Brakes imbalanced
5) Front chassis box section damaged -- requires welding.
6) Advice -- bowed door; door lock not fully engaging.
Total repair cost: £450 + £40 MOT cost.
I have used this garage before; they are pretty honest IMHO.
A few questions:
* Is it worth repairing? I suspect not. I'm thinking about advertising in Auto Trader Accident Damage section. How much might this get me? Any other places to advertise it?
* Item 5) -- the garage reckoned the brakes needed stripping down. Is this a big job?
Its a shame because the engine and gearbox are fine. But it may just prove uneconomical to repair the car. This is no time for emotional ties!
Mike
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Only you can decide whether it's worth repairing. If by spending the money you can get another year or two out of it, then it is worth doing. Afterall, the alternative is you spend some money getting another car which could need money spent on it anyway.
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I'm leaning towards trying to sell it. But without an MOT, poor bodywork and 80k on the clock, I doubt if I'll get any punters interested.
Mike
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How much will you expect to get for it? I would be surprised with the cheapness of old cars these days if it will be of any interest to anyone. If you can get it legal and driveable for a couple of hundred it may be cheaper than buying another car which will almost certainly need more money spent on it too.
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I think you could reduce that "fix it" cost as well. I'd check to see just how corroded those brake pipes are in reality.
Years ago (about 13) I had an Austin All-aggro which failed on said items. They looked OK (not pitted or horrifically brown with rust) so I just rubbed them all down with a bit of sandpaper, smeared old oil or grease over them then threw dirt at them.
Took the car to another MoT place and they passed it. As several over garages did over the next few years when the car subsequently passed into my mums' ownership.
However, for some reason, my friends said they'd never buy a car from me, and maybe this sort of thing is why......
On the MoT now, can a tester remove any dirt etc from a brakepipe to check it ?
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Hello Mike
I would get the welding done, this will be less than £50.00. Then take it to another MOT testing station without doing anything else. The corrosion of brake pipes is a matter of personal opinion for each tester.
I once had a 3 year old car failed with corroded brake pipes, the garage was looking for work as I took it elsewhere for testing and it passed without any additional work for the following 3 years.
Also used to have an "F" reg Micra which I kept for 16 years and that never had any new brake pipes.
If it passes another test then it should remain a good car to keep on the road for many years to come. When I finally decided to sell my old Micra I got a very good price and could have sold it over 30 times.
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Sell on ebay or in local rag as is. You know yourself its not economically viable spending £450 to get it through its MOT. Plenty of decent micras on ebay for less than that with loads of T&T.
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I've sold a Rover 100 in a similar state of repair recently on Ebay and it went for loads more than i thought it was worth so i say stick it on ebay as MOT failure - spares or repair. I would think it should easily get a couple of hundred on there.
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