Living with faults

[Bren]

Do your cars have a litany of faults that you chose to ignore?

My BMW had a few minor faults which I chose to ignore until recently when I decided a change is on the cards.

The car is so much better and I find myself cursing for not doing things earlier. The new owner will reap the rewards.

[bunglebus]

Depends what you call a fault. I have a fair list of jobs it would be nice to get done, but if they don't affect safety or reliability they tend to wait until I feel like it.

Stuff like the glovebox and ashtray illumination not working for example 

[UltraWomble]

The missus car has a failed digitizer on the stereo, I have a Chinesium replacement ready to slot in, its supposed* to work and do all the functions of the original - Im wary that things like the parking sensors will not work with it this and the fact that I need to remove a huge chunk of VW dash to replace it have so far meant that my wife can live with it....

[fatharris]

It's a key component in why I rarely sell cars and elect to scrap them instead - the number of faults becomes to great to live with.

Or rot, that's the usual one.

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

[AnnoyingPentium]

Stuff I probably should fix:

- Console bushes creak over EVERY bump. I've tuned it out now. They're finally starting to perish so I'll have them replaced.

- There's an noise coming from the back, sounds like a bearing, but hasn't got any worse. Need to jack the car up and see if it's making a noise when turning a rear wheel.

Stuff of less importance:

- The little pipe that connects to the can storage cubby for blasting in air on the driver's side has disconnected... and disappeared into the abyss of dashboard.

- Air conditioning compressor sounds angry. Hasn't got any worse... yet.

-----

I haven't even listed the problems with the Focus yet, of which there are many. 😂

[Stanky]

For me, I embrace the Wabi-sabi nature of the cars I drive. I've tried the perfection approach, reasoning that I should maintain the car the way the manufacturer intended - fixing every last thing so that the car drove 'just right' and everything worked.

And you know what? I was miserable.

On a 15+ year old car there's going to be broken things. There are going to be broken things that are dangerous, and they get fixed. There are broken things which, if left, will break more things. They get fixed too. Then there are broken things which don't actually prevent a car being a means to get from A to B. They sometimes get fixed, if I feel like it, if I have spare time, if it become sufficiently annoying. Then there are broken things which might be eay to fix, but hard to access - like a heater matrix or a set of blend flaps. these get left alone forever because my life is too short, and my background stress levels too high.

And I am all the happier for it. Yes my cars are 'shit' and have quirks, sometimes workarounds have workarounds, but I know how to make them function as I want so it doesn't matter what others think, or say. I've never owned a car thats so nice that I feel morally obliged to maintain it cost no object, and even if I did, I doubt I'd enjoy the experience.

Like many things in life - Enjoy it for what it is, and what it enables you to do - don't dwell on its shortcomings. 

[PicantoJon]

Problems with my motorised contrivance:

Dodgy handbrake - got to wrench it to the roof for it to actually hold the car. 

Clutch is getting long in the tooth* - she's fine pootling around but gets smelly af and starts losing speed after a brief while at m/way speeds. 

THAT F£#&ING CLUNK - we've already replaced one drop link, just waiting on getting the urge to flagellate myself fecking around with the crusty bits of the Picanto's undercarriage. 

[HMC]

Im terrible with leaving wet towels on the floor, i just live with it.

and the merc? aircon, viscous cooling fan, central locking, electric head restraint adjustment and paint laquer are all faulty. 

 

[maxxo]

i drive a C5 with an AL4

its started doing something weird gearbox wise

i prefer to just drive around it, it doesn’t lock its torque converter at cruising speed rarely and at complete random

if i shift manually down to 3rd, then back to 4th a few times then back to D it works

im ignoring it, i suspect what it is and can’t be arsed with that again

[somewhatfoolish]

I drive a landrover.🤣

[Soundwave]

I drove my Rover 216 with the bite point somewhere in the headlining* for quite a while.



*... which isn't quite as high as it sounds given how saggy the headlining is.

[sierraman]

The Focus has the engine management light permanently illuminated. I know what the issue is, it’s the post cat O2 sensor heater circuit is at fault. I could resolve this tomorrow if I wanted to but as the sensor is seized into the manicat, there’s a good chance I’d be in for a £350 cat as well as a £60 sensor. It’s a 18 year old car at the end of the day, I just switch the light out for the test and get on with life. 

[Split_Pin]

I have a level of tolerance with faults with an old car, you just have to.

If it isn't a non driving issue and isn't leaking fluids excessively then I can usually live with it. 

Examples of faults I can live with:

'Battery not charging' warning in the Saab, because it definitely is and has been for the 18 months I have owned the car.

Non working air conditioning.

A barely detectable whine from the clutch release bearing on the Cavalier. Been like that for a year and it doesn't affect anything.

An occasional buzz through the brake pedal from the Cavalier's ABS. It's so infrequent that I haven't bothered to address it.

Being a ten footer on the body.

I cannot tolerate:

Anything safety related, rusty brake pipes, dodgy brakes, looming excessive corrosion.

Excessive fluid leaks from non safety related items such as oil, PAS fluid and coolant. An occasional drip is OK with me though.

Excessive smoke from the exhaust.

General neglect. Broken trim, things hanging off, dirt. Things that indicate that the the owner should know better.

Things not working properly in the engine area. E.g. rattling chain tensioner, tapping, howling bearings, belts well past their due date.

Being more than a ten footer on the body, big bashes, missing trim, anything in excess of 'age related'.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Small faults that you never quite get around to are just a fact of life.  My Golf has a few things that come to mind:

 A bodged seat mechanism on the passenger side so the seat doesn't slide properly.  I've replaced the mechanism on the driver's seat and stuck the slightly dodgy one on the passenger side.  All it needs is a retaining clip but finding one is a pain.  It's a five minute job if I do find one.  It could probably do with new seats really, though.

The indicator relay 'clicks' at random after using it.  This can be rapid, slow and in any pattern.  It doesn't actually activate the indicators (I've checked!) and eventually stops on its own.  Apparently this is due to dirty contacts behind the hazard warning switch but it requires a bit of disassembly to get there and I can't be arsed.  Been like that for at least five years.

Rear windscreen wiper.  It doesn't have one.  Shit design on the washer that rots out the motor's internals.  TADTS.

Probably at least two or three more things that I don't immediately remember.

[sierraman]

25 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

I have a level of tolerance with faults with an old car, you just have to.

If it isn't a non driving issue and isn't leaking fluids excessively then I can usually live with it. 

Examples of faults I can live with:

'Battery not charging' warning in the Saab, because it definitely is and has been for the 18 months I have owned the car.

Non working air conditioning.

A barely detectable whine from the clutch release bearing on the Cavalier. Been like that for a year and it doesn't affect anything.

An occasional buzz through the brake pedal from the Cavalier's ABS. It's so infrequent that I haven't bothered to address it.

Being a ten footer on the body.

I cannot tolerate:

Anything safety related, rusty brake pipes, dodgy brakes, looming excessive corrosion.

Excessive fluid leaks from non safety related items such as oil, PAS fluid and coolant. An occasional drip is OK with me though.

Excessive smoke from the exhaust.

General neglect. Broken trim, things hanging off, dirt. Things that indicate that the the owner should know better.

Things not working properly in the engine area. E.g. rattling chain tensioner, tapping, howling bearings, belts well past their due date.

Being more than a ten footer on the body, big bashes, missing trim, anything in excess of 'age related'.

This 100%. If you started fancying around getting it ‘as new’ then Bangernomics wouldn’t be for you. For me it tips the balance when big expensive components like the engine are bollocksed or rust is getting a hold. It used to be the case that if a DMF was going then you could just go and get another better one for a similar cost but obviously now that’s not the case so even relatively serious failures will be repaired. 

The bigger problem for a lot of people, especially in the current landscape, is that they’ve just not got the money for timing belt changes or proper maintenance. Obviously at some point this bites them in the arse big style but they don’t see the domino effect of saving £250 when their mortgage has gone up £400 a month. 

[beko1987]

Yep! 

My indicator doesn't indicate left when used normally, one has to hold it part way down so it flashes. Probably a £3 plastic peg/com2000 whatever normal easy repair BUT the thought of removing the airbag and wheel clock spring on a 22 year old citroen fills me with dread so it stays an advisory on the mot each year

Central locking doesn't work via the remote key. The loom is falling apart, especially where it enters the doors etc so I just use the key on the rare occasion I lock it

Aircon - I did take it to ats a couple of years ago for their £25 full deal and the guy said it held gas but wasn't cold and it needed a condensor or something. It's cool on a nice muggy cloudy day but for the rest I open the window. 

Bar that she's grand 👌

[sutty2006]

We can live with some faults, but it’s when the list grows that you really need to start fixing some. 
 

manta - rear wiper and heated screen has never worked. I don’t intend on fixing, as I don’t use it in the rain. - all 4 tyres need replacing, this is a job on the list to do. - engine leaks oil. From everywhere. Not bad, but I’ve changed every seal and gasket twice so I can’t be arsed with it now. 
 

landrover - everything. It’s shit. Just keep patching up the legal bits. 
 

audi - get on top of every small job, so it doesn’t loose it’s value when I do sell it. It’s worth a bit still.

 

[Schaefft]

I think Aircon is usually the biggest one on older cars. No way of telling whether it'll ever work before forking out the money, which feels like a huge gamble most of the time.

[RoverFolkUs]

I'll hold my hands up. I should know better but there are plenty of things I should have seen to long ago such as the overdue cambelt, stuck open thermostat, slightly noisy rear brakes, inop air con, etc 

I very rarely have the time or inclination, or both, to fix my own car though!

[AxWomble]

Radio faults are my main issue - generally because I only had time/inclination to sling it in the dash using the first switched 12v feed I could find. I haven’t had radio presets for years. 
 

Not having a driveway means that things always get put off at least a week - brakes started pulsing under heavy braking at high speed before the weekend but we were busy so it’ll have to wait till the end of the week to have a look at what’s going on. 

[cort1977]

You can drive yourself mad trying to fix every last thing.  I would love to have every last detail perfect but have to accept that other things in life are more important.

[mk2_craig]

I have a crap habit of living with faults until shortly before selling the car, then fixing them to make it easier to sell.  See also: fitting new tyres.

[GeordieInExile]

Stuff that I ought to fix on the car I've just bought:-

- passenger wing mirror doesn't work

- a little bit of play in the steering rack

- brakes squeak

- radio inoperative

- key in a bad way

- parking sensors don't work

- various broken bits of trim

- cupholder inside is broken

 

In reality I'll fix the radio, buff the lights, take the key to Timpsons and ignore the rest.

[JJ0063]

I broke the glovebox catch on my e92 and have never fixed it, it makes opening it an absolute arse and the lock barrel falls out. It’s I think 2 torx screws to remove the catch and I could get a replacement from any E9X on the market but I just never get round to it!

[grogee]

It's weird, I was about to write that I am completely intolerant of things that don't work on any of my cars, but I realise this isn't true at all.

I dote on my Puma, but it still has the following faults:

- Driver's electric window frame is partly broken. It works, but if you drop the window all the way down then try to raise it, it rises crooked and gets jammed in the frame. It's very easy to just grab the front upper edge of the window and move it up/back to straighten it, after which it's fine. I don't know why I haven't fixed this yet, it wouldn't be that hard I don't think.

- Indicators don't self-cancel. TADTS. I've already replaced the stalk assembly once, and I have another (new/pattern) part to go on, but it's buried in with loads of Maestro spares and I'm not sure where it is. About 20 minutes to replace.

- Parcel shelf keeps unhooking from tailgate barbs. Again, TADTS, but I've bodged it in such a way that it works 25% of the time but 75% of the time it just falls off again. Weirdly this is the one thing that pisses me off more than anything, and again could probably be fixed in 20 mins.

- Rear washer inop. 60 seconds of poking around with a needle or piece of wire. It's never dirty enough to matter.

Most of the barges I own also get doted on, lavished with new parts and then are sold for someone else to enjoy the benefits. God knows why, maybe I like the misery? The Saab 9-5 I had, I spent ages fixing the HVAC, fixed the cupholder, fixed the ignition cassette, new everything for servicing, fixed the AC compressor, changed the autobox fluid, NOOBtune, etc etc etc then sold it. When I'd finished with it, it was really tidy, including treating the rust area by the inner rear wheelarches. I really should have kept it.

I also had a Honda Legend. Did cambelt, autobox fluid, loads of rustproofing, servicing, audio upgrades etc. Then Mrs Grogee took it to Tesco and some c__t smashed the rear bumper. I spent a week repairing and respraying the bumper, after which it was pretty good if you didn't look too hard... Then sold it almost immediately afterwards.

Same with the Volvo V70 before that.

[sierraman]

I always make sure the belt is done be it mileage or date, the brakes/suspension have to be 100%, any bushes that are going are done, oil changed every year etc etc. Corrosionwise it gets waxoyl in the key areas every year. 

Bear in mind some people don’t even check the tyres...

[RoverFolkUs]

Ok, long post further to my earlier one!

I keep telling myself I could spend £3-400 on parts to sort out all the little niggles and flaws but then someone would either smash into the thing and write it off or the gearbox would explode or the ECU will die or something... It's always the way through sods law and I see it happen all the time 

Realistically it's a 17 year old car that probably had an expected lifespan of 10 years or so. I paid £700 for it 4 years ago and the law of bangernomics dictates £400 on maintenance and improvements alone which don't affect the operation or safety of the car is a bit excessive 

Now, yes the cost of replacing the car if the cambelt let go would be quite high but I'd just use it as an excuse to buy something else more interesting and delegate the Citroen for sensible daily usage. I'm fully expecting just to run the Focus into the ground while keeping on top of the safety related repairs and basic service maintenance. 

If I was intending on keeping the car long term without the itch to upgrade then I wouldn't hesitate to spend £400 on parts to keep it going for a bit longer because it's a trusted car and a decent example of a MK2 Focus. But it doesn't matter what you spend out on because there is always something else that could fail at any moment 

I think it all depends on your mindset about the car and what you want from it. 

So to me it would be £150 on rear brakes, £80 on a cambelt kit, £60 on a thermostat which are the main bits which aren't absolutely essential but really would need doing. That leaves me with a car with a slightly noisy alternator (£80) power steering starting to seep (£120) all the rear suspension is pretty saggy and would benefit from a complete overhaul (~£200), another £100 on 2 tyres in about 8-10k miles time

Where do I start and where do I stop? Basically the entire car is wearing out. If I spend £300 on the "repairs" then I am already invested and might as well continue spending another £500 on the other "improvements" when they're necessary. 

Then it's £800 spent on a £700 car. It's still worth it as it's a good car but I don't want to keep it in the long term. Would I see £1500 back out of it? In the current market, probably quite close to that, yes, but because I'm not intending to fix it and sell it I don't see it that way. 

If I did everything it needs, I'd be inclined to keep it for a few more years which I don't especially want to do. 

I could spend £800 and then the very next day the gearbox or ECU fails in some way 🤷 - it's a 17 year old car after all!

Now in my case the brakes are safe, they're just a little noisy. They work fine and the handbrake is spot on.

If they were unsafe and excessively worn then I wouldn't hesitate because it's a necessary repair rather than a simple comfort maintenance 

If the cambelt snapped tomorrow I wouldn't be upset, the car owes me absolutely nothing and I've got nothing invested in it. I paid £700 4 years ago and if I got £3-350 back that's 4 years motoring for less than £100 a year, without taking into account the essential repairs which you'd get with any car. You seriously cannot grumble with that

 

[cobblers]

Perfectionism is the enemy of satisfaction. I used to strive to make every vehicle perfect, any little ding or dent or rattle would upset me. I'd make myself miserable and never enjoy things.

Lately, I think now that I have a couple of "spare" vehicles and I'm a bit more comfortable so that one mechanical failure wouldn't totally bankrupt me, I don't really care, I just use them and service them, make sure they're fundamentally broadly right, at my own pace.

Any suspension rattles send me fucking potty though, so I draw the line at those.

 

[sierraman]

Some people love buying cars, as I get older I don’t enjoy the interaction. So for that reason I’ll keep spending to keep it on the road, if the clutch went on the Focus I’d fit another because it’s just easier than dealing with people. Really though buying cars that ‘just need this, that, the other’ is a false economy. Just buy a good one from the start and look after it, a car these days should not need constant attention. 

[Kiltox]

I’m bad for fixing the stupid things people don’t normally care about - parking sensors and headlight washers on my A8 for example - I don’t like it nagging me that something is broken