Hi all,

I am currently sitting on the fence and would love your opinions.

I am a long time fiat owner, small cars, and want to take the plunge into Multipla ownership. Im of-fay with what to look for in the car and history but have a dilemma.

I have placed a deposit on a 2004 1.9JTD ELX on Sunday morning. It has 95K on the clock and seemed in good sorts. had a good history and mileage was correct.

The seller was selling with a 1 year MOT which was done this morning. He sells cars and I fond it on gumtree. He told me he is a mechanic. I asked what advisories were present afterwards and was informed there was none! on a 12 year old car!

I have performed a check on the .gov website after this on the mot history and can see the usual suspects like slight wear to brakes but also over the past few there was pipe corrosion, track rod end play and steering rack play.

I cant get info from the seller about the possibility that this may have been rectified prior to the mot but i think he would have mentioned this to me in the sales patter. I also believe that he has a connection with the MOT garage.

Im currently at the point where i want to walk away but knowing the distinct lack on the market i am torn. due to the low selling price i have some reserves should a problem arise but changing the rack would wipe this out.

i note that on a brief test drive it seemed to work well with adequate power.

What do i do?

Thanks

Adam

Actually the term and spelling is "au fait" French which directly translated means "the fact"

Anyway, have you tested the steering rack. Simply check for excessive free play. With the engine off (otherwise the steering pump will mask any issues) open the drivers window and with the wheels straight ahead move the steering wheel left and right. There should be NO MORE than 1/2" movement in the steering wheel before you start to see movement on the wheels. Next sit inside the car and test for the soundess of the pinion bearing by pulling outward and pushing inward on the steering wheel (imgaine you are flying a plane) It should have ideally NO or absolutely minimum vertical movement.

If the above is sound then start the car and move the wheel full lock and ensure it is a smooth movement with no signs of the wheel fighting back excessively. Do NOT be concerned about a funny whirring noise at full lock, this is simply the pump release valve going into bypass.

Then look under the car for any evidence of oil leaks coming from the steering rack AND the steering pump. The latter may be difficult if the aux belt whether shield is in place. You can however look down from the top of the engine. If you don't know what a steering pump looks like best to take a mechanic friend with you. On the multipla it is at the rear of the engine above the alternator. I have just replaced mine because of a leaking bearing.

I do not believe steering racks are a common fault on these cars but they can fail on any car if the car has been abused. You need to take a view of the whole car and its general condition to try and guage the sanity of the previous owner. ALWAYS take the car for a decent drive, if it drives nice with no funny clonks, noises, jerks, wobbles, etc etc then you have a good car. If you are not happy then walk away. These are generally very good cars.

In my experience, steering racks do wear on the Multipla. The tell tale is (under the car) to grab hold of the rack end - grab the bellows and squeeze it until you grasp either the end of the rack itself, or the tie rod that's screwed into it) and give it a good hard shove up and down. There should be no movement of it relative to the rack body. Do this on both ends of the rack.

Do as glowplug says to test for lateral play.

As for the purchase of the car, perhaps suggest to the seller that you put the car in for another MOT at a tester of your choosing, at your expense? Buying a seccond hand car is always a case of caveat emptor, especially when it's old (and cheap). Allow some contingency beyond the purchase price. At this age/price, you'll be very, very lucky to get a car that doesn't need something doing to it. If that were the case, the owner would likely not be selling it!

Thanks guys,

Unfortunately the car isn't just down the road and I was all ready to go and collect but was put off by the MOT findings. I don't care if it has a dodgy MOT in theory but would want to get honesty.

It ain't going to be perfect but I am confident enough to rectify most things with a spanner. Not a steering rack tho.

Cheers for the opinions.

Mine had just recently passed its test and I've a list as long as my arm of stuff to get done that it should have failed on.
Luckily for me I got it at the right price and was prepared to do the work.