Hi,
Hope it’s the right place to post here I’m a bit overwhelmed by this forum makes my eyes wonky scrolling trying to find where to post.
I have a few questions and I had the brainwave to ask you folks here
I need to replace my front wishbone bush (according to RAC ) I’m wondering what sort of price should I expect for that to be done? I’m in Shropshire.
My door handles have both broken what is the best way to go about getting them fixed?
My blue and me doesn’t seem to come on so I can’t play my music through my iPhone via USB anymore.
I need new tyres and I am wondering what to replace with that are budget friendly (any ideas) I was looking on National tyres website.
And it’s a 2012 500 lounge. 48,000 on clock should I change the timing belt due to age?
Sorry to ask a few questions sorry if I am supposed to post separately.
Thanks in advance.

Hello & welcome!
Don’t be worried to ask questions that’s what we are all here for
Quite a few issues here so a few more people will jump in and answer them
Timing belt.. probably! My car is basically same but a 2011 I had mine done at 36000 as my water pump was leaking! As for the kit go for DAYCO about 70£ on eBay then get your friendly local garage to fit!? Cuts the cost down!

Door handles are very easy to change and available on eBay also checkout love500 on eBay he has videos if you fancy doing it yourself

As for the blue & me personally I ripped mine out and fitted a touch screen stereo but there could be a multitude of reasons why that’s not working .. it may need an update or your phone may not be compatible again someone else may elaborate

JulieP said:

Hi,
Hope it’s the right place to post here I’m a bit overwhelmed by this forum makes my eyes wonky scrolling trying to find where to post.
I have a few questions and I had the brainwave to ask you folks here
I need to replace my front wishbone bush (according to RAC ) I’m wondering what sort of price should I expect for that to be done? I’m in Shropshire.
My door handles have both broken what is the best way to go about getting them fixed?
My blue and me doesn’t seem to come on so I can’t play my music through my iPhone via USB anymore.
I need new tyres and I am wondering what to replace with that are budget friendly (any ideas) I was looking on National tyres website.
And it’s a 2012 500 lounge. 48,000 on clock should I change the timing belt due to age?
Sorry to ask a few questions sorry if I am supposed to post separately.
Thanks in advance.

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As for the wishbones they are very easy if you know what your doing … I changed both mine last year along with every other part of the suspension ? I’d be looking for a new wishbone arm instead of a bushing as they are notoriously hard to swap and wishbones are quite cheap!

Oh Thankyou. What tyres would you suggest I’ve just been looking at budget tyres from national tyres. Thought I’d check here first before I go ahead.

Does this sound right? For Ford Ka 1.2 Fiat Punto 500 1.2 1.4 Timing Belt Kit Dayco KTB466

JulieP said:

What tyres would you suggest I’ve just been looking at budget tyres from national tyres.

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I don't recommend fitting budget tyres. They'll likely be noisier, less hard wearing, have poorer grip (especially in the wet), and use more fuel. Also a significant part of the cost is in the fitting and balancing, and this is the same whether you buy premium tyres or cheap rubbish.

Decent tyres will make the car quieter and more pleasant to drive.

My own recommendation would be Michelin Energy +, but any of the premium brands should be OK. Expect to pay somewhere in the region of £300 for a set of 4, fitted & balanced.

A tip when buying tyres. Do your homework on the internet to find the best price, then 'phone your local tyre dealer and see if they can better it. You'll be surprised how often they will. Also if you're a member, Costco sell good quality tyres at keen prices, and when I last used them, they could order in anything from the Michelin catalogue.

The Michelin’s energy says they are summer tyres are they no good for winter then ? Says £73 on euromasters website Shrewsbury.

Hmmm £87 each fitted.

JulieP said:

The Michelin’s energy says they are summer tyres are they no good for winter then ? Says £73 on euromasters website Shrewsbury.

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Try Black circles for tyres go for any quality branded ones like Dunlop Goodyear Khumo etc.

Timing belt has it ever been done? if not its urgent, yes, new lower arms yes, disconnect the blue and me, door handle repair part is cheap, has the handle completely come off or only at one end? if just one end then part less than a tenner plus fitting ?

Black circles £152 for 2 Michelin tyres. Timing never done. Do I buy the whole arm or bush or both. Do I need OEM or not (looking in EBay new). Both handles the hinge has broken on each. My funds are very very limited.

JulieP said:

Black circles £152 for 2 Michelin tyres. Timing never done. Do I buy the whole arm or bush or both. Do I need OEM or not (looking in EBay new). Both handles the hinge has broken on each. My funds are very very limited.

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What arm do you need? They can be bought individually on eBay just buy the arm (wishbone) don’t bother with bushing on its own as for timing belt
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOR-FIAT...EC-/272990513375?_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249 Door handles https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/73559201...OS-/124267673555?_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249

You can get cheaper but I got these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOR-FIAT...MS-/153479061963?_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249 ok so funds are tight so just buy the side you need maybe even just buy a second hand one for now!? But this gives you a good idea of what you need

Yes I’ll just get the one so does it come with a bushing included?

JulieP said:

My funds are very very limited.

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I totally get this.

Most of us here have, at some point in our lives, run an older car on a tight budget.

You can ignore the Blue&Me for now; the worst that can happen is it may start to drain the battery; if this happens, disconnecting it (it's inside one of the rear quarter panels) will stop the drain. At some point in the future, when funds permit, we can help you source a secondhand Blue&Me unit and program it to the car, or fit a different head unit, or whatever.

Sadly the rest of your list can't be postponed any longer. Not changing the cambelt now risks destroying your engine if it breaks; it's on long borrowed time already. All the rest are safety critical items which, if seriously worn, would result in your car being unroadworthy and failing its MOT.

JulieP said:

Black circles £152 for 2 Michelin tyres.

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That's reasonable if it includes fitting and balancing. If you're just replacing two, then for safety, make sure the new tyres go on the rear; any reputable tyre shop will swap the fronts over, if required, at no extra cost.

JulieP said:

The Michelin’s energy says they are summer tyres are they no good for winter then

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Summer tyres are just the industry standard description for normal tyres, like the ones that were fitted on your car when it was new. Winter tyres work better when the temperature falls below about 10C, so some folks like to fit them for the winter months. This involves significant hassle, expense and storage (you definitely don't want to run winter tyres in summer), so in the UK, most don't bother. If you live in the Swiss Alps, it's a different matter.

JulieP said:

Yes I’ll just get the one

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Only do this if you absolutely have no choice financially. If one is badly worn, the other won't be far behind it. Also there are a couple of steps which only have to be done once if you change both (the front bumper and crossmember have to come off, and the wheel alignment will have to be adjusted), but will have to be done twice if you change the other one later, adding to the total cost. Also replacing only one may result in increased tyre wear, leading to more costs later.

JulieP said:

so does it come with a bushing included?

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Yes, if you buy the complete arm, it comes with everything you need. TBH, it's not a part I'd want to buy secondhand; most will be worn, and there is a real possibility of getting one that's been accident damaged - the wishbones are quite likely to be impacted in a front end crash.

Don't be tempted to buy just the bushing; fitting requires machine shop level tools which many garages won't have; trying to improvise fitting with hammers and vices is just asking to have a seriously bad day.

@baglady has recent experience of fitting stuff like this with improvised tools (and seals are easier than wishbone bushes); I'm sure she'll advise you to give this one a miss.

Thanks. I’ve just had the full brakes done abs that’s when the noise started RAC says bush thing. I’ll get the tyres recommended here this morning. Now will need to buy the timing belt and arm thing am looking on eBay. But I guess I should get OEM ? Think I’d feel better with them. Then start getting quotes. Door handles and blue and me can wait.
RAC said tappits are going too . Most disheartening. It’s hardly been used during lockdown and just sat on the drive don’t think it’s done it any good, it passed its mot two months ago, with exhaust advisory and tyres.

JulieP said:

But I guess I should get OEM ? Think I’d feel better with them.

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Can't see why; if the OEM ones have failed after only 48,000 miles, I'd be looking for something better - Lemforder maybe (around £100 each, though they're out of stock at Euro/CP4Less just now)?

But I'd avoid the really cheap, no-name ones.

Just adding my wee ha'peeny worth here. Absolutely do both wishbones at the same time unless perhaps you know for sure that the one which is still ok was fitted very recently. Personally i like to always have same make wishbones on both sides as you can get differences between manufacturers (you shouldn't, but you do) especially regarding the compliance (softness) of the rubber used in the bushes which might later give problems - pulling to one side under braking etc. renewing bushes in existing arms is not for the feint hearted.

I would always do a water pump as well on any engine where the pump is part of the timing belt drive train, as it is on our wee FIRE engines.

I'd take the RAC man's comment about the tappets with a pinch of salt. He may be right but you'ld be very unfortunate if he is as the tappets on these wee engines are not known for problems and usually will last the life of the engine. By the way they nearlyall "rattle" for a few seconds on start up, especially from a cold start, and that is nothing to worry about they do this until the oil gets pumped up to them from the bottom of the engine. If it runs quietly after a few moments, and especially once up to temperature, then you've no reason for concern.

Check your radiator coolant level frequently - I do ours every week. You can see the level in the header tank. These engines are very robust wee units if you look after them but really don't like running low on coolant and may blow the head gasket if they overheat due to lack of coolant. If the level starts dropping and you can't find an obvious leak at the radiator or one of the hoses then it's quite likely to be the metal pipe that runs across the front of the engine behind the exhaust down pipe/Catalytic converter which is know to corrode later in it's life.

Finally, tyres. I absolutely agree with the above in that if you buy a really big name tyre you just can't go wrong. However tyres seem to be broadly classified as "Premium" "Mid-range" and "Budget". I wouldn't even consider a part worn - for many reasons - and my experience of budget tyres is that they are often far short of the "Premium" product in so many areas - wet grip, length of life, overall performance, etc, etc - that I'd rather not take a chance on them. Becky has a "cheapie" on her N/S/R which must have been fitted by the garage that we bought her from so it's about 4, maybe 5, years old. Because we do very small annual mileages with her there is little wear on it - possibly around 1.5 mm - so it looks "new" but there is bad cracking at the base of the tread grooves and that should not be on a tyre of this age with so little mileage on it. The cause is almost certainly rubber oxidation and probably due simply to cost cutting of ingredients.

In my opinion though "Mid-range" tyres, for the average motorist who does not push his/her car are entirely adequate. I've had very good results with Barum (now a subsidiary of Continental) and I've got a Falken on the Panda just now which is impressing me greatly. Others include: Firestone (my old employer whose popularity has gone down in the world since I worked for them - owned by Bridgestone) Yokohama, Avon, Hankook, Dunlop (another great name now not so popular and I think owned by Sumitomo and Good Year?), there are others, try an internet search under "Mid-range tyres". I'll be fitting Mid-range tyres to my "good" car, the Ibiza, later this year when the Bridgestones, which it came on from new and which I've never got on with, are worn out. Probably Falkens, but maybe Avons or Yokohamas or? To be honest it'll probably depend on which mid-range tyre is being offered to me at the best price. I also always buy in a minimum of two at a time so I've always got matching tyres on axles, and, you'll often get a wee bit extra of a bargain because you are buying two.

Worth doing a bit of research in your local area too for independent suppliers where you will nearly always get better prices - because they are "hungry"? Up here I've got several to choose from. My current two favourites are T. C. Juner and Fair Deal Tyres both of whom include the price of old tyre disposal charge, a new valve and balancing in their price quotes so you don't suddenly get a shock when the price quoted goes up by £15 or so when you get the final bill.

Hope some of that was helpful? Good luck with it all
Jock

JRK suggests researching on line prices for your tyres then ringing local tyre shops for prices - always ask for the "fully fitted all in price" to get a true comparison. Absolutely yes you should do this. Some of the tyre stores are either owned by, or "franchised" to, a particular brand/manufacturer group and will have more "slack" in pricing their speciality brands. They are also likely to have sales targets to meet and this may even extend down to them selling "their brands". Sometimes you will also find there's a bit of a "war" going on between one large group and another and, in extremis, one will not be outdone by the other and you might even get a tyre at close to cost just because one won't be outdone by the other. If you have the time and the "thick skin" to ring around playing one off against the other, you might be surprised at the savings that can be achieved. The "secret" is to stay very calm and don't annoy the person you are trying to negotiate with. When you go to get the tyres fitted ask to see them and check the date stamps on the sidewalls (four figure number ie, 2220 would be week 22 of year 2020) just in case you are being "palmed off" with really old stock. Over many years I've bought my tyres this way and never been offered a tyre that's much over a year from it's build date and usually much younger (I believe that legally an unused tyre can be sold as "new" up to 5 years from it's build date? but I'd want one a LOT younger than that because rubber ages and looses it's properties the older it gets.

Thanks for that. I tried to buy the Michelin ones today of black circles as they are doing 15% off but three times it wouldn’t accept my card. I gave up in the end. So no further forwards. I have been given a price for timing thing on eBay Daycon is that a good make? Never heard of them.
I need to get a price for the wishbone before the tyres so I don’t need to get them balanced twice.
I might have to just be without a car while I pool some funds to get all this done as it seems tyres, timing and both wishbones all need to be done straight away, so I might just have to not drive it for a while. But I’ll get everything priced up and ready to go when I can.

I got mine from here recently on the recommendation of another forum member. Spot on price for the brand.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153479061963