After having given a big fight, I lost the war

I will have to part with my Marea after 7 years and having covered just 100,000 kms.

During the last year the following issues cropped up:

- Leaking heater matrix & 'O' rings - sorted
- Leaking thermostat (after having had it just replaced 1,5 years before) - sorted
- Leaking rocker cover and gasket - sorted
- Leaking cylinder head gasket - not sorted
- Cracked exhaust manifold - sorted
- Leaking LPG injectors - not sorted
- Worn wishboine bushes. One week after replacement, the ARB bushes gave way
- Airbag light on - not sorted
- Erractic reading dash gauges - sorted
- Clutch starting to judder - not sorted
- Airco failed (leaking condensor, hose and then noisy compressor) - not sorted
- Rear brake self-adjusting mechanisms failed - not sorted.

I've done my best - really my best - to keep it, but finally I gave up. One more month and I would have had to consult a psychiatrist

I have now gone for somthing hopfully more reliable, a Toyota. Hopefully I will now have some peace of mind for a while.

And last but not least, a very big thankyou to you all for your kind help these last months!!

I think that car was trying to tell you it was really tired. Compared to what you lose in depreciation on a new car running an old one with zero capital invested is cheap, even if you are spending £400 a year on repairs. It's easy to spend £20K on a new car and its worth 5K after 4 years.

Hi Renegade,

I pushed myself to think that way but at the end I had the feeling I was throwing money in a bottomless bucket and not knowing when the following problem will crop up. I now hope I will have some years of mental rest and even if it costs money, I think it will be worth it. At least I'm sleeping again at night.

Joseph

Joseph