General Advice before next MOT

[crutchisholy]

My multi has recently had an MOT and although it passed (after spending £300 on it!) there's a list of advisories as long as your arm- apparently the guys at the council are quite strict (not a bad thing I guess). My dilemma is this: do I try and sell the car now and get another, cos I'm thinking the work is gonna cost a bomb and seeing as it's done 170,000 miles it's not financially feasible to spend all that on it. However, someone told me the advisories don't necessarily need doing before the next MOT, but can even last a couple of years before they become a fail.
I've attached the list- could someone in the know cost up the bulk of the work (not counting things like tyres) so I can make a decision about what to do?!
Any advice is welcome!

 

[MrMultipla]

That's quite a list! Hard to say whether they are being harsh or you are doing well to get a pass. Everything there is a Kwik-fit failure ;-) How many miles are you doing in a year? Do you like the car?! Selling with a 12 month mot is the only way to get any money on these jalopies now, but many keep them going because they're brilliant and charismatic cars.

 

[crutchisholy]

Hi I don't do that many miles a year...maybe 6/7000. Yeah I really like the car- there's no other like it so would rather not sell, but the point is whether I buy another, newer one with fewer miles. Been looking on ebay and they're pretty cheap! Would still like an idea of the cost of putting some of those suspension items right.

 

[widemouthfrog]

If you had the work done by a garage, the labour would be costly - even if you had it done by a small independent. I don't think I've ever seen a car come close to failing on so many counts, but still pass!

For reasonable quality parts, allow:
Discs (and pads) for the front £100
Bottom Front wishbones £30-35 each
Front top strut mount £30
Brake hoses about £10 each, new brake fluid £5-10
Second hand fog lamp £10
Rear subframe bushes £60 for a pair
New rear trailing arm, complete £55
Track rod ends £10-15
Steering rack rebuild £150, or a S/H one £40

But unless you do the work yourself, the labour cost will make that lot insignificant. Bear in mind that most of those are common Multipla weaknesses, so buying another one will quite possibly be no better. Or, you may get lucky

 

[crutchisholy]

Thanks for the detailed breakdown widemouthfrog! Any idea on labour costs involved in doing all that? You're right it's a question of luck as to what you get but some do advertise with list of recent work done to the car, and often that includes some of the items in my list so could wait until the right one comes along! What do you think of the idea that some of those may not need doing next time round, but could hold out for a couple more years?

 

[rc3675]

My first thought in seeing how many advisable was ouch.
On reading them though it seems a number are in a similar area
My final thought with the MOT was of it passed, regardless of the advisable then it seems a pretty sound car as all of these can go on any vehicle, and may have been happening for some time just no one (or any MOT) has actually said anything.

I understand the impact of cash, and wether it's worth buying another car (along with the unknown risks), so if I was you I'd get a few estimates from local garages or specialist Fiat independents.

Where are you located? If you're within traveling distance of Maltby, South Yorkshire, then I know a very good Fiat/Alfa specialist. He loves the marque, and is self employed so the rates are low (and he's been doing my Multi for several years, so I trust him).
If you are, then call him or send the MOT advisory list and see what is quoted.

 

[widemouthfrog]

Labour cost? How long is a piece of string?

I reckon that's a good 2 1/2 - 3 days work for a one-man or small independent garage. Rates vary widely by region. Around here, you're doing well to pay less than £30/ man-hour.

 

[AaronG]

I had to do the majority of that list to get mine through mot here in Northern Ireland in December of last year, all in I spent around 650 quid getting it all done Inc parts and labour. Mine also needed welding of the cills at the jack points on the offside

 

[boilermansab]

They are all advisories...
In would just forget about them...
Bet you'll find out that some will magically disappear come next MOT

 

[crutchisholy]

Hi there thanks for all the replies. AaronG if it cost £650 to get it through then i might just hold out and keep the car. As has been said it's always a risk buying another in case the same, unwelcome problems crop up again...even if the car has done fewer miles. Fingers crossed mine has not needed much during its longish life (yes new clutch and other common jobs but nothing major) and will continue to serve me well once the work's been done. Good point boilermansab- some may well disappear next time round...