General Hurrah, Marea, oh dear....

[Nodfiat]

After 4 months of searching for a 20v Marea, I finally took the plunge on Saturday.

One 200 mile round trip later, I am the proud owner of a low mileage ELX with full service history....

Dammit!! 2 days later, the back box has disintegrated, the engine is trying to overheat and either the clutch or gearbox (not sure which yet) is only holding on to this world by a thread....

Its booked into Powerfiat on Thursday for a full service and investigation of its problems, so I might be selling myself to the highest bidder on Friday to try and pay the probable gargantuan repair bill I end with!!

Oh well...................

 

[Hellcat]

Good luck. Hope all your issues are reasonably priced!

 

[jug]

buying blind is often an expensive mistake. next time you buy a car, thoroughly check it first.

you can check an exhaust in 10 seconds by having a quick look. if in doubt cover the tailpipe with your hand, the engine should cut out, if it doesnt it means there is a leak.

you should always leave the engine idling for at least 15 mins while you check the rest of the car over to see if overheating is an issue and to see if the cooling fan works.

you should also give the car a good test drive to check for smooth operation of the gearbox and to test for clutch judder pulling away in 1st or slip accelerating hard in 4th up a hill.

oh well, lesson learnt i guess. fingers crossed this wont be too expensive (head gasket and gearbox)

 

[Nodfiat]

More like buying cheap than buying blind.

Only gave the exhaust a cursory examination as it wasn't blowing.

I let the engine idle for 10 minutes while I examined the rest of the car and then gave it a good test drive, then drove the 100 miles home down the M1 and M25 without a problem.

It wasn't until I started the car from cold the next morning that I discovered the gear selection problems and later on that the engine temperature was fluctuating.

I know now though.... Come on Powerfiat, do me proud!!