General Keep or time to ditch?

[JayEm]

The Stilo has been a loyal friend for the past 5 years but I've recently been thinking about whether to spend a load of money and keep it or buy something more modern. As its now 11 years old (but only 48k miles), its starting to develop lots of niggly issues as well as needing some major wear and tear bits replacing.

Here's the list:

• Rear axle bushes need replacing
• Rear caliper sticks in the morning so it has to be dragged around a couple of corners to release
• Broken front spring recently replaced, now developed an annoying squeak
• Needs a couple of new font tyres
• Could do with new brakes and disks all round
• Knock in front suspension, mechanics can't trace, not drop links
• Other minor bits like broken glove box hinge, outdoor thermometer going haywire, drivers door mechanism freezes in the winter meaning you have to get in through the passenger side and then somehow contort yourself over the handbrake and gear stick.

Repairing all the above would come to several hundred pounds and the car can't be worth more than £750-1000. I could do the brakes myself but the rest would need doing at a garage.

On the plus side:

• Its NEVER left me stranded

What would you do?

 

[richydraper]

keep

 

[philipb82]

KEEP it!

I'm in the same situation as you. My Stilo has a few niggles and i was thinking about trading it in. However the car i looked at and test drove just didn't feel right and it had a warning light and knocking. Also the Stilo is cheap to insure, cheaper than alot of cars to tax, parts are fairly cheap etc. I have now decided to keep mine and work on it and get these little issues sorted.

You could buy another car and have even more problems. Like you said its never left you stranded and has low miles. However if your getting a new car on finance then you'll probably get warranty. Saying that i'll say stick with it

Phil

 

[Davren]

Keep.
.

 

[twinairturbo]

As you said it's going to cost more than the cars worth, ditch is my honest opinion but as you will see in several threads I'm very anti FIAT at the moment :S

 

[richydraper]

i like the way he's come to a FIAT forum, in the STILO section and is saying he's thinking of getting rid of his FIAT STILO... wrong place wrong subject

 

[gadge]

Spend the dollar and KEEP are you mechanically minded? Some of your problems can easily be fixed at home with some tools and some time?

A lot of people say that they can't justify spending a lot of money on a car that's not worth much but I always say that's its cheaper than buying a new car that you know nothing about - go on, treat your Stilo

 

[Xen]

This time a month ago, I was in the same situation. My car had become such a pain in the a** with problems over the previous 18months that I got to the stage I was just absolutely sick of it and just wanted to see the back of it.
It was a huge shame because I used to absolutely love that car - when I first wanted one, I had a very specific list of criteria I wanted: Had to be yellow, had to be 3 door, had to have leather, had to be a JTD 115, had to be under 80,000miles. Climate control, cruise control and skyroof were desirable but not essential. Spent 6 months looking for one, travelled 800miles to see the few I did come across, finally found the right one, bought it and adored it.
But about 2 months ago, I had severe binding problems on the rear brakes and with other niggling things (such as last winter when it refused to start if it was below zero, which I still wasn't convinced I ever solved,) I just wanted rid of it - it just had too much wrong;

- Engine shims need doing
- Rear bushes
- Rear bumper is peeling lacquer
- New handbrake cables were needed soon (spotted whilst trying to find out why the brakes were binding but weren't the cause at that point)
- Backbox was ready to replace
- Overdue a timing belt change
- Climate control didn't work
- Interior drivers door handle broken
- New tyres needed
- New pads all way around (front ones have plenty left but are cheap and squeel like crazy - back ones heavily worn from binding)
- Alternator clutch pulley tapping away
- Pulling to the left
- Squeaking suspension

So I spent 2 days looking for a new car... had a limit of £3k at a stretch. I wanted another diesel as mine was returning over 50mpg average which I was pleased with for the driving I do. Didn't really want to downgrade in terms of performance though but still have sensible tax and insurance.
Long story short, after 2 days trailing around, I hadn't found anything I really wanted. I was loosing my patience and it was on the way to see another disappointing car I just thought 'I'm not spending £3k on a car that I'm not that bothered about - if I spent just a third of that on mine it would probably be perfect and I'd like it again.' So thats what I did!

So far I've done:

- New calipers, pads and handbrake cables (£130 in parts) done.
- Got a spare rear subframe to clean up, rust proof and fit new bushes to so I could just do a quick swap rather than messing around with my subframe off the car (£40 + £20 rust proofing and spraypaint) - and by a stroke of luck, it actually has recent bushes in anyway! So I'm gonna try it with them in first.
- New backbox (£32) and mount (£12) got and ready to fit when I swap the subframes.
- New front pads (bosch this time!) ready to fit (£33)
- Timing belt changed
- Got a couple of part worn tyres fitted (£45) - hopefully this way all four should require replacing at the same time and I'll go for new then.
- Squeaking suspension was a worn top mount (£25)
- Tracking (£20)
- New MAP and Coolant sensor (£25) - thats the last things I can think of for this cold start issue so hopefully thats it!

So left to buy/do:

- Alternator - got a quote for a full recon for £80, might as well get the entire unit done!
- Interior door handle - gonna butcher a donor door card (£20ish)
- Climate control - suspect dirty pots as signal is all over the place! (£FREE!!... hopefully)
- Peeling bumper - need a quote
- Measure shims and clearences - hopefully thats the source of my tickety engine at low rpm.

Moral of the story - there shouldn't be anything to cause me concern for a while now (baring in mind with another used car, it can be difficult to spot underlying problems or things about to go!) and it cost me a damn sight less than another car, and its a car I will love again once I've got through my list!

Just gotta think, if you spent money on it, would you be happy with it again? more so than just replacing?

 

[Xen]

Infact - looking at your list, we have a lot of the same things...

• Broken front spring recently replaced, now developed an annoying squeak

Thats exactly how my squeak happened - new front springs last MOT and this began to occur. Top mount was shot and not sitting properly. It probably didn't squeak before because although the top mount would probably still have been shot at that point, it was settled in the right position - removing the strut to replace the spring and putting it back means its probably not sitting properly anymore.

 

[Clivvy]

I agree with all comments above (bar the anti-Stilo one!)


I totally understand the money situation. You can either spend it and fix the car but that's a risk, or you could buy another used car....which is still a risk!


Personally, I would go out, look at some used cars you know you can afford. Get your head in that bonnet, get your head underside and really check for potential issues. Read the codes, run the car do all the stuff you would do when buying a used car and IF you are absolutely certain that this is the car for you, and in 12 months time wont be giving you the sort of problems you have now, go for it.


If you cant be sure then id fix up the Stilo. Its low mileage, good condition, just needs those wear and tear issues sorting. Failing that, sell it to a club member who can fix it up and cherish, I think youll get more in a private sale than a trade in but who knows!


either way, good luck, its not an easy decision to make!

 

[JayEm]

i like the way he's come to a FIAT forum, in the STILO section and is saying he's thinking of getting rid of his FIAT STILO... wrong place wrong subject

lol I could have gone on another forum but they would have slated the Stilo even though its not a bad car!

Spend the dollar and KEEP are you mechanically minded? Some of your problems can easily be fixed at home with some tools and some time?

As said above, the only thing I could do myself is the brakes which I've done before. Wouldn't be comfortable doing suspension work at home, just about managed to do the drop links last Sunday in the pouring rain!

Infact - looking at your list, we have a lot of the same things...

Thats exactly how my squeak happened - new front springs last MOT and this began to occur. Top mount was shot and not sitting properly. It probably didn't squeak before because although the top mount would probably still have been shot at that point, it was settled in the right position - removing the strut to replace the spring and putting it back means its probably not sitting properly anymore.

Yeah, I think its the top mount too. Its also making a creaking sound occasionally when turning the wheel, especially when driving in reverse.

Personally, I would go out, look at some used cars you know you can afford. Get your head in that bonnet, get your head underside and really check for potential issues. Read the codes, run the car do all the stuff you would do when buying a used car and IF you are absolutely certain that this is the car for you, and in 12 months time wont be giving you the sort of problems you have now, go for it.


If you cant be sure then id fix up the Stilo. Its low mileage, good condition, just needs those wear and tear issues sorting. Failing that, sell it to a club member who can fix it up and cherish, I think youll get more in a private sale than a trade in but who knows!


either way, good luck, its not an easy decision to make!

I've already had a look around at potential replacements but there's nothing I like the look of without having to spend thousands (e.g. Alfa Giulietta or a Bravo even); the 3 door Stilo is still a pretty decent looking hatchback for its age.

What I think I'll do is, get some quotes for the front suspension work first and then go from there. Brakes and rear axle bushes can wait.

 

[Xen]

I would get quotes just for labour (without parts) - buy the parts yourself and hand them to the garage when you get it done. You can save a fair bit doing this - garages usually won't shop around, they just get them from the first place that has them available immediately provided the price isn't extortionate. And even then, its not exactly uncommon for them to apply their own little bit of mark-up on them!

I always provide my own parts even if a garage is doing the work to ensure I've got the best deal on them. Plus you have all the paperwork for parts warranty then.

 

[Xen]

Yeah, I think its the top mount too. Its also making a creaking sound occasionally when turning the wheel, especially when driving in reverse.

Could be the rubber of the top mount creaking against the metal, or the bearing that allows the spring to swivel against the top mount when turning. My new top mount came with a replacement bearing too.

 

[fiatritmo]

I would get quotes just for labour (without parts) - buy the parts yourself and hand them to the garage when you get it done. You can save a fair bit doing this - garages usually won't shop around, they just get them from the first place that has them available immediately provided the price isn't extortionate.

Only problem is if the part you have provided, turns out to be dodgy, then I'd think the mechanic is not obliged to fit a replacement part for you without charging for the job. If the garage sources the part, however...