General Marea Owner Here....Just Passed MOT...BUT,

[Mackie Cross]

Hiya,

I drive a bog standard Marea 1.6 16v SX.

Bought it with 33K on the clock, almost as new, with the intention of keeping it as an everyday run around for a year or so.

Never given me major trouble, (apart from wear and tear) so never sold it on....fast forward a few years, Im onto 84K with no major problems yet!

Just had it serviced & it Sailed through its MOT last week.

Did have an advisory note attached:

"Nearside & Offside front anti-roll bar linkage has slight play in a ball joint."

Is this a expensive / big problem to rectify?

I am a little weary that high mileage Fiats could be troublesome....is there any cause to panic?

Was looking to run it through for another year, as I average 10-13K a year, but am i likely to get a lot of problems when the car's done a mileage in the region of 95,000, am i better off selling up now?

Thanks & regards!

 

[Hellcat]

It's a worn out drop link then?

They cost around £12 ex vat.

www.shop4parts.co.uk

My Marea is on 130k and no issues apart from needing replacement suspension parts and a new clutch - but that's to be expected in any high mileage car. Has it had it's cambelt changed?

 

[Mackie Cross]

It's a worn out drop link then?

They cost around £12 ex vat.

www.shop4parts.co.uk

My Marea is on 130k and no issues apart from needing replacement suspension parts and a new clutch - but that's to be expected in any high mileage car. Has it had it's cambelt changed?

Thanks for the info....should end up at £30 for the pair, maybe another £30 for the mechanic to fit them....plus the brakes are due in a couple of months, so I guess it can all be done then.

The cambelt was done last year on its major service, prior to the MOT.

This time round just had the minor service done (Oil/Filters/Plugs/Leads) as well as the MOT obvoiusly.

I know the cars arent worth that much, so thats why I was hoping to hang on to it as long as possible, before anything major happens to it.

Iv got all my ICE from my golf gti that iv been thinking to put in (standard marea audio is terrible), but have been put off by the fact that I cant get the stereo to fit without getting removal keys and a new fascia surround, and my 7x10's wont fit in the rear, and not sure about the components fitting in the front either.

So there we have it.............

 

[Hellcat]

If you have a basic set of tools the brakes and suspension link are DIY jobs. Shouldn't take long for a garage to whip them off.

 

[mountainmachine]

Iv got all my ICE from my golf gti that iv been thinking to put in (standard marea audio is terrible), but have been put off by the fact that I cant get the stereo to fit without getting removal keys and a new fascia surround, and my 7x10's wont fit in the rear, and not sure about the components fitting in the front either.

You dont need keys to get them out, you can use feeler blades or similar thin metal strips, the fascias are cheap and have 2 here if you drop me a pm.