General Punto 55sx

[Londoner123]

Hey guys i am new around this forum but would appreciate your help. I am currently confused on what to do: This is the situation:

I have a Punto 55SX 1.1L 94k on the clock and i broke down last week. Prior to breaking down my car lost its pulling power & blowing out more than usual amount of exhaust fume (was white). The Temp Gauage went flying up, so i put heater on to see if its hot as i suspected a faulty gauage but the heater blew out COLD? so i continued driving like a NOOB then pulled over and turn off engine, and it wouldnt turn back on again.... So called AA ; there was smoke coming out like barbecue from the engine

AA came and it started LOL but the engineer said that there is CO mixing with the engine oil, other words Head Gasket gone. I didnt bother going garage as i was with other people and it was LATE. I am told it can cost about 500 to fix! i recogne my car is worth way less than that... i bought it for £850 3 years ago....

Main question, What should i do (or you would do)? I live in london by the way so cost of repair is sky high and i dont know any mechanics :'0(. Should i just Scrap it???? I have 2 months MOT left and 9 Moths TAX!!

Second question... I am with einsleigh insurance and have nearly 4 years no claims (5 moths to go before i can protect it!)... what would happen to my no claims and insurance if i scrap my car (i have 5 months cover left) and save up to buy a better car in 2 years time (basically take a break from driving).... i am a total noob with cars dont know anything, please tell me the procedures...

I look forward to hearing from you guys...

Thanx in advance

 

[dave]

you can leave your insurance running, the ncd will last for 2 years after that,
you could get a haynes and give headgasket a go yourself, you have to start some where, get head skimmed, get a headgasket set with new bolts, timing belt kit oil n filert coolent, you could diy it for about £100 its not as hard as it sounds, just follow each step in the book and post up here if you get stuck

 

[Londoner123]

thanx for the reply but its so hard to do anything with the car especially coz its street parked in a heavy road in london!... let me get this clear, if i get the car scrapped how will my insurance keep running (ncd) since i wont have a car to insure?

 

[jug]

just dont cancel the insurance policy. transfer it onto your next car when you buy it. you dont need to tell the insurance company if you scrap the car.

 

[rocky_punto]

my advice - shop around

HG eventually cost me £300, which is expensive I admit but its better than buying a new car!

J

 

[jug]

move up north, a head gasket repair is about £150-200

 

[raptor]

as jug said - got mine done for £150 with a skim, labour and sultries! plus the garage i gpt the car from knocked £400 of the price to get it £1400 (few years ago now: S reg with 24k at the time) cos he said the gasket was going so in theory it actually cost me nothing .....

 

[Londoner123]

just dont cancel the insurance policy. transfer it onto your next car when you buy it. you dont need to tell the insurance company if you scrap the car.

thanx for that guys, especially Jug, but theres other things that need doing in the car.... excluding the HG id say cosmetically i would need to spend another 100 for bumper and headlight... also the heater doesnt work, wiper only works at rapid speed and does not park lol, the car is basically starting to give up... since i am a student its gonna cost a fortune keeping the car running, and i dont think it wil pass MOT in 2 months time either..... I want to take a break from driving for 2 Years so i wont have a new car to transfer the insruance to... Sorry to be a noob but if i have it scrapped wouldnt DVLA tell the insurance anyway?

P.S i dont have time to shop around, uni work is screwing me!

 

[dave]

dvla wont tell insurance

 

[Londoner123]

how about MOT, it wud be expired in 1 month time! wouldnt insurance company know if i have done a new MOT or not?

 

[beau]

how about MOT, it wud be expired in 1 month time! wouldnt insurance company know if i have done a new MOT or not?

no, and car doesnt need an mot to be insured, just obviously cant be driven.