mechanics poll - which engines are least reliable?

Which engines would you say you get the most in for repair? Which ones make your heart sink when you see them getting wheeled into your garage?

Reply to
neutron
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any advance on Rover K's

Reply to
Angus McCoatup

Renault Clio headgasket failure..... maybe

Reply to
Nik&Andy

Dunno about modern cars but when I was an apprentice in a garage back in the

80s it used to be Vauxhalls with damp starting problems, Vauxhalls with knackered cams and Smoky vauxhalls that used to get on my boss's wick. Also, anything French..., but he loved Fiats having worked in a main dealer, reckoned they were the best engines :-)

Jinx

Reply to
Mr Jinx

Do they have any real problems though, apart from the head gasket?

Reply to
neutron

Any BL lump from the 1970's

Reply to
Chris Street

Fiat family. Fact!

I base that on 17 years of warranty admin on different brands.

Reply to
Andy Hewitt

Most Off - Transit 2K's. You just know that it's going to be another injection pump.

Worst - Renault/Fiat. Thankfully the boss has finally realised that doing anything major on them isn't worth the hassle.

Reply to
Moray Cuthill

Yes, I love FIAT engines, trouble is they can't do electrics or bodies really..... Kinda takes the spirit out of a car.

They do some lovely twin cam monsters.

Andy

Reply to
Nik&Andy

Interesting you said this - happened to my dad's transit a couple of weeks ago, 3 weeks after the warrantee ran out. The dealer tried to say it must have been dirty fuel, my dad phoned Ford and they said the dealer couldn't possibly say that without doing a proper check first. Anyway the repairs cost over £2k and my dad now has a fight on his hands with Ford to get them to pay for it. He's not going to buy another Transit after this.

Reply to
neutron

Wouldn't buy a Ford anyway, even if I was given one I would swap or PX it for another make...

Every time I have had something to do with a damn Ford it has gone TU !

Luckily they have seen sense and started using French diesel engines now I believe.

Andy

Reply to
Nik&Andy

Fuel pump failure is a common fault. Had to replace 3 within the last week. One 2.4 which got recovered in, one 2.4 which the diesel was leaking out pump casing, and a 2.0 that was leaking. Best you'll probably get out off ford given the warranty is up, is a good will payment.

Chances are, if you buy a new van now, it's going to be common rail injection. And Bosch are having problems with their high pressure pumps, which is affecting all manufacurer's. Only benefit is, the pumps are far cheaper and easier to change.

Reply to
Moray Cuthill

I just priced a HP pump up for a Cummins, and Bosch want £1400 for one! Cheaper?

Reply to
SimonJ

Why would a garage be upset by an engine needing repair? That's how they make their money...

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Problem is that the effort and expense for a good repair on many engines is worth more than the car, so you know that there will not be any real profit in it, There is a limit to the amount you can charge for a repair. Take a head gasket on a K series, the last time I did one I charged 350 quid, it was not really enough (for the hours/aggro) but in comparison to the value of the car it was ok. I could have done three services in less time, not had a vehicle overnight, not had to go to an engineering place twice for the skim, and earned far more with less effort, and less likelihood of the vehicle coming back with problems.

My refusal list now includes: all rovers, anything French, all versions of mondeo, all taxis, all builders vans and cars, any chavmobile, granada Scorpio, Hyundai, Daewoo, Skoda, proton, and most importantly anything where I don't like the look or sound of the owner. Nowadays I have very, very little aggravation, but I still have a steady stream of nice work. Another advantage of not doing the junky stuff is that all the customers are happy and recommend me to friends (some of whom get turned down)

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

Wow, where are you based, wish we could all be that picky about the work we do ;)

Reply to
Nik&Andy

I am in Essex and I am very lucky to have been able to build up a good client base over many years, I started doing just a day a week, about twenty years ago and built it up to full time. My premises are at home, so no real overheads, like rent. The council and neighbours are not disturbed in any way, mainly because it is a very industrial area.

However, what do you think of the list? There must be others I don't encounter a lot. Oh, just thought, I must add BMW on the list, only because the ones I have got to see have been wreckers, I am certain that many are fine. Recently I have seen more Toyota and Lexus than previously, but still Fiestas and smaller Vauxhalls are the most common.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

Ahh, I see, I am not a mechanic by trade. I love cars, or more specifically engines... - I have rebuilt a lot of different ones and actually wanted to be a motoring journalist. Trouble is all motoring journalists seem to have there heads up there arses, they all say the same things, just to play it safe.

I personally do not like BMW - I'm sure they are good cars an all, they just do not do it for me. I am 'WAS' a Volvo fan until Ford bought them out. (Older the better) I love Mercs, older the better.

Can't stand Rovers - The HONDA type one's - Love SD1's and P5 and P6's etc...

I guess I am just a bit of a classic car fan really, despite owning two modern cars, one is even French!

Thing is, mechanics is more of a hobby for me, and I have found that turning a hobby into a trade can take the fun out of it.

Andy

Reply to
Nik&Andy

More fool you then!

At our garage the price of the repair is the same, regardless of the value of the car. It is up to the customer to decide if it is worth doing or not.

Reply to
SimonJ

In article , mrcheerful . writes

^^^^^^

This surprises me. Thought they were cheap and easy to fix (apart from the clutch.)

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

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