The Joy of Running an Old Shed (Vol 2)

[deadtom]

shed #1 (2007 Octavia Scout that I paid £3500 for a month ago) is in the garage today due to lack of AC, front suspension knocking, split CV gaiter and exhaust fumes getting into the cabin when sitting idling / low speed driving.

Now taking bets on which side of £2000 that lot will cost to fix.

[r3g]

I'm noticing a recurring theme with the VAG shedders in here! Does a week ever go by without a new costly-to-fix problem developing?!

[Hoofy]

r3g said:

I'm noticing a recurring theme with the VAG shedders in here! Does a week ever go by without a new costly-to-fix problem developing?!

Good question.

Deadtom's AC, suspension and CV gaitor can happen on any car over time, right?

Problematic stuff on my TT that was unexpected (ie not just tyres, brakes, whatever):

-gearbox oil cooler
-thermostat housing
-water pump

It's all related to a leaking cooling system at various points which makes me wonder if the coolant is reacting with rubber in the various parts.

I think someone said on here that the problem with German cars is that they're great for the first 10 or so years then bits just suddenly break. I'd be interested to know what else people are dealing with on their VAG cars.

Just thinking back to my 2002 and 2004 Mercedes cars - I didn't experience many problems.

Edited by Hoofy on Tuesday 2nd July 11:35

[ST565NP]

deadtom said:

shed #1 (2007 Octavia Scout that I paid £3500 for a month ago) is in the garage today due to lack of AC, front suspension knocking, split CV gaiter and exhaust fumes getting into the cabin when sitting idling / low speed driving.

Now taking bets on which side of £2000 that lot will cost to fix.

Well, the prices of spare parts ( if you do not need new ac compressor ) should not be over 500...

[7 5 7]

Nah, don't need AC, first world problem that - anything else is fair game

Bought my shed thinking it had AC, went to get it regassed and it missing it's entire system....bit of an oversight by me ha!

3 years later, I still don't really miss it

[deadtom]

ST565NP said:

Well, the prices of spare parts ( if you do not need new ac compressor ) should not be over 500...

alas I suspect it is the compressor that is kaput.

my brief googling suggests compressor failure is not uncommon for octavia / mk5 golfs, and that would tally with the fact that there's no pressure leak (Kwik-fit said so when they re-gassed it), nor does it seem to have the rounded off splines on the AC clutch that they also suffer from

£2000 is based on my recent guesstimates for repairs being proven to be hugely optimistic; normally I would guess all the above could be sorted for £1000, so in actuality it'll probably be double that.
My evidence for this is that the timing chain on my wife's Mini One is set to cost about 1200, whereas I though it would be 600 - 700, and for the last skoda I had, the quote for new springs and CV joints I would have guessed to be 500 - 600, but garage quoted 1000

[deadtom]

7 5 7 said:

Nah, don't need AC, first world problem that - anything else is fair game

Bought my shed thinking it had AC, went to get it regassed and it missing it's entire system....bit of an oversight by me ha!

3 years later, I still don't really miss it

for a local runabout, I would agree. Ain't nothing wrong with trundling around small roads at 40 ish with the window down and enjoying the breeze, but my commute is 95 miles each way, of which 2/3rds is on the M1, of which about 1/2 is in shuffling slow moving traffic. So either I put up with the buffeting and noise of having the window open at 70 mph, or I get to enjoy the sounds, smell and tastes of a crawling traffic jam, both while still being toward the upper limit of tolerable temps anyway.

As someone who starts to go to pieces as soon as the temperature on a sunny day goes over about 25 degrees, I find being stuck with a hot car to be utterly miserable.

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

Hoofy said:

I think someone said on here that the problem with German cars is that they're great for the first 10 or so years then bits just suddenly break. I'd be interested to know what else people are dealing with on their VAG cars.

Definitely my experience. When you first buy an older Audi you initially think "what a lot of car for the money" and "feel the door clunk and interior, this car is quality"

The the problems start appearing and you begin to realise why the previous owner got shot as they got sick of throwing money at it.

13 year old Renault here, the climate control is still ice cold.

Had it 18 months now and have so far replaced a CV gator that I knew was an advisory for years on the MOT history when I bought it.

[r3g]

deadtom said:

alas I suspect it is the compressor that is kaput.

my brief googling suggests compressor failure is not uncommon for octavia / mk5 golfs, and that would tally with the fact that there's no pressure leak (Kwik-fit said so when they re-gassed it), nor does it seem to have the rounded off splines on the AC clutch that they also suffer from

£2000 is based on my recent guesstimates for repairs being proven to be hugely optimistic; normally I would guess all the above could be sorted for £1000, so in actuality it'll probably be double that.
My evidence for this is that the timing chain on my wife's Mini One is set to cost about 1200, whereas I though it would be 600 - 700, and for the last skoda I had, the quote for new springs and CV joints I would have guessed to be 500 - 600, but garage quoted 1000

We rarely take on servicing or suspension work on old VAG stuff now because we find that the majority of them are seized to fk and need the induction heater to free up the nuts and bolts. It's really time-consuming and a pain in the arse. I suspect your quote probably has quite a bit of contingency added in as it can totally mess up your day if you've got the car up on the ramps with half of the suspension already removed and then you're beaten by a seized bolt or worse, it snaps off.

[Bonefish Blues]

r3g said:

deadtom said:

alas I suspect it is the compressor that is kaput.

my brief googling suggests compressor failure is not uncommon for octavia / mk5 golfs, and that would tally with the fact that there's no pressure leak (Kwik-fit said so when they re-gassed it), nor does it seem to have the rounded off splines on the AC clutch that they also suffer from

£2000 is based on my recent guesstimates for repairs being proven to be hugely optimistic; normally I would guess all the above could be sorted for £1000, so in actuality it'll probably be double that.
My evidence for this is that the timing chain on my wife's Mini One is set to cost about 1200, whereas I though it would be 600 - 700, and for the last skoda I had, the quote for new springs and CV joints I would have guessed to be 500 - 600, but garage quoted 1000

We rarely take on servicing or suspension work on old VAG stuff now because we find that the majority of them are seized to fk and need the induction heater to free up the nuts and bolts. It's really time-consuming and a pain in the arse. I suspect your quote probably has quite a bit of contingency added in as it can totally mess up your day if you've got the car up on the ramps with half of the suspension already removed and then you're beaten by a seized bolt or worse, it snaps off.

My Man shudders at the sight of the Panda 4x4 - but he's stuffed because he sold it to me

[7 5 7]

deadtom said:

7 5 7 said:

Nah, don't need AC, first world problem that - anything else is fair game

Bought my shed thinking it had AC, went to get it regassed and it missing it's entire system....bit of an oversight by me ha!

3 years later, I still don't really miss it

As someone who starts to go to pieces as soon as the temperature on a sunny day goes over about 25 degrees, I find being stuck with a hot car to be utterly miserable.

Yeah I agree, I'm only pissed off I missed it when I bought it, but it was only £1000, I've done 30,000 miles since without A/C in the 3 years I've had it, and there was times where it was...let's say, testing on the longer 4hr+ journeys its regularly frequents in the summer.

Completely write the car off (shed'mathematics) if I was to think about reinstalling it, really not worth it on this current car.

[ST565NP]

deadtom said:

alas I suspect it is the compressor that is kaput.

my brief googling suggests compressor failure is not uncommon for octavia / mk5 golfs, and that would tally with the fact that there's no pressure leak (Kwik-fit said so when they re-gassed it), nor does it seem to have the rounded off splines on the AC clutch that they also suffer from

£2000 is based on my recent guesstimates for repairs being proven to be hugely optimistic; normally I would guess all the above could be sorted for £1000, so in actuality it'll probably be double that.
My evidence for this is that the timing chain on my wife's Mini One is set to cost about 1200, whereas I though it would be 600 - 700, and for the last skoda I had, the quote for new springs and CV joints I would have guessed to be 500 - 600, but garage quoted 1000

AC compressor not too bad - 200-300. But, as written on the Autodoc page: IMPORTANT

When replacing the air compressor, the Dryer has to be replaced and the system flushed! Otherwise, the warranty will not be valid! And the drier is another 20-ish, still not bad, plus all the o-rings + regassing 100 ish...

[QBee]

7 5 7 said:

deadtom said:

7 5 7 said:

Nah, don't need AC, first world problem that - anything else is fair game

Bought my shed thinking it had AC, went to get it regassed and it missing it's entire system....bit of an oversight by me ha!

3 years later, I still don't really miss it

As someone who starts to go to pieces as soon as the temperature on a sunny day goes over about 25 degrees, I find being stuck with a hot car to be utterly miserable.

Yeah I agree, I'm only pissed off I missed it when I bought it, but it was only £1000, I've done 30,000 miles since without A/C in the 3 years I've had it, and there was times where it was...let's say, testing on the longer 4hr+ journeys its regularly frequents in the summer.

Completely write the car off (shed'mathematics) if I was to think about reinstalling it, really not worth it on this current car.

I had this on a Saab I bought a few years back from a company director in Doncaster.

Me, after a hot test drive "Aircon doesn't work"
Him, " Oh, I haven't used it for a couple of months, it must need re-gassing, I'll knock £60 off".
Me "Ok, thanks"

Kwik Fit "Sorry sir, we can't get the aircon to work. The reason is simple, the previous owner was a lying ste from South Yorkshire and he had fitted a shorter belt, completely bypassing the siezed compressor."

After tryng to extract blood out of a stone, I gave up and found a virtally brand new compressor on Ebay for £100 and a belt for £15 and made a mental note never ever under any circumstances to buy a car from anyone residing on Yorkshire again.

[Hoofy]

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

Hoofy said:

I think someone said on here that the problem with German cars is that they're great for the first 10 or so years then bits just suddenly break. I'd be interested to know what else people are dealing with on their VAG cars.

Definitely my experience. When you first buy an older Audi you initially think "what a lot of car for the money" and "feel the door clunk and interior, this car is quality"

The the problems start appearing and you begin to realise why the previous owner got shot as they got sick of throwing money at it.

Wait, so you're saying it's "no expense spared"? #Optimistic

[Hoofy]

QBee said:

7 5 7 said:

deadtom said:

7 5 7 said:

Nah, don't need AC, first world problem that - anything else is fair game

Bought my shed thinking it had AC, went to get it regassed and it missing it's entire system....bit of an oversight by me ha!

3 years later, I still don't really miss it

As someone who starts to go to pieces as soon as the temperature on a sunny day goes over about 25 degrees, I find being stuck with a hot car to be utterly miserable.

Yeah I agree, I'm only pissed off I missed it when I bought it, but it was only £1000, I've done 30,000 miles since without A/C in the 3 years I've had it, and there was times where it was...let's say, testing on the longer 4hr+ journeys its regularly frequents in the summer.

Completely write the car off (shed'mathematics) if I was to think about reinstalling it, really not worth it on this current car.

I had this on a Saab I bought a few years back from a company director in Doncaster.

Me, after a hot test drive "Aircon doesn't work"
Him, " Oh, I haven't used it for a couple of months, it must need re-gassing, I'll knock £60 off".
Me "Ok, thanks"

Kwik Fit "Sorry sir, we can't get the aircon to work. The reason is simple, the previous owner was a lying ste from South Yorkshire and he had fitted a shorter belt, completely bypassing the siezed compressor."

After tryng to extract blood out of a stone, I gave up and found a virtally brand new compressor on Ebay for £100 and a belt for £15 and made a mental note never ever under any circumstances to buy a car from anyone residing on Yorkshire again.

Well, I'm of the mindset that any time the a/c needs "regassing", the first question to ask is - why is it losing gas? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the whole notion of a company just offering a regas service a waste of space? It's the same as keeping replacing the battery when the alternator's fked and not charging up the battery isn't it?

[QBee]

Hoofy said:

Well, I'm of the mindset that any time the a/c needs "regassing", the first question to ask is - why is it losing gas? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the whole notion of a company just offering a regas service a waste of space? It's the same as keeping replacing the battery when the alternator's fked and not charging up the battery isn't it?

Going back 10 years or so, seals drying out tended to be the cause, because some people turned the aircon off when it wasn't hot in order to save fuel.
I had a few aircon systems successfully regassed, including my wife's car just after we bought it in 2015.

These days it more often is a sign that a component has failed.
On my wife's now 25 year old Saab I took it to Kwik Fit in April to have it regassed. It passed their machine's tests and was fine for about 10 days.
Then it wasn't. Boss complained.
So I took it back to Kwik Fit and they sent me to their Master Technician in the next town.
He diagnosed a failed condenser and replaced it. All fine now and ice cold.

So I have to agree with you.

[ST565NP]

Hoofy said:

Well, I'm of the mindset that any time the a/c needs "regassing", the first question to ask is - why is it losing gas? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the whole notion of a company just offering a regas service a waste of space? It's the same as keeping replacing the battery when the alternator's fked and not charging up the battery isn't it?

Not always - if the leak is small, the AC can work ok for more than a year, IME with MK1 Focus.

[deadtom]

Hoofy said:

Well, I'm of the mindset that any time the a/c needs "regassing", the first question to ask is - why is it losing gas? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the whole notion of a company just offering a regas service a waste of space? It's the same as keeping replacing the battery when the alternator's fked and not charging up the battery isn't it?

generally I agree, but I suppose not all leaks are created equal. For example, shed #2, has lacklustre AC. It works, but not ice cold. I guess this means the gas is leaking slowly. If I can re-gas it over year or two and avoid having to pay the several hundreds or more it would cost to repair it correctly, that's probably a worthwhile trade off

[Hoofy]

ST565NP said:

Hoofy said:

Well, I'm of the mindset that any time the a/c needs "regassing", the first question to ask is - why is it losing gas? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the whole notion of a company just offering a regas service a waste of space? It's the same as keeping replacing the battery when the alternator's fked and not charging up the battery isn't it?

Not always - if the leak is small, the AC can work ok for more than a year, IME with MK1 Focus.

So really the leak should be fixed.

[Hoofy]

deadtom said:

Hoofy said:

Well, I'm of the mindset that any time the a/c needs "regassing", the first question to ask is - why is it losing gas? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the whole notion of a company just offering a regas service a waste of space? It's the same as keeping replacing the battery when the alternator's fked and not charging up the battery isn't it?

generally I agree, but I suppose not all leaks are created equal. For example, shed #2, has lacklustre AC. It works, but not ice cold. I guess this means the gas is leaking slowly. If I can re-gas it over year or two and avoid having to pay the several hundreds or more it would cost to repair it correctly, that's probably a worthwhile trade off

Fair point. I guess if it's a shed, it's not worthwhile replacing a part £££ but a regas may be handy for a year for ££.