what do you think?

[vicky]

i have got a gti 16v p reg.  i have had it for about 6 months it was trouble free for 2 months then the cambelt slipped . i have had it  rebuilt but since then every little thing that could go wrong has.someone said to me that once them cars start going wrong they never stop. do you agree? I am hoping that it will be ok, cant afford to keep fixing it but dont wanna sell it its a mint car.

[robster23]

When the cambelt went, it would have put stress on the other parts of the engine attached to it. It is also the winter. Cars go wrong more in the freezing cold when fluids and things to funny stuff!

My car has a few bits going on it to. Old cars do. Have faith though, once a part is replaced you shouldn't really have to change it again in the lifetime of the car unless it's going to run for hundreds of thousands of miles!

You could get another car and have just as many things wrong with it - or more!

Normally it's better the devil you know.

Good luck, and keep your eye out on here, if it's gone wrong on your car, it's happened on someone elses and that can save you money as they often know what caused it!

Rob

[vicky]

cheers, i really dont wanna get rid i searched for months for the right one and this was the best. its a p reg gti 16v 2000, its got air con, sunroof, electric all round, heated wing mirrors i payed £1600 but it has got high mileage at 130,000.

[patch900]

Hi Vicky,

My 8V has 140K on it but its in top nick - I had to have a bit of spraying done on it, a service and the timing belt when I got it.

Other than the ECU temp sensor went so the car had trouble starting.

When this happened I thought Oh god here we go, things are gonna keep going wrong. Got the relay changed and thank god its been OK ever since. 

Just stick with it, get the other problems sorted ASAP. If you have any problems post them on here as the guys on here diagnosed by temp sensor problem before I took it to the garage who told me it was the temp sensor.

If you want an honest opinion just ask your mechanic (if you trust him) what is right and wrong with the car and to give you a list and approx. cost. Thats what I did with mine, so if anything goes you can see what you expect to go wrong and get it sorted if you need to. This way you also know if its worth keeping the car or getting rid of it.

Stick with it

[Len]

130k is nothing for these engines. Mine is just up to that now and have had no major problems.
But then I did have the foresight to change the cambelt just in case!

[vicky]

i dint even think about the cambelt because its got fsh with it and it was suppose to have been done 10,000 miles ago. i will NOT be making that mistake again 

[patch900]

In the log book its says change cam belt but they often dont.

They didnt change mine when they were supposed to (before I bought it), they just checked it and put on the log book checked but not changed !

So it was the first thing I had done.

[garfayliu]

hi vicky, i had a similar prob to you too...

got my 97 P-reg 16v, only done 33k when I got it, cam-belt lost 12 teeth and bent 8 valves at 44k.... luckily con-rods were stright and after the rebuild all was fine, prior to that I had probs with the engine speed sensor.

common probs with the ABF engine are the ignition coil, speed sensor and ecu relay.
other things include, dizzy cap, ignition leads.

my current probs are the osr abs sensor throwing up intermittant faults, but I think it's just dirty.

stick with it, and get someone you trust to work on it, or do what you're already doing and try to find out as much as you can on the forums.

Garfay.

[Len]

Cambelts are a thing with me! I even busted a Renault 21 engine whilst changing a cambelt!
Yep thought the tensioner was tightened, started engine to check all o.k. then tensioner slipped and bent 4 valves! :embarassed:
Yes its true you cant rely on the service book unless you have a receipt for that service that includes a cambelt.