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[Amigo]

I joined up here about 4 1/2 years ago a week after buying my green 2.5 CD which is still going now. In sept 08 i bought the Beastie from Hotel 21.  I knew Migs needed semi synthetic oil from cabbing early 2.0 models in Sussex 12 or 13 years ago but that was it. Joining here taught me cambelt change intervals, pink antifreeze/coolant etc.

   Our Migs are loved & pampered but i wonder how many were bought as a big car was needed & are running about on the wrong fluids & way over due cambelts by owners who view them as just a car & how long would they last not being looked after properly?

[Shimmy]

Same story for the vast majority of cars, the exception being certain cars that cater for the enthusiast.

[Webby the Bear]

yep agree with that shimmy.

bird at work had a ''coolant level'' warning come up on her corsa. she didnt know where it went and had never topped the coolant/antifreeze or oil.

poor car 

[scimmy_man]

One lady owner?

[middy]

A woman asked me for help choosing oil for her car at a garage in Hull, so i helped her out. 5 mins later she had the bonnet up staring at the engine wondering what next, so I obliged. During the ensuing conversation she reveal that the oil light had come on just after she had left home. Hesitatingly, after mentally checking her accent was indeed Scottish, I asked where she was from. LOCKERBIE she smiled 

[tidla]

x reg facelift cdx in the scrappy the other day.not on the stack yet so the damage to the exterior and dirtiness of the interior was how it came in.(less a centre console now)

[TheBoy]

A woman asked me for help choosing oil for her car at a garage in Hull, so i helped her out. 5 mins later she had the bonnet up staring at the engine wondering what next, so I obliged. During the ensuing conversation she reveal that the oil light had come on just after she had left home. Hesitatingly, after mentally checking her accent was indeed Scottish, I asked where she was from. LOCKERBIE she smiled 

I had an aunt who lived there....  ....not heard from her for 20yrs or so....

[ffcgary1]

My late brother in law had a montego  2.0ltr vandan plas, he owned it for 10 years. he phoned me one day to say thsat it would start but stall almost straight away. On inspection, there was no oil in it and almost pure water in the cooling system. The breather system was blocked solid with black crud and the oil filler cap was stuck fast.I removed the sump pan and found 3 inches of sludge thats all.
 I managed to clean the sump and oil pick up and replaced all the breather pipes with new items and replaced the breather non return valve. the car started and idled rough for a few mins then settled down to a nice speed and sounded rather nice considering the abuse.
It ran for another 2 years befor he scrapped it due to rust on the chassis.. GOD KNOWS HOW!!!!!!!

[david036]

A friend of mine had a brand new KA, and after a coupele of years started to slate the poor car, saying its gone noisey, poor mpg, now power etc......
Turns out, they had never opened the bonnet, it had never been for a service!! no wonder the KA was running rough!!  When I asked about when it was serviced last..The answer was it a new car, they shouldn't need touching!!!!

[albitz]

A mate of mine has an 03 Punto and when is asked him about his servicing schedule the reply was similar. He last had it serviced when it was a year old. This was two years ago so it hadnt had a service in 6 years. Had to almost scoop the oil out (there wasnt much of it ) It now has 6 monthly changes with the mandatory VX10/40 semi. He says he cant believe how much better it runs. I cant believe it was running at all.
Next mission - to talk him into letting me change the cambelt - its done 133,000 and its never been changed.
Ebay is full of Omegas which havent been looked after - Ive just bought one as a project - often in need of an oil cooler,often misdiagnosed as head gasket.All for the want of 5 litres of decent coolant every other year.

[V6 CDX-er]

I'd say that a good 70% of the cars on the road are neglected, either in terms of service, (or rather the lack of it), or how they are driven, (ie, thrashed from cold).

When I bought my Omega the previous owner had three different size tyres on it, the coolant was like water and the oil like tar. Pretty much everything has needed sorting.


Years back I had a 1.7 Ford Puma. Because of the nikosil bore liners these needed regular oil changes and a close eye keeping on the oil level.

I opened up the bonnet and couldn't immediently see the dipstick. I asked the seller where the dipstick was, but he didn't know. In two years and 30'000 miles he had never had it serviced or even checked the oil. And this was on a three year old car! Needless to say, when I did find the dipstick it was bone dry.


I walked away from that one.

[Lazydocker]

I'd say that a good 70% of the cars on the road are neglected, either in terms of service, (or rather the lack of it), or how they are driven, (ie, thrashed from cold).

Which is why the MOT, variable in quality as it is, is an essential Annual annoyance... For a great many people it's the only time the vehicle is checked over at all

[henryd]

I'd say that a good 70% of the cars on the road are neglected, either in terms of service, (or rather the lack of it), or how they are driven, (ie, thrashed from cold).

Which is why the MOT, variable in quality as it is, is an essential Annual annoyance... For a great many people it's the only time the vehicle is checked over at all

I agree,if the test becomes 2 yearly I reckon it will be a disaster with a lot of very dangerous cars out there

[Kevin Wood]

I agree,if the test becomes 2 yearly I reckon it will be a disaster with a lot of very dangerous cars out there

.. or the standards will tighten accordingly, so you won't be able to get away with more than 50% wear on tyres, brake friction materials, etc.

When I was a kid I remember every driver checked their own tyre pressures, checked, even changed oil, adjusted tappets and points, etc. basic stuff needed to keep a car working.

Cars in those days broke down if they got total neglect. Only a matter of time until the points closed up and it stopped. It's a shame modern cars aren't the same, IMHO. :-/

Kevin

[TheBoy]

I agree,if the test becomes 2 yearly I reckon it will be a disaster with a lot of very dangerous cars out there

.. or the standards will tighten accordingly, so you won't be able to get away with more than 50% wear on tyres, brake friction materials, etc.

My MOT tester is strict enough!!