Went for a full service today- and could someone translate this in kind of easy words- can't remember what they all mean:

N/s/r Both front wishbone leaking- quote £88.13 to do
N/s/f CV boot split £52.55 to do
o/s/r bump stop split- not urgent
All 3 rear brake pipes pitting
Rear axle bushes starting to crack

Are these all very important?? I'm struggling a bit @ the mo so couldn't afford to fix them straightaway!

Best I can do for you Sony is:-

N/s/r Both front wishbone leaking- quote £88.13 to do
HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE!!

N/s/f CV boot split £52.55 to do
NEAR SIDE FRONT CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT BOOT SPLIT. (This is the rubber bell shaped thing that protects, and holds the grease, where the drive goes into the front (left) wheel.) Get this seen to!!

o/s/r bump stop split- not urgent
OFF SIDE REAR BUMP STOP (is the lump of rubber attached above your rear suspension (right) which cushions the shock if your suspension bounces up too high)

All 3 rear brake pipes pitting
(Brake pipes at rear showing signs of corrosion) Get this seen to!!

Rear axle bushes starting to crack
Not sure about this one (?) Possible rubber collars which snuggly hold the rear axle whilst allowing it to flex.

Not too helpful I'm afraid.

Originally posted by saxon51
Best I can do for you Sony is:-

N/s/r Both front wishbone leaking- quote £88.13 to do
HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE!!

N/s/f CV boot split £52.55 to do
NEAR SIDE FRONT CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT BOOT SPLIT. (This is the rubber bell shaped thing that protects, and holds the grease, where the drive goes into the front (left) wheel.) Get this seen to!!

o/s/r bump stop split- not urgent
OFF SIDE REAR BUMP STOP (is the lump of rubber attached above your rear suspension (right) which cushions the shock if your suspension bounces up too high)

All 3 rear brake pipes pitting
(Brake pipes at rear showing signs of corrosion) Get this seen to!!

Rear axle bushes starting to crack
Not sure about this one (?) Possible rubber collars which snuggly hold the rear axle whilst allowing it to flex.

Not too helpful I'm afraid.

Many thanks Saxon anyway! Anyone else in tne know?

To clarify things Near side and Off side relate to standing at the passenger side - or on the pavement. N/S is passenger side O/S is drivers side.
As for a wishbone leaking??? the wishbone is a steel peice that has little rubber inserts. How can that leak? A common fault is the rubbers- or bushes- do wear out and generally it's easier and cheaper to buy a new complete wishbone. Other than that it was explained perfectly before. What car is this for?

its a vw golf, 1996 N reg, its my boyfriend's

the leaking cv joint is something that will cause more damage and cost more if you leave it, and having your rear brakes fail would be a bad idea.

where was the service done, you could always take it somewhere else and ask them for a 2nd opinion (not get another service done, they should take a look for free).
All the items except for the brake pipes are suspension related and if not fixed will give you a bouncier ride with clunking and knocking noises.

I can't speak for VW parts, but CV boots are quite cheap. It's probably the labour that's making it seem so expensive.

The jobs aren't too difficult - just time consuming - any competent freelance mechanic would be able to do them.

Originally posted by Sony
Went for a full service today- and could someone translate this in kind of easy words- can't remember what they all mean:

N/s/r Both front wishbone leaking- quote £88.13 to do
N/s/f CV boot split £52.55 to do
o/s/r bump stop split- not urgent
All 3 rear brake pipes pitting
Rear axle bushes starting to crack

Are these all very important?? I'm struggling a bit @ the mo so couldn't afford to fix them straightaway!


I don't see how a wishbone can leak it is a lump of metal?

CV boot is simple enough, don't know if it is the same for VW but Maestros you can buy a split boot kit which saves time (time=money at the garage). It is just a rubber boot that holds grease in.

I'd sort those brake pipes out, they are cheap enough to do and would put that as your number one priority.

Going to the garage on Tuesday.Cost about £250 to fix all.
Good deal?

no sony take it to l.c motors i have just had my back breaks done for £20 on my omega i bought the pads my self and he fitted them whilst i waited he is on grange lane just over the little brige contact tel 0114/2453505 dont go paying silly prices he is the tops .hope this helps :thumbsup:

Originally posted by Sony
Went for a full service today- and could someone translate this in kind of easy words- can't remember what they all mean:

N/s/r Both front wishbone leaking- quote £88.13 to do
N/s/f CV boot split £52.55 to do
o/s/r bump stop split- not urgent
All 3 rear brake pipes pitting
Rear axle bushes starting to crack

Are these all very important?? I'm struggling a bit @ the mo so couldn't afford to fix them straightaway!

scrap it mate,sounds like your gonna just keep chuking money at it.

Originally posted by kirky
scrap it mate,sounds like your gonna just keep chuking money at it.

it's worth £1500 and you'd scrap it rather than do £250 repairs?

Worst case, px it for something newer, let the garage that takes it do the repairs (don't tell them in advance).

I've more or less just bought it and love it! Surely once I'll have sepnt £250 it'll be ok??? I mean its definately worth keeping isn't it?
There's nothing majorly wrong with it!

sometimes cars get to a stage where you feel like your constantly spending money on them just to keep them on the road.
you can never tell though in advance (or i can't) whether somethings a one of cost or it's the start of a long list of stuff.

keep it. I had a 18 year old polo that had similar problems to yours for £250 I had everything done and it was fine for the next year and a half... eventually had to get rid (to the scrappers, as no-one wants an old car anymore!) due to it not having the power on the motorways, or the brakes to match modern cars which is scary on a motorway, when people cut you up!

It was a much cheaper car then the £160 repayments I have for the next three years on my brand new one!

Well quite a few people told me that the above list is what GILDERS found, and they deal with newish cars all the time and obviously are very picky. So for a 10 year old car I thought it wasn't too bad!

All the faults you mentioned are fair wear and tear. (although 'leaking wishbone' is a new one on most of us!!)

Brake pipes corrode on every car eventually, CV joint gaiters, bump stops and bushes all dry up and crack with age.

Spend the £250 as Cyclone says, that way you'll know you've got a car with THESE parts in good nick.

Don't delay on the brake pipe and CV joint gaiters though. If grit gets in the cogs, and the grease runs out, you could end up with a seized-up front wheel which will cost dearly.

Originally posted by Evei
keep it. I had a 18 year old polo that had similar problems to yours for £250 I had everything done and it was fine for the next year and a half... eventually had to get rid (to the scrappers, as no-one wants an old car anymore!) due to it not having the power on the motorways, or the brakes to match modern cars which is scary on a motorway, when people cut you up!

It was a much cheaper car then the £160 repayments I have for the next three years on my brand new one!

Thank you!! Its a good car I'm sure and I;m sure it'll be fine

Originally posted by saxon51
All the faults you mentioned are fair wear and tear. (although 'leaking wishbone' is a new one on most of us!!)

Brake pipes corrode on every car eventually, CV joint gaiters, bump stops and bushes all dry up and crack with age.

Spend the £250 as Cyclone says, that way you'll know you've got a car with THESE parts in good nick.

Don't delay on the brake pipe and CV joint gaiters though. If grit gets in the cogs, and the grease runs out, you could end up with a seized-up front wheel which will cost dearly.

Will do. Is it that urgent that I shouldn't risk driving it before it gets fixed tuesday?

Originally posted by Sony
Will do. Is it that urgent that I shouldn't risk driving it before it gets fixed tuesday?

no, it'll be okay for that long, just don't run it for months before getting it sorted.

ps - take it to nationwide autocentre or an independant for it's next service, it will cost much less and won't have any effect on the resale value at 10 years old (or nearly).

Thanks for the advice folks:thumbsup:

BTW it was wishbone split! not leaking!!!!

Ah I would set that as high priority for getting fixed...

Please excuse my ignorance, what is a wishbone?

Hope this helps on the whole suspension thing

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-suspension7.htm

Worn bushes are okay, you can cope with a bit of roll. BUt if the wishbone is cracked I would get it replaced.

I imagine the mech is refering to the suspension system as a whole when he mentions the wishbone.
When i went to australia i bought a car with a worn cv i bought a new part and the boot tool to do it, 11,000 miles later i sold it with the new part in the glove box!

My opinion is this- get it MOT'd- cheap one £20. If the cv and stuff is causing problems it will show up as a fault, i take it that its not thumping yet.

Remember worn is anything not brand new, so as to if these jobs need doing it's up to you. Are there actually any problems you can hear/ feel. If it's got full MOT you have a safe car and only need a tuneing service ......... and i'd do that for £30