WOF Repair Quote Help - '97 Fiat Brava/Bravo

Hi,

Today I took my car (1997 Fiat Brava/Bravo) for a WOF to a new mechanic. I am happy to accept that it is in need of fixing but it has reached a point where I feel like I am being ripped off. Every six months there is something major to fix (>$1000 to repair). Hence why I tried another this time around.

Today I was quoted ~$1000 for the following:

C6 - Exhause Leak centre and rear muffler
C5 - Front discs worn (recommended to get both fixed at once as they are in pairs (!))
R2 - Rear brake imbalance AND leaking wheel cylinder
C3 - RF shock leaking

Is this reasonable or am I being taken for a fool!

TIA

Well the discs and brakes can be fixed at home, as well as the shock if you're game to just replace it. As for the exhaust, unless you know someone with a welder/have one yourself, it'd be easier to swing by a 'pit stop' etc and get them to patch it up.

They're all legitimate fail reasons. If you are going to own a vehicle that old, especially a Fiat, you are going to get big bills to keep it on the road, although I would question the parts prices and where they are coming from. Remember you are asking for this person to approve that this vehicle is compliant. No you do not replace brake discs individually and its not advisable to do shocks individually either, they're done ad pairs.

Yes I would say the prices quoted are about right for these jobs on this vehicle.

I agree that the car is not as common as others being what it is and the age is older but being a student it does not mean I value spending large amounts of money willy-nilly because I 'trust' the mechanic.

But if it costs what is costs then it will get fixed ASAP. Cheers

If it is costing you that much money every time you take it for a wof, ditch the damn thing and buy something more reliable.

front disc worn inspect it what does it look like normally that never fails in this country solong as it brakes even vtnz pass disks till they fly round your ears , midas and pitstop however have a habbit of wanting to machine discs like my mates volvo rear disk years ago new brake pads and disk machining they wanted to charge , all it needed was new pads and on that volvos rear a 10 minute job to push new pads in .
yea the disk where actuarly new when they wanted to machine them.

Now to parts parts are cheap mostly the only expensive item would be the shock. I got new rear shocks on my tipo because it was bouncing like a kangoroo round corners I got them from auto-one that was the cheapest place for the shocks in 2005 First place to call for any fiat parts is euro italian car parts limited north shore auckland . thats the only place to get 99% of all fiat parts geniuan fiat and cheap as rear handbrake cable 25$ waterpump i paid 150$full window winder manual assembly was 56$

http://www.finda.co.nz/business/listing/prd/euro-italian-car-parts-ltd/

if your disk looks like this then it would likely have faild as you be driving with no brake friction material , and people whom do this should not be alowed to operate avehicle.
http://www.simonk695.plus.com/Images/P1020768a.jpg you write its recommended in post 1recommended means its not required, and the speed limmit is 100kph so unless you go faster then that you wontever notice a problem. Problem with worn wraped disk start when you have to slow down from 200kph plus to 0 onlyalso check for the leak the shini piston where it enteres the cilinder would be where its wet= seal broken due to dust and hard work-age
on this forum is a pix of a shock
http://www.clubfiat.net/forum/leisure-lounge/120-project-mod
erate-beasty.html

In that case it would be more sensible to get something that is common on our roads.

How would that help the situation!

Parts for the Brava/Bravo are cheap and easily available. You are likely going to only waste money changing vehicle and inherit even more problems for no real benefit.

The Brava/Bravo is an excellent, reliable vehicle (especially the 1.6 and 1.8 the sorts of things you are replacing above are normal wear and tear items that will go on any 16 year old car.

If you are in any doubt about prices ring the Italian Auto Centre in Auckland who have new and new stuff and will courier anything out overnight. Their prices are quite reasonable.

The great thing about the Brava/Bravo is you basically don't have any rust issues (Galvanised) and the expensive bits (Engine and Transmission) are VERY reliable. So you only tend to end up doing normal sorts of maintenance on them.

The only reason I would consider changing is if your particular example has enormous km's on it and has been trashed. If so, swap to a low km nice example of the same, there are plenty around for nicks.

Yes If you can't do the work yourself then that is the price to pay, Some models and makes inherently seem to always cost when you go for a warrant of fitness, it makes for expensive running, my inlaws had a golf and sure enough every warrant required at least $500 spent on it, they did keep it a long time but not huge km, when they retired they bought a small toyota and have never looked back. But yea each to there own. Those old fiats become worthless very fast.

I think the point to be made here though is that the Brava/Bravo is not one of those cars inherantly known for regular problems. unless its been neglected and abused, as will be the case with any car.

Say you bought the industry favorite "Corolla" of the same year, Toyota don't have any magical pixie dust to prevent exhaust systems, brakes etc wearing out.

The OP will be facing a lot of misinformed opinion (not necessarily yours) about flicking it on just because its not Japanese. Given what else they could buy for the money the Fiat is likely an excellent bet so long as its in reasonable shape. The same money in a Corolla or Nissan would generally buy an absolutely clapped out mega km nightmare.

I should know as I run a Multipla (Mechanically the same) and a Marea (Which is pretty much a Brava/Bravo wagon).

Fantastic cars, and very reliable.

OP's question:
Is this reasonable or am I being taken for a fool!

back to post 1
if all the parts will be done 2 shocks newdisks new pads new brake fluid newrear drum shoes and cilinder and newexhaust muffler . then it would cost easy 1000$ and it be a ok price for all that you want to figure out if its all true or if they just added some things that are not broken , i dont know how mutch mechanical know how of things you got. maybe somonecan recommend you a trusted place to take it to in wellington as that seems where your profile is listed.

Is this new mechanic the local garage or the likes of PitStop or VINZ VTNZ, or some big flash franchise garage!

Question has this new mechanic a brake roller machine or did he just go for a blat down the road to test the brakes!Also impossible to tell you have a leaking wheel cylinder without taking things apart which is not part of the wof check.And before i get jumped on you can only see a damp spot which is probably a leaking cylinder but may not be until you get inside the brake drum to check.As for the exhaust thats a possible but is it repairable or do you need new mufflers etc - that could make a big difference to the costs.

What I find odd is the fact that you have to spend lots of $ every 6 months.Apart from major rust (which you shouldn't have) most wof items are fairly cheap and simple fixes, a tyre here, a bulb there, brake pads etc.What have you had to do each wof!

Or maybe you remove the backing plate inspection plug and have a peep in there.

Did you miss the part where he said its a Fiat!. probably with high mileage you'd hope.

Yea well actually, i'm just using Toyota as an example, there are a couple of things here that could make a difference to maintenance of those two brands, The fiat was never a reps car, probably doing low miliages through-out its lifetime, this has a bearing on longevity of parts, things cold/ metal corrosion/disks /exhaust condensation etc, alot of those jap cars of the same age/miliage are alot better off due to the fact that the km are clocked up much faster/hot km, the bodies look like shit but they just keep on going!.

The mileage is quite high at 150,000 km and I am seriously considering ditching the car. I am happy to repair the car but sometimes I just wonder if it will be worth it. I took my car to a local mechanic in Wellington and apparently they could watch the oil (or fluid!) leak as it was in the garage. I personally don't see it on the road but I'm not a expert/mechanic so I can only trust the advice I am given.

Sell it and buy a pulsar of similar year and spec if you dont want to spend much.The cost you listed above isnt bad at all for all that work imo.Even the biggest lemon of a pulsar would struggle to have that list of stuff every wof.

Hi Jackpotz- How about we make this easy -IN THIS CASElets forget the make/model for a bit and focus on the issues
C6 - Exhause Leak centre and rear muffler
-So as a minimum they will need welding worst case replacing so count on $100-$400 USING OFF THE SHELF PARTS
C5 - Front discs worn (recommended to get both fixed at once as they are in pairs (!))
This is true and you dont replace just the disks you replace the pads at the same time.NORMAL disk prices per pair is around $250 and pads around $60 plus half an hours labour(for the sake of THIS discussion I wont go into issues that mightmean you dont)
I would ask the question "is disk skimming an option!" which will save around $180 if its an option
R2 - Rear brake imbalance AND leaking wheel cylinder.
Part two will MOST LIKELY be the cause of part one of this one. -so the wheel cylinder needs to be replaced then the caliper/disk or drum (depending on the type of system it has) needs to be cleaned so all the brake fluid has been removed. Then the brake pads or shoes need to be replaced because they will be contaminated.At the same time the other side brakes will need to be checked and at the minimum the pads/shoes replaced.(they get soaked in brake fluid so they dont work propperly even after cleaning up)Shoes/pads come in a set -both sides of the car. Id allow $150 for parts and an hours labour.
I must say in all concience--I'd replace the other not leaking side at the same time -usually the second side isn't far behind the first and theres a real economy to be had doing them both whilst that side is still dry.

C3 - RF shock leaking. If its leaking then you have to replace it
Replacement NEW part will cost around $150-$200 plus an hours labour (may be less may be more depending on the setup) and yes you would be silly to just replace one shock.
The good news is that because these issues are in the same part of the car theres decent labour reduction -Ie you have to take the wheels off to take the disks off which gives access to the front shocks. The brakes will need bleeding for the back cylinder which allows for fluud to be replaced in the whole system.
NONE of the issues listed is anything you wouldn't expect from an older car REGARDLESS of make/model and $1000 when you break it down is pretty well what you would pay if it was a corolla/pulsar/lada niva et all
Its bad luck that it all came up at once but keep in mind once fixed -its fixed for a few years.

Jackpotz--THISbit worries me though
I took my car to a local mechanic in Wellington and apparently they could watch the oil (or fluid!) leak as it was in the garage.

If thats brake fluid then STOP DRIVING. -Id use 6 inch high letters if I could--if the fluid is leaking that badly that its dripping out then you are loosing brake fluid ,In combination with the other issues means you WILL stop having the brakes work maybee at the top of a hill -given your emergency brake will then only be effective on ONE wheel due to the leaking cylinder you have a HUGE issue.-Fix the brakes though and the problem is gone
If the leaking "stuff" is oil then yes its an issue but identifying where its leaking and the cost of repair would be something I'd do before embarking on repairs.
You may be at a point where its uneconomical for you to repair the car and rather than spending the money .

Also, nobody has mentioned going to an independant (not dealership) specialist garage for your car. They will have the parts on the shelf, whereas your local garage has to go looking and may well be imposing a "euro tax".

Nah, it's fine. The warrant is only a month old so it's got another 5 before it's unsafe.

the good old kiwi 6 month service! Its a 16 year old car done 150,000 kays. seriosly what did you expect. shop around and get some quotes from other mechanics. brake parts arent expensive at all. the shocks Might be. i just got new discs for my little jappa and they were only 35 bucks each NEW, and huge vented ones for my people mover were 85 each so i cant imagine little fiat ones costing 250.

when i service my cars oil i always do something else on the car such as replace a thermostat or plugs or bleed the brakes etc that way you see the impending service jobs