LOOK AT ALL THE MONEY I'VE SAVED DEAR!!

paranoid · Unread post by **paranoid** » 27 Feb 2004, 15:31

Being a sado with not a lot to do on my day off I decided to work out how much this forum has helped me save money since four months ago I bought the xant 1.9td with advice and tips etc etc........lots of phoning cit dealers etc, the results are amazing!!!
full service, all the spheres, lhm change all parts from GSF Total £168
No labour as I DIY [:D][:D]
Price of same parts from Cit dealer...........£397
Total cost if you took it to dealer (parts and labour) and I phoned 3 dealers to check.......Wait for it....[:0]......£1478
I even got a pat on the back of the wife when I showed her!
Got quoted £420 for a cambelt change (without tensioners) Think I will stick to my trusted Specialist for that £150 pound all in..(don't do cambelts anymore due to a very painful bottom pulley+socket+concrete floor=smashed hand scenario I litterally feel sick when I take the covers off!!!
THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE OFFERED ADVICE AND INFORMATION
I'm of to GSF to buy a box of filters!!!!!!![:D]

ralph · Unread post by **ralph** » 27 Feb 2004, 15:38

amen to that!
I don't know how non-DIY-ers do it.
Just count the amount of people driving around with one headlamp at the moment, waiting for the next service to get a bulb changed.
My 205 used to cost me about £500 every MoT before I started to service it myself and stopped getting an independent to go to the MoT station for me.
Last MoT? 50 pence for a bulb.

paranoid · Unread post by **paranoid** » 27 Feb 2004, 16:02

I would not be able to run a car if I didn't do own repairs....
brother in law has just had full servive at Cit dealer consisting of oil air and fuel filter, front brakes checked took them 1 hour at most total cost £425
Did exactly the same to my xant (same engine 1.9td) prices as follows
oil £9.50
air filter £3.50
oil filter £2.50
fuel filter £3.50 All genuine parts from GSF
Full service = £20 Sure does give you nice feeling its been done properly as well...[:D]

davek-uk · Unread post by **davek-uk** » 27 Feb 2004, 16:09

I've been a DIYer for many years now mainly due to not being able to afford garage rates; however, at least I know the job is done, painfully, uncomfortably but most definately done.
My friend took his Xantia TD in for a simple 6k mile oil change service and was charged £150-odd. Now he could have done that for £20 had he the guts to DIY. How he can afford to keep paying dealer prices for a Xantia I'll never know.
I have to agree that this forum is excellent. I have read it since I found it last year while I was deciding if I could take on a green-blooded monster or not. With such supurb technical advice, so freely given, the average DIYer stands a good chance of survival. As my own knowledge progresses I hope I am able to offer some good advice too. Until then I'll read more than I write!

Unread post by **RichardW** » 27 Feb 2004, 16:35

Yep, can't understand how folks afford main dealers! I priced up a new rad on mine at Citroen - no change from £500. Clutch cable clip - "about" 3 hours at £36 + Vat (mind you half way through I was starting to think this might have been worth it!). New discs and pads cost me about £40 - maybe £250 at the stealers. New drop links £40 - bet that would have been another £200. Cambelt - £20, another £200. Blimey, I've saved nearly enough to pay for an HDi, but I still can't afford it. Hmm. My Dad bought a Xsara HDi new in 2002 - its first annual service came to £125 - including £25 for the pollen filter. He was not impressed!! Wonder how much this year's will be ("new brake fluid and coolant required, Sir. That'll be £500 please.")???
I'm so glad I know one end of spanner from the other - the end with the rubber on it is the handle, and the end that's heavy with flat face on it is the business end. Isn't it??

tomsheppard · Unread post by **tomsheppard** » 27 Feb 2004, 17:32

It is the ripoff dealer prices that cause viable cars to go to the scrapyard. I was badgered by a (non Citroen dealer) to replace a three year old car with a rather aggressive "Why haven't you bought a new one yet".
Firstly I hadn't worn out the first one and secondly, their "warranty" had been extended to three years- provided I had it expensively vandalised according to their schedule! No chance!

paranoid · Unread post by **paranoid** » 27 Feb 2004, 17:50

Good example..............
Workmate can pull anything electrical apart without a care in the world, builds pc's as a hobby , will happily knock down walls etc.
But phones me when doing his oil change on a Escrot[:)] because the filter is a different colour to the one that came off!!!.......Not his first time either, Still shouldnt mock, my hall still isn't decorated after starting 18 months ago.........Hey thats an idea anybody want to do my decorating in exchange for a full service (only kidding)[:)]

TomH · Unread post by **TomH** » 27 Feb 2004, 17:56

I wish I knew DIY... I'm a complete novice, but don't really know where to start! (using this forum is a bit of an education, but not always as basic as I need!) where do you learn?

batwad · Unread post by **batwad** » 27 Feb 2004, 18:29

I love DIY. It's such a nice, satisfying feeling when you complete a job, safe in the knowledge that it's been done well and you haven't been ripped off. Call me weird, but I almost look forward to servicing my car

I'll attempt most things myself, but since buying my 306 TD in September (my first car) it's been to the garage to have a driveshaft replaced (first thing that was done, didn't fancy fiddling around with the drivetrain as a first job), lower wishbone replaced (again, a touch beyond me at the moment), timing belt changed (didn't want to risk bodging it) and glowplugs. I would have done the plugs myself, but I didn't fancy arsing around with the awkwardly positioned ones on a cold Sunday afternoon especially as I wasn't even sure they were at fault (turned out one of them was black as the night). You can relax though - I supplied the plugs myself, bought from none other than...GSF!
I'm quite pleased with the adventures I've had so far: radiator and fan out and fixed, new rear shoes, a few electrical bits, rear bearing replacement. Actually, that bearing was a swine. "Drive the bearing from the hub" my arse; "Smack repeatedly with a 5lb lump hammer for half an hour" more like!
It's nearly time for another service, I think I'll renew the brake fluid and check the gear oil too. Does PAS fluid need changing?
As for dealer services, I know people at work who will always take their car to the dealer so they can maintain the full dealer service history. Do you think this makes much of a difference to the price of your car? One guy told me that he won't buy a car without a dealer history, as he doesn't trust the DIYers. Fool

tomsheppard · Unread post by **tomsheppard** » 27 Feb 2004, 18:33

Poverty is the best master then you learn how to do it by doing it. Changing your own oil and filters is easy. The cost of the manual and tools will be saved many times over the first time you do it. Brake pads are the next thing to tackle; work safe and expect to take time. If you have a digicam, photograph everything as you take it to pieces. Take notes and keep the manual in a large clear plastic bag while you are using it. Use a barrier cream on your hands and you'll be fine. Just remember that if it goes wrong, the situation is always recoverable. It may take time or money but don't let it put you off.

ActivaV6uk · Unread post by **ActivaV6uk** » 27 Feb 2004, 19:02

TomH i learnt a lot form forums and books before i started DIYing I've found that when i dont get something just ask! ive started some very long threads on the old BX Q&A forum (i was AMC on there) and a lot of people were wondering the same as me. so when your not sure, ASK

Andy

KevMayer · Unread post by **KevMayer** » 27 Feb 2004, 20:44

This forum has given me lots of confidence in my Citroen Xantia. The very interesting posts and the detailed responses are a real joy to go through.
I have now started looking at second hand XM diesels on FISH4 and Autotrader etc. I know they're more complicated but I think I could cope. I realy fancy a 2.5 TurboD Exclusive Hatch on around a P/R plate (if the 2.5 was out then ?).
Do you think I'd enjoy a move to an XM ?

NickB · Unread post by **NickB** » 28 Feb 2004, 20:38

Best thing about DIY is not having to have huge arguements with yourself when youve done it wrong!

rg · Unread post by rg » 28 Feb 2004, 21:07

Kev,
It sounds like your're hooked...
XMs are not as scary as folks make out. Just buy well, that's all.
I snapped up one of the last '97R 2.5 Estates with FSH (indie). They are not a Toyota Carina so you have to treat them as "car as a relationship" rather than "white goods". But what you put in in terms of effort and grief, you certainly get back.
rg

Unread post by **alan s** » 29 Feb 2004, 03:44

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by TomH</i>

I wish I knew DIY... I'm a complete novice, but don't really know where to start! (using this forum is a bit of an education, but not always as basic as I need!) where do you learn?

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Tom,
Quickest way to learn DIY is to move out here to Australia where often they can't even spell the name ("Now, let me see; S. I. T. R. U. N....that's right innit??") but still feel justified in charging $110 an hour to work on them.
A few years back I even had a guy at a garage (with knowledgeable expression on the face) ask me if Nissan made them, quickly followed by "well, at least I knew they were Japanese!!" and he was serious.
I think these days with the advent of digital cameras, a good starting point before you pull anything down is simply take a photo for reference when reassembling if necessary or at least take notes.
Almost anything you can pull apart will simply reassemble using basic logic (ie) Don't try to put a square peg in a round hole style of thing.[:D]
As has been said; if in doubt, ask.
If it is a fairly common car problem (not necessarily just Citroen) say, a seized or rusted on bolt or threaded part, then compare the cost of whatever tools are required to do it to the cost to pay some gorilla to break it off for you & then charge to fix his mess. In other words, a decent gas blowtorch can be substantially less than his labour costs & you have the tools for future use; after all, how many people take their car to a garage to get a job done that is quite basic and cop a bill for say $200 when they could have spent $50 on the correct tool & done it themselves in a couple of hours? A typical example was that I recently bought a 6 ton hydraulic press for $108. Over the years I have used drifts to belt things like bearings from housings or adapted big bolts with spacers & washers & used a big spanner on the nut to get the same effect. Had some tight fitting bushes to replace & within a space of a week, it had paid for itself; I had been quoted hundreds of $$$$s and loss of use of the car for an undetermined length of time, to do what I did myself in my own good time; job finished, no labour charge & I now have a press for future jobs I can say cost me nothing!
In the past few years there have been a lot of owners like yourself used the internet to break the cycle of big repair bills (often unjustifiably high) and taken the plunge on DIY. It is sometimes a bit bemusing having been involved with it for as long as I have & being associted with guys like Anders, Gabor & the like via the net to see someone who initially was often like yourself a couple of years ago now confidently advising others and basing this advice on their own experiences.
There are those who can see no future in doing DIY who by nature don't like to get involved in trying to solve mechanical problems but have talents in other fields that they prefer to pursue and rightfully so because it usually transpires that it is simply not practical to try to redesign their thinking process from things theoretical to things practical, whilst there's others who feel they know the lot & feel more justified in trying to magnify small flaws in others diagnosis' than offering intial help themselves, but they thankfully are in the minority and don't visit this site much if at all.
Start with something simple & small & let your confidence grow from there.
Alan S