Hello from South Wales

[Nellie]

i know I know, it ALWAYS rains in Wales, what the hell did I buy a convertible for???
When it's not going wrong, although in its defense, the engine is faultless (touches wood) it's a fab little car, but in the three years I've owned it it's not been the cheapest car to run, and given I sold my 15yr old jap 4x4 to get it, it's frustrating!
So far it's needed;
seals
exhaust
clutch
gearbox bearings
arm things on front suspension (twice!)
seatbelt
wiring loom
something to do with the heater
new front bumper, grill & radiator (ok that was my fault when the bmw in front of me stopped and I didnt )

It was a hell of a shock going from a thumping great beast of a car to something so small, especially with a horse, dog and child, but it's not stopping us!!
I've had two triathlon road bikes on the back on a regular basis too

but it does look purdy with the roof down this was the day I bought it and it's never been so clean since (refer to dog/horse/child comment earlier)

[gazza82]

Nellie,

Hope that isn't a Christmas tree yet ... October??? And I'd struggle to get a horse in a CC!

And the pics show different plates, front and back ... ... guess you put the personalise one on.


Suspension parts can fail quickly if they are cheap ... I had a a/r bar drop link fail in two days ... the rubber boot perished and split ... and yes, it was from ebay.

I tend not to buy parts from there now as the quality can be poor. There are a number of internet shops that do good deals and sell quality parts ... I won't advertise, but let me know if you need any suggestions.

You don't say how old or the mileage on yours so it's hard to consider if you list is excessive, but people tend to sell cars for two reasons: one being they need a lot of work and they can't be bothered.

At least you caught the arms in time ... our hatchback collapsed a few weeks back when the ball-joint simply pulled out the arm! Then it had done 101,000 miles on that one!!! Cost us a new driveshaft as well as it ripped the CV joint apart losing the needle bearings ...

... looked sad leaning at the fuel pump in the petrol station too... link to pic ... http://greenserpent.site90.com/images/P ... 0_4088.JPG

Pretty much everything you listed is considered wear and tear ... I guess you mean roof seals? They perish if they dry out too much so perhaps it spent a lot of time with the roof up. Although the loom, heater and seatbelt aren't normal items I admit.

The condition depends a lot on the previous owner and how they drive, and the people looking after it.

My daughter loves hers too. It wasn't in the best of states when we bought it but it's coming back to life. Dad just spends a lot of time under cars ....