Car issues - advice needed

My car went in for an MOT today and failed on the emissions test (CO, HC and Lambada) and a major leak of exhaust gases (centre). My local garage is only a tyre, exhaust and MOT centre and said I will need to take the car to a garage that does work on engines. I therefore, took it to another nearby garage and they said they won't know what it is until they start doing some work on it, cleaning and replacing filters for a start, but it could be a sensor or I may even need a new Catalytic Convertor. I know absolutely nothing about cars and was wondering if it is right that a garage can't give me a cost for repairs and will just replace and clean things until it is repaired? My thoughts are ££££££££££ + labour + vat and I won't know how much until it has been repaired.

 

Unfortunately, whilst cars have become more reliable, they've also become more sophisticated/expensive to fix. John's advice is good, depending on how old it is, it might be time to send it on it's way. Firstly though, see what they say following the diagnostic, and if they are convinced they know what it is, make a judgment then.

 

The car is a 2004 Peugeot 206cc. It's only used for local driving, to/from work etc.

I did say to my garage that surely any problems would be picked up by the diagnostic and he said no not all of the time.

My worry is going to a garage I don't know and being a woman who knows nothing about cars.

Also, if the cost of repairs is going to be excessive, probably now is the right time to replace it, but I won't know what that cost will be until it's been repaired, at which point it will be too late.

The car is booked in at the garage this morning, I will know more later

Thank you both for your advice.

 

I am also worried as I recently bought my daughters Mini Cooper, it's in great condition, new tyres, serviced every year, my concerns centre around my garage is 5 mins walk away, I can see it, when my previous car died and was towed home, the man, pointed out 3, yes 3, dangerously bald tyres, having been MOTed a month previously, and only used locally, that cannot have happened in the time from MOT, I want my garage to tell me if something needs doing, safety wise, not turn a blind eye, I also don't want to be told something needs doing that's expensive and not neccessary.

 

If it had 3 bald tyres it shouldn't have passed the MOT, if they not doing the job properly then they need to be reported, IMHO

Also the driver is responsible to make sure there vehicle is safe to go out on to the roads

 

3 bald tyres should be reported easily at an MOT . In fact they should warn you when the tyre is getting close to the wear bands . This MOT unit is incompetent or sloppy and should be reported. Then again probably impossible to prove now...........so don't use them and advise others to avoid them.

 

I doubt that it will be the catalytic converter - my Peugeot is 14 years old and still on the same cat converter (it did need welding up last year - i was told they are around £300 to buy). Town driving all the time is not 'good' for an engine - it needs a regular blast down the motorway to stop things getting clogged up. I've heard that a fuel additive (Redex or such like) followed by a good blast will sometimes 'un clog' the engine bits so that it passes the mot emission test.

I've purchased the diagnostic equipment for my car (car maintenance is a bit of a hobby). From my experience even with a diagnostic, it does not always point to the exact cause.

If you have any time left on the old mot - I'd try the engine system cleaner and blast down the motorway approach first, then replace the filters (which should be quite inexpensive). If no luck then - its time to think about trading it in. A simple thing like a hole in the exhaust (as you mention) can upset emission levels.

 

Entirely agree with you. I'd rather the MOT tester was over critical. Fake MOT's can be killers.

 

My Peugeot ran better without the Mass Air Flow meter - but I dread to think what the fuel consumption was like. MAF's are about £30. So again a cheap fix. I'd be interested to know how you get on kazzawazza - please keep us up to date with developments.

 

Kazz , why not take it to Pamsdish's MOT garage , its bound to pass !

 

Oh the lovely Peugeot reliability.
It's done now, but for future reference, if it's the petrol version, before the mot you should always warm it up for a good half an hour, then give it a quick thrash to clean things out.
They have a small engine and a relatively large cat which cools off relatively quickly. So they really do need a good warm-up before the emissions test.
Two Peugeots four mot failures, and four passes, all with zero work done to them.
It's just an odd trait of the Peugeots.
Remember it for next year's mot though!

 

From experience you can clean the MAP and MAF with electrical cleaner, be careful, they are fragile ish. But that helps massivly