Multiple problems with my Charade - Any helpful advice welcome :)

Submitted by Anonymous User (not verified) on

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I have a Charade EL 2003 and I have just started to run into a few problems with it. It only had one previous owner (a little old lady) and 13000 miles on the clock when i got it 2 years ago! Needless to say it has served me very well ( now 29000 on the clock ) and i absolutely love it!
The problem I have is that a few things are going wrong and I think it might be more costly to fix than what its worth! If anyone can give me any ideas on what to do or what my best options would be, I would be extremely grateful.

The problems are as follows: Outer CV joint on its way out so I believe I need a new drive shaft with that?
Excessive play in rear bushes
small blow in the exhaust
window seal (drivers side) has started to rise up and split
my engine management light is on but i think it might be a temperature sensor as the temperature light only comes on sometimes, even when its freezing?

I can't really sell the car as is and get a fair amount for it, but i need the money from the sale to buy another car, it's not worth scrapping as its light as a feather! plus, as I said i love the car, if it wasnt so damned expensive to fix i would!

I would very much appreciate any advice or ideas on the matter!

thanyou

They are only expensive to

Submitted by Pocketrocket on

They are only expensive to fix if you use the main dealers. For most parts you don't need to.

Exhaust systems are availble in the aftermarket as well.

The window seal would have to be a genuine Daihatsu item only, Or source a second hand one.

Don't scrap it

Submitted by edlithgow on

These sound like routine maintenance items to me.

I think most people's view on this question, which everyone faces sometime, is too narrow and short term. They think "Repairs cost more than the book value" and scrap it, but the newer car they replace it with is likely to be more expensive to fix, because its designed to be, and so it goes.

Bad for the environment, and bad for the owners bank balance. Good for new car sales.

The scandalous British Govt scrappage subsidy aggravates the situation, because its designed to.

My ancient Charade clone has negligable book value, but it is pre-cat, non-electronic, and relatively simple. Those characteristics are worth money to me, so I'm prepared to spend money to keep it going.

Of course that's made easier by Taiwan's equivalent of the MOT, which, although its twice a year, is somewhat less...er...anal than the UK's

PS : I've had some success sealing leaking (not lifting) window rubbers using sunflower oil.