Timing Chain broke - Engine bust - What options do i have

Shop around and don’t be pressured into buying a car off them. Probably not worth fixing the car tho

I don’t know the exact price of these engines, but its going to be around €700 to €1000 I’d say. Plus another €500 or so labour if its a straightforward job. So your talking €1200 to €1500 for an engine that might be knackered.

I think you’d be better off just buying another car and have the chance to test drive it and ensure the engine is sound? Even if it costs a few hundred more.

Don't end your insurance at all.

You can tell them you are off the road for a month or whatever but no real point. Just let it runnas long as you have the car in your name.

is yours the diesel model though ? petrol swifts may be different

Yes the diagnosis seems correct. What you can do is ask them and several other potential repairers to give an estimate of the cost of repair based on fitting a complete timing chain kit and 16 rockers. If the car is in really good condition and was driving fine prior to the failure, then there might be a case for repairing it. On the other hand and if it's a high miler or has other issues then obviously the strengthens the case for scrapping it or selling it for parts or repair. That latter option might get you a few more quid than dumping car in a scrap yard

As a matter of interest was the chain ever replaced , I think it's 100,000?

If this car were running perfectly it would have a value of about €1200. For parts/scrap a 2009, 280k km 1.3 diesel Suzuki Swift ... (not a very common car with very big mileage).. I wouldn't be hoping for anything more than €200-€300 in a private sale ... and I'm coming to that number, assuming it has good tyres, battery, wiper blades etc. Things that can immediately be swapped onto another similar car. Any other parts will be worthless to a private buyer.

Scrap yards only buy cars that they can readily sell the parts from. This is probably NOT one of those.

One other thing to note is that a car deteriorates quickly if left parked outside in an Irish winter and after 6 months its not worth the towing fee.

Even though there's only about 7 weeks left on your insurance, I would not it 'keep rolling'. If you do, you are effectively paying for insurance that you do not need - your car is off the public road and immobile. Get the cert and disc, post or hand deliver them to your insurance company, tell them the car is off the road with a major fault and you want the policy suspended while you decide if you're going to get it repaired or buy a new car.

You will not lose your NCB, you would need to be off the books for two years with no policy for that to happen.

Terrible idea. What kind of refund do you think OP will receive for cancelling 7 weeks shy of 1 year. I would say its very close to zero. And then they miss out on adding another years NCB to their name?

No refund, he is not cancelling the policy, he is getting it suspended. What he can do is ask them to extend the expiration date of the policy by the duration of the suspension. Once he reactivates the policy, they'll have to issue him with a new cert and disc anyway. So he wouldn't lose anything.

If planning to scrap it check this site out as got more money off them for a 2000 car.

https://scrapmycar.ie

They're based in Ballyboughal in north Co. Dublin and are listed on the Fingal co co website as an authorised treatment facility (ATF) - that's the official term for an operation which can issue a certificate of destruction.

It's the second of three ATFs listed here….

https://www.fingal.ie/council/service/end-life-vehicles-elv-authorisations

As a matter of interest what did you sell to that scrap yard and what did they give you for it? (just soo as OP has realistic expectations)

OP asked …

unless there a central database of scrapped cars in Ireland that insurance companies have access to? and I get penalized for not informing them of car is off the road and scrapped?

If your car is off the road and you haven't informed your insurance, it's no big deal. It's actually to their benefit that you can't drive it. Because you're not going to have any accidents and the clock is still running on the policy. Win/Win for them.

However: your 'driving other cars' cover may have as a condition that your own car is roadworthy and not laid up for want of a major repair. Bear that in mind if you're thinking of borrowing a car from a friend. Their car's own policy will need to cover you, probably via open driving. As always, check your policy document.

Thanks for reply. Thats a pretty good price for a non runner/NCT failure

I wasn't far off 😂

You're in bangernomics territory here, the engine is gone, the car is scrap now. No half decent mechanic will do an engine swap on this car. Its not worth it because any engine swap has a huge risk of the customer coming back later giving them grief, and when you're getting a used engine from a different scrapped car you have no idea if that engine is sound until all the work is done.

Its a massive pain, but time to get a new used car. I'm sure some boardsie can recommend a similar vehicle for about the same price as a potential engine swap

All it takes is one bad NCT for it to become an economical right off again. It won’t last another 20 years just because you spent more than the car is worth on an engine rebuild

Was it the diesel model ? those Renault Diesel engines are usually bulletproof.

"Anything could happen to it in the years to come"

Sure but better the Devil you know……….

There's a chap there on another thread here with a 2017 Nissan Pulsar 3 and the CVT is possibly on the way out, he has it only 3 months. Paid 12K 70,000 odd kms.

He stands to loose a lot more so just getting a more expensive more modern car isn't always going to save money.

I would never buy a car with CVT transmission again anyway, sure, Toyota/Lexus hybrids are very reliable but I wouldn't touch a CVT from another manufacturer.