Vitara advice

Just found this forum and signed up in the hope of getting some advice. I'm female, a single mum and don't have a clue about mechanics etc, and there's not anyone in real life I can ask, so rely totally on my mechanic - who I'll come to later. Apologies for this being so long!

I've got a '97 Grand Vitara (see pics attached) 92,000 miles on the clock, previously owned by my niece's boyfriend. I was broke, needed a cheap runaround and he was selling so I bought it off him five years ago for £750 with 75,000 miles. First four years I had it, it sailed through the MOT needing NOTHING doing - just the £50 fee. In wealthier days, I've had posher cars, more expensive cars but never had a motor that's done that. It's got the big wide wheels and last year I needed two replacement tyres and ended up buying four alloys and tyres off ebay - not the ones in the pic, they are the old ones which I still have in the shed) and when it came to MOT time it needed some welding doing underneath (not sure what) and the bill for welding and MOT came to £250, so I was pretty happy with that after 5 years of it hardly costing me anything!

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed the car felt sluggish and very juddery when it was idling/in low gear. I was waiting at the station with the engine running to pick my son up and noticed the gear stick was vibrating, so I got out of the car, walked around to the back and the spare wheel was wobbling about like hell. On the short (less than a mile) run back to the house I noticed a lack of power on the dual carriageway and couldn't get it to go above 40. Obviously knew something was wrong, so rang my mechanic and arranged to take it in, in a few days' time. The car was very low on petrol (I hadn't noticed this at the time) so I got a can and poured it in. Started the car, walked around the back and it wasn't wobbling or juddering at all. Took it for a short run up the road and it felt fine. A bit shakey and juddery in lower gear, but once up into third it just ran normally, so I wondered if maybe it was cr*p from the fuel tank or something, so I ran my mechanic and he suggested I go and fill it up, so I did. Barely used the car - just a short run here and there and the juddering/shaking problem was intermittent. On Friday evening, again, I couldn't get it to go over 40, then last night I went to the shops and it was fine. Since the problem first started, I probably haven't driven it more than ten miles in total.

This morning I took it to garage and my mechanic called me later to tell me the head gasket was blown. Said it would be a minimum of £400 and he wouldn't know until he took it all apart what damage had been done i.e. through driving it with a faulty gasket, and I might even need a replacement engine, so it could be a lot more. I asked him whether it was worth doing (old car obviously, not much value, big expense) and he asked when the MOT was due so I told him July and he said, his worry was I'd shell out for this, and then maybe MOT time there would be more welding/other work needed and it was much more than the car is worth. I asked him what he would do, and he said he'd be inclined to get rid, put it on Ebay or somewhere and sell for parts.

I really don't have a clue about any of this. I've never sold anything on Ebay let alone a car and I don't know anything about mechanics etc. I just drive it basically. I have no need of a flash car, I just use it around town for shopping, running the kids to the station etc. If I go on a long journey (rare) I just hire a car. I would be replacing this with another old runaround.

Unfortunately my mechanic although excellent, it's a case of he does the work, you go pay and pick it up and there's not much over and above that in terms of advice or discussion. When I bought the wheels I had to do it myself (not easy as a thick female and had difficulty even working out the size), but I was lucky as I found a good seller and they were a bargain and have been perfect). My mechanic put them on for me, but I had to find them. I've used him for years and he's very reliable, honest and very fairly priced and I have no reason to doubt what he's saying ... but I've just got an odd feeling about this, and I'm not sure why.

I have been reading a bit online and have read that all the cost in head gasket work is labour, it's not the parts but all the manpower that goes into taking the engine all apart etc. Someone with the same year/model as mine wrote that he was quoted £450 to do a head gasket and one of those who replied said 'it sounds like a mechanic who doesn't want the job' .. and I just wondered if this was the case with my mechanic. If it's a sh*tty difficult job, maybe he just doesn't want to do it , especially as to him, it's an old banger and not worth it?

I've also read that compared to some engines, replacing a head gasket on this particular engine is fairly straightforward - not sure if that's true or not) Also, I've been reading that one of the symptoms of a blown head gasket is overheating. My car definitely is not overheating. It's juddery, there is a brief smell of petrol when the engine first fires up and intermittent flat spot/loss of power, usually in the lower gears but that's it. The absence of overheating bothers me, or is it because I've caught it early or something? Again apologies for sounding so thick.

I really don't have a clue what to do. I'm picking the car up in the morning and next step I guess is to work out how to stick it on ebay for spares ... but I'm just wondering if it's worth me getting someone else to look at it before I do so?

If anyone can offer any advice I would appreciate it. Again, apologies for this being so long.

The head gasket can go in different ways, yours may have gone between the cylinders. The only way to tell for sure is to do a compression test. The gasket itself is not a terribly difficult job but it is time consuming. If you do go ahead it will most likely need to have the head skimmed as well.

To be honest, doing a head gasket on a car that is worth so little is a big outlay. :blush:
If you like the car and the rest of it is in very good condition it maybe worth it.
Shop a round at a few places for a price but ultimately its probably best to stay with the
guy you know. Just be prepared as it may not only be the head gasket.
It may of cracked the head or warped it. Just make sure you get all the facts after it
has been stripped down before going too far and ending up with a large bill.

Thanks for the replies.

I think that's what he was saying. it's £400 minimum but it could well be worse than that - he won't know until he's stripped it down, so yes, cracked/warped head and further complications. I just wondered if the fact that it's been driven so little since the problem first arose might mitigate the possibility of greater damage? I think he's already done a compression test as he was talking about the 'two cylinders' etc. on the phone, which was like gobbledegook to me at the time, hence me doing a bit of online reading this evening.

It's in good but not brilliant condition for its age. There's some lumps and bumps starting to appear along the edge of the bonnet, a bit of paint peeling on the rear wheel arches. Also the possibility of further welding needed for the next MOT.

Now I have slightly more knowledge ... I will try and have a further chat with him when I pick it up tomorrow, but I think it's most likely I'll see what I can get for it on ebay/online Have also got the extra set of alloys to sell as well. I don't think there's any point in getting him to start stripping it etc. At least at the moment it's driveable and I can get it back here in one piece and I'm in the AA if it does conk out on the way home, I can call them out to get me home. I'd rather do that than have it in pieces down in his workshop and then have to try and sell it, plus I'd have to pay him for his time.

Sounds like you've had a good 5 years use from a cheap car. It doesn't owe you anything, and won't be worth much even if it's fixed. I'd get rid and move on.

If you were to throw the towel in, it looks like there's some parts you could sell on eBay off it...



Front nudge bar, wing extensions, wheels and tyres, sideboards, the roof looks reasonable... etc, etc...

Front driveshafts and front axles are always sought after...

Might as well get some money back on it?

Thanks all!

I picked the car up this afternoon, drove it home and it was absolutely fine - hard to believe there's something so serious wrong with it. I popped the bonnet when I got back (not that I have a clue what I'm looking at other than what I read last night) and I opened up the oil cap and sure enough it had that creamy looking residue inside the cap - not just pure oil, so I'm guessing that's the coolant getting in there. I could also see that my mechanic had looked at the coolant etc. as the lid on the reservoir hadn't been put back on properly.

I was out shopping with the daughter all day and we talked about it and I said pretty much what has been written here. It's been a brilliant little motor at a time when I was very hard up and has cost me next to nothing over the past five years. The major expense was the new wheels and tyres and I will probably get my money back (or close to it) on those anyway. It also has a value - as you've also pointed out - all the various bits and bobs and I've seen similar on ebay getting a fair few bids. Last car I had before this was a Seat Alhambra from new, but it got hammered due to my work, and ferrying kids around everywhere, and elderly parents living in a remote area several hundred miles away and trecking back and forth up there every half term and school holiday and weekends in between. From the time it needed MOTs there was always a problem. It went through tyres like there was no tomorrow, the electrics (alarm, windows etc) were always going wrong, I had to have a new gearbox in it (£1350) until it finally gave up the ghost and got carted off to the knacker's yard.

This little car by contrast has been a real godsend at a time when I needed one, and I will be very sad to see it go.

If you only do short trips then you will get condensation in the filler cap. You need a compression test or a sniffer test to diagnose a head gasket failure. Have you checked the oil? is there any signs of coolant in the oil on the dipstick?

Hi you could try using a product called k seal (blue bottle with orange wrighting) we have used this in are ldv tipper truck that was letting water into the oil through the head gasket .3 years later and the truck is still going and we havent changr the gasket.
I am not saying this will work on your vitara but it could be worth a try the k seal is quite expensive around £18 pounds for a little bottle.You should be able to get it from any good motor factors.
cheers chris

HI again all,

Well after all that I decided to spend a bit of money on it and it is currently with the mechanic - the cylinder head has just been sent off to be skimmed and he's putting it through it's MOT in the next week or so.

I left it on the driveway for a few weeks while I looked around at other motors - I could afford three grand tops and it was all Corsas and so on. All the time I kept looking at my little Suzuki sat there ready to go up on ebay for spares and I just didn't want to do it!

The thing is I work from home, so no journey to work, I cycle a lot anyway to local shops etc., there's a door to door bus service every 10 minutes to town that is quicker and easier than trying to drive and park, and if I travel any distance I always hire a motor anyway. I just need a vehicle for occasional local trips, a bit of shopping etc. probably not more than 20-30 miles a week, and the Suzuki has been perfect. I also do up old furniture as a hobby, so going round the junk shops buying bits and bobs and the Suzuki is ideal with the big back door that opens wide and lots of space in the back with the two seats down. I like having something old and I like having something a bit different, and apart from the wheels I bought last year, this car has hardly cost me anything.

So I'm going to treat it as a project and spend a bit! As well as the engine work and full service, I'm getting some welding done underneath, and also going to get the bodywork spruced up a bit - there's some peeling paint on the rear wheel arches and a dink on corner at the back where I reversed (gently) into a wall once. I'm even going to treat myself to a new stereo system!

Even if I only get another year or two out of it, I'll be happy. I could spend two or three grand buying another second hand car (that I wouldn't like as much) and still have problems.

Anyway, thanks for the help and advice everyone, much appreciated. If anyone's interested, I might pop back and post a picture when it's all done.

good for you! look forward to seeing the revamp pics