M3tas - I need transport - Lets do this thread.

[M3ta7h3ad]

Ahh damn.

Right been hit with a bombshell, by the 29th January I have to be driving or riding.

My mum has offered me their car free of charge, providing I pay for the tax, mot, insurance and get it on the road... its mine.

So I guess its driving. Will also be doing my CBT at the beginning of next month (just in case I dont pass).

The Car: a 1.3ltr Lada Samara SX (1997) its done less than 8,000 miles since it was bought (1998, from new) and has been kept garaged every night, is moved every week to get the wheelie bin in and out

Few problems with it:

LHS Wing mirror is held on with a wing and a prayer, got taken out in a garage mishap, how much would I be looking at to replace? and is it a diy job?, its a manual control wingmirror... knob comes into the cabin see.

Rear View Mirror has been reattached about 3 times, but keeps falling off, parents are using these stick back pad things, anything better out there for reattaching rear view mirrors to the glass windscreen?

Other things:

There must be an electrical fault somewhere, a fuse blows randomly, and takes out the washer motors, pumps, and the heater fan. Ive no idea how to find it, or what on earth is causing it, would a "full service" find it? or would I have to book it in for something special?

No Radio... would ideally like to fit one... are all car radios equal? and how hard is it to fit an antenna to a car that does not have one?

Car Alarm + Immobiliser. This isnt the greatest car by no means, but it will be my sole means of transport to work, ideally dont want it stolen, again self fit? or do I have to get others to fit to qualify for insurance?

Seat belts. The retracting spring or whatever is in the drivers side seatbelt has well.. its so weak the only way it recoils stuff in is if you actually push it gently into the rollup thing. It locks... oh god it locks even on a gentle slope, so much you cant move, so its not a dangerous thing I dont think, just a case of it doesnt tidy itself away anymore. Is it a DIY job to replace a seatbelt thing? are seatbelts a universal thing?

Window winders... its manual, the passenger one is broken, would probably want to try and get it converted to electric windows, and also install some central locking. Would both tasks be a DIY job? or easier to ask a garage for a quote?

[knighty]

without sounding like a knob... for the things you asked "can I diy it".... the answer is not if you have to ask

wing mirrors are bloody expensive
rear view mirror... are they proper sticky pads ? go to a garage and get a proper one, clean up the screen and the mirror contact point with some petrol or something like that, then warm the windscreen up (turn the heater on till its warm) then stick it back on... that should hold it.

random fuse blowing... you need to find the fuse and see how big it is, then replace it with a bigger one ! (the next one up, they go in 5amp intervals).... and see if that fixes it, fingers crossed it does !

radio is plug in and play as long as all the right contacts are already there..... otherwise get a radio from somewhere that will fit it for cheap at the same time !   (if theres any bare wires etc.. in there then that could be why the fuse is blowing!)

car alarm... get one at the same time as the radio and get them to fit that too !

seat belt... just ignore it... its not worth the hastle/cost of getting it fixed

window winders.... electric windows will probably set you back at least £200 just for the parts then maybe another £80 for fitting.... either ignore it... or get the bits on ebay and find a mate who knows how to sort it !


tbh, for the car that it is, you don;t want to spend much on it, (even if it is in brand new condition) because itll just be money down the drain (guess all cars are like this tbh)

so just use it as a run around for the next few years then when you;re all sorted get something new :-)

[soopahfly]

Dont just whack a bigger fuse in! its a bodge and a fire hazard.

[soopahfly]

if it passes mot, leave it alone, if its dangerous, fix it. at the end of the day its a lada. it wont get stolen even if you leave the doors open and the keys in the ignition.
Its your first car and your probaby going to think your michael schumacer when you pass your test and bin it like deviance.

[mr_roll]

Ahh damn.

Right been hit with a bombshell, by the 29th January I have to be driving or riding.

My mum has offered me their car free of charge, providing I pay for the tax, mot, insurance and get it on the road... its mine.

So I guess its driving. Will also be doing my CBT at the beginning of next month (just in case I dont pass).

The Car: a 1.3ltr Lada Samara SX (1997) its done less than 8,000 miles since it was bought (1998, from new) and has been kept garaged every night, is moved every week to get the wheelie bin in and out

Few problems with it:

LHS Wing mirror is held on with a wing and a prayer, got taken out in a garage mishap, how much would I be looking at to replace? and is it a diy job?, its a manual control wingmirror... knob comes into the cabin see.

This should be an easy fix Id have thought, just get another one from a scrappy and replace.

Rear View Mirror has been reattached about 3 times, but keeps falling off, parents are using these stick back pad things, anything better out there for reattaching rear view mirrors to the glass windscreen?

Why not give Auto Windscreens a call? or some glass repairer as theyll know what to stick rear view mirrors on with, as I dont know

Other things:

There must be an electrical fault somewhere, a fuse blows randomly, and takes out the washer motors, pumps, and the heater fan. Ive no idea how to find it, or what on earth is causing it, would a "full service" find it? or would I have to book it in for something special?

Only thing I can think of is there a short some where, this could be a big problem, however check all the earthing points of the car

No Radio... would ideally like to fit one... are all car radios equal? and how hard is it to fit an antenna to a car that does not have one?

Erm, did the car come with a radio as standard? if so look and see if they have "ISO Connectors" Which should look like these:
http://www.elisenet.plus.com/images/TweeterPods/ConnectorLug.jpg

If its just a bunch of wires, you will have to work out which wire goes where.

Car Alarm + Immobiliser. This isnt the greatest car by no means, but it will be my sole means of transport to work, ideally dont want it stolen, again self fit? or do I have to get others to fit to qualify for insurance?

I think youd have to spend some £££ on getting a local alarm fitter to fit a car alarm for your insurers to be happy.

Seat belts. The retracting spring or whatever is in the drivers side seatbelt has well.. its so weak the only way it recoils stuff in is if you actually push it gently into the rollup thing. It locks... oh god it locks even on a gentle slope, so much you cant move, so its not a dangerous thing I dont think, just a case of it doesnt tidy itself away anymore. Is it a DIY job to replace a seatbelt thing? are seatbelts a universal thing?

Id visit a scrappy for this part, ring them up and see if theyll take it out of the car themselves but they will charge you more, compared you not taking it out

Window winders... its manual, the passenger one is broken, would probably want to try and get it converted to electric windows, and also install some central locking. Would both tasks be a DIY job? or easier to ask a garage for a quote?

Hmmm, I think you can get DIY kits (although unsure about Ladas), but depends how adventurous / bored you are.

[knighty]

Dont just whack a bigger fuse in! its a bodge and a fire hazard.

yeah.... but for all we know the fuse that is in is too small !

if theres a good chunk of stuff running from it theres a good changce its just overloading it and needs a bit more power !  (wipers, heather fan, back demistor all take a fair bit of power!)

[mr_roll]

http://www.electricwindowsdirect.co.uk/products.asp

£233 for electric windows

[M3ta7h3ad]

if it passes mot, leave it alone, if its dangerous, fix it. at the end of the day its a lada. it wont get stolen even if you leave the doors open and the keys in the ignition.
Its your first car and your probaby going to think your michael schumacer when you pass your test and bin it like deviance.

Itll pass MOT no problem providing I sort out the rear view mirror.

Michael Schumaker... with a 0-60 of 22 seconds, and my mentality of "I dont want to die" im sure itll be fine.

[M3ta7h3ad]

Nope... no radio as standard, has a Din slot but this has a big plastic thing in it, currently serving as a holder of stuffs.

[Serious]

Bike Licence + Reliant 3-wheeler = Win

Could be a serious option if I needed a car at some point. Wonder if you could hire such wonderful contraptions

Emergency staff call them plastic pigs, about as stable as a drunk going over niagra falls on a tightrope...

I survived one crash in a van version, never going in one again. I wasnt driving.

e/of

if it passes mot, leave it alone, if its dangerous, fix it. at the end of the day its a lada. it wont get stolen even if you leave the doors open and the keys in the ignition.
Its your first car and your probaby going to think your michael schumacer when you pass your test and bin it like deviance.

Itll pass MOT no problem providing I sort out the rear view mirror.

Try using some super glue rather than a new pad. yoohoo or similar is also worth trying. Clean the area of screen where it sticks very carefully first with a suitable solvent.

Get yourself a proper manual too so you can do repairs to spec.

[knighty]

sperglue cracks your windscreen !!!

if you get a proper pad from a garage and clean it up like i said above then itll stick it on good and solid !

as for the radio... pull out the plastic thing thats in the hole and have a look inside... see if theres a connector there ready to plug into a radio.... maybe take a photo and stick it on here and we can help you out

[Mark]

get a car alarm off ebay - no joke - theyre like £30, they work and have some good features.

piss easy to wire, same difficulty as radio.

fuse may be blowing due to a dead short in one of the electrical items you mentioned, or at worst in the loom somewhere where it hasnt been protected and has rubbed through - a famous poor build quality issue on these cars, komrade.

[mr_roll]

Nope... no radio as standard, has a Din slot but this has a big plastic thing in it, currently serving as a holder of stuffs.

This maybe a stupid question but, does it have speakers?

[M3ta7h3ad]

lol no speakers. Literally has a hole, and nowt, no antenna, speakers or anything

[M3ta7h3ad]

get a car alarm off ebay - no joke - theyre like £30, they work and have some good features.

piss easy to wire, same difficulty as radio.

fuse may be blowing due to a dead short in one of the electrical items you mentioned, or at worst in the loom somewhere where it hasnt been protected and has rubbed through - a famous poor build quality issue on these cars, komrade.

You reckon? Thing is the only haynes manual I can find online for it is for up to 1991 models. Dont know if its worth getting that one and following the instructions in it. Seems haynes never made one for 97 models.