Classic Car Buyer | No.211 Fake Classics On The Rise?
As we all know, by and large, classic cars are a lot easier to fix than moderns. Modern car makers will counter this by saying that longer service intervals and the allegedly greater reliability of modern cars mean they don’t actually need fixing so often. I don’t know about the latter, but I do know that over the Christmas break I had cause to fix something
which, generally speaking, was a whole lot easier in the classic era. The car in question was a 2005 Vauxhall Zafira diesel, which seemed to be running a bit cold. I couldn’t be 100 per cent certain as this model doesn’t actually have a temperature gauge, just a warning signal that shows and sounds if things get too hot. However, the heater didn’t seem as hot as it
should be, so having ruled out faults with the air flap control, a
stuck-open ’stat seemed the most likely cause. Internet research
confirmed this is a fairly common problem with diesel Zafiras. In the classic era, a thermostat was generally contained within a separate housing, and assuming you could get the bolts off without snapping the studs, you could change the ’stat part on its own, and replacements were relatively inexpensive. You could also, of course, mask an overheating fault by simply removing the ’stat, but let’s not go there for now... However, the Zafira ’stat is a massive lump of metal that includes the ’stat, housing and gauge sender unit, all of which have to be renewed even if just one part has failed. An OE dealer replacement costs around
£70! As I’m sure you’d expect, there was no way I was paying that, but
even an aftermarket replacement was nearly £40. There’s more; fitting the thing involves removing several pipes along with the battery and battery
tray in order to gain access; about two hours work in total. I didn’t fancy
doing it myself in sub-zero outside temperatures, so even at the £30
an hour my rural Lincolnshire local garage charges, the total cost of changing a thermostat came in at over £100 once VAT was added in.
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Articles in this issue
Below is a selection of articles in Classic Car Buyer No.211 Fake Classics On The Rise?.