2004 Vauxhall Zafira caliper seized on
Year: 2004
Variant: 1.6
Categories:
Leaks & Noises
So I took my car for a major service about one month ago and everything came back great, the mechanic even commented on what good condition the car was in etc.
Prior to that I had a free safety check before going on a long trip and the only concern was the two front tyres needing to be changed.
Within the last week I noticed a screeching sound coming from the car as I was driving which then turned into a kind of rattling noise from underneath as well. Prior to the rattling noise I'd done some research and the screeching sound was exactly like that of a worn drive belt on YouTube.
In my panic at it being about to imminently break as the rattling sound became constant whilst driving I took it to the dealer nearest to me.
I get a call this morning say it is suspected £600 worth of work including two rear tyres that are so visibly worn they are likely to explode very soon.
The exact work description is as follows: O/s/r caliper being seized on. Car requires: O/s/r caliper Rear pads and discs Rear caliper slider kit Above three totalling £475.82
Two rear tyres totalling £118.78
For context I bought the car less than 2 months ago for just over £700 And have had more than one check on the car done because I know it's second hand and a bit old and likely to have some problems but this level of cost is out of my league and I may as well scrap or sell it before paying it's near entire worth again on this fixing job.
Please give me some advice, am I being made an absolute mug out of ?
I tried to ask what depth and tread they measured the tyres and they said it was a visual inspection on the wear to the tyre that shows they are about to bust so why didn't this come up on the major service I forked out £130 quid on a few weeks ago and why did everything come back just dandy on the major service? Did the mechanic even do the service or just tick the boxes or is my car so rubbish that taking it on a long drive has broken it already ?
I have said to the garage I will need to look over everything they've told me and go back before I pay anything and this includes the extortionate price of 75 quid just for diagnostics.
I cannot afford this cost for caliber and tyres and I don't feel as though I have any clue what has actually been explained to me. I will sell the car before paying this amount so please as I said give me some advice before I go back to the dealer.
Prior to that I had a free safety check before going on a long trip and the only concern was the two front tyres needing to be changed.
Within the last week I noticed a screeching sound coming from the car as I was driving which then turned into a kind of rattling noise from underneath as well. Prior to the rattling noise I'd done some research and the screeching sound was exactly like that of a worn drive belt on YouTube.
In my panic at it being about to imminently break as the rattling sound became constant whilst driving I took it to the dealer nearest to me.
I get a call this morning say it is suspected £600 worth of work including two rear tyres that are so visibly worn they are likely to explode very soon.
The exact work description is as follows: O/s/r caliper being seized on. Car requires: O/s/r caliper Rear pads and discs Rear caliper slider kit Above three totalling £475.82
Two rear tyres totalling £118.78
For context I bought the car less than 2 months ago for just over £700 And have had more than one check on the car done because I know it's second hand and a bit old and likely to have some problems but this level of cost is out of my league and I may as well scrap or sell it before paying it's near entire worth again on this fixing job.
Please give me some advice, am I being made an absolute mug out of ?
I tried to ask what depth and tread they measured the tyres and they said it was a visual inspection on the wear to the tyre that shows they are about to bust so why didn't this come up on the major service I forked out £130 quid on a few weeks ago and why did everything come back just dandy on the major service? Did the mechanic even do the service or just tick the boxes or is my car so rubbish that taking it on a long drive has broken it already ?
I have said to the garage I will need to look over everything they've told me and go back before I pay anything and this includes the extortionate price of 75 quid just for diagnostics.
I cannot afford this cost for caliber and tyres and I don't feel as though I have any clue what has actually been explained to me. I will sell the car before paying this amount so please as I said give me some advice before I go back to the dealer.
Posted: Jun 26, 2019 (4 years ago)
You would never get a real MAJOR service for £130 in any decent garage , no way . £75 for a diagnostic is a lot cheaper than the average . Take it to a GOOD independent garage and you may save quite a bit on brake job ..
Posted Jun 26, 2019 (4 years ago)
Thank you, do you have any advice on what I should actually be looking to pay ? I have been told the seized caliper is located to the right rear side of the vehicle and yet I am paying (if I went ahead with what's been quoted) to replace both sides of everything on the rear, I've read online it should potentially only need one replaced except for the pads that come in pairs anyway ?
Having thought about it i will just pay for the diagnostic / labour cost and go elsewhere for a second opinion but some clue about the situation would be helpful.
Having thought about it i will just pay for the diagnostic / labour cost and go elsewhere for a second opinion but some clue about the situation would be helpful.
Posted Jun 26, 2019 (4 years ago)
On an older car you only need to replace the one side that is seized though it's always advisable to do both .Pads come in a set of 4 for both sides .Dependa how the non seized side pads / disc are whether need replacing but always advisable to do both .You should see a fair difference in price compared to the dealership .Really not a big job , maybe an hour and a half labour plus parts .
Posted Jun 26, 2019 (4 years ago)
Thanks again, do you have any advice on whether this might have been a potential problem that was missed or ignored in the major service as it is noted on my papers from the service that the disc brakes and pads etc have all been checked and are fine.
I am confused about who to trust and whether the garage I got the service at really did anything at all. I had a free halfords safety check on the car followed by a service at a different garage and the rear tyres were not a problem. I have done a fair bit of driving since then but it shouldn't take such a short space of time for the tyres to go from being fine to being an imminent danger.
This is a time period of about 4 weeks to go from the car being cleared as completely fine to needing this work done and I was pretty much set to take the car on a trip and have put a lot of time and money into getting it ready so to have this come up and think I might have to get rid of it altogether is nothing short of devastating.
I am confused about who to trust and whether the garage I got the service at really did anything at all. I had a free halfords safety check on the car followed by a service at a different garage and the rear tyres were not a problem. I have done a fair bit of driving since then but it shouldn't take such a short space of time for the tyres to go from being fine to being an imminent danger.
This is a time period of about 4 weeks to go from the car being cleared as completely fine to needing this work done and I was pretty much set to take the car on a trip and have put a lot of time and money into getting it ready so to have this come up and think I might have to get rid of it altogether is nothing short of devastating.
Posted Jun 26, 2019 (4 years ago)
This problem is archived
If you're having a similar problem please click below to re-post this problem, you can then customise it to suit your situation.
Join the community
Got a question? Can you answer other questions here? If so please...
More problems with the 2004 model year Vauxhall Zafira
We have 107 problems and solutions in our database for this model year of the car.
View all Vauxhall Zafira Problems
Zafira Recalls (13)
Parts mentioned