Bad news comes in three's - I hope

[gullarm76]

Having covered 4500 trouble free miles in the Signum had three things go wrong in a week!.

1. Started to hear a grinding sound from left rear, new pads needed, which suprised me as I checked them when I bought the car. On closer inspection the pad I can see on the outside is about half worn so I guess it is the pad on the inside that I cant see is causing the problem. Do Signums wear there inside pads quicker than the outside?

2. Got a smell of burning oil whilst driving "briskly". Looks like it is weeping from the cam covers. From other posts here seems to be a fairly common problem. Will get the gaskets replaced and clean the breather so it does not happen again.

3. Travelled to london and on the way back the cruise control was switching off when going up hills. Noticed when it did it the revs went up slightly. Clutch slipping. Thought I would get away with it for a while but this morning it is slipping really badly. New clutch needed.

Not all bad news as the transport company I use is getting his mechanics to do it, I just need to buy the parts and bottle of whiskey for the fitter.

So have contacted Autovaux for some prices. £280 for a clutch kit and £75 for rear disks and pads, does this seem right? Seems quite expensive for the clutch kit.

When buying a secondhand car I always allow £500 a year to take care of any problems that happen, still works out cheaper than I would loose when buying something new/newer. Lost near £6000 on my BMW in 20 months!

I just hope that these things happen in three's as I do not really want to be spending more money!

[danBoy]

What engine is it? clutch does sound expensive though.

[Jezzy]

The inside brake does indeed wear more quickly than the outside one, on the rear.

[gullarm76]

It is a 3.2 V6.

Is a clutch kit different from just buying a clutch? I mea does the kit come with gaskets etc?