From Slovenia with love...

[NF7]

Not technically a newbie, since I was on the forum since April, but just got around to taking a couple of nice photos of my THP200.

It's a MK2, 2013 - black arches, carbon roof, and 19' rims.

Inside it has an NG4 SatNav - it was upgraded with a BT receiver that plays music through the AUX array and seamlessly changes between native BT on the NG4 and BT receiver so I have almost 99% regular BT SatNav functionality.

Additionally, I added Satin Black wing mirrors, side stickers, and a rear Peugeot logo.

There are plans to PlastiDip the rims in Glossy Black and darken the rear lights (technically illegal, but if done reasonably it passes the MOT).

EDIT: Third photo was taken by a friend while he saw me waiting at the traffic lights (before spray painting the wing mirrors and all the sticker additions.)

 

[NF7]

Little update, a bit sooner than expected but due to some cancellations my appointment for smoked rear lights was today.

 

[NF7]

So, this just happened.

Someone kissed the front bumper at the parking garage. Obviously did not leave information and the insurance will not cover it.

The second picture is what was possible to save without sanding and respraying the part of the bumper. Parts, where the paint was stripped to the base, were fixed with touch up paint that I got from the dealership.

At first glance, it looked like some of the plastic was broken, but luckily only the top coat of paint was cracked a bit due to pressure.

 

[AdAds406]

Hi mate. Lovely looking motor, sorry to hear it took a bump.

 

[NF7]

Hi mate. Lovely looking motor, sorry to hear it took a bump.

Thanks. Will be fixed soon enough

 

[NF7]

So a little update.

I had ACL surgery at the start of May so I was not "mobile" in any sense of the word. So it was a great time to repair the car.

My precious started going through oil like Tiger Woods through condoms. At the worst, it was 1l per 1500km. So, I decided to change the valve stem seals but this only fixed it slightly to 1l per 2500km. This was still too much, even for a THP engine. Then we checked the PCV membrane, which was fine. The car also threw some errors due to the timing chain issues (timing was aligned but the chain not replaced when valve stem seals were replaced so it did not help much with oil consumption).

After talking with my mechanic, and looking through options they suggested that my head be removed and refurbed, my pistons checked, piston rings replaced, and whatever comes with it for approx. 1500€. This was a good price since the cheapest official dealer would take 1400€ for only chain and piston rings replacement, no head refurb etc. The other option was to keep topping up the oil until the catalytic converter will have clogged and died (which is around 700€ here, and even then the repairs I'm doing now would most likely be necessary). I was tired of checking oil after every drive and buying oil every month, so I just said let's do it. Unfortunately, my turbo was also on the way out. There were some whistles here and there but nothing major until they took it off. So, additionally, my turbo was sent to be renewed.

The engine was overall in great shape and will probably be fine after the repairs for another 100000 km (the car has 125000 km now).

The car is still in the shop (for 4 weeks now - luckily I was in no need of a car as I had a dedicated driver), some parts were on back-order for two weeks and turbo and head renewal took some time (due to high prices today, a lot of people pick a renewal instead of buying a new item) so the specialists had a bit of a wait time.

Hopefully, the car will be done next week for around 1700€ (a bit much but I expect the car to be with me for another 4-5 years). The repairs will prepare it for a remap, which will probably be done in September. Cannot get a slot until then with the best remapper in the country. I just started walking again (slowly) so I cannot wait to take it for a drive next week.

Will update the thread regarding the oil consumption, etc. after a while.

 

[NF7]

So, the car is back. It was supposed to be sooner, but unfortunately, there was no saving my turbo, as there was a miniature crack in the housing, and it was doomed to break if I do a remap due to higher power applied. The new turbo was 800€. There was also no saving my intake hose - it was already partially fixed before as it cracked where it sits on the turbo. It was 100€ for the original part. Additionally, there was a Chinese valve cover fitted (this was from before I bought it) and it was not a perfect fit as it had some additional sealant on the back of the engine (not visible to my inexperienced eye) so it's not leaking oil. So that was new as well (OEM part 150€).

So the price was quite a bit more than expected. 2500€ with quite some discount (labor was discounted almost 85%) and the car is back home. It is basically a new engine internally. Should be good for another 100.000 km. Warranty on all parts. The current value of the car in Slovenia is more than what I bought it for and what I put in it. Either way, I'm planning to have it for at least 5 more years. So all in all, I'm happy (although couple of thousand € lighter).

 

[RCZ-R]

Good to hear she is back on the road.

As a side question, are the prices at work shops comparable between Slovenia and e.g. Croatia? Is Croatia much cheaper for labour costs?

 

[NF7]

Good to hear she is back on the road.

As a side question, are the prices at work shops comparable between Slovenia and e.g. Croatia? Is Croatia much cheaper for labour costs?

I’d say from experience it is. Although Zagreb not by much, but the more East you go, the cheaper it is. Quality is more of the same, but you get more for your money. That is, it will get more expensive next year as Croatia finishes their transition to €.

 

[NF7]

A little update.

My coolant tank cap basically disintegrated. Was loosing coolant lately (about 1dl per 3000-4000 km). Perhaps this will resolve it. There were at least three major cracks developing.



New one from PSA was 5,75€.

Part number: 1306 J5.



All good now