Time for a new Car.

My current car is now on it’s last legs. A trip through a deep puddle at speed has bent a conrod.

 This here’s your typical cylinder setup. Mine has four of these. Now, water entered the engine through the air intake. It rushed into the gap between the piston head and the top of the cylinder. When it was the turn of the piston to come back up to the top, it couldn’t compress the water and all the energy was transferred to the connecting rod (Green) beneath the piston head. This bent it laterally.

A car in front had suffered the same problem, and the AA guy who came out to help him decided to spend five minutes on mine for free. After removing the ignition system and spark plugs (the tall thin element between the valves in the image), and turning over the engine, water was forced up and out of the engine. The car then started, and still runs now. Unfortunately I can’t take the RPM of the engine above 1500 else there’s a chance the seriously weakened con-rod will shatter and send high speed pieces of shrapnel in all directions.

So, a new car is needed. I have the loan money now (£7500), which will also pay for a year of fully comprehensive insurance.

So, what will I get? I’m uncertain, but advice is telling me to go for a 1.6 VW Golf or a 1.6 Vauxhall/Opel Astra.  According to WhatCar?, I should go for the Astra, as it’s very cheap to buy and run. For example, even a 1.7 Turbo-Diesel Astra has cheaper insurance than my current car had.

Any suggestions? Please add a comment below!