Q: 03 plate vauxhall astra broken clutch and damaged tappets

Hi there,

It’s not entirely clear what your question is, but I assume it’s regarding whether or not this used car should be bought. It sounds like it’s very affordable, but any car that can’t be driven before buying it, is a major risk. Clutch replacement is very expensive, and when you say tappets I think you mean the valve tappets, which would require removal of the valve cover, and then the valves, valve lifters and valve springs should also be inspected, because if the tappets fail, it often does damage to other valve train components as well. A compression test would be the best way to determine if the valves are damaged, and a visual inspection of the lifters and springs should suffice.

I always recommend buying project cars like this ONLY if you’re able to spend a bunch of money on it, have somewhere to store it, and have the ability to fix it yourself. Hiring a shop to do this work would likely be several thousand Pounds, which is why this person opted not to fix the car.

Also understand that there is significant risk in buying a car you cannot drive, and even if you fix the problems they disclosed, it may have more problems once it’s able to be driven.