On 15/09/2012 21:13, tony sayer wrote:
In article , Doctor Drivel invalid@not-
for-mail.invalid scribeth thus

"Andy Champ" wrote in message
. uk...
On 11/09/2012 23:53, Doctor Drivel wrote:
You could have a 10 year old car and slap in a new battery set and it
is transformed.

I have a ten year old car. I haven't had to buy a new engine, gearbox, or
anything else big.

You must pay attention. The car can "transformed". Replacing your auto box
will cost about the same as battery set but the car is not transformed, just
still the same as it was.


My 17 Y/O petrol engined Audi A6 is on is original engine transmission
and a lot else thanks...

Yes. In my youth, my parents had a succession of old cars, gradually
getting newer and newer ones over the decades. One car wrecked its
engine when a piece of the auxiliary belt broke off and went stright
through a tiny slit in the timing belt cover and one car had a second
hand gearbox to change it from three speed column shift to four speed
floor shift. Some were part-exed, but the vast majority reached the end
of their lives when the bodywork repairs were too much. None suffered
failure of any major components. These days the bodywork and the
mechanics are far better, it's getting so that you are unlikely to
change the clutch, never mind the gearbox in the life of a car! Its the
eventual failure of expensive electronic boxes that are likely to end
the lives of many modern cars, not the mechanical bits and pieces.

SteveW