Hello,
I'm seriously thinking about buying a Kappa, probably a 3.0 SW. It's hard to get information about these cars, but from what I've read it seems that maintenance costs are high. The shock absorbers are often mentioned: it's often said that they have a short life-span and an incredible price. Can anyone tell me roughly when these shock absorbers tend to fail? I mean, is it a 100,000km thing, or 200,000km ? Are all cars affected? Also, some of these cars have a self-levelling system (which presumably makes the suspension parts even more expensive). Which models are concerned?
Finally, are there any other service items that are unusually expensive?
I'm not so worried about the fuel bills, but the maintenance costs do seem to be an issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Andy
PS. I asked the same questions over on the French forum, so apologies to those of you who read both.
running costs
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Duarte
Re: running costs
Hello,
I bought my K 2.0T in 2003 with 68.000Km. The car has now arround 135.000 Km. I never replaced the shock absorbers, althought I feel that they are not so good anymore and maybe its time to replace them.
I just don't know if they were replaced before I bought the car. If they were not, them they lasted for arround 130.000 km, but if they were, them they lasted at least 60.000 Km.
If you have an electronic failure, you'll spend a lot of money repairing it, but that is the same story for almost every car. What is special about this one is that there are a lot of electronic systems and devices, witch increases the chances of having a problem, thus, personally, I think that K electronics are not too good.
My car is now almost 8 years old and so far I replaced an electronic box under the driving wheel by the fuse box, that costed arround 450 euros. Later, a xenon light electronic ballast had to be replaced and costed 500 euros more.
Althought I thing that in a 8 years life time with 135.000 Km, 2 electronic failures are not bad, but are not good either.
I don't think that K is more expensive to maintain, that any other car of its class, but driving a K ... now, that's unique. Every time you get into one, seems like the first time you did it. Specially if you drive a K with a 220HP engine ...man ...
I bought my K 2.0T in 2003 with 68.000Km. The car has now arround 135.000 Km. I never replaced the shock absorbers, althought I feel that they are not so good anymore and maybe its time to replace them.
I just don't know if they were replaced before I bought the car. If they were not, them they lasted for arround 130.000 km, but if they were, them they lasted at least 60.000 Km.
If you have an electronic failure, you'll spend a lot of money repairing it, but that is the same story for almost every car. What is special about this one is that there are a lot of electronic systems and devices, witch increases the chances of having a problem, thus, personally, I think that K electronics are not too good.
My car is now almost 8 years old and so far I replaced an electronic box under the driving wheel by the fuse box, that costed arround 450 euros. Later, a xenon light electronic ballast had to be replaced and costed 500 euros more.
Althought I thing that in a 8 years life time with 135.000 Km, 2 electronic failures are not bad, but are not good either.
I don't think that K is more expensive to maintain, that any other car of its class, but driving a K ... now, that's unique. Every time you get into one, seems like the first time you did it. Specially if you drive a K with a 220HP engine ...man ...
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Lindsay
Re: running costs
Hi Andy. If you're in the UK then be prepared for a pain in the wallet. Or to spend some time on the net. I have a 1998 Kappa Coupe 20vt, which has been ok for maintaining - the only thing in 2.5 years is a recoring the radiator. Main cost was labour as it took ages to undo all the plumbing.
If you have the electronic dampers, they cost a fortune. Around £400 each I think. If normal, then can be bought on line for £100 for 2 (though I think the SW rears may be different). Exhausts can be got for around £80 delivered for middle and rear sections on ebay. ECUs etc are dear, but they are for most cars. Take the plunge. The 3.0 is lovely - I had a 3.0 auto sedan a couple of years back. Surprisingly economical on the Mway.
If you have the electronic dampers, they cost a fortune. Around £400 each I think. If normal, then can be bought on line for £100 for 2 (though I think the SW rears may be different). Exhausts can be got for around £80 delivered for middle and rear sections on ebay. ECUs etc are dear, but they are for most cars. Take the plunge. The 3.0 is lovely - I had a 3.0 auto sedan a couple of years back. Surprisingly economical on the Mway.
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andy b
Re: running costs
Thank you both for your advice. This confirms what I've read about the shock absorbers, although if I only have to replace them once in the life of the car I guess I can deal with that. As for the electrics, I'll just have to be lucky. I'm in Switzerland, where Kappas are relatively common (by which I mean that you might see one a week rather than one a year). There are plenty of Lancia garages around, but it seems that because so few Kappas were manufactured, almost all parts have to be OE stuff from Lancia. One thing I would need immediately is a set of roof bars. I notice that there are several unanswered posts about bars for the SW on this site, which is worrying! Would I at least be able to get them from Lancia?
Andy
Andy
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Lindsay
Re: running costs
Hi Andy.Pretty sure there is/was a set of roofbars for the K on ebay germany. 200 euros I think. You are right, most bits are OE. Cheaper to run an S class Mercedes!