This is of course up to you, but I would never fix a VX5000 for £180...

I think that any electronic repair shop used to fixing TV's and VCR's can fix the B&O version aswell, since they're not that different from Philips or Sony models. Same components basically.

I used to have a black VX5000 too, sold it very cheap, since it had pretty much the same problems as yours. 

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/thread/76193.aspx

And Martin's excellent workshop:

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/thread/76448.aspx

I agree it's probably not worth it to pay anyone to do the repairs. It will quickly get expensive. Mine is still working happily, sitting under the white MX6000 in all its whiteness 😕 (yes, I've found the shelf for it since that picture...)

Tournedos:

Yeah, I know they look very different inside from other makes, but I've been led to understand the components picking up the video and sound are standard components, and these are the ones making the problems?

If I'm wrong I'm glad to be corrected. 🙂 

And reading the links you provided verifies I was wrong about the heads being the problem...

Whereabouts in UK are you?

You could try contacting Tim Jarman at Beocentral, he's near Farnborough and maybe able to have a look.

What he doesn't know about inner workings of B&O would fill the back of a postage stamp.

He worked on my VX5000 a few months ago, but I need a VX sensor to get it to work with Beovision 7-40.

Hi again,

Thanks for all the posts. I will have the bottom off it again just to check for the black around the caps, to confirm the capston motor problem as likely cause. The tape does play and wind FF / REW.  If anyone on here would like to quote for a new / used motor (Martin) and I'll have a go at fitting it myself.  Before I do that, I will just make sure the tuner is working as it should.  I can't see / hear anything else machanically wrong with it.  I don't mind paying a few pounds / euros (same difference :-)  to fix it but I guess a NEW capston motor fitted by B&O won't be cheap (even if they had any).  Seems silly, the best tape heads ever used but then only 1000hrs life out of a capston motor!

I'm in Gloucestershire if anyone wants to come and take it away so I don't have to watch when it goes in the skip :0(

I've now checked the VX again. Can confirm that even though there wasn't very much black around the caps on the capston motor board, the chip is running very hot, immediately after switch on, just nursing the blister on the finger, to prove it :-)  The tuner is fine so I'll contact Martin, see if he has any spares, save me having to strip down the motor and change the caps myself (but would make a good project and if this is the main thing that VX suffers from then I'll know for any others I come by).

Thanks for all the help and links, another problem solved by Beoworld, nearly.