advice needed. Need to replace car

pip27

Hello there, I am totally confused about what to do.
I have an old tatty Seat Toledo (1998) that a friend a
has said will not go through another MOT without costing a fortune. I am a single working Mum with very little spare cash.
Now I need to replace my car, I don't know whether to buy another Banger (big gamble and not an option I want but money might force), or to try and stretch to a newer car.
I'm getting different opinions from freinds and colleagues. One said get a credit card on 0% and buy secondhand from a garage/dealer. someone else said I'm better off buying new on the swappage scheme (think they might be a bit of a con though). I basically need something i can rely on (I drive 23 miles to work each day) but that is econimical to run. I only need something smallish.
Basically, I'm not sure which is the most economical price bracket to buy in. I'm just scared of choosing and scared of spending but so fed up of having a rattly old car that uses lots of fuel.
What would you do? Im so muddled and slightly paniced at having to make the decision.
help

Kilty_2

What needs doing that'd "cost a fortune" ?

Often people exaggerate what needs doing for a MOT and in the grand scheme of things (compared with buying another car) it's not a fortune....

anewman

The swappage schemes just prove how overpriced the dealers think their cars are, and are the sorts of discounts they were dishing out to everyone before scrappage came about. Now the business idea is to rip off everyone who doesn't have a car that meets certain criteria.

I wouldn't imagine a 98 Seat Toledo would need much doing unless it has been seriously neglected, and not serviced. I would hazard a guess the Toledo hasn't been serviced in a while, bear in mind for a new car's warranty to be kept you also need to have it services which is another cost. A good service would also see your fuel economy increase significantly, and improve the performance of the car - as well as extend its useful life.

As previous poster says, sometimes a couple of hundred quid spent on your current car is a better option than splashing out £1000+ on a newer one.

anewman

Edit: looks like some weird forum problem I have seen before whereby a post to one post is directed to another, eek

pip27

thanks for your comments. My car has done 145000 miles and was pretty beaten and bashed when i got it. It needs a new clutch and makes a horible knocking vibrating sound that i think might be to do with the exhaust. Maybe with a bit of TLC I could save it. I think I have just lost faith with it sounding and driving so badly at the moment. It doesnt help that fuel prices have gone up so much lately. I seem to put all my money in the tank.

gemmy26wales

hiya chick, i would just do a break down of your outgoings-even adding a couple of quid to round amounts up. see what your left with and take it from there.

i know you can get newish cars now by paying £25.00 a week..obviously you need to take into insurance, tax etc.
i know quite a few people that do this and they change their car every 3 years. they never own a car outright but sometimes that can be more of a pain in the !!!. xxx

AdrianHi

pip27 wrote: »

thanks for your comments. My car has done 145000 miles and was pretty beaten and bashed when i got it. It needs a new clutch and makes a horible knocking vibrating sound that i think might be to do with the exhaust. Maybe with a bit of TLC I could save it. I think I have just lost faith with it sounding and driving so badly at the moment. It doesnt help that fuel prices have gone up so much lately. I seem to put all my money in the tank.

If you bought a new / nearly new car under warranty that needs nothing but routine servicing spending on keeping it going depreciation is the biggest expense. On cars costing around £8000-£10,000 brand new average over 3 years £800 a year depreciation. Is it costing near £800 a year to repair the old car and pay the extra fuel cost and possible tax costs on it?
If it doesn't I bet it is really close.
When you compare the real cost of keeping the car in this way, if you have a baggy unreliable car that you doing more than a small mileage on (23 miles round trip or each way?) it can be about the same or possible more expensive than something young or even new if the deal is right. The problem is the cash flow challenge presented by paying the purchase price of the car. But that is not the same as the cars real total cost over time.

I wouldn't throw good money after bad any more on that old Toleda, it has served you very well, time to retire it. I woudl look at something in the Kia or Hyundai range with their 5 or 7 year warranties. It sounds like that peace of mind and help with keeping running costs predictable is good for your situation.
You might consider leasing something for 36 months at a time. Something a bit smaller than a Toleda can be had for £150 to £225 a month including VAT

forgotmyname

gemmy26wales wrote: »

hiya chick, i would just do a break down of your outgoings-even adding a couple of quid to round amounts up. see what your left with and take it from there.

i know you can get newish cars now by paying £25.00 a week..obviously you need to take into insurance, tax etc.
i know quite a few people that do this and they change their car every 3 years. they never own a car outright but sometimes that can be more of a pain in the !!!. xxx

A newish car for £25 a week? what where?

Small cars hold their value better than larger cars. Especially so with the credit crunch and people wanting to cut back.

tripled

forgotmyname wrote: »

A newish car for £25 a week? what where?

Small cars hold their value better than larger cars. Especially so with the credit crunch and people wanting to cut back.

http://www.abc-leasing.com/search?vr=0&p=1&vt=1&m=0&c=0&ct=2&bs=0&bf=1&bt=100&vc=0

I think the mileage limit is only around 6,000 p/a though. I was looking at them, but now I'm thinking about just spending a few hundred quid keeping my fuel guzzling, aging Espace on the road. Might get one of those bio-diesel coverters...

pip27

Thanks all. very interesting. I do 23 miles each way to work. My gut instinct is to try and go for a small newish car that i can rely on with good MPG. Like you said the problem is committing to the monthly repayments. Its so tempting though. Have just looked at the link for leasing and was impressed at what you can get for under 100. there seems to be lots of choice for 129.
I have been running my car for the last six years and have always had the attitude that it was environmentally better to keep running this car rather than to buy into the whole keep chucking and replacing way. But everytime i get in my car the noise is worse, its damp and smelly and i have lost confidence. I really feel its seen better days and I'm going to have to face up to the fact that its coming to the end of its life.
Oh for a bit of cash to sort it all out.

AdrianHi

pip27,
If you can get some numbers together here we can demonstrate with reasonable accurancy the total annual cost of the car you have now vs. other young / new or lease options. You may be faced with a choice of paying out X in repairs, extra fuel, extra tax and insurance vs. paying the same amount X (or may be less) but in loan or lease payments instead of repairs / extra fuel etc.
If you have these figures in front of you, you will at least know why your paying out on a lease or whatever.

This excercise which I have done many times sometimes demonstrates to people that they cannot actually aford to run a partilcular car or any car over the distance they are using it. Not nice news to receive.

Can you predict for the next year or show for the last year what the Toledo will/has cost in repairs, what the tax and insurance costs you. Also do you know your total annual mileage?

Example: my sister in law drives a perfectly reliable '51 plate Skoda Fabia. Comparing the next 12 months of it's costs with the equivalent car leased over 36 months the avergage monthly figure is around £20-£30 a month higher for the new lease car - last time I checked. For £360 a year extra tops she could be in a new car. She does 11,000 miles a year.