Today i Put up my White Flag - Please Help! (Debt Free Wannabe)

Rachman_2

MINI-Cooper-S wrote:

100k on my Megane


I know i am young etc etc but i dont kick the !!!!!! out of my car, not with me depending on it as much as i do.
I have had a look through the service history, it has had another turbo with the previous owner and a little bit of electrical work.


Car supermarket.... there where i am heading tonight - New car time!

My Tyres are Pilot Sports which are £150, the car has the Renault Megane Sport 17 inch wheels. (The car back in its day was a showroom model)

What I meant was, DON'T go to a car supermarket for an older car unless you know what you are looking for - I bought a 6 month old Focus for SWMBO at one - they had abour 30 in stock - I rejected 29 of them as substandard - some of the cars are good, but as they get older, it's far easier to get landed with a lemon (all they do it buy up in bulk so they tend to be less fussy and they tend not to prep their cars properly either.... in my experience).

Pilot Sports (assuming they are 225/45/17s) are about £140 a pop, from blackcircles.com - however, given you are short on cash, the cheapest are about £65 and the Toyo Proxes are under £100 - they offer good turn in, grip and wear rates - I understand why you want to run it at the best, but being blunt, you can't afford them. If it were me, I'd put Continental Sport Contacts on at £100 each at the most - with respect, if you are not caning it, it's a 1.9ci, not a 225 - so in extremis handling is not particularly relevant - and I guess your backs will need doing soon too.

And as for posters who think a VW group car is reliable - not any more - they screwed that up years ago - they are no better than anyone else now - my own VW is four years old and has had to have the AA out 5 times.

If you want reliable, just buy a Honda Civic or a Toyota Corolla and have done with it (I should also say an older Nissan Almera but the newer ones have apparently self-destructing gearboxes)

MINI-Cooper-S

So guys, lets collate everything so far.

To start will I need to look at reducing / cancelling the mobile phone contracts.
I also need to look at getting rid of my current car and getting a more reliable and cheaper car to insure. (more suggestions needed)
I could really do with trading my current car in as there is allot of hassle and cost of selling it privately.
The only thing I am worried about is if a trader wants to know why I am selling my top spec car for a smaller lower spec one, what do I say? (its fuber??? i think not!)

I am going to have a search in the loft and around the house to see what technology I really don't need any more and get it on eBay!

I have spoken with my employer today and we are in talks of reducing my on call to two weeks in every 4, keeping the same wage I am on now.
So I could work evenings for 2 weeks in every 4, but I still think it may be hard to find somewhere that is happy with that.

Thanks For all your support!!!

Chris

earthmother

MINI-Cooper-S wrote:

I also need to look at getting rid of my current car and getting a more reliable and cheaper car to insure. (more suggestions needed)
...
The only thing I am worried about is if a trader wants to know why I am selling my top spec car for a smaller lower spec one, what do I say? (its fuber??? i think not!)

I'll second Rachman on buying Japanese (Honda,Toyota) - not so sure about Nissan - the two we've had have both had radiator problems - but they were older cars, so maybe that issue has been fixed. We have a Toyota car now, and have had Honda bikes, and they've always been more reliable than the european or american makes.

As for what to say if asked why you're selling - just say you're looking for something more suitable - you don't have to go into detail if you don't want - I'm sure he sees a similar story fairly regularly anyway (need cheaper insurance, better consumption etc)

jellyang

With your knowledge in IT could you not find a little private work?
Helping people set up their internet or similar.
A small ad in the classifieds might just pay dividends.




Jelly

HazelEyes_3

MINI-Cooper-S wrote:

So guys, lets collate everything so far.

To start will I need to look at reducing / cancelling the mobile phone contracts.
I also need to look at getting rid of my current car and getting a more reliable and cheaper car to insure. (more suggestions needed)
I could really do with trading my current car in as there is allot of hassle and cost of selling it privately.
The only thing I am worried about is if a trader wants to know why I am selling my top spec car for a smaller lower spec one, what do I say? (its fuber??? i think not!)

Use this to your advantage i.e. you will be broken hearted to let the car go but the insurance is crippling you (due to your age) etc etc. Try to convince the dealer that you would rather keep the car and if you don't like what they offer you in p/ex etc walk away - they will have made sure they have your contact details and will probably be back in touch.

I am going to have a search in the loft and around the house to see what technology I really don't need any more and get it on eBay!

I have spoken with my employer today and we are in talks of reducing my on call to two weeks in every 4, keeping the same wage I am on now.

Hmmm... am inclined to agree with others that you are unpaid for what you do. Try posting your CV on some of the job sites such as Monster.
So I could work evenings for 2 weeks in every 4, but I still think it may be hard to find somewhere that is happy with that.

Thanks For all your support!!!

Chris

Good luck!

Rachman_2

Trade does not care, unless he intends reselling it, and most dealers won't touch 100K plus, then it's traded out, lost service history and resold at 70K or sold out on the block (auction) - so you'll get trade book, no more, no less.

I suggest your car's worth about £3,500 private, straight trade buy, it might make just over £3.2K if it's spotless - it won't make much difference at auction so long as it's shiny, but if I were selling it, I'd do not one thing to it and I'd trade it out - is the finance against the car - if not, I'd probably trade it or auction it asap and cut my losses and by a Primera diesel - so cheap it's untrue and it's a cracking car - or buy a Mondeo and change the cambelt and water pump - don't buy a 2.0dti Vectra...... if you want it to last it's a bit risky as the service intervals are so long.

MINI-Cooper-S

Rachman wrote:

Trade does not care, unless he intends reselling it, and most dealers won't touch 100K plus, then it's traded out, lost service history and resold at 70K or sold out on the block (auction) - so you'll get trade book, no more, no less.

I suggest your car's worth about £3,500 private, straight trade buy, it might make just over £3.2K if it's spotless - it won't make much difference at auction so long as it's shiny, but if I were selling it, I'd do not one thing to it and I'd trade it out - is the finance against the car - if not, I'd probably trade it or auction it asap and cut my losses and by a Primera diesel - so cheap it's untrue and it's a cracking car - or buy a Mondeo and change the cambelt and water pump - don't buy a 2.0dti Vectra...... if you want it to last it's a bit risky as the service intervals are so long.

Thanks,
I have just been to my local VW to look at trading it for a polo / golf.
They loved the Megane and said it rare to see such a top spec one, couldn’t believe how good a condition it was in for its mileage, I even asked the guy to make a good guess on it before I told him how much it has done and he said about 35k.

Anyway, they said they will give me £2500 for it at a push. So I just walked away....

Do you think it may be worth me putting it on eBay?

I am going to have a look at the cars you mentioned as well.

Thanks

Chris

DawnW

MINI-Cooper-S wrote:

So guys, lets collate everything so far.

To start will I need to look at reducing / cancelling the mobile phone contracts.
I also need to look at getting rid of my current car and getting a more reliable and cheaper car to insure. (more suggestions needed)
I could really do with trading my current car in as there is allot of hassle and cost of selling it privately.
The only thing I am worried about is if a trader wants to know why I am selling my top spec car for a smaller lower spec one, what do I say? (its fuber??? i think not!)

I am going to have a search in the loft and around the house to see what technology I really don't need any more and get it on eBay!

I have spoken with my employer today and we are in talks of reducing my on call to two weeks in every 4, keeping the same wage I am on now.
So I could work evenings for 2 weeks in every 4, but I still think it may be hard to find somewhere that is happy with that.

Thanks For all your support!!!

Chris

Just tell them the insurance is too expensive!!

g_attrill

I would agree with the other posters - for 24/7 on-call cover they are getting a very good deal, and at the very least they should pay for all the communications devices, fees and costs required for you to do your job. So the phone line, ADSL, mobile phone and vehicle expenses would be the minimum. If you are expected to work remotely then arguably a PC or laptop should be included.

On cars - if I was personally looking for something reliable it would be a Japanese make. In my experience French cars are worst for reliability and to be honest I would never consider one. For cheap insurance check out the insurance group before you buy (Parkers, or http://www.abi.org.uk/carinsurance/ ). http://www.confused.com/ is good for finding the cheapest.

On the tech toys thing, that is a problem. Once you've sold some of the stuff you have laying around you might think differently about future purchases, and maybe a spending budget would help.

Gareth

MINI-Cooper-S

Thanks for the advice!

I took that hi-fi back this evening, it had been bugging me all day!
So there is cash back in the bank (Although it takes 4 days to clear!!!)

Now which are the best? Germans or Japs?
There is sort of a mixed feeling about it, at least we all agree the French are !!!!!!. I have been looking at Polo's and Yaris's this evening.
I guessed if I got a smaller, less powerful car, I would drive it less and also not give as many lifts here and there for people.
I had an insurance quote on a Polo for £780 and cheapest renewal I have had for my Megane so far is £1280. So there would be an instant saving already.

Started to sell my toys this evening, they are due to enter eBay on Thursday.

I am still wondering if I should eBay my car or not. Or would it just be easier to part ex, cut the possible loss and have done with it?


I know it seems like my work are getting a good deal from me, but I have not been in this position long and I am awaiting my April pay review. I am on quite a bit less than the previous guy that had my position, but I am not as qualified as him.


Thanks

Chris