One Step Forward Two Steps Back Aaaaaargh

jubarnes26

Hello everyone on here, I'm new to DFW - I have got debts but I've just never posted over here before, usually lurking over on coupons, freebies etc.

Posting cos i feel so frustrated, we recently got rid of a big Nissan Terrano that cost £3000 and sold it for £1000 2 half years later because the petrol cost was just crippling us, bought a second hand astra for £400 and last night it went bang & clapped out !! Looks like the gearbox has gone and is going to be over £500 to sort out. so what would you all do ? buy a new car on credit or repair the other one?

We're already about £5000 in debt ( 0%) it gets paid monthly by my child benefit and I also try & chuck my months wages at it sometimes but it just feels that your making progress something like this happens ( & I just want to go and stuff my face with food - but that's another issue !!)

lastly - seeing as I'm posting on here I may was well let it all out. Should I worry about my debt - it's manageable and in 2 years when my daughter starts school I'll go back to full time work (accountancy) & will hopefully be bringing home considerably more than i do now, which means I should be able to pay it off really quickly & then start on the mortgage.

What would everyone else do, let it tick over & pay it off later or try & get it down as quickly as possible?

Incidentally after all that moan I do realise I'm fortunate to have discovered this site because I probably would be a lot worse off without all the couponing, deals & financial advice we get on here.

Thanks in advance of your advice & opinion.

jubarnes26

bump bump bump

pudding06

are you repairing the old one on credit?

depends what state its in tbh. If its sound otherwise sometimes its better the devil you know than the devil yyou dont know. but if its dodgy then perhaps another more reliable car may be better.

just make sure its something cheap, fuel efficient, low tax bracket and low insurance bracket. - bit of a tall order but can be done.

we've often got cheap cars with service history - brill cars if OH didnt drive so badly and crash them.

pudds

climbgirl

Its' kind of hard to give advice without knowing your full situation. can you post an SOA? Statement of Affairs with full list of incomings and ALL outgoings and all debts (with APRs, amounts outstanding and limits).

I'm sure you know the drill if you've been lurking for a while!

You say the debts are manageable but it's hard to know what to say without knowing the scale of them or your full situation!

bank_of_slate

Hi Ju, welcome to the forum,

What you do depends upon your whole circumstances,
It's always best to pay off high APR debts first if you can, but seeing as it's 0% this wouldn't make much difference,
There is always something like this to set you back just when you think you're doing really well.

Do you know anyone in the motor trade who could give you an honest opinion about the car? could you get a gearbox from a scrap yard?
...Linda xx

newlywed

I drive an old car - and my thought is always that if the bill to repair it costs £x then what sort of second hand car could I get for that same amount of money.

If it would be a car of similar condition/age or worse then it's worth the repair.

But I agree, since you haven't had this car long, and assuming you haven't had anything much done to it since you got it, then it would depend on the state of the rest of the car and whether there are more things likely to go wrong on it.

I've had my car several years and so know which bits are new.

Storm

Did you buy the car from a dealer or privately? If it was a dealer and it was within the last couple of months I would speak to them about it.

If you get no joy, then it may be worth getting a good look over done before committing to repairs - either someone you know & trust or don't the AA/RAC have some kind of checking over service? (Don't know how much it costs though)