Do I keep my car or get a new one?

libbiauctions

Hi,

Just looking for peoples thoughts on this as me and the hubby are struggling to make our minds up.

We currently have a 2001 Ford Focus which has around 55,000 miles on the clock.

Recently things has started going wrong with it:

1) Power steering fluid leaks due to a faulty connector. This has been temporarily fixed but is starting to leak again so needs sorting permanently.

2) Two new tyres are needed on the rear of the car

3) The heaters are not working so when we are driving we are not able to desteam the car which is very dangerous.

4) Hubby went to top up the oil a few days ago and it took 3 litres to fill it up!!!

My neighbour works on cars and reckons he can fix problems 1 & 2 for around £200 - £250 and we can get part worn tyres for £15 each. Not sure what is going on with the oil at the minute though.

The tax is due at the end of the month which is another £90 for 6 months so we are now deliberating looking at a new car.

As much as I would like to get a new car, we are also moving house and have a new baby on the way so I don't really want to be forking out a few grand if we can avoid it.

I've looked at prices for our vehicle and we could possible get between £600 & £1000 for it but we would want to get another that is in a really good condition with excellent mileage so we are probably still looking at putting an extra £2000 - £3000 towards!

I don't know of if it is worth investing in a new one or just getting the problems fixed on ours. I just don't want it to be that we are forking out another couple of hundred pounds on it a few months down the line.

Also, if we did keep our car, is there anywhere you can take cars to that will fully check them for any problems (not just a basic service) and that can get it back to almost new condition?

Peoples thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Ranger8

The problems you`ve mentioned are all minor and easily fixed, but my concern would be the amount of oil that was used to top up the engine,...3 litres???
The oil should be checked at least once a week,( its false economy and dangerous not to) I`m very suprised the engine hadn`t siezed or done some serious damage.
At only 55k the car should`ve/would`ve had loads of life left in it if the car was regularly serviced i.e. annually and the added bonus of having the chance to fixed each problem as it arose.
My advice would be to have a local garage check over the engine first, and provided its ok have the car serviced and faults fixed, it will be a lot cheaper than changing.

Strider590

5) Ashtray is full

libbiauctions

Thanks Ranger,

The car has been serviced every year and we last had it serviced in March so I was very surprised at how much oil was needed?!!!

I wasn't aware that it should be checked every week so I think this is something I should start doing.

Do you have any other tips on car maintenance to keep the life of it going for as long as possible?

Thanks

libbiauctions

Could the Ashtray being full stop the blowers? I don't smoke but do tend to shove my receipts in there!

Ranger8

libbiauctions wrote: »

I wasn't aware that it should be checked every week so I think this is something I should start doing.

I shudder to think what the tyre pressures might be (also to be checked once a week or before a long journey)

Strider590

libbiauctions wrote: »

Could the Ashtray being full stop the blowers? I don't smoke but do tend to shove my receipts in there!

:rotfl:

I'm sorry, I was joking

It's an old saying used in various parts of the country....

"oh I see the Jones have yet another new car"
"yeah, the ashtray must have been full"

Your lack of blowers is probably a fuse (10p) or the resistor packs thermal fuse has blown (£10-£30). Fords also have a reputation for problems with the hot/cold air valve (thingy).


In all seriousness, your car seems to have simple minor faults. The cost of buying another car (WHICH in all honesty could be just as bad), is far greater than forking a few £ to get this one fixed.
I mean you'd never sell it private with those faults, so you'd be paying a premium price at a dealership anyway, that's at least £500-£1000 over a private sale price.

It's not about what the car is worth, it's about what it would cost you to replace.
All to often I here "oh it's not worth fixing", but is that always true when you consider the costs of another car?

Tinks74

Fans not working on a ford focus is a common fault, google it, from what I remember on my mates car it is some resistor pack that you access through the back of the glovebox or something.

Flearoy

If I were you I'd get the car fixed, and keep a close eye on the oil level in future. Have a check for oil leaks from the engine too, and check that the oil looks clean (not like mayo) and the coolant isn't sludgy. If your oil isn't leaking out, or getting into the coolant (as shown by dirty coolant) then your engine is burning it, which may not be a terrible problem to cope with.

libbiauctions

Ranger8 wrote: »

I shudder to think what the tyre pressures might be (also to be checked once a week or before a long journey)

Tyre pressure is fine. We check that on a regular basis.



Thanks for everyones thoughts/advice.

I'm going to get my neighbour to fix the faults that we know about and then I have spoken to my mate who's dad is a retired mechanic. He's going to give the car a thorough check and tell me what needs sorting on it so will hopefully get the oil thing sorted as well.

morizot

I am having a similar problem. I have a 1997 reg very reliable high spec car, 32mpg only problem is a/c packed up (not a prob for the few hot days we have in the UK) and needs oil every 1k miles.

I have a new job which will mean doing 20k miles a year.

Doing the maths (yep big spreadsheet) and to break even I would need to balance reduced petrol and diesel prices against the cost of the new used car.

I am really reluctant to get rid of a trusted and dare I say this loved car. It has a big engine so presumably should be quite ok with over 200k on the clock

Also despite all the research I feel really uncomfortable bartering and talking to sales people. I am thorough in my research, but in reality how close do people get to the price listed in Parkers and What Car? Could really do with talking to an expert on car buying!