What should we do with our car?

Horasio

We have an R reg Vectra from new, done 67000 miles. MOT to August, now SORN.

It has an expensive repair that need doing - up to £500. It is worth about £800-1000 and would get £500 pt exch.

Should we get it repaired or scrapped?

vansboy

E Bay it - much cheaper option than fixing or Autotrader ads

VB

tomstickland

What's wrong with it?
Depending on a number of other factors I've recommend fixing it or selling it as a complete car to someone who wants it for spares.

DavidHM

The repair costs "up to" £500. What's the repair? Is it likely to cost as much as that if you go to a cheap, trustworthy mechanic, or is £500 the main dealer price but you've been quoted £200 elsewhere?

What would you do with the car if you fixed it? Keep it, sell it privately (it should make more than £800 privately if it's clean with one owner and low miles), or part exchange it anyway?

Is there anything else on the car that doesn't need doing to get it roadworthy but which is pending, e.g., four new tyres, a timing belt, brakes, etc.?

If the car is a one owner car with 67k miles on it, it should be nearly mint. In that case you'd never get a car as good for £500 and it's a clear case of better the devil you know.

Worst case scenario as I see it is that you spend £500 and you have a car worth £500 as a p/x so you're only down the scrap value of the car - £100? However you could also spend £200 (?) and have a low mileage, solid car that will last for five more years with careful and regular maintenance.

The only clear economic argument in favour of scrapping it would be if you could get more than £500 off for a new or nearly new car, that you would buy anyway, by buying online and not having a part exchange to negotiate over. Otheriwse it's better, financially and environmentally, to keep a solid old car on the road, either by using it yourself (cheap, depreciation-free motoring) or by selling it on to someone else so that someone further down the food chain eventually scraps a real banger instead.

Horasio

Everything else is fine - the timing belt was done two years ago.

We want to get rid of it for a different newer car.

The dealer wanted to charge £500 - it is a clutch job (not just a basic clutch replacement) but it is deep and would require engine removal to access it. I can't remember the exact name of the part but it isn't routine or simple.

tomstickland

What engine is it?
Dealer wanted £500, so independant garage will probably want half that.

Horasio

I'm not a mechanic, so I am not familiar with terminology, apart from the very basics - I can ask my OH for more details.

It is the engine, I'm not sure what you are asking. Are you asking the cc of it? - it is a 1.8i

It is deep within the car and labour intensive hence the high cost.

Right now it won't move.

reheat

I'm not all that convinced of the argument about measuring repair costs solely against a cars market or trade-in value ... very important obviously, but not the only thing. If you have a car that you know is fundamentally good, reliable, well looked after, you have to factor in the risk involved in changing to another car. If you're confident you know a goode reliable dealer who will look after you properly if your next car gives you trouble, then fine ... but it's not always that easy. Balancing the risk of what your present car is going to be costing you vs the risk of what your next one might.

tomstickland

Possibly clutch release bearing. Engine out, or at least gearbox off job on Vectras. £500 is steep though. Are you just looking for excuses to rid yourself of the car? Get a quote for the job from an independant garage.

DavidHM

As Tom said, there's quite a good argument in favour of repairing this car, just not having the work done by a main dealer. At nine years old, it doesn't need main dealer pampering - just a competent, independent mechanic.

Have a look here http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/directories/index.htm?blk=DirGoodGarages for an idea of who may be worth using in your area.

If you are looking to get rid of the car in in any event, don't buy a new Vectra except at a massive discount (and even then, it's probably only worth it you have GM points). A new 1.8 Exclusive should be about £11k; used it should be a little under £9k for a one-year-old.


In those circumstances, rather than fixing the car yourself and part-exchanging it, I'd sell it spares or repair (so no possible comebacks) on eBay for £250 - £300: obviously that's a generous discount over what it would be worth if fixed but at least there are no towing charges, hassle, etc., if you're keen to avoid that.

However to be perfectly honest, something like the clutch release bearing isn't a good enough reason to scrap the car: it might not be an easy job but it's not indicative of a fundamental weakness in the car, nor is it likely to recur for that matter.

Honey_Bee_8

Mine was ready for scrap and I've just sold it on ebay! It went all the way to Liverpool. People in the trade will buy stuff to do up and either keep or sell on. Worth a try - I'm glad I did!