Car options and/or public transport

misskool

Hi all,

I think I've decided but just wanted to check for a second opinion.

I bought a P reg citroen AX (1997) in Dec 2009 for £500. It has cost £400 to pass the MOT (05/2011) and £150 service (06/2011). The car is due for insurance (£330). It costs £40 in petrol and £25 in parking a month to get to work.

Total running costs including capital purchase is £2160.

It's 11 miles to work and can't cycle because the quickest route is through 2 A-roads and the second route is through the London-Brighton bike ride (Ditchling Beacon).

Train takes 40-50 minutes each way with an annual travelcard costing £1180. Driving takes 20 mins each way.

The P-reg car now needs a new alternator but could also require a head gasket, we're looking at £400 + labour (I guess). I've taken it off road as the tax is due on 31 Jan and cancelled the insurance for the year (to start tomorrow).

Possibilities
Scrap the car and get £150 to use towards train fare or new car.
or get car repaired and on the road again (MOT due in May).

Which one would you choose? I'm leaning towards scrapping the car and taking the train but would like to hear a second opinion or other options as I don't fancy it taking me almost 2 hours to get to work and back for an 11 mile journey.

edit to add: I'm on a fixed term contract at work for another 23 months (I finish Dec 2013). No idea if I will be in the same place after that, if long term costs are being considered.

silvercar

So petrol + parking + insurance cost the same as the train, roughly.

So is the extra 20-30 minutes each way worth the cost of service and MOT?

zagubov

I can see it costing more later- once it costs that much to pass an MOT, it's not going to become less.
Can you work/ read on public trasnport (make the extra travelling time useful) and is the route reliable?
I'd sell the car for scrap and get another (not-quite-so-old) car.
Do you know anyone who's buying a new car and would sell you theirs for trade-in price/? we sold our last car to Mrs Zag's uncle and it's still going well.
A car will be more useful aside from commuting e.fg lugging things from shops etc.
Get a mate who knows about cars to accompany you. Get a mechanic to fix it up for you- find out if any friends use anyone who works outside a major garage - these guys are real diamonds.

forgotmyname

Buy yourself a Haynes manual, A decent set of spanners and some gloves and do the work yourself.

Do the gasket and a 2nd hand alternator with change from £150 including the tools.

Things dont get much simpler than an old AX. Unless its rotten underneath it will be cheap to keep going.

zagubov

Know anybody that wiorka in a local FE college? One of the unsung perks is the motor vehicle course students will fix your car for the cost of parts.

They work on wrecks and bangers mosytly but staff get their repairs done there. Usually fixed within the day. What would yiou have to lose? Sounds like you're thinking of scrapping it anyway?

misskool

zagubov wrote: »

I can see it costing more later- once it costs that much to pass an MOT, it's not going to become less.
Can you work/ read on public trasnport (make the extra travelling time useful) and is the route reliable?
I'd sell the car for scrap and get another (not-quite-so-old) car.
Do you know anyone who's buying a new car and would sell you theirs for trade-in price/? we sold our last car to Mrs Zag's uncle and it's still going well.
A car will be more useful aside from commuting e.fg lugging things from shops etc.
Get a mate who knows about cars to accompany you. Get a mechanic to fix it up for you- find out if any friends use anyone who works outside a major garage - these guys are real diamonds.

yes and yes (mostly).
The car is pretty ratty and we have another one. This is a second car hence why it's not majorly important to keep it going, and why it's important to consider it by cost.

misskool

forgotmyname wrote: »

Buy yourself a Haynes manual, A decent set of spanners and some gloves and do the work yourself.

Do the gasket and a 2nd hand alternator with change from £150 including the tools.

Things dont get much simpler than an old AX. Unless its rotten underneath it will be cheap to keep going.

zagubov wrote: »

Know anybody that wiorka in a local FE college? One of the unsung perks is the motor vehicle course students will fix your car for the cost of parts.

They work on wrecks and bangers mosytly but staff get their repairs done there. Usually fixed within the day. What would yiou have to lose? Sounds like you're thinking of scrapping it anyway?

I'd love to say that I would be able to learn how to fix my own car but I'm really really not going to be able to do it. There are many things I can do but that's not going to be one of it.

The £400 + labor is a FE student who's learning mechanics. He says it will probably be less but so far, alternator, timing belt, potential head gasket, brake pads and anything else he might find after he jacks it up.
He looked at it today for a good hour.

John_Pierpoint

Is it possible to organise a regular car pool type of arrangement, so 4-5 people travel to work not one?

Notmyrealname

misskool wrote: »

The £400 + labor is a FE student who's learning mechanics.

JESUS EFFIN CHRIST. That'd be dear for a garage. He is having you for a mug. I guess they teach how to rip off women drivers at college now...

Headgasket set around £30. Brake pads £10-£20. Timing belt kit I don't know but the belts aren't dear. Recon alternator around £60. If there's £200 of parts it'd be on the high end.

Hour to change brake pads, 2-3 hrs to do timing belt and headgasket, 10 minutes to change alternator when done at the same time as the rest. At £50/hr labour the whole bill shouldn't be more than £4-500 at an independant garage.

misskool

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Is it possible to organise a regular car pool type of arrangement, so 4-5 people travel to work not one?

I currently split the driving with one other person and that's about it as we both have nominal hours contracts. We don't always work just core work hours. Also, sometimes I go to the hospital during the day and it messes up where everyone is with the driving etc.

misskool

Notmyrealname wrote: »

JESUS EFFIN CHRIST. That'd be dear for a garage. He is having you for a mug. I guess they teach how to rip off women drivers at college now...

Headgasket set around £30. Brake pads £10-£20. Timing belt kit I don't know but the belts aren't dear. Recon alternator around £60. If there's £200 of parts it'd be on the high end.

Hour to change brake pads, 2-3 hrs to do timing belt and headgasket, 10 minutes to change alternator when done at the same time as the rest. At £50/hr labour the whole bill shouldn't be more than £4-500 at an independant garage.

Thanks, so it could be done for less than £400? I might have another look around. It's just that I don't know how to do car things. I can fix more expensive equipment but not my car

I'm in the south east if that changes prices a bit?