Car is dead, help us find a new one.

lizzywig

On Friday DH was driving back from a business trip and lots of smoke started pouring out. The radiator overheated and exploded and did something to the head gasket. If that doesn't sound right to you then it's probably not as I am hopeless with cars and can't quite remember what DH said. AA said we'd be lucky if the car wasn't written off, garage confirmed that it was a write off. Checked warranty and although parts and repairs were covered, we weren't covered in this instance as car overheated.

So now what to do? I've been back at work after mat leave for 3 weeks and pay day isn't for another 3 weeks. When I do get paid I get a lump sum which will help, however we all use the car to travel to/from work and travelling by car actually works out cheaper. Also commuting with a 9 month olf baby will be hard and will ruin her meal times but we'll do it while we have to.

Seem some cars and would appreciate some thoughts:

Renault Megane 2003 85,000 £2450. full service history (cam belt done 6 months ago. Previous owners part exchanged their car for a bigger one due to a 3rd child. From a used car dealer, warranty for 6 months. Will pay for on 0% cc and pay off in 3 weeks with my lump sum which has been confirmed. Have heard Renaults are expensive to repair so have reservations.

Vauxhall Astra 2004 65,000 £1500 (advertised as £1700 but dropping for us). full service history (cam belt needs doing soon). Owner is a family friend and has upgraded but know car to be reliable. Will pay using planned overdraft (£5 charge and will then 0% transfer onto cc until my lump sum comes in). Downside is that it's only a 3 door and we have a baby and think this might be awkward.

These are our main choices, we have a budget of £2.5k at the most really. I have seen a variety of other cars around, a Vauxhall Zafira for £2100 but from autotrader and I'm dubious about buying from someone we don't know or not from a garage. We want a car to last about 3 years, we had been planning to part exchange our old car in the new year and buy something in the region of £8k but that's out the window now. We need something that's a family car, so at least a 1.6L. The warranty we had on our old car paid off in dividends as it paid for many repairs (well above the cost of the warranty), unfortunately it won't help us on this occassion and we still have just under 2 years of paying it off, but it's only £20/month). I'm anxious about buying a car and then potentially forking out lots for repairs that we may not be able to afford IF we stretch ourselves too far.

I don't need someone to tell me what to do but I'd appreciate your thoughts on Renaults and also getting children in/out of 3 door cars. Hoping it's not as hard as I imagine!

jaydeeuk1

Any cliffs near you?

prowla

You weren't covered because the car overheated?
Maybe the car overheated because of a problem....

Strider590

Perhaps get a car that gives basic maintenance instructions in the handbook? Should at least ensure this doesn't happen again.....

jimmo

The 2 cars you mention are 8 and 9 years old and I think you have to accept that, whichever one you buy, you will be taking a chance and you could be buying a money pit.

I am not sure whether you have benefited or not from the warranty on your current (deceased) car but conventional wisdom is that they are not worth the paper they are written on and, when it comes down to the big bucks, that seems to be where you find yourself at the moment.

Your car has died and the warranty company don’t want to know.

Both the Renault and the Vauxhall have full service histories. Have you seen them or are you just taking the seller’s word for it?

As to the actual cars, I had a test drive in a brand new Megane but that was quite some years ago. I didn’t like it. Its one of those things you can’t quite put your finger on but I didn’t feel safe in the Megane and, curiously enough, we chose an Astra. Nowhere near as lively as the Megane, we just felt safer in the Astra.

You really should test drive both cars and experiment getting the baby in the back and see which one you are comfortable with.

I bought my first car from my uncle and that was a huge mistake. It turned out to be a shed but, to this day, I still don’t believe that my uncle deliberately stitched me up. However the upshot was that my mother did not speak to her brother for 20 years.

Such are the emotions that can come to the surface if you buy from family.

On balance, I would far sooner trust a family friend than an unknown dealer.

Having said all that, I would suggest you widen your search and think bigger.

I am an avid Mondeo fan and my son, who lives with us, has what was my 1998 Mondeo. My wife has a 5 month old Meriva with less than 1500 miles on the clock and I drive both cars. I am much happier driving the 14 year old Mondeo than the Meriva or any of her previous Astras.

If I were in your situation I would go for bangernomics. Nothing smaller than a Mondeo, maybe expensive on petrol and road tax, probably cheaper on insurance but far less likely to let you down.

LincolnshireYokel

I currently use a 1.9 diesel V reg Renault Scenic, similar to a Megane, In two years operating, its cost £200 to get it through two MOTs, and ive had to have two new tyres (£90) and a front flexible exhaust pipe (£90) and a oil pipe that was damaged by the exhaust fitters. Ive had to top the oil up once. The only minor persistant fault is a slight water leak through the aerial hole when it torrents down.

Cant knock it, most reliable car ive ever owned.

I ran Mondoes,. Sierras and Cortinas before that, The Sierras were easy to fix and went on to 250k miles no prob, but the Mondoes I wouldnt touch again, both got scrapped because they got to 140k miles and the clutch went, and it was a £600 to change the clutch, making it uneconomic to fix, despite the rest of the car being perfectly ok. A stupid design!!

The Scenic does 450 miles on £65 worth of Diesel, the Mondeo did £290 miles on £80 worth, no competition really.

mattyprice4004

What's the make and model of car that's died?

Usually just a new cylinder head and job done!

forgotmyname

Scrap a good car because of a clutch?

Ive had 3 Mondeo's all high mileage. I would fit a clutch knowing the car would last a long time with basic servicing.

Old Renault's and Citroens are not your sort of car if you know nothing about cars. Did the high temperature gauge and hot smell not warn you something was wrong?

Astra sounds OK, I wouldnt buy one. Mostly underpowered.

Get a Focus or Fiesta if a Mondeo is too big.

But they will cost more than a Mondeo.

jase1

£2500 seems awfully high for a 9 year old car to me.

I paid £1000 for a seven year old one a couple of years back (and it is a Mitsubishi, a car which, no disrepect intended here, but is likely to give less trouble than a Megane of the period we're discussing -- Meganes and Lagunas built between around 2002 and 2005 have had more than their fair share of faults). OK there's a bit of surface rust around the sills now but really, £2500? For a Renault, hardly a car noted for holding its value?

I'd be looking to pay around £1800 for a 2005 or 2006 car. Bottom line is this: the best way to ensure that a car will last is to buy a newer one in the first place. A 9 or 10 year old car now will be a 12 or 13 year old one in three years, around the time they generally get scrapped.

Have a look at Mondeos, Vectras, Primeras, Avensises, Accords, Mazda 6s, Mitsubishi Lancers/Carismas and Skoda Octavias at around a 2005-2007 plate. One should easily be available for under £2500. Petrol preferably unless you cover a lot of miles (cheaper and less likely to smack you with a large bill).

Don't necessarily discount Korean tin either at this end of the market. I recently saw a 58-plate Chevrolet Lacetti 1.6 estate sell for £2400. Most likely a good 5 or 6 years left in a car like that if it's looked after at a conservative estimate.

There's a 2007 Chevrolet Tacuma 1.6 that's been on eBay near me for a few weeks now. OK, this particular model has been hit several times with the ugly stick, but it's not *that* bad in black, and it's a mini-MPV so practical. He's got it up for £1000 and it isn't shifting. There may be something wrong with it, but really, the mechanicals in these things are all GM/Vauxhall and they're no more unreliable than anything else. A grand for a 5 year old car? I'm struggling to see the downsides apart from the looks.

The 2006- petrol Lagunas are also worth considering -- they're dirt cheap due to the reputation they've built up, however the post-2006 cars were much better made and the petrol engines were never prone to faults in the way the diesels had been.

Alias_Omega

I would have an estimate to repair from a small independant garage.

You could probably have a fully reconditioned engine/clutch fitted for less than <£1000 with warranty. You dont mention what the car is.

If the car is at a main dealer, they are always going to "write the car off" as you looking at £90 per hour labour, and then genuine parts.

andygb

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

The Scenic does 450 miles on £65 worth of Diesel, the Mondeo did £290 miles on £80 worth, no competition really.

There was definitely something wrong with it then, because that is not typical of Mondeo fuel consumption. We get up to 520 miles on a tankful on our 1.8 petrol Mk2 Mondy (2000 Verona, with aircon, central locking, electric windows), and never less than 450 miles. The ride quality and controls mean that it is a good choice for someone who wants economy motoring.