Our car has died - what to do now?

Catriona_P

Our poor little car has today been condemned - we've already spent £400 on it this summer and it sounded strange the other day so today I took it to our local garage and the work it would take to fix it now means the cost is more than the car is worth.

We're left with what to do now - we can't afford to buy brand new, and even a second-hand car is stretching our budget as we don't have much in savings. We don't drive a huge amount but do need a car to get around sometimes. Our current car is a 9 year old KA with nearly 90,000 miles on the clock, and if we are to get a newer car we'd probably need a 5 door as we've had a family since we bought it and getting everything in has been a pain. So we wouldn't be replacing the car like for like which means more expense.

Any suggestions? Is finance the way to go? Or do we need a loan? It's been so long since we bought a car that I can't really remember what to do so would appreciate some advice.

pinkteapot

What's the quote for the repairs?

Rather than look at cost vs what the car is worth, I would actually look at cost vs what that amount of money would buy you in the second hand car market. E.g. if the repairs are £800, how reliable is an £800 second hand car going to be?

TrickyWicky

If you've had a family since buying your Ka then this sounds like a blessing in disguise if you ask me.

Sure you might not have much in savings but at least you have some. Find yourself another car. If you can't afford much then an old ford mondeo would probably be a good bet - ford engines and boxes are known for being like duracell batteries. They keep going and going and going and going and...

Also while I know you say its not worth spending the money on repairs because its more than the car is worth, there is another way of looking at it. Every car will cost you money no matter what. Your car is already paid for. You have no monthly payments to make on it, no risk of repossesion etc yet if you had a car that you were paying off you could still be stuck with these repair costs. In essence, it's a free car with expenses VS a costly car with expenses. All 3 of our cars are old bangers that are pretty much worthless but we continue to use them and repair them for this very reason.

fivetide

TrickyWicky wrote: »

ford engines and boxes are known for being like duracell batteries. They keep going and going and going and going and...

With the possible exception of the one in their Ford Ka

Idiophreak

How much do you think the car's worth in its current state?

How many miles do you do?

How much would you have as a deposit and could you afford anything extra monthly?

Catriona_P

Thanks guys. Quote for the repairs is £800. Mileage is erratic as we don't use it much day to day, just a trot across town but every 2 months or so we do a visit to my family which is a 700 mile round trip. As a family we have about £3k in savings which isn't much at all for anything, let alone a new car.

I take the points about keeping it as any car will need repairs, interesting way of thinking about it.

fivetide

A Ford Ka, essentially a Fiesta made on the cheap, isn't the safest family wagon around, I think that is the point Tricky was getting at.

You can pick up cars now that are almost disposable. You'll get a few hundred back in scrap value etc so worth keeping an eye out.

Pinkteapot makes a good point about better the devil you know though. It is up to you whether you think it is the right car.

As an example, here's a one owner car for £295. Says it might need a clutch but that would still be less than you £800 total and you could put whatever you get for the Ka towards it
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/subaru/legacy/subaru-legacy-66l-gl-awd-2002/812015

jaydeeuk1

Whats the problem with it? Sounding strange could be caused by all sorts of things.

forgotmyname

I could fix a LOT of faults on a KA for £800.

You dont do a lot of miles so a high mileage car is your ticket to a newish car for banger money.

In 2009 i bought a 2004 mondeo for just over £2000.

You could be looking at one of the last MK3 (2007) models ,
Choice of petrol or diesel.
100,000+ miles but easily do another 100,000 with basic servicing.

Petrol models are a better option if MPG is not everything.

TrickyWicky

fivetide wrote: »

With the possible exception of the one in their Ford Ka

The OP says the car has died but doesn't state what has died. Could be the front suspension has dropped apart, coil springs snapped, etc. That with labour on top would make it expensive.

The op didn't state anything about the engine or gearbox being dead!

TrickyWicky

fivetide wrote: »

A Ford Ka, essentially a Fiesta made on the cheap, isn't the safest family wagon around, I think that is the point Tricky was getting at.

Actually no it wasn't but you've made a good point!

They are cheap and prone to rusting away before your eyes but they're reasonably reliable as long as you don't mind replacing everything (including bits of the chassis). That said, any repairs at a garage will be expensive due to the labour and vat etc. DIY repairs are always cheaper as you're just looking at parts and materials.

The point I was trying to make is that the car is already paid for. It's a free car + running / repair costs. Otherwise the op could get finance, buy another car and have the repayments + running / repair costs. Thats 2 lots of expense vs one lot of expense. It's also the reason we stick with our cars even if they are old bangers (even though old bangers in the traditional sense are now pretty reliable and usually a lot smarter).

As my mechanic put it to me a while back, you can spend £350 repairing a car or you can spend £Mega on another car and still end up repairing that. If you already own the car and just repair it, the car is a freebie and you're only paying for the repairs.

I know what I'd rather do