Niffs's motoring dilemma

nifflespink

Hello lovely Money savers,

OK, I have a wee dilemma which I have been stewing over for quite a while (my decision-making ability is poor)...

I have a little green car which I have become very attached to. However, a couple of weeks ago it decided to break down leaving me stranded on a busy A-road alone at night with no hazards! Luckily the nice RAC man came to my rescue and did what he needed to do, but now my little car has a broken alternator, is due it's MOT and hence tax at the end of May, so now, and looks like it has a potential head gasket problem (though this hasn't gone yet).

So my dilemma...should I pay to get it all fixed, MOT'd and taxed, or give up??? I've been offered another car almost for free which is probably gonna be a bit more reliable, however it is slightly bigger (my lil car has less than a 1litre engine and is very economical) so insurance will be more and will be more of a petrol guzzler.
Hmmm decisions.

If anyone is bored and has a moment or two to help me see sense, please feel free...

Niffs x

plane_boy2000

Niffs,

Give us a clue as to what you have and have been offered - perhaps then we could offer advice on the value, and reliability so you can make a choice

chrisw

You could get it mot'd first and find out exactly what it needs doing. If that's ok, pick up an alternator from a scrapyard. How do you know it has a potential head gasket problem? It's either gone or it hasn't. There's no guarantee that the cheap one you've been offered will be any more reliable.

Dave_Brooker

nifflespink wrote: »

Hello lovely Money savers,

OK, I have a wee dilemma which I have been stewing over for quite a while (my decision-making ability is poor)...

I have a little green car which I have become very attached to. However, a couple of weeks ago it decided to break down leaving me stranded on a busy A-road alone at night with no hazards! Luckily the nice RAC man came to my rescue and did what he needed to do, but now my little car has a broken alternator, is due it's MOT and hence tax at the end of May, so now, and looks like it has a potential head gasket problem (though this hasn't gone yet).

So my dilemma...should I pay to get it all fixed, MOT'd and taxed, or give up??? I've been offered another car almost for free which is probably gonna be a bit more reliable, however it is slightly bigger (my lil car has less than a 1litre engine and is very economical) so insurance will be more and will be more of a petrol guzzler.
Hmmm decisions.

If anyone is bored and has a moment or two to help me see sense, please feel free...

Niffs x

If you're fond of your car get it mended, a headgasket and an altanator are not the end of the world.

All cars need some TLC now and then.

epninety

When a few things go wrong it's always tempting to think a 'new' car must be better than the 'old' one. After a breakdown, most people feel a small crisis of confidence in their cars.

I tend to think 'better the devil you know'... if you've owned your current car for a while you've probably found any existing problems. So age and mileage being equal, if you can fix up your car for the same cost as the 'new' one, then your current car is the better bet.

Start from there, and factor in age, condition, insurance, running costs, etc. to make your decision.

Hintza

epninety wrote: »

When a few things go wrong it's always tempting to think a 'new' car must be better than the 'old' one. After a breakdown, most people feel a small crisis of confidence in their cars.

I tend to think 'better the devil you know'... if you've owned your current car for a while you've probably found any existing problems. So age and mileage being equal, if you can fix up your car for the same cost as the 'new' one, then your current car is the better bet.

Start from there, and factor in age, condition, insurance, running costs, etc. to make your decision.

I did this on a Golf a few years ago and kept spending money bought for £1,000 spent £1,500 on it and it was still awful. Decided had spent so much on it that had better do the cam belt. That job was completed on the Saturday and I wrote it off on the Monday, it was a huge relief to be rid of the millstone that was that car. Cost me a fortune.

But in general i agree with you, if you have had a car awhile you tend to know its foibles.

On an old car an alternator is to be expected so I would be tempted to get that done. The question is how do you know the head gasket is going to go?

nifflespink

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Ok, my car is a Citreon AX Spree, 10 years old and it's done about 133k miles. Quite a lot I know.

The one I have been offered by my bro is a Renault 19 1.4 rti which is M reg so 11/12 years old? Bro seems to think it's quite reliable.

Well, with regards to the head gasket, I've had two separate RAC men tell me they think it's on the way out from looking in the water wotsit...oil is mixing with water when it shouldn't be, or something like that (sorry I can't be more technical - I am a girl afterall!). Like I said it has not gone yet, but two different mechanics telling me that?

With regards to it's reliability, I've only had it six months, and had the nice RAC men out three times for different things (the latest being the alternator). I had to declare it as SORN yesterday (a sad moment!) as it's tax was due and I haven't been able to MOT it.

So dilemma...to run my car will be cheaper as it's only little. My bro's has a bigger engine thus insurance and petrol will be more. But I need to fork out for the alternator, the MOT, the tax and then I'll be driving it just waiting for the head gasket to pop.
(And I'm trying to be very good here and not choose to keep my car simply because it's prettier than my bro's!)

Help appreciated!

Dave_Brooker

nifflespink wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Ok, my car is a Citreon AX Spree, 10 years old and it's done about 133k miles. Quite a lot I know.

The one I have been offered by my bro is a Renault 19 1.4 rti which is M reg so 11/12 years old? Bro seems to think it's quite reliable.

Well, with regards to the head gasket, I've had two separate RAC men tell me they think it's on the way out from looking in the water wotsit...oil is mixing with water when it shouldn't be, or something like that (sorry I can't be more technical - I am a girl afterall!). Like I said it has not gone yet, but two different mechanics telling me that?

With regards to it's reliability, I've only had it six months, and had the nice RAC men out three times for different things (the latest being the alternator). I had to declare it as SORN yesterday (a sad moment!) as it's tax was due and I haven't been able to MOT it.

So dilemma...to run my car will be cheaper as it's only little. My bro's has a bigger engine thus insurance and petrol will be more. But I need to fork out for the alternator, the MOT, the tax and then I'll be driving it just waiting for the head gasket to pop.
(And I'm trying to be very good here and not choose to keep my car simply because it's prettier than my bro's!)

Help appreciated!

There was a chap in this very board with an AX he wanted rid of, he might have a cheap altenator for your car?

scheming_gypsy

head gasket will probably cost a few hundred quid to replace, plus the alternator on top of that and anything the MOT might find. A 10 year old Citreon AX with 133k on the clock isn't going to be worth the cost or repairs.

nifflespink

That's what I thought scheming_gypsy. I'm coming to terms with it, my car is on the way out. Just need to get round to doing something about moving it. Any ideas? Anyone want a dead car?!

anewman

Old cars are often worth more in parts than as a whole. May be easier just to get it scrapped though. The 1.4rti shouldn't be *too* bad on insurance, and 1.4 shouldn't be over the top on petrol. But again it's french and chances are parts will be expensive when it comes to MOT and repair time.

You could look for another car with the money you probably would have spent getting this one sorted. Plenty of decent cars out there available for next to nothing as people are very snobbish about cars and like to keep up with the jones's and have the latest reg.