Any Advice? Need to buy a new car

Elle00

Hi all,

I'm starting a new job in a couple of weeks which is a 15 mile drive to work then back again five days a week. My current car is an N reg Ford Fiesta Ztec with 110,000 miles on the clock, a squeak under the bonnet which two out of two garages have failed to resolve, a back tyre that's almost new but keeps deflating anyway and a clutch that keeps on sinking into the ground despite having been replaced just two months ago (I have to hook it back up with my feet from neutral - whilst driving). I am just throwing good money after bad with this bloody car and have to date spent about £1,000 on it NOT including MOT, Tax and Insurance and more than I paid for the damn thing in August last year. I'm terrified I will fail to get to work in the first or second week with this hunk of junk.

I have £600 in the bank and access to borrow about £700 on my overdraft (leaving some for emergencies). When I start work I've calculated I'll have around £260 spare each month so would be willing to borrow up to 6m of this in advance (£1500). But of course who wants to borrow? Am going to harrass Daddy dearest later on for an interest free loan but he isn't always helpful as he doesn't think I should be working and that it's all going to go wrong etc. Not an optimistic chap but worth asking for money as he always has some in the bank and I rarely ask (cheap daughter me - should be appreciated more).

I've seen one car on the website of a local car dealer that I could afford to buy outright: 1996 Citroen AX 1.1 Memphis, N Reg, MOT Feb 08, 54,000 Miles, Service History, Electric Windows, Central Locking, Sunroof, Stereo Tuner, Lovely Car Throughout. £595

By borrowing, with a kitty of up to £2,800, I could go up to a car from the same dealer: 2001 Ford Fiesta 1.25 Zetec, Y Reg, Slightly Above Average Mileage (hmm), MOT May 08, Air Con, Power Steering, Central Locking, Driver Airbag, Stereo, Alloy Wheels, Lovely Condition. £1795

So what would you do in my position? Would you simply replace what you already have (trading the N reg Fiesta for the N reg Citroen) in the hope that it's in better nick having been serviced by a reputable dealer? Or would you borrow money to upgrade to a newer car in the hope it would prove more reliable? I adored my AX Elation and only got rid when bubs came along and I needed 5 doors so I would be happy with the citroen if I thought I could rely on it. I do wonder about the price though, why would a decent car with only 54,000 miles on the clock be priced at just £595? Is it because the brand is unpopular?

Argh advice please!!!

Elle00

Anyone got an opinion on this?

Keith

Go under your bonnet and remove the bonnet prop and see if it resolves the squeak.

I had a similar problem and had all kinds of problems quoted until one mechanic earned his money.

anewman

You can get some good cars cheap and some bad cars. My concern with the citroen would be expensive parts. I would check how much parts are first. You can in fact get Skoda Favorits with under 40k miles for under £400 in good condition. They're not bad cars, just people don't like them and people tend to be all snobbish. You may even be surprised and get the citroen for much less than the £595 with some haggling. To car dealers a sale now is better than the space being taken up on the forecourt for another month in which they could sell another car. Don't come across too keen though as they will start holding out for more. If you look on autotrader you will find some cars with aircon, elec windows, elec sunroof, elec and heated mirrors and all that sort of stuff for under £1k if you spend long enough looking through them

About your clutch, was the job done properly? Don't know about this car in particular but could it be a clutch release spring as opposed to the clutch mechanism and plates?

If the tyre is very new I would take it to the garage you got it from with a receipt and hope they sort it for free. Tyres won't be too problematic to sort out. For a short term fix swap it for the spare if it's not that old and has legal tread.

Paying more on cars than they cost is part of life, and new car owners don't get off lightly either as they often spend much more for repairs and servicing, although they need this less often. I guess a good point to stop is when the total it will cost to get it through an MOT or back on the road costs almost double the price you paid for the car all in one go. But I guess that depends on the overall condition of the car.

Could the squeak be the timing/cam chain/belt I wonder? (would be expensive to sort out.) Maybe even the fan kicking in now that it's warmer weather?

Your car could easily be good for another 60k+ miles if it has been and is going to be well kept.

As for getting to work, check out bus services and stuff. I wouldn't worry unless your car has difficulty starting or keeps stalling personally. I'm sure it will get you there.

Elle00

anewman wrote: »

You can get some good cars cheap and some bad cars. My concern with the citroen would be expensive parts. I would check how much parts are first. You can in fact get Skoda Favorits with under 40k miles for under £400 in good condition. They're not bad cars, just people don't like them and people tend to be all snobbish. You may even be surprised and get the citroen for much less than the £595 with some haggling. To car dealers a sale now is better than the space being taken up on the forecourt for another month in which they could sell another car. Don't come across too keen though as they will start holding out for more. If you look on autotrader you will find some cars with aircon, elec windows, elec sunroof, elec and heated mirrors and all that sort of stuff for under £1k if you spend long enough looking through them

About your clutch, was the job done properly? Don't know about this car in particular but could it be a clutch release spring as opposed to the clutch mechanism and plates?

If the tyre is very new I would take it to the garage you got it from with a receipt and hope they sort it for free. Tyres won't be too problematic to sort out. For a short term fix swap it for the spare if it's not that old and has legal tread.

Paying more on cars than they cost is part of life, and new car owners don't get off lightly either as they often spend much more for repairs and servicing, although they need this less often. I guess a good point to stop is when the total it will cost to get it through an MOT or back on the road costs almost double the price you paid for the car all in one go. But I guess that depends on the overall condition of the car.

Could the squeak be the timing/cam chain/belt I wonder? (would be expensive to sort out.) Maybe even the fan kicking in now that it's warmer weather?

Your car could easily be good for another 60k+ miles if it has been and is going to be well kept.

As for getting to work, check out bus services and stuff. I wouldn't worry unless your car has difficulty starting or keeps stalling personally. I'm sure it will get you there.

No public transport to where I'm going to work I'm afraid so I MUST have a reliable car. It's one of those research places built in it's own complex outside a village.

I won't pretend to understand the ins and outs of what you say about the clutch however the word "spring" really sets off bells for me as if it's that there's a spring underneath the clutch pedal responsible for bringing it back up each time (which, duh, would make sense) then the spring being faulty would be an absolutely spot on suggestion for what is wrong with the clutch considering how it happens.

As for the tyre I presume this must have been my own fault though I do not know how or when - a guy pointed it out to me in the Asda car park today! There's a tiny dent in the tyre rim so I must have clipped something somewhere along the lines and not noticed. The spare is only just legal so I would need to buy another tyre.

I was also recommended to have the gear box replaced when they did the clutch saying it was probably a combination of the two causing problems as they were both a bit worn (the gears sometimes stick when the clutch sinks).

To be honest it's not just about getting it through it's MOT, it's more about it being safe and reliable to handle all that travel. I currently only use it two or three times a week - one or two town trips to get the shopping and one 20 miler. I'm petrified it's going to let me down after just a week or two of driving it to work.

I guess maybe I should find another garage (one that doesn't call me sweety and bill me £327 for a clutch I was told wouldn't cost more than £200 would be good) and look at this Citroen and weigh up the odds between the two. I guess it's not going to be worth paying out for trimmings like air con while I'm not really in a position to do so.

As for Citroen parts, well I had a 3dr Citroen AX Elation for 2yrs before bubs came along and I couldn't get his seat in the back and never had to replace one single part. It was without a doubt the most reliable car I've ever owned! My Dad went on to drive it to death round London for another year after I'd finished with it maxing the milage to something silly like £115,000 from my £70,000!

And speaking of Daddy dearest I don't know what the possible loan situation might be as yet because he's quite clearly left his flaming phone at work hence why he didn't call me back or answer my gazillion calls. I know my Dad too well.

anewman

I guess the other thing is if you borrow money and buy a pricier car without any warranty on the car you may still end up with some repair bills. Might be better to get a cheaper car and have some money set aside prepared for any unexpected repairs. Also don't buy on mileage, buy on condition (although low mileage and good condition would be good).