I need a new car - please help me avoid credit!!

Cazzdevil

I'm cheating a bit since I'm not *technically* a DFW anymore but you all give such great advice so I thought you'd be the perfect bunch to put my quandry to.

In a nutshell, I need a new car. My old faithfull ain't so faithful anymore and it's not worth doing any more repairs on it. The tax gets renewed tomorrow so OH and I are putting 6 months on and saying that's it. No more tax, no more fixes, so when it konks out completely/the tax runs out (whichever comes first) it's getting replaced. So it's full steam ahead to save up for a new one in the meantime (I refuse point blank to take out a loan for it).

My plan of attack is:

1. Put £15 a week away in savings towards it, increasing to £20 a week when my mortgage arrears are cleared (1st week in September)

2. Make as much "free" money on the cashback sites as possible, I already have approximately £110 in Quidco between OH and I's accounts, and £16 in Myshoppingrewards and will add to this as much as is possible without spending too much.

3. Ebay as MUCH as possible, I'm hoping that if I have a thorough clearout of the house then between the clothes, bike parts, books, records etc I could have up to £400 worth of bits and pieces

4. Keep adding to my "unopenable" money tin (any change less than a £1 coin goes in)

I don't really want to have to plough EVERY spare penny towards it, I'd rather save up without it affecting my day to day budget so does anyone have any other clever ways for me to increase my "new car pot"? My ultimate aim is to save as much as possible so that OH and I can get as good a car as possible so we'll not have to replace it for a while.

Many many thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this, I truly appreciate everyones input :T

Andy_Edinburgh

For some sound advice on budget motoring, have a look at:

http://bangernomics.tripod.com

When considering a replacement car, "do your homework" at:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm

http://www.carsurvey.org

http://www.parkers.co.uk

Crown

Hi CD, Looks like a good plan to me!

HAve you decided what car you want to go for? Remember when it comes to the time of buying do not be aafraid to haggle with the seller especially if you are going to be in a position to flash the cash.. Lert me tell you as a salesman that its amazing what happens when we (salespeople) see a big wad of cash.. suddenly there is some extra discounts and added extras to throw in lol

From the looks of it you are still sticking to your MSE way of life so I cant really offer any other advice than tips. Make sure you put the money in the best saving account you can as the interest earned will also help.

Make sure you dont buy a brand new gas guzzler! remember the car depreciates in value as soon as you drive it of the forecourt.

Andy_Edinburgh

> Make sure you don't buy a brand new gas guzzler! Remember the car depreciates in value as soon as you drive it of the forecourt.

Amen to that! I know someone who bought her first car brand-new, then left it on the drive every day while she "saved money" by paying to take the bus to and from work... ("But why is it depreciating? It's almost new"...)

Cazzdevil

Thanks for your comments everyone!

One of the lads I go mountain biking with is a mechanic for Reg Vardy (he does the fixes on the car at mates rates bless him) and he's already said that when the time comes for me to replace the old bird he'll let me know what they have in the way of part ex's.

He says they quite often get really sound runners with very low mileage in for peanuts so hopefully a grand or so will get me a really good one! It works out brilliantly because I know I'll get a car which has been fully checked over by a reputable mechanic.

Conor_3

Basically as long as it's not costing you more than £200-£300 a year in repairs, there's no point changing it TBH. Most cars need repairing to some extent and it's usually a case of "better the devil you know".

KME91

i bought a cracking little vw polo off ebay for less than £200. two years on it still runs like a dream (watch it pack up on the way home now)
with someone who knows what they're looking at you should get a pretty good quality car for £1000. particularly if you're looking for something small and economical, you shouldn't need to spend more than that to get a good car to last you the next five years or so with a bit of maintenance.

marksandsparksgal

Ditto, I bought a R reg Fiesta 2 years ago for £1000, my tip would be shop around...the big dealers have more overheads/staff to pay, sometimes the little places can be just as good at finding a bargin!

Well done on getting such good MSE habits tho.

Cazzdevil

Conor wrote: »

Basically as long as it's not costing you more than £200-£300 a year in repairs, there's no point changing it TBH.

It's an M reg Mondeo with 162,000 miles on the clock, it was given to me 18 months ago by my ex's parents and since I got it I've had to get the suspension replaced (£50), all brake shoes & pads + 1 rotor replaced (£250), exhaust & cat replaced (£150), and all the brake hoses replaced (£50) and it's in the garage at the minute getting the water pump replaced at a further cost of £100. The clutch doesn't have much life left in it either so OH and I made a joint decision to let this be its last repair before being scrapped. It's just not worth fixing anymore and for the amount of running round we do we need something a bit more reliable (we're away almost every weekend mountain biking all over the country).

Thanks for your suggestions and advice everyone.

angelfire

Cazzdevil wrote: »

It's an M reg Mondeo with 162,000 miles on the clock, it was given to me 18 months ago by my ex's parents and since I got it I've had to get the suspension replaced (£50), all brake shoes & pads + 1 rotor replaced (£250), exhaust & cat replaced (£150), and all the brake hoses replaced (£50) and it's in the garage at the minute getting the water pump replaced at a further cost of £100. The clutch doesn't have much life left in it either so OH and I made a joint decision to let this be its last repair before being scrapped. It's just not worth fixing anymore and for the amount of running round we do we need something a bit more reliable (we're away almost every weekend mountain biking all over the country).

Thanks for your suggestions and advice everyone.

hi there, with regards to your current car, I used to have a K reg mondeo, I'd had it for six years, i hadn't serviced it, high mileage, it had dents and scratches allover and had sat on my driveway for the best part of twelve months unused. my boyfriend kept saying it was only worth scrapping etc but I wouldn't have it. in the end i advertised it on ebay, described it exactly as it was and it went for £120!

So please don't automatically scrap your current car, you never know someone might want it, perhaps for their daughter/son to practice in (as the buyer for mine did)..

I'd pop it on ebay - you've nowt to lose!

LandyAndy

Of course, in accordance with the law of s o d, it will now run perfectly for six months:D .