Sorry, another car thread!

bathgatebuyer

Hi - looking for advice as to what best to do about a new car.

At the moment, I paid off my car in Feb 07, but as it's 6 years old I'm starting to fork out quite a lot in repairs and the like, i.e. MOT in Feb was £800, need new catalytic convertor and timing belt £1K, etc. So, although I'm no longer paying a loan, I've actually forked out more since then keeping it on the road (damn my VW!)

Anyhow, I've been looking at getting a new car, and would need a loan of about £7K to get what I'm after (which would be topped up with my own as a trade-in which I should get about £4K for). So, a new car, no MOT for 3 yrs and a bit more certainty over my outgoings over the next few years.

Problem is my credit score. I'm apparently 'very poor' on the old credit front after 2 seperate spells of unemployment in quick succession 2 years ago resulted in mortgage arrears / car loans arrears, etc. I've got £1100 remaining on a loan which was used for roof repairs a few years back, but when this has gone, I'll have a credit card with £400 on it, and only a mortgage to worry about.

So, what's the best alternative for me? I've looked at secured loans yet they all seem to insist upon a 5 year loan period as a minimum. The early settlement fees for the one I was quoted for was £400 per £1000 originally borrowed, so to leave 2 years early (and give me the required 3 year length of loan I want) would be very costly indeed.

Or, should I just forget about getting a new car altogether and just save my money to keep mine on the road until my credit score gets better?

Would be interested to hear people's thoughts.

withabix

My opinion:

Your best route is to apply for a top-up loan from your current mortgage lender, as they have the greatest knowledge of your creditworthiness and reasons for arrears etc.

These can be taken out at current mortgage rates (and can be fixed or variable) and can be taken over short periods of time (1-5 years etc).

This is how I fund my car for work use, as I take a cash allowance rather than a company car.

CLAPTON

new timing belts tend to be once every 50k miles so now you're spend the money maybe you should keep the car and see whether anything else goes wrong before replacing it...... if you could get a couple of low cost good years out of it you could save up a worthwhile sum.

blue_haddock

What car is it? £1k for a timing belt change and new cat seems very expensive. If these prices are from a main dealer i suggest you shop around a few independant garages for quotes.

missile

New cars suffer (even VWs) suffer from depreciation and you might be better looking for a good second hand car from a non-franchised VW dealer.

IMHO, car loans via car dealers are a very expensive option and as you have identified many have restrictive conditions and hidden charges.

scottishsuz

Going on cars I've had in the past, I've always run them to destruction before I can bring myself to part with pennies for a new one, my last cars had 96k (13years old) and 97K (10years old) before they were laid to rest in the great scrap heap in the sky.

The kind of repairs your talking about shouldn't need done often, depending of course on the milage you do. You may find that the depreciation you'll get on a new car will be so high that it will cost you more in the long run than keeping your current car and maintaining it.

Also visit you local scrappies they are a gold mine of cheap parts and most independent garages I've used are happy to put them on for you if you ask.
Never use dealerships they are extortinate!! Independents usually do a better job as they more typically rely on word of mouth reccomendations. Dealerships just don't tend to care. Apologies to anyone who works in a dealership who does care, I'm only going on my own past experience, I'm sure there are good mechanics out there who are doing a good job in dealerships.

Suz

TAG

My XH always insisted on a 'nice' car.

We worked out recently that over the last 2 years his 'nice' car (nearly new Vectra 02 plate I think) has cost him in all over £7.5k. That's loan payments, tax, insurance, repairs etc.

I on the other hand have an N reg Escort. In 2 years including the cost of the car (which I bought at auction for £340) tax, insurance, MOT's, new clutch, repairs have spent £1600. Plus it's got 111k on the clock.

Plus his has depriciated in value, where as I would probably still get £350 for mine.

missile

TAG wrote: »

We worked out recently that over the last 2 years his 'nice' car (nearly new Vectra 02 plate I think) has cost him in all over £7.5k. That's loan payments, tax, insurance, repairs etc..

I do not think much of your XHs choice in motors, hope you traded him for a better model?

NB: No offence to Vauxhall drivers. This is a joke :rotfl:

TAG

missile wrote: »

I do not think much of your XHs choice in motors, hope you traded him for a better model?

NB: No offence to Vauxhall drivers. This is a joke :rotfl:

I sure did :rotfl:

bathgatebuyer

withabix wrote: »

My opinion:

Your best route is to apply for a top-up loan from your current mortgage lender, as they have the greatest knowledge of your creditworthiness and reasons for arrears etc.

These can be taken out at current mortgage rates (and can be fixed or variable) and can be taken over short periods of time (1-5 years etc).

This is how I fund my car for work use, as I take a cash allowance rather than a company car.

I'm going to be in a similar situation shortly as I've had a job offer which involves giving me £350 a month as a car allowance. So, I could pocket it, run my old car down, and use it as a chance to save, or get something nearly new with a 3 yr warranty on it.

Been doing so many calculations today, my head is about to burst!

For those that asked, the car is a 6 yr old Beetle. Lovely, but getting expensive!

blue_haddock

In that case there is now way you should be paying anywhere near £1000 for a timing belt change and a new cat.