Car Broken down - argh best idea???

Sir_Artois

Hi,

in brief, my partners car broke down and its an engine write off (cambelt snapped). its been brought to her work at the moment so i'm looking for a 2 part answer, ooooohh mysterious i hear you say.

firstly, im struggling to find her the best deal on a small 5dr car, open to all makes and models, just has to be 5 dr and cheap to run, so small engine i'd suppose. Any ideas? ive browsed lease sites, used car, new car sites, looked at repair costs andengine replacements! Thoughts on those / new ideas?

Secondly, with a wedding upcoming and a couple of smaller holidays to pay for she's strapped for cash. she's asked if i can pay (i have around 5k stashed for rainy day) and she'll pay me back, now..

1) she still hasnt paid me back for the car thats broken (she is paying it back in installments)
2) she owes me £1100 for other things (she is paying it back in installments)
3) last time i took out finance on her behalf, i ended up having to take on the car. Not entirely her fault, medical reasons which were totally valid. But still.

But..she needs a car for work and taking little girl (2years old) to nursery, bus & train are around 1.5hrs for a 30minute car ride..

Thoughts??

[Deleted User]

Sir_Artois wrote: »

firstly, im struggling to find her the best deal on a small 5dr car, open to all makes and models, just has to be 5 dr and cheap to run, so small engine i'd suppose. Any ideas? ive browsed lease sites, used car, new car sites, looked at repair costs andengine replacements! Thoughts on those / new ideas?

You're going to want to narrow down what you're looking for just a little.

Between scrabbling around for a second hand engine at one end, to looking at new cars at the other, is a pretty big window.

Is your budget £200 or £20k?

Sir_Artois

requisites are just
5 door
cheap to run
cheapest possible thats not going to break down in 5 minutes.

The point is im totally open to something decent, im happy to look at lease deals or engine refits, just obviously, the cheapest of any of those ideas / or better ideas if you have them.

couple of grand tops i'd say

elsien

Can she not take a loan out herself rather than borrowing yet more from you. Unless you don't mind not getting it back for a long time. Possibly never?

Or she could cancel the couple of small holidays or downgrade the wedding. Priorities, and all that.

parking_question_chap

You or her need to be looking at her incomings and outgoings imo.

lincroft1710

Sir_Artois wrote: »

Secondly, with a wedding upcoming and a couple of smaller holidays to pay for she's strapped for cash. she's asked if i can pay (i have around 5k stashed for rainy day) and she'll pay me back, now..

1) she still hasnt paid me back for the car thats broken (she is paying it back in installments)
2) she owes me £1100 for other things (she is paying it back in installments)
3) last time i took out finance on her behalf, i ended up having to take on the car. Not entirely her fault, medical reasons which were totally valid. But still.

I'm guessing a lot of money has already been invested in the wedding, if not I would suggest delaying or cancelling or going for the cheapest option available.

If she has to borrow from you all the time, then she is spending above her means. Something you need to discuss, as you appear to be unhappy with the current financial situation.

Just find a cheap reliable runabout, make/model doesn't matter, reliability and longevity do.

arcon5

So your also asking us whether we think you should be morally responsible for bailing her out?
Despite it not being her fault. Well aren't you a hoot of a to be husband.

If you really don't trust her to pay you back then buy her a £500 banger with a full mot to tide her over for the next year.

angrycrow

Is the engine really scrap. Only had a cam belt fail once but when the garage took the head off there was a slight mark on one piston and bent exhaust valves, not bad considering I was doing 70mph when it let go. Garage fitted a second hand cylinder head from a crash damaged car and a new cam belt £750 all in. It had actually been booked in for a cam belt when it failed so actual loss was only £350.

If the rest of the car is good look at repairing what you already have.

Muscle750

firstly what make and model of car has she got now ? As stated prior a few bent valves and even got away with it if its a non interference engine. If its a diesil it will be bust end of. I like the previous posters comment it only cost me 350 because it bust before i had new one fitted lol

House_Martin

angrycrow wrote: »

Is the engine really scrap. Only had a cam belt fail once but when the garage took the head off there was a slight mark on one piston and bent exhaust valves, not bad considering I was doing 70mph when it let go. Garage fitted a second hand cylinder head from a crash damaged car and a new cam belt £750 all in. It had actually been booked in for a cam belt when it failed so actual loss was only £350.

If the rest of the car is good look at repairing what you already have.

Yes, me too, only one ever cam belt snap on a petrol engine ( 1.8 Cavalier ) and absolutely no damage. New belt , costing £20 which I wound on myself and the car was fine for many years ..Depends what speed you are running the engine at .
If its broken at low revs its got a good chance of no damage at all.

sevenhills

Sir_Artois wrote: »

in brief, my partners car broke down and its an engine write off (cambelt snapped). its been brought to her work at the moment so i'm looking for a 2 part answer, ooooohh mysterious i hear you say.
Thoughts??

I personally like ebay, buy a car with a long MOT and from a 100% seller, no one knows how long a car will last.
Get a cheap one with 10-12 months MOT, and hope for the best.

Its your partner, so affordability is less important