keep banger on the road or get rid?

seatbeltnoob

Hi

Bit of a predicament regarding whether to keep running my banger or upgrade to a newer car.

Car is a 2002 golf, petrol. I drive 10k miles a year and the car has 157k on the clock.

I wanted to make it my personal challenge to get the car to 200k much to my wife's frustration with me hanging on with this car.

The car has a lot of work due at once which makes me question whether to hang onto it or just give up and buy a larger estate car (petrol) for £3000. I'm thinking maybe an lpg Estate such as an audi a6 or Mercedes avant-garde. Reason being I have a baby now and need more space. The golf fits the Pushchair and baby bag with not much else to spare. I can get by in the golf but it is a struggle getting everything in. I use the car for work and need the fold the rear seats down to fit my gear, because I use an isofix car seat base, this means it's a pain having to get everything out and clear the car.

Anyway, here is the list of work needed for the car.
New clutch £260
New timing belt due in 5k miles £280
Some emissions problem (£200 to £400) relating to running rich

Car current value as-is £400. Car has potential to be valued at £800 once all work done.

Londoner_1

Get rid and get a jap car, wil last longer.

parking_question_chap

I agree with the above. Dont touch a £3000 Audi or Merc, you will just be replacing cheap problems with expensive problems. In your situation in that you need to be driving 10k a year I would start looking for a Japanese replacement, you are in a good position because your current car is still running and so can be fussy with its replacement. I suggest making use of researching a cars MOT history online (using the numberplates) so you can get at least some idea how well each potential replacement has been looked after.

With all that said I can say from past experience that the Mk4 Golf is a solid old Hector, so you probably dont need to be in a massive hurry.

System

£3k gets you an Audi or Merc which will be close to needing a clutch and timing belt.

Whilst keeping what you have running is pretty much always the cheapest option even if the repairs cost more than the car is worth, had the car suited your needs that is what I'd advise however you're in a situation where the car does not meet your needs so you need to change it for one that does. If £3k is your budget I'd stick clear of premium marques as £3k is banger money and look at ones from Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan, Toyota etc.

As for the 200k challenge I'm doing that with my Mondeo. Currently at 9 years old/140k and at this rate I'm looking at another 4/5 years by which time I'll have owned it 11/12 years, nearly three times longer than I'll have owned any car in the past. I think being bored of the thing will be the thing that beats me.

[Deleted User]

At that age the Golf is almost a classic car. If you only have £3000 to spend I would keep the Golf and invest any new money car in keeping that in tip top condition.
You will not lose any money in depreciation! It's better the devil you know.
It may not be as big as you desire but you can manage. A roof box is an option for holidays.

joeblags

if its just a timing belt and not a kit that price can be reduced a lot. find a back street garage to do both clutch and cambelt at the same time if you can. you should get both done for £350 - 400. a clutch unless replacing the fly wheel will be cheap, a cambelt its self is a cheap item, even decent brand like gates or dayco. you can remove and refit a golf gearbox pretty quickly if you have the right tools.
as for running rich, common problem on VAG group cars was the water temp sensor going duff which could be a simple fix if it was to be this, £15 part and 1 minute to fit

alan_d

You need to aim higher!
My 2004 Volvo V70 D5 is on 272k miles - and costs peanuts to run and maintain.
I'd suggest something like a V70 \ Passat \ Mondeo estate for half your budget would be a sensible move, and keep the remainder back for potential work.

seatbeltnoob

alan_d wrote: »

You need to aim higher!
My 2004 Volvo V70 D5 is on 272k miles - and costs peanuts to run and maintain.
I'd suggest something like a V70 \ Passat \ Mondeo estate for half your budget would be a sensible move, and keep the remainder back for potential work.

Yeah, i think for estates you gotto go older to get a "real estate", the mondeos were huge estates around the 2004 era. but the 2008+ look about half the size on the boot. same with practically all brands it seems.

Being in London, 200K miles is pretty ambitious goal IMHO. Cars get knackered over here with the start stop traffic. You can drive for 1 hour in London covering just 10 miles.

£3k was just an idea, the other option is to get a outlander phev, it will save me £500 a year on the no congestion, no council permit, no road tax. It's about £12-14K but my OH offer to give me full loan on it, I just pay her back £2k a year.

The PHEV is economical, cheap to run and had a decent boot. Also great for kids, esp young baby as she can get her nappy changed on the back seat comfortably.

King_Nothing

Deleted_User wrote: »

At that age the Golf is almost a classic car. If you only have £3000 to spend I would keep the Golf and invest any new money car in keeping that in tip top condition.
You will not lose any money in depreciation! It's better the devil you know.
It may not be as big as you desire but you can manage. A roof box is an option for holidays.

A £400 17 year old Mk.4 Golf is not a classic car that will net the owner a payday if they pour money into it, it won't lose much in depreciation because it's already depreciated to almost scrap level prices. In saying that I'd still spend the money on it, clutch and timing belt are consumable parts, same as tyres and brakes, and then just run it into the ground.

arcon5

Sounds more like a sales pitch... I think you already know what you want to do

Goudy

Another choice, instead of an estate what about the MPV versions of the likes of Berlingo, Caddy or Doblo.
You'll never be short of space and they hide their van origins fairly well these days as they are all based on car platforms to start with, so drive fairly well.

I acquired a B9 Berlingo from a family member and it's miles better over all the traffic calming lumps and bumps around London than her indoors SUV, it rides really smooth, it's very comfortable and has some nice kit like cruise control and air con.

As for load lugging it's peerless, I managed 5 people in it plus a washing machine and drier in the boot (both of which fitted under the parcel shelf) and will take a small motorbike with the rear seats out.

Ok, the drawbacks, it's pig ugly!