To keep or to scrap

ADaffodil184

It's MOT time next week...
I have a 2009 Ford Ka (Mk II), 133,000 miles, engine is great.
Last year I needed a new engine sump, which meant removing the exhaust, the middle of which crumbled and was replaced. As well as brake pads and bulbs, the total came to £460.
It also failed in 2018 due to the same bulbs being out (dodgy connection obviously!), suspension arms and arm ball joint dust cover. And another fail in 2017 with both upper shock absorber bushes being replaced.
Last year I asked the garage what they thought, was it worth putting it through another MOT this year. They thought so, given it is mechanically sound. BUT they did advise I would likely need a new back box for the exhaust. And it has also started making an odd, high pitched whirring noise when first starting up (not the fan belt, it gets loader when accelerating but goes within 200 metres of driving. Sometimes the gear box sticks, though the clutch is good, and I don't know that it's ever had a new cambelt (I know I'm on thin ice there!).
The MOT is booked for Monday. I just don't know what to do.. should I put it through and see what happens? Should I just Part ex it for a newer car (would be on finance as I don't have that kind of money behind me!)?
Most of the work has been wear and tear, so once all the rusty bits are replaced my thinking is it would be fine for a few more miles?
Any thoughts much appreciated!

Aylesbury_Duck

When's the MOT due?  Ideally you will have booked it in a month ahead of the expiry, giving you time to assess your options.
It sounds like you have a reasonably good garage, so ask them to check it out and give some advice.  At some point you'll need to get rid of it but you may be able to squeeze another year from it to help you save more for its eventual replacement.

You have to decide whether, say, another £500 this year to get you another year's motoring in a car you know is worth more than spending what, £5-10k(?) on a newer car that could have its own problems.  Personally, I'm in favour of the former, being loathe to scrap a car that needs a few hundred quid's work every year to keep running, but it depends on what needs doing, and the cost.

ADaffodil184

Thanks for getting back to me.
I'm away a lot this month so it's booked on 24 Feb, due on 05 March. Not a huge amount of time.
I have budgeted £600 maximum for repairs on it, so I think I will go with your first idea - I would rather keep driving a car I know is mechanically sound than potentially swap it for something else that might cause all sorts of problems. I could only go to about £3-4k for a new car right now so I think it could end up being problematic.
Thanks for the advice - I'll put it through this year and reassess next year!

Aylesbury_Duck

ADaffodil184 said:

Thanks for getting back to me.
I'm away a lot this month so it's booked on 24 Feb, due on 05 March. Not a huge amount of time.
I have budgeted £600 maximum for repairs on it, so I think I will go with your first idea - I would rather keep driving a car I know is mechanically sound than potentially swap it for something else that might cause all sorts of problems. I could only go to about £3-4k for a new car right now so I think it could end up being problematic.
Thanks for the advice - I'll put it through this year and reassess next year!

When you get an assessment, come back on here and set out what needs doing and what the quoted costs are.  There are people on here with much greater knowledge than me on mechanicals so they'll advise on things.

Yes, at £3-4k there's no guarantee you won't have reasonably expensive maintenance bills on a newer car.  I practice bangernomics to a degree, having never paid more than £8k for a car, more often around the £5k mark.  My rule of thumb is that if I get a year's motoring for each thousand in the purchase price, I've done well assuming there have been no massive maintenance bills.  I do get them serviced regularly though, and check levels, etc every fortnight.

Goudy

The back box on the exhaust is tripled skinned, if it's still on it's original.

They can look a lot worse than they actually are with big chunks flaking off yet still be gas tight.

A new one won't break the bank, I recently fitted a pattern back box for £32!

Later cars came with a drain hole in it to allow the condensation to drain away.

All the running gear (everything under the body) is Fiat, it's all Panda/500 and it's all quite simple, hardy stuff, but it does sound like it's in need of a cam belt (and water pump while the cam belt off off) The later 69hp Fiat FIRE engine (fitted to the KA) is interference (valves and pistons share the same space at different times), so if the belt snaps, it'll ruin the engine.

The whirring noise could be a dry bearing somewhere, if it's doing after start up it could be in the alternator.

A decent mechanic should be able to pin point where it's coming from, again if it's an alternator, it won't break the bank.

The gear selector issue is like due to stretched selector cables, it's quite common (as was your rusty sump) and the problem is accelerated by the driver resting their hand on the gear lever while driving. 

Genuine new cables are around £100 plus fitting, though there are some pattern cables around half that.

Put it in for it's MOT and see what comes back.

[Deleted User]

I reckon on older cars that are not worth much I would be happy at £600 a year to get through mot and service to get another year out of it. I budget £1000 a year on depreciation and maintenance costs to run a car based on buying a 3 year old car. (Doesnt always work to plan but that's what I aim for)  
Cars are expensive. 

ADaffodil184

Thanks all.
I think the consensus is to put it in and see what happens, so I'll do that!
The gear cable did come off once, and I was stuck in reverse. It was simple to hook it back on though! I am guilty of driving with my hand on the lever so I'll stop doing that! The exhaust certainly isn't noisy so perhaps it'll be Ok. It only makes the whirring noise first thing (and then not every day), and it doesn't affect the performance or anything - I'll mention it when I drop it off and see what they say. Thankfully they are very trustworthy and have never taken me for a ride. They use aftermarket parts where they can, too, so it keeps costs down, and they always undercharge on labour!
Happy to pay a few hundred a year to keep it going all the while it runs, starts first time and doesn't grumble. The only issue I had was when the battery had an internal failure and the whole car died on start-up, but it was the original battery so I think it had done enough (this was last summer). It's only £30 a year tax, too, so I'm enjoying that!
I'll come back with the MOT results and let you know. Thank you all for your replies and advice!

Goudy

All cars eventually reach a tipping point where the cost, time and inconvenience of maintaining them just doesn't make sense, economic or otherwise. Your car sounds like it might be getting near that point, it is a 11 year old city car with some handsome miles under it's belt.
A lot depends on the MOT result. If it comes back as failed with some expensive major faults it could be time to give up, but if you can nurse it through with a few small repairs it's probably worth it.

If it was me and it needed some small repairs here and there, I'd stick to the essential repairs for the MOT then cross my fingers and try and run it for another 10 months or so while saving some money for a replacement.
If it makes it it should hopefully have given some cheap motoring in that time and still be able to trade it in, what trade in value will depend on what's being bought, but I would still expect to get something back on it with a bit of haggling.

Do post the test results, hopefully we won't need to help you sort out anything too expensive!



 

ElephantBoy57

ADaffodil184 said:

I have budgeted £600 maximum for repairs on it,

When you book it in for its MOT, tell them if the work will cost less than £300 to just go ahead and do it.

It will give them an incentive to keep the costs down.

ADaffodil184

That's a good idea @ElephantBoy57 thank you!
Thanks @Goudy I'm hoping I can get it through this year an then get some funds put away ready for a newer motor next year, I'll see what scrapage schemes are around then, hopefully I can get something good (it's probably worth about £300 at the moment!)

Goudy

ElephantBoy57 said:

ADaffodil184 said:

I have budgeted £600 maximum for repairs on it,

When you book it in for its MOT, tell them if the work will cost less than £300 to just go ahead and do it.

It will give them an incentive to keep the costs down.

Or they might just bill you £300 for nowt.
I'm a bit of a cynic so take my car in to a dedicated MOT station, they don't do repairs and I sit in the viewing area watching what they're doing.
I usually spot issues before the tester does!

I wouldn't go purposely chasing any scrapage scheme, when the time comes find a few suitable replacements and haggle, keep it polite, pleasant but serious about buying and you'll be surprised.
A dealer will usually have around 20% mark up on any used car on their forecourt, it's just a matter of cutting into it.
So get them to put any niggles right first like worn tyres etc, haggle a better trade in, then ask for money off.