Forget that I ever existed

Herzlos

Homer_home said:

Herzlos said:

ushjr said:

I need to get home from work too. It also takes me longer than 15 minutes to eat my dinner and the later I eat the longer it takes because of the stress I'm under, can take as long as 2 hours.

Depends on the queue at the checkout, but walking round the supermarket putting things in my trolley takes around 5 minutes. I go once a week, if I was to go straight from the station to the supermarket I would more or less have to go past my home so no time saving there. I only eat pizza once a week when I go to the supermarket to minimise the impact it has on my evening.

That certainly changes things a bit, I'd understimated the mental health aspect of it.
It sounds like you'd be better off keeping the car despite the economic viability of it, due to minimizing the stress/anxiety of doing without it.
So you're down to trying to decide if it's worth repairing that car (which you're already used to) or to replace it with another one (which is an unknown). There's some value assessment you need to make about the cost of repairs Vs the cost of a replacement; though the replacement will almost certainly cost more as long as your existing car doesn't need welding in order to pass the MOT.

I'd also very strongly encourage you to rethink the idea of putting a pizza in whilst you're out shopping - any change to your routine (flat tyre, breakdown, accident, diversion) could burn your house down.

Since you do your best to avoid people in supermarkets, then maybe have dinner first and then go shopping; I find them much quieter at 8/9pm (when everyone is settling in for the evening) than at 6pm (when everyone is stopping on the way home from work). I do most of my shopping at 8am on a Sunday for the same reason

8am on a Sunday? Exactly which of the big shops/supermarkets are open at that time?

Most of them up here are, there are even 24 hour ones scattered around (doing your weekly shopping at 5am is amazing).
England still has some weird Sunday opening hours law that probably screws you over though?

Herzlos

ushjr said:

Welding is the advisory from last year that needs doing this year. The mechanic who I normally goes to says apart from rust it's a good car despite its age but the rust is serious.
(Removed by Forum Team)

I'd go by what the mechanic recommends then. Can he do enough about the rust for it to pass this MOT and give you enough time to find a suitable replacement? That might be a bit more expensive than just scrapping it but it'll avoid you being without car until you find another one.

williamgriffin

ushjr said:

cymruchris said:

Whatever you decide - don't leave your dinner in the oven and go to the supermarket again! One small delay on the way home could result in no home to come home to!

If you can get the car welded this year - it'll give you one year's more worth of motoring - and that'll give you sufficient time to find a replacement. Don't wait until you get to the next MOT - start looking in about 6 months time, and then part-ex this one away or sell it for scrap. Go for a model that's at least 10 years newer than your 20 year old car.

That sounds like a good idea.

fred246 said:

The small independent place I go to for MOTs has one mechanic who can weld. My last car lasted 8 years from when it was first welded to being scrapped. They could never give me a definite quote but would always give a 'worst case scenario'. So they would say "could be up to £350" and then you would go and they'd say "quicker than we thought £100 please". It was only the guy with the tea cozy hat who could weld though. Maybe if you get more quotes from other garages? Would be better if they do MOTs because I was once in the position that I got a car welded at another garage and they failed it on the retest because they said the welding wasn't good enough.

The garage does do welding itself. I'm somewhat restricted by having to go to a local garage, I normally go to one further away but can't this year because of the lockdown.

Herzlos said:

ushjr said:

Welding is the advisory from last year that needs doing this year. The mechanic who I normally goes to says apart from rust it's a good car despite its age but the rust is serious.
(Removed by Forum Team)

I'd go by what the mechanic recommends then. Can he do enough about the rust for it to pass this MOT and give you enough time to find a suitable replacement? That might be a bit more expensive than just scrapping it but it'll avoid you being without car until you find another one.

It's a different mechanic to the usual one because of the lockdown. I've basically had a pre-MOT check and he's told me what's needed and how much it will cost. 

There's no reason you couldn't use your usual garage. 

caprikid1

What car is it and what were the exact failures / advisories ? Apologies but not sure we have had this info yet ?

Homer_home

What welding? Structural?  Non structural? 

What minor repair? Why is it expensive?

If you stop drip feeding us info we might be able to advise you better 

caprikid1

ushjr said:

caprikid1 said:

What car is it and what were the exact failures / advisories ? Apologies but not sure we have had this info yet ?

Welding and a minor fault that's expensive to repair are the main ones. 

The car is absolutely vital if you are talking about welding, I have had golfs where the paint has been damaged underneath that rotted terribly in one area but once welded and sealed both sides would probably be fine, where as something like a KA you might find it difficult to find something to weld too.
Many cars have known weak spots for rust that once welded may go on for another 4-5 years whilst others once it has set in unless its a classic you love get rid.

frost500

I keep on repairing my 20 year old car.
I will not get into debt for a newish used car.
I will never get a taxi unless I am drunk and have no other option.
I will never get a bus because I don't want to.
Isn't a car the ultimate tool to exercise freewill, it is not just an A to B tool.

Old cars. Rust is the killer. If it occurs on doors, wings you can replace those. Once it gets in the structure, it is death.
If no rust repair, repair, repair. 
Ebay, scrap dealer for parts.
Get to know your mechanic, treat him with respect, he will keep your old car going.
Avoid the PCPs.

yksi

ushjr said: A taxi round here costs £5 before you go anywhere. That's £520 a year before going anywhere and then there's the longer journeys. 

So what? It costs you a couple of quid in fuel just to start your car up and drive a mile. Once you add in the costs of oil, tyres, maintenance, insurance, road tax and depreciation, I promise you it's costing you £30+ per week just to have it sit in your driveway most of the time. If you think it costs you £30 per week to get a taxi one mile to the supermarket, you are delusional. It's one mile - how about you walk for fifteen minutes? Or take a bus? Or get a taxi?

And why would you care about losing your no-claim bonus if you don't even have a car?

I am not upset about my lost 50% discount on owning a limousine because guess what, I haven't got it.

frost500

Public transport in the UK is poor. Taxis are just wrong to use as a day to day get around. Get a car and drive everywhere. Be American.

AdrianC

ushjr said:

Many cars have known weak spots for rust that once welded may go on for another 4-5 years whilst others once it has set in unless its a classic you love get rid.

It falls into the latter, will probably need welding every year from now on.

It will only need welding every year if they don't do the job properly.

Cars are made of bits of steel welded together.
Cut a bit of rusty steel out, back to solid steel, and weld a new bit in. Then protect it properly. It will never need welding again.
The job only needs doing again where it was done badly in the first place - they didn't cut far enough back, so weren't welding to solid metal - or they didn't protect it properly (INSIDE as well as outside) after welding.
Most cars rot from the inside out - inside box sections, inside seams.
Most people try and protect their cars from the outside in, by painting the bits they can see. Then they wonder why it's not slowed the rot down...