2022 Frugal Living Challenge

spudsmum

Thanks @Floss @balabooberlies and @weenancyinAmerica

If I can get it repaired reasonably then I definitely will. The issue is it has now done over £150k and its Mot is due next month which will probably be more expense. Its last Mot was £600 it also had a new battery £150 in May and the 900 clutch in August. The year before it was a new timing belt £670 and a crankshaft sensor £140. Now none of those things are likely to go wrong again now they've been fixed but I'm worried other things might.

It's getting to the point where I'm thinking for the money I'm spending on repairing it all the time a loan repayment wouldn't work out much more and I have a newer hopefully more reliable car - I'd still have to work out my budgets and see what else can be cut. It would be gutting to scrap it when I've already spent so much on it but it's a really fine balancing act deciding when to stop throwing money at it.

The added complication is we need something fairly big as we have 3 kids - DS14 is a rugby player and quite big then there's 2 car seats for the twins  plus boot space will be needed for youngest son's disability buggy etc so I can't just buy a little runabout. Currently have a people carrier. 

It will all depend on what the garage say. If its not crazy money will probably splash out £30 on a pre-mot to check I'm not going to have another massive bill next month.

@Floss youre right he'd probably struggle to cope with a new car so we'd have to desensitise him to it if it came to that, I suppose I could use DH's car for the school run for a bit while we introduced a new car gradually. 

Shopaholic_no_more

Hi all

I have not posted or read the threads on here for a very long while, sadly, life got in the way but I have missed it! Making Frugal Living Forum my priority this year.

@spudsmum I'm definitely with you here as I too am in the same position as you regarding my mini ….it is coming up to 97,000 miles and I do 50 miles a day to work and back. It is currently in the garage waiting for an EGR valve replacement…I am actually very concerned as to how much this is going to cost. A month ago I had all 4 glow plugs replaced at a cost £210.00. I get it serviced every year but now I am also at the point of do I get it repaired and keep it going or do I get rid?? What else may go wrong now it is starting to hit higher mileage? I know it’s a diesel but it is also a BMW diesel…..

 I do also have a 2006 Peugeot 107 which I purchased for £500 a couple of years ago as a “spare car” for such eventualities that one of our cars is off the road which has been at godsend in the past. However, the heater in the Peugeot stopped working last year and I looked in to getting it fixed and it would cost more than the car is worth 🤷‍♀️. So even though I have this spare car to get me to work in times like this I can’t actually use it because of the current weather situation being cold and frosty! Had it happened in the spring/summer it would have been ok. Ho hum.

Stress levels are not in a good place right now as I am finally getting on track and paying down my credit card debt with the help of YNAB (so wish I had started using this years ago!) and I am so worried all my hard work will be wiped out by one massive garage bill. I do have some money set aside for such things but I have no idea if this will be enough! 
I have asked the garage to give me a ballpark figure of what it may come to but they have not got back to me yet.

Concerned is the order of the day here and what to do next 😢

Lindlou

Shopaholic...don't look at it like all your hard work will be wiped out. You would still end up with the bill if you hadn't put the hard work in. Only you are now in a much better position to deal with it. Positive thoughts. 💪

YORKSHIRELASS

Oh the car thing is such a difficult one.  We were quite prepared to keep ours, hence why we spent over £1000 on it, but the engine management light kept coming on and the garage were struggling to work out exactly what was wrong.  If we knew that spending more money on it would guarantee solving the problem then we would have done it but it wasnt as simple as that.  It also got to the point where I hated driving it because I didnt trust it.  No public transport here and very expensive taxis so we have to have two vehicles.  We need a bigger car too.

I am cold, the heating is on but I cant get warm even though I am in two thermal tops, thermal tights, two fleeces, jeans and thick socks.  Fed up.

Off to do DHs tax return and work on my finance spreadsheets.  We also need to check stores and do a mealplan.

never_too_old

Shopaholic_no_more said:

Hi all

I have not posted or read the threads on here for a very long while, sadly, life got in the way but I have missed it! Making Frugal Living Forum my priority this year.

@spudsmum I'm definitely with you here as I too am in the same position as you regarding my mini ….it is coming up to 97,000 miles and I do 50 miles a day to work and back. It is currently in the garage waiting for an EGR valve replacement…I am actually very concerned as to how much this is going to cost. A month ago I had all 4 glow plugs replaced at a cost £210.00. I get it serviced every year but now I am also at the point of do I get it repaired and keep it going or do I get rid?? What else may go wrong now it is starting to hit higher mileage? I know it’s a diesel but it is also a BMW diesel…..

 I do also have a 2006 Peugeot 107 which I purchased for £500 a couple of years ago as a “spare car” for such eventualities that one of our cars is off the road which has been at godsend in the past. However, the heater in the Peugeot stopped working last year and I looked in to getting it fixed and it would cost more than the car is worth 🤷‍♀️. So even though I have this spare car to get me to work in times like this I can’t actually use it because of the current weather situation being cold and frosty! Had it happened in the spring/summer it would have been ok. Ho hum.

Stress levels are not in a good place right now as I am finally getting on track and paying down my credit card debt with the help of YNAB (so wish I had started using this years ago!) and I am so worried all my hard work will be wiped out by one massive garage bill. I do have some money set aside for such things but I have no idea if this will be enough! 
I have asked the garage to give me a ballpark figure of what it may come to but they have not got back to me yet.

Concerned is the order of the day here and what to do next 😢

Hi
What is a YNAB please ? x

scrummy-mummy

spudsmum said:

Thanks @Floss @balabooberlies and @weenancyinAmerica

If I can get it repaired reasonably then I definitely will. The issue is it has now done over £150k and its Mot is due next month which will probably be more expense. Its last Mot was £600 it also had a new battery £150 in May and the 900 clutch in August. The year before it was a new timing belt £670 and a crankshaft sensor £140. Now none of those things are likely to go wrong again now they've been fixed but I'm worried other things might.

It's getting to the point where I'm thinking for the money I'm spending on repairing it all the time a loan repayment wouldn't work out much more and I have a newer hopefully more reliable car - I'd still have to work out my budgets and see what else can be cut. It would be gutting to scrap it when I've already spent so much on it but it's a really fine balancing act deciding when to stop throwing money at it.

The added complication is we need something fairly big as we have 3 kids - DS14 is a rugby player and quite big then there's 2 car seats for the twins  plus boot space will be needed for youngest son's disability buggy etc so I can't just buy a little runabout. Currently have a people carrier. 

It will all depend on what the garage say. If its not crazy money will probably splash out £30 on a pre-mot to check I'm not going to have another massive bill next month.

@Floss youre right he'd probably struggle to cope with a new car so we'd have to desensitise him to it if it came to that, I suppose I could use DH's car for the school run for a bit while we introduced a new car gradually. 

My 14 year old people carrier ground to a halt in the middle of the road before Christmas (ironically on it's way to MOT). Would not start and had to be pushed into the garage.

It was the fuel pump fuse. 85p. They replaced the fuel filter as well to be sure so the total bill was about £100.

There is hope x

MazzieD

Well, the decision about continuing to repair my old car was taken out of my hands yesterday morning.  I was involved in a car crash, didn't see the damage to my car as the ambulance came so quickly.  The police said it is a complete write off when I spoke to them at lunchtime.. 

I'm out of hospital, thankfully only soft tissue damage to my rib cage.  I am very sore but ok   So glad I always had a full service though, all the safety equipment like the airbags were in good working order.

Going to have a long think about getting another new to me car while I'm recovering, been having a look at second hand prices it's going to have to be an older car, couldn't believe how expensive they are now.  Not sure how much the insurance pay out will be yet but it's unlikely to cover the cost. 

balabooberlies

Mazzie, hope you're ok.

rest needed for sure.

bala

x

nannygladys

MazzieD - I hope you're feeling OK and going to take it easy for a while. 

I bought a new car not long before I retired, paid cash as I had been saving for one and have it serviced etc every year. It's the last one I'll buy as I told dds that I would give up driving in my 70's, and I'm there this year - yikes!!!!  but I will carry on for few more years yet.
I try not to drive too much because of the price of fuel, and luckily I live in a quiet place but we have buses and railway station not too far away so I could manage I expect, but its the independence of being able to go places when/time I want to and also I couldn't get to dd 3 for grandma duties either as she has no buses etc near to her! 

Been shredding old paperwork today, it isn't all done yet as the shredder is old and over heats somewhat, but I will finish it off tomorrow and that's something else out of the house.

It's been a cold day and I think I will have to stick the heating on now it's gone dark, I try to keep going/moving until it gets dark 
Nannyg

spudsmum

Oh no @MazzieD

Hope you're OK

Take care of yourself x