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Repair or buy new?

14 Posts

in Motoring
Help! My 2010 Renault Clio has to have a lot of work done to it, totalling to about £1200. It’s things like suspension, springs and exhaust, and then smaller things like brake fluid and routine things.
It still drives but you can definitely notice that it’s poorly. Do I shell out and buy a new car out of my savings or do I pay the money and try and keep it going? I haven’t spent about £1000 already this year on repairs. Used cars are incredibly expensive at the moment.
I was thinking about buying a 7k Vauxhall corsa (including 3 years warranty) out of my savings from a dealer but the depreciation is weighing on my mind.
Thanks in advance
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https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6413892/hire-purchase-or-pcp#latest
It wouldn't be beyond reason any used car could need brakes, tyres, exhaust, cambelt, be due a major service, need a clutch and so on, none of that would likely be covered on a warranty offered by the dealer.
Could your finances take any of those jobs along with the 7k?
Or are you confident you could select a used car that you're sure most of these sort of items don't require attention any time soon or have been addressed already?
If so, it might be worth swapping.
If not, it might be worth planning what your Clio needs immediate attention on and sort those first, then the next and so on.
Tickle it along a while longer.
Depreciation is relative.
Buy a new 100k car and it could lose 50% or more in three years, that's high.
Buy a car for 1k and it could lose 90% in three years and only worth scrap. OK it's lost nearly all it's value but it's still pretty low when you weigh it up.
Your 7k Corsa would be nearer the lower end of depreciation already so shouldn't be a big worry.
What would worry me is if it's massively over priced.
Used cars are fairly expensive at the moment and there's got to be a large mark up (around 20%) on it for the dealer.
If you are really interested you might want to cut into that mark up as much as possible, but try and make sure any big ticket repairs and servicing are sorted before you part with your cash.
You know your own car - things wear out - it's at the age where it needs a few things doing, but doing them will likely mean it'll last a few more years.
Personally I'd repair it and carry on
Is is poorly as in knocking suspension, rusty springs (they all have them) noisy exhaust etc or is the engine knocking and banging, the clutch slipping or it's jumping out of gear?
With a bit more information, you might get a few more opinions and help.
the rest area
- broken exhaust
- broken spring
- broken track rod end and ball joint
- needs 3 new tyres
Which comes to £752 in repairs, but obviously the others need looking into as well. It’s worth mentioning nothing really works on the car I.e. heating, radio etc.
Worth shopping around some local garages for quotes.
Worth getting both sides springs and track rod ends done.
There are a few national chains that would fit an exhaust and with a bit of searching you could probably find a discount code.
Same goes for the tyres.
My Misses just asks for money off, tells them see works for the NHS and with a flash of her ID badge they give her 10% off at a certain national fitting chain.
The heater and radio, is that a power issue?
Does the fan not blow on any setting?
Have you checked the fuses?
Noise, what sort of noise, a squeal or a screech. A rumble or a rattle?
How bad is the oil leak?
Do you have to top up the oil by a litre regulary, is it dripping off the bottom of the car or is it just a weep?
If it's a 1.2 petrol, it could be a problem with the dipstick and filler cap.
The filler cap can stick and this can force the dipstick out of it's hole if it's not clipped in place.
There's some good Youtube videos about the problem.
Financing a newer one will cost you more than £1200 in a year, before any other expenses.
Do you like the car? If so, then repair it and it should be good for a while.
Are you looking for an excuse to upgrade? Go for it.