old car may break during new job

stu12345_2

not sure if right forum.my current job is walking distance 25 mins.applying for new job Better wages.50% improvement!!!. probably get job as it's my trade and skills and I have those skills.but gave it up about 10 yrs ago as job is stressful. high burnout.some folk only last weeks or.days.i prob burn out after  2 years.then change jobs again 
but need car to get there.15 miles away.no buses as.early starts.or late finishes.
I'm currently on a dmp see my other debt  threads.
sold newer car last yr to reduce debts.got 15 yr old car.not sure if it will be reliable enough.
had same situation about 16 years ago. was skint.same type of job.car failed MOT  in first month of employment.
couldn't afford repairs or buy new car.had to resign.massive fight with DWP back then I won my case for JSA.
my point is do I accept new job if I get it?
there is no way I could suddenly raise £2000 plus if my old car failed beyond economic repair. for replacement.credit score ruined can't borrow can't get loans from friends.
usually it's 3 failed turn up for shifts and your sacked. so if car was even in garage for 3 days.employer would sack me.car must make it to work all the time.
I have feeling employer will ask do I have reliable car.
I live in Cornwall .we don't have bus services like they do in London.

QrizB

There seem to be loads of 08-reg cars on the road still, at least around me!

Do you have any particular reason to think your current car will break down, besides it being old?

When is its MoT due?

How long in your new job will it take you to build up enough of an emergency fund to be able to afford car repairs / replacement when the time comes?

stu12345_2

prob  3 months to save.but I'm on a dmp.so most money goes to paying off debts.dont have credit card so can't hire car .
engine has rattle on start up.135000 miles.last winter brakes froze on callipers. mot due feb.it passed last yr.new mid exhaust only. but it has broke down  2 times this yr due to egr valve failure.limp mode electrics.
it's not so much the cost of repairs.its the fact I need to get to work.i can't fail. not to turn up.eg then garage say yes we fix it in 2 weeks. I be sacked by that point and then prob big fight with DWP why I got sacked .last fight with them was could I hire a car.coulnd I walk couldn't I get a lift.why did I take job with old car.blay blah blah.what a fight I had.i won it tho to get full jsa.no sanctions.

stu12345_2

it may need timing belt and pulleys replaced as don't know history.dont want belt to snap and destroy engine so that's a £500 bill already to get it changed over a 2 day job. how do I even get the time  off work or money to get it done.
once had a Corsa  belt fail .engine ruined ended up 3 buses to work.2 hour commute each way ever again.sokd car for scrap

Grumpelstiltskin

Stu We have hopefully got you to stop overthinking what might happen in the future on your Debtfree Wannabe thread, so don't start overthinking on a different topic.

You haven't got a new job, your car hasn't broken down, you haven't got the sack from this different job so stop coming up with all these 'what ifs' It is doing you no good.

lincroft1710

I think the answer is you don't take the new job

stu12345_2

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Stu We have hopefully got you to stop overthinking what might happen in the future on your Debtfree Wannabe thread, so don't start overthinking on a different topic.

You haven't got a new job, your car hasn't broken down, you haven't got the sack from this different job so stop coming up with all these 'what ifs' It is doing you no good.

yes I'm an overthinker.but ive found in life if you let things randomly happen .it can  end up bad.but if you run scinareos you at least can see the bad and good and what could happen.

bluelad1927

stu12345_2 

yes I'm an overthinker.but ive found in life if you let things randomly happen .it can  end up bad.but if you run scinareos you at least can see the bad and good and what could happen.

But you've already convinced  yourself that you have an unreliable car.....and I'm not disagreeing with you.

Therefore if you are likely to get dismissed from a job for this reason it would be unwise to take the job

droopsnoot

My car is 23 years old, 195k on the clock, but I wouldn't be concerned about driving it that distance. Maybe another way to think is that your new employers, once you've settled in, may be a bit more understanding than you expect them to be if you do subsequently have trouble with your car. If you do have to give up your new job at some point because of car trouble, do you have the option to go back to what you're doing now, or something similar but equally close to home, while you sort things out?

At this point only you can weigh up what the best course of action is. You might take the new job, your car let you down and you have to give it up, but equally you might take the new job, find that you do well there and move to better things eventually. I share your tendency to overthink things, but for a 50% wage hike can you turn it down based on something that might not happen?

stu12345_2

I would be going from £11 an hour to £16.50 an hour, but at moment i pay almost no tax or NI, and can walk to work. i know i will pay it more in the new job if i get it,, plus i have to add in say 30-40p a mile to cover car repairs,  wear and tear,, fuel, so its not a true 50% increase. ( 32 mile round trip daily,, 5 days a week)
I expect they will ask me can i reliably commute to work, they will explain that i cannot be late at all, 
My old job would obviously be filled, and if things didnt work out, i guess i would be a job seeker again, but its having to make a UC claim and explaining, was i sacked, paid off or what? is my concern.
cos this situation did happen to me in an exactly the same job role, but a rival company, 15 yrs ago approx. and I had huge hassle with the DWP.