£2,576.79 to clear by March

DD265

Literally within 2 weeks of the new tyres and brakes on my car - which was about £900 - the car was written off whilst parked. Nobody was hurt, but the other driver wrote off both my car and hers on Monday morning, so that was a great start to the week. /s

I have settled with her insurance company and have the cash in the bank. I was able to negotiate up to a valuation I was happy with, but I'm still going to be out of pocket. The £2.5k I've spent on the car this year is money I'm never getting back, and there's been so much stress which now leaves me with the hassle of having to find a new car.

My insurance premiums will almost certainly go up (I suspect, as we were on a multi-car policy, that my husband's premiums have be recalculated mid-term when my car was removed, too), I'm probably going to have to replace part of the dashcam unless the salvage company will retrieve it for me (we couldn't roadside, so only got the actual front camera out, but the rear camera and front mount cost about £100 new!), not to mention having it wired in, plus I would have my garage service any new-to-me car, probably better tyres on etc.

I'm not sure what I'll do yet. We're a bit in limbo (husband still temping, and if a project at work gets signed off, I'll be travelling a fair bit) and I wasn't planning on replacing my car for another 5 or so years, which means I haven't been thinking about what to get instead. We may end up borrowing a family members car for a while so we don't have to rush into a decision. Not keen on that option (I hate driving their car) but at least it's a possibility.

I can keep a hire car for up to two weeks. We're out visiting family tomorrow (and needed the hire car as our EV can't make the round trip, same next weekend) but will visit a car supermarket on Sunday to start narrowing down the options. Might go old-used and buy outright, newer-used on finance (with the settlement as a deposit), or brand new on lease with the aim of using the settlement to cover the lease repayments. I'm hesitant to buy a new-to-me 10 year old car; I trusted mine, but you never know how well someone else looked after theirs! However I also don't want to dig us a financial hole by committing to repayments.

I don't believe in any kind of higher power, but I'm definitely feeling like something is out to get me! We've been having such a rough time of it, and the bad things just keep on coming.

The only positive I can pull out of the situation is that I don't have to pay for a new flywheel any more which means the budget is fully funded this month already. I do feel financially stable again, finally, which is part of my reluctance around the car purchase. We still have a way to go with the emergency fund, though, and chances of a holiday this year, which I could definitely do with, remain slim.

DD265

We have a new car - a 9 year old which is low mileage for its age and it's been looked after very well, although there are a few niggles to sort out; the most urgent being a new tyre as there's a mismatched pair. Then a short list to work through gradually as we have the funds.

We test drove a few 2022-ish cars but I ended up liking the same model best again, even in the newer version. I decided I really didn't want to commit to finance payments, hence looking for something around 10 years old like mine, and purchasing outright - £200 went on the credit card for that extra protection.

The new car cost almost £3k more than my settlement, but it was a fair price and ultimately we concluded it was worth the extra. I used £1k set aside for credit card payments (this was accumulated in the budget before the statement triggered the direct debit), the £1k emergency fund and the 'excess' money in the budget. I'm currently £265 in the red on an interest charging credit card, but the interest won't kick in until July so I can manage that.

The insurance refund was higher than the amount I just paid to put the new car on, and the new car is lower in tax because there were some changes in between the two cars (the old car was Jan 2015, the new one is Jan 2016) which have worked in our favour. But I lost the full tank of fuel, I've ended up replacing the front dashcam mount, the rear dashcam and mount, plus the hardwire kit and I need to get it hardwired in - we daren't do it ourselves as there are airbags in the pillars the cable will travel down - and obviously all the maintenance work I'd paid for is money down the drain.

In addition, I have some dental work coming up which will be £830 (hopefully worth the ~£500 extra to a) get it done weeks earlier and b) have a stronger material so it will last longer) that I will add to the same credit card, so I have breathing space to get back on track. I don't want to take all our cash out of the budget, just in case.

It does feel like we're haemorrhaging cash and I suppose we are, but other spends have been low. For example, I don't think we've ever gotten this far into a month and still had £180 left on the food budget! We'll get back to where we were in terms of savings, but it's so frustrating given it wasn't our fault that the car got written off. Thankfully it's pay day next week so I can hopefully start the process of rebuilding those funds.

Sarahwithlove

Glad you managed to find a car you are happy with. 

1stTimer

Sorry to hear about the car, it’s incredibly frustrating when you are trying so hard. Glad you’ve found a new one though, onwards and upwards

DD265

Thank you both. This was money that shouldn't have needed to be spent, but it is what it is.

I unexpectedly got a bonus in my May pay, so we'll be able to fund everything by the 20th June - my husband gets paid on Fridays - and we should have about £500 'spare' to put back in the emergency fund. This includes covering the dental work; so everything on the interest charging credit card. We'll still be 'short' on our emergency fund but £500 is better than £0 and I have plenty of cards to fall back on, plus some savings in various budget pots. Also the £1k that had been set aside for the interest-free credit card is something I'll need to make up but can do at a later date.

The new car has had £330 spent on it; taking into account an £85 contribution from the dealer to get an ABS sensor sorted (common fault with these cars), the replacement for the odd tyre, a once over from my trusted local garage, and a paint touch up kit. I'm not including the dashcam mounts/wiring kit because I can't think of the prices right now; probably around £100 in total. I managed to plug the dashcams in to the 12v socket and tuck the wires away so they aren't irritating, but getting them properly wired is second on the list when I find an auto electrician locally. I have looked into doing it myself and still don't feel confident, which is a pity but it is what it is. Before that, I'm going to book it into VW for a recall (which is free).

I have a week off later this month which I am really looking forward to. I'm planning to make the most of time down at the allotment, and avoid going out shopping unless I have a very specific list and budget. That's the plan for most of the month though! I'm getting quite good at choosing not to pop into the shop for a snack, or avoiding going for a mooch because I'm bored. I've also been dodging impulse purchases online by adding things to my shopping list and waiting until I have a few things to get together, or just leaving them on the list until they're actually needed.