How to afford a 2nd car

magpies79

Yeah I definitely don’t want to take on anymore debt hence the title I mean yes would of been better if I had an emergency fund but my plan is to continue to pay over on the cards to get the debt paid before the 0% runs out as for the emergency fund that’s something unfortunately I’ve not been able to get yet.

main plan which I’ve done is get everything I could onto 0% get it paid don’t add anymore debt then once funds start to look better work on the savings again once august is here I’ll be £350-£400 better off a month the mortgage thing was just in hindsight thought I’m 45 soon I should of really paid it off sooner.

As for the car going through the mot I did think about it but I do feel I’d be throwing money at a dead horse so to get it through an mot costs are 
2 tyres for £110 
Hand brake cable on one side isn’t holding 
windscreen is cracked cheapest quote I’ve got is £280 not covered on the insurance and would have to claim something I’ve told my wife don’t always assume it is because that’s the answer I got from her lol.

Mot is £25 so I’m about £450 in there and that’s without even fixing the surging and cutting out problem turned the fuel pressure value 180
 unfortunately that didn’t change anything and really runs bad car is currently on 130k had from 80k odd so to me that’s £500 not including the £260 id get for scrap so potentially that could be £760
towards another car.

so that’s where I’m at I’m just trying to be sensible the old me would of gone out and just tried to get a 15k car on HP but them days are long gone which is why ideally the 3k range feel I could pick a reasonable run a round that’s got a few years left it.

seen a few of the 208 1.2 but been reading up on them having a welt belt and failing 2 people at work have one said they’ve never let them down 

Goudy

If you are going to spend 3k on a cheap car, make sure it's cheap to run and repair.

I've had a lot of joy in that regards from Fiat Panda's.
I know what people think FIAT,  but owners tend to be very happy with them.
Stick with the 69hp 1.2 FIRE petrol models from 2012 (not the diesel or Twinair, they can be fussy and problematic)

There's not a lot that goes wrong.
The engine is actually pretty strong, if it starts up cleanly and settles to a smooth idle and not full of mayo under the oil filler cap, you there.
It might tick from the valve train when started from cold but that should shut up quite quickly.

The gearboxes are ok, but walk away from any that are hard to shift or leaking (input shaft seal/bearing).Check under the front bumper for leaks.

All the running gear, brakes, tyres etc and all the servicing parts are dirt cheap and readily available.
Plenty of breakers for used parts.
They are really simple to fix, there's not much fancy electronics on them, particularly the Pop trim which is "essence of car".

The Fiat 500 is based on the Panda but are actually more prone to faults.
Plus bigger wheels means bigger, more expensive tyres.

There are a couple of iffy points.
The rear beam axle, it's prone to rusting but it's easy to kneel down there and check with a torch. The arms that hold the lower spring pans are first to show signs.

The sump pans can rust through and leak.

The DRLs are dual voltage (brighter when the headlights are off, dimmer when they are on) and the bulb holder contact "tang" can burn through over the years, simple fix really.

Any other electrical maladies are usually battery related.

Check it's had a cambelt change recently, they aren't prone to snapping but the 69hp is an interference head.
The older 2003 to 2011 with the 60hp 1.2 and 55hp 1.1 engine has a different cylinder head and is non interference, so who cares if the belt is old! (the 1.1 has some engine wiring issues though)

Between around £2500 and £3000 will get you into the 2012 onward model (319) with some easy miles on it.
They'll seat two adults and a couple of kids easily, though long trips might be a bit uncomfortable.

Herzlos

Having a running car sounds like a need rather than a want here. I'd reconsider getting the Astra through the MOT and then using that until August, but the cutting out problem may mean it's too unreliable and expensive to fix.

The big risk is that you don't spend £500 keeping the Astra on the road, then spent £3k on something with similar problems. Maybe ask around friends/family if anyone is going to be trading in a car soon, or a local facebook group.

What's the other car? Is there any scope to trade it down and free up some money?

UniDebtStudent

I would buy a cheap run around although the used market isn't as cheap as it used to be. Once upon a time 3k could get you a nice-ish car, but now you will have to compromise on age/mileage/owners.

You need something super reliable, so go for something Japanese like Toyota, Honda etc. research models made in Britain and go for those. In the unlikely event of a repair, parts for the older models are very cheap and widely available. 

I wouldn't pour money into the Astra, handbrake issues aren't safe and even if you get it through MOT you don't sound confident that something else won't crop up imo. 

I wouldn't finance either, you don't have an emergency fund, still paying off credit and you're so close to paying off your mortgage. 

Don't lose sight of the end goal for borrowed luxury. Convince the Mrs to abide by a run around for a couple of years, then as a thank you, buy her a newish Benz when you're mortgage free!

magpies79

Thanks for all the advice it’s much a appreciated no as tempting as it was pouring more money into the Astra for to possibly get one more year is to risky is to risky and yeah I couldn’t possibly get it through it’s mot the cutting out limp mode could be a one thing or a collection of things it’s just not worth the risk.

our other car is a Vauxhall antra 2011 60 plate of I remember right we use for more long journeys when we go away camping in the uk or France it’s got 50k on the clock however due to its age and road tax bracket don’t think we would get much in terms of trading it in and it’s shocking on fuel think we get like 38mpg at best Astra was getting 45mpg as the antra is quite a heavy car I will not being going down the finance route or all of a sudden looking at 10k cars.

I think she’s honestly just panicking and thinking how are we going to get our daughter to netball and other things and thought right see what we can get as I’ve probably done over the years well over 10 years ago lol.

I’ve spoke to someone at work they don’t mind giving me a lift back if I get a bus in so hopefully gives me more time to save.

born_again

magpies79 said:

So we currently have 2 cars I work nights wife works days she 100% needs a car I kinda do but sometimes she’s not back by the time I leave for work I can get a bus in but getting back would be difficult as it’s early morning finish and no buses run at that time.

So our 2nd car the one she mainly used was the Astra mot runs out in 2 days and we are going to scrap it as the price to put things right well outweighs the value of the car along with a cracked windscreen was the final nail in the coffin.

So how do we go about getting a 2nd car I don’t want to do finance don’t want a loan I’ve said we need to start putting money aside to save can pick up some nice cheap cars for around 3k mark with £20 road tax and good mpg most of them with around 60-70k miles on the clock.

she is pushing for finance or loan which I’m I don’t want to do but I do feel she feels pressure to sort it fast as one of us takes our daughter to netball practice 3 times a week that’s normally when she’s at work with the car and I’d need a car to take her.

she pays £70 a month insurance so said that can go into a saving for a car plus £260 scrap for the car and just keep adding overtime will take time but do feel it’s the sensible way of doing it.

So how far is your trip to & from work?

Not far, & if you have off street parking. Then look at the likes of Leaf or Zoe Quite a few on Autotrader at your price. Will be a lot cheaper to run.

magpies79

Trip to work is about 8-9 miles so not crazy far.

magpies79

I’ve seen a few of these about are these a possibility 
Seen afew similar mileage and price between £0-£25 road tax low insurance group and 1.2 so hopefully ok for fuel 

magpies79

born_again said:

magpies79 said:

So we currently have 2 cars I work nights wife works days she 100% needs a car I kinda do but sometimes she’s not back by the time I leave for work I can get a bus in but getting back would be difficult as it’s early morning finish and no buses run at that time.

So our 2nd car the one she mainly used was the Astra mot runs out in 2 days and we are going to scrap it as the price to put things right well outweighs the value of the car along with a cracked windscreen was the final nail in the coffin.

So how do we go about getting a 2nd car I don’t want to do finance don’t want a loan I’ve said we need to start putting money aside to save can pick up some nice cheap cars for around 3k mark with £20 road tax and good mpg most of them with around 60-70k miles on the clock.

she is pushing for finance or loan which I’m I don’t want to do but I do feel she feels pressure to sort it fast as one of us takes our daughter to netball practice 3 times a week that’s normally when she’s at work with the car and I’d need a car to take her.

she pays £70 a month insurance so said that can go into a saving for a car plus £260 scrap for the car and just keep adding overtime will take time but do feel it’s the sensible way of doing it.

So how far is your trip to & from work?

Not far, & if you have off street parking. Then look at the likes of Leaf or Zoe Quite a few on Autotrader at your price. Will be a lot cheaper to run.

Just looked yeah zoe seem to be ideal and afew about thanks.
i have a car park pass for work so parking isn’t a issue.

how many previous owners should I be wary of on say a 70k miles car 2-3 as seen some like 5-6 so does that raise flags on the car 

born_again

Hard to say really, like any other car. Could be with a EV they have realised range is not enough for them. 
Only other would be check that battery is in a good state of health.