Is it time to scrap my car?

KaratePigeon

Hi, my car is a 2010 Mazda 3, done 150k miles. It was doing ok (usual wear and tear repairs) until the end of last year. To get it through the MOT in December it needed 3 new tyres, pair of break discs and pads and 'arms' (something to do with the tracking, no idea?). Anyway it cost me about £1k but I thought it was worth it, the garage agreed I should get at least another year or 2 out of it with no issues. 

A couple of weeks after that, I needed a new battery (£120 but kind of a normal consumable I guess). 

A couple of weeks after that the brakes were seizing, needed a new caliper (cant' remember how much that cost, traumatised by this point!)

A couple of weeks after that the engine light came on, it was mis-firing and couldn't drive it, took it to the same garage where he cleaned things up, new spark plugs etc. 

The whole time I've been aware I need a shock absorber too but putting it off - this is now unbearable as feels like driving a go-cart, so it's booked in to get that done next week. Now this morning the engine light has come on again! 

So now I'm torn between refusing to spend any more money on it, and thinking well I've invested in in now, having spent over £1.5k in the last few months. Also the air con hasn't worked for years (tried to get it re-gassed at one point but it failed so I live with it but not looking forward to another summer in it!)

Financially I don't have much spare money, single mum, good job and no debts but if I have to buy another (old) car it'd pretty much wipe out my savings. Need a reliable car to get to work and for picking up the kids up (worries me that if I break down they will be stranded somewhere as nobody else to get them). I've only ever bought bangers and run them to their end which I know is most economical but after 20 years of uncomfortable cars which break down often I'm really tempted to get something nicer on finance! 

paul_c123

Distilling the post a little, the fact that you had bought the Mazda, then its worth very little and you would have to dip into savings, is the effect of depreciation. If you buy a car on finance, its mainly the depreciation you're paying (only the depreciation, if its a lease) and that costs quite a bit of money on a new car.

So you need to appreciate the depreciation is a cost of ownership of a car. Its very difficult to avoid it - the only sensible way is to buy a Porsche 911.

Anyway, decide how much "depreciation" you can afford, make an estimate on the maintenance costs, and that sets your budget for a car.

PS I'd get out of that Mazda ASAP.

fatbelly

Nothing that you list for the Mazda sounds terminal. Just maintenance issues.

You do need a car fund though because sooner or later there will be corrosion issues.

Mark_d

For someone with not much spare money I suggest you take a few moments to make a logical decision.  You have wasted £1.5k in the past 6 months.  You should stop throwing good money after bad.  Your car has certainly reached the point in its life where most parts are starting to fail.

Personally I would look for a reliable car - such as Toyota or Kia - maybe 4-5 years old.
Whilst I do have a mortgage I would avoid taking finance if it's avoidable.

ButterCheese

I wrote a massive long post on this, but decided to keep it short.  The same thing happened to me with my Passat, I bought it for £5.2k and spent £3k on it in 3 years, and just sold it for £3k.  And I was lucky to get that as I didn't have much interest at all, it took me 2 months to sell it.

If I were you I'd get the engine light sorted and sell it.  Depending on how much it costs to fix of course; it may be something very minor.  For piece of mind, a newer car might be better for you if you can afford the re-payments.  Personally I'd opt for HP on a nearly new car if you can afford that over, say, 5 years.  If you lease, you'll never own a car at the end of it so you're essentially renting a house when you could afford to buy one.

Used cars of a certain age can be good value if you're willing to take a risk, and it also helps if you know how to do some things yourself and can use a code reader!  But it's a hassle if it's your only car and you need it daily

KaratePigeon

Thanks, I know finance is a bad idea, it's just really tempting! I won't though, I'll buy another old car outright (don't think I can afford a 4-5 year old one unfortunately but anything less than 10 years would be realistic). I did have a longer term plan to use my work savings scheme to free up about £4k for a car but it doesn't pay out until December hence I was hoping to keep my Mazda until then (MOT is valid until then too). But I can't drive it for the next 8 months like it is.

Fixing one issue at a time is hopeful, but now it has at least 2 different issues I think it might be time to stop spending money on it. I guess I could take it into the garage anyway to get a diagnosis on the engine light, anyone know how much a shock absorber is likely to cost (do they have to be done in pairs)? Also would I get much for my Mazda (I assume I'd be selling it for scrap or would someone want it to repair?)

KaratePigeon

I just remembered I haven't put oil in it for about 4 weeks (it does use it unfortunately), it was below the minimum so just topped it up hoping it might make the light go off but it didn't. I also mentioned this to the garage last time I took it but they said it was normal for old cars to get through oil, I haven't noticed any leaking out but I know it's not a good sign either..

ontheroad1970

KaratePigeon said:

Thanks, I know finance is a bad idea, it's just really tempting! I won't though, I'll buy another old car outright (don't think I can afford a 4-5 year old one unfortunately but anything less than 10 years would be realistic). I did have a longer term plan to use my work savings scheme to free up about £4k for a car but it doesn't pay out until December hence I was hoping to keep my Mazda until then (MOT is valid until then too). But I can't drive it for the next 8 months like it is.

Fixing one issue at a time is hopeful, but now it has at least 2 different issues I think it might be time to stop spending money on it. I guess I could take it into the garage anyway to get a diagnosis on the engine light, anyone know how much a shock absorber is likely to cost (do they have to be done in pairs)? Also would I get much for my Mazda (I assume I'd be selling it for scrap or would someone want it to repair?)

Finance isn't always a bad idea.  It all depends.  If you can find an affordable deal, then it might be a great idea, especially if you can get a good/great rate.  If you buy an older car at the bottom of the market you are likely picking up someone else's selling before scrap.  

Mildly_Miffed

If the engine management light comes on, just "cleaning things up, spark plugs etc" isn't the way to resolve it properly. What fault codes came up? Is it the same fault codes this time?

Quite why the garage didn't notice the caliper when they did the discs and pads is another question - I'd guess that there was some internal corrosion which started to cause problems when the pistons were moved back further than their normal range. That would be down to poor previous servicing - inadequate fluid changes.

Yes, dampers should be replaced in pairs - front or rear? Rear will be a quick and easy job. Front, less so.

The real killer, though? Running it low on oil. The "oil light" isn't a low level (some cars do have level warnings on the dash, but not many) sign, but a zero oil pressure sign. The only way low oil level contributes to low oil pressure is if it's SO low the engine is trying to lubricate itself with fresh air. Or do you mean the engine management light? That's not a low-oil-level warning, either...

Scrap/"spares or repair" value? Couple of hundred quid.
Running/driving/8mo MOT left value? £750 to a grand, depending on the cosmetics.

ButterCheese

ok, with this extra info I'd definately not spend any more money on it.  if it uses oil and there are no visible leaks then it's burning oil, meaning the oil is getting past the piston rings and into the combustion chamber.  Fixing that alone, with labour, is likely more than the car is worth.

Good point above about the garage and their "cleaning up the plugs".  They might have done you a favour by not doing a thorough and more costly diagnosis.  Sell as is, obviously state that it has an engine light on and it uses a bit of oil (if you're a decent person).  See what you can get for it.  Otherwise see what a breaker would give for it.  Make sure you fill out the appropriate part of the V5C if you're scrapping it.

There are some larger garages who offer older cars with a 5 year gurantee (which is usually only engine and gearbox, and will exclude things like tyres, brakes and even electrics).  e.g. my ex bought a Punto for 5 grand, probably only worth 3 grand private, but got 5 years guarantee.  When anything went wrong, they'd provide a free hire car and fix the Punto.  Trouble is, sometimes they don't have a hire car free and you have to wait.

You could buy another 10 year old car privately but you open yourself up to potential issues if it hasn't been taken care of or is high mileage or you just have bad luck.  Check for service history, and make sure anything that needs replacing has been done e.g. cambelt and waterpump kit, clutch (is it still on the original?) belts etc.  Any one of these could be 5 or 6 hundred or more depending on the car

KaratePigeon

Ok thanks, the consensus seems to be to not spend any more money on it. I think it's time for it to go - at least if I'm in control of when to scrap it it means I'm not stranded somewhere or being annoyed that it's going with a full tank of petrol, which has happened to me the past! I'll advertise it for spares or repair, maybe the new tyres and battery etc will be of use to someone before it gets crushed.