Help. I can't get into my car

born_again

sand_hun said:

QrizB said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Flat 12volt battery.

Yes, this seems the most likely.

You said in your opening post:

sand_hun said:

    we rarely go anywhere by car (we mainly cycle or use public transport). 

When did you last use your car? 

OK thank you for your help. I last used the car about 4 days ago, albeit only for a short trip. My plan is to call the RAC tomorrow, upgrade our membership to home start (the vehicle is currently 0.2 miles away!) and hopefully they will resolve it

Check the T/C to make sure that they will come out, given it is a current issue or that there is no waiting period before calling them out.

Could be cheaper to simply go to a motor factor & buy a new battery & fit it...

sand_hun

According to Tayna the battery for my car is a 027EFB Enduroline Stop/Start at £76. When I searched at Halfords as a comparison it showed a cost of £138 for a battery that would fit my car.

The way I see it, I don't have many options other than to get RAC to resolve it, especially as the car is currently parked on-street near my house. Even if they jump start it, I still have the hassle of trying to locate a battery and pay to get it fitted!

p00hsticks

sand_hun said:

According to Tayna the battery for my car is a 027EFB Enduroline Stop/Start at £76. When I searched at Halfords as a comparison it showed a cost of £138 for a battery that would fit my car.

The way I see it, I don't have many options other than to get RAC to resolve it, especially as the car is currently parked on-street near my house. Even if they jump start it, I still have the hassle of trying to locate a battery and pay to get it fitted!

As @born_again says though, you may find that as you don't currently have Home Start on your policy, the RAC may well have a waiting period after upgrading to prevent people doing what you propose to - upgrade and immediately get them to come out for a previously known issue. You may be better getting in touch with a local breakdown / repair garage to see of they can come out and put a new battery in for you.  

sand_hun

Hi @poohsticks123 and @born_again valid point, however as it's a Saturday I think I have to go with convenience and may struggle to get a local garage out. You're right, on RAC website it says there is a waiting period before you can use services that have just been added on. Nevertheless, in reality they still let you use the services but they add a surcharge of £85. 

So, I paid £8.55 to add Home Start to my policy (as I'm part way through the contract) and a further £85 surcharge for a mechanic to come out because it's an existing breakdown. Bit annoying, but at least I can hopefully get it resolved quickly and conveniently. 

Okell

sand_hun said:

... I didn't bother since we rarely go anywhere by car (we mainly cycle or use public transport)...

If you don't use your car regularly and reasonably frequently you will end up with a flat battery.

If you get a new battery from the AA it should come with a warranty, but be aware that if you do not do a minimum per annum mileage the warranty will be void.

You need to use your car.  You can't just keep it as a fall back

Emmia

Okell said:

sand_hun said:

... I didn't bother since we rarely go anywhere by car (we mainly cycle or use public transport)...

If you don't use your car regularly and reasonably frequently you will end up with a flat battery.

If you get a new battery from the AA it should come with a warranty, but be aware that if you do not do a minimum per annum mileage the warranty will be void.

You need to use your car.  You can't just keep it as a fall back

OP given that you're fuelling, taxing, insuring and maintaining a car but not really using it, would it be cheaper to hire a car or use taxis for when you do want one? It's probably worth adding up what you spent on it last year and dividing it by the number of journeys you made / distance travelled.

Alternatively is there a car club near you that would be suitable? I understand that having your own, that you can use when you want is desirable - but you do need to use it. Not using it will create other maintenance issues.

sand_hun

Hi @Emmia it’s a fair point.

My motoring costs may not be that much compared to others, but yes, your suggestions of getting rid of it is certainly something to think about. Insurance is £430, tax is just £20, then obviously fuel, breakdown cover, plus servicing / replacing parts etc.

We make 2/3 or long distance journeys per year (200 miles)
My partner uses the car about once a month for local journeys where she knows the roads (10-15 miles distance).
I use it on average once a fortnight for short trips if I need to carry stuff that won’t fit in my bicycle panniers!

As you say we could possibly hire a car or get taxis when needed.

GrumpyDil

With that kind of usage profile you are likely to find your battery keeps going flat and because you can't park it on a driveway can't use mains battery maintainer.

If you do decide to keep the car then I would consider getting a solar powered battery maintainer as that would be better than nothing.

born_again

sand_hun said:

Hi @poohsticks123 and @born_again valid point, however as it's a Saturday I think I have to go with convenience and may struggle to get a local garage out. You're right, on RAC website it says there is a waiting period before you can use services that have just been added on. Nevertheless, in reality they still let you use the services but they add a surcharge of £85. 

So, I paid £8.55 to add Home Start to my policy (as I'm part way through the contract) and a further £85 surcharge for a mechanic to come out because it's an existing breakdown. Bit annoying, but at least I can hopefully get it resolved quickly and conveniently. 

£85 would have bought you a new battery...
Never mind the expected £100+ for the rac  battery..

paul_c123

born_again said:

sand_hun said:

Hi @poohsticks123 and @born_again valid point, however as it's a Saturday I think I have to go with convenience and may struggle to get a local garage out. You're right, on RAC website it says there is a waiting period before you can use services that have just been added on. Nevertheless, in reality they still let you use the services but they add a surcharge of £85. 

So, I paid £8.55 to add Home Start to my policy (as I'm part way through the contract) and a further £85 surcharge for a mechanic to come out because it's an existing breakdown. Bit annoying, but at least I can hopefully get it resolved quickly and conveniently. 

£85 would have bought you a new battery...
Never mind the expected £100+ for the rac  battery..

But he can't fit it himself, and he couldn't even get to the car carrying a heavy battery no doubt. Its bad enough having to carry them a short distance around the house to fit them on a car on your driveway, for example. The options of a mobile mechanic were fruitless, so RAC it was. And to be honest, a local garage or mobile mechanic would have probably charged about the same.