Rattle in old car

ripplyuk

It’s an 11yo Volkswagen Up. 36,000 miles. I’ve had it from new. Recently, I’ve noticed a rattle on the left hand side which is hard to describe but it’s the sound you would make if you put a tiny bit of wire in a metal pipe and shook it. The car drives fine and I can’t see anything about to fall off underneath. I plan to book it into the garage next week to get it checked. 

Chatting to friends and their brothers, almost all of them have told me to ignore it and said it’s not worth spending money checking out every little rattle or squeak in an old car. Is this true? It has made me wonder when is the most economical time to cut my losses and buy a new one. I’m not considering that yet because the car has been very reliable so far but I know it will happen sooner or later. Is there a certain age when a car is seen as more money-saving to replace than repair? 

Effician

Drop link would be my guess,  a cheap & easy fix.

ROY47

My guess without hearing it 

Heat shield above exhaust pipe somewhere underneath touching exhaust ?

Drop link tends to create a knock rather than the sound you describe 

fatbelly

A 2014 Up with 36k on it should have loads of life in it. Mine is 2012 and 70k and I expect it to pass another MOT next week. I'll report back if wrong. 

You do get a few rattles. Nothing to sorry about.

Some on Autotrader have done over 130k

Goudy

Perhaps check the brakes.
It might be the acoustic warning system telling you the pads are low.

There is usually a metal tang on the brake pads and as the friction material wears down, these tangs start to touch and scrape on the discs causing a noise as the wheel/brake disc spins. 

How Brake Pad Wear Indicators Work: A Guide — Ricks Free Auto Repair Advice Ricks Free Auto Repair Advice | Car Repair Tips and How-To Advice