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Is it time to change my car?
Comments
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If you work out how much the interst on running a 7k car as opposed to a 2k car is and then also the depreciation (yours can not depreciate by more than 2k!) then it will pay for a lot of petrol and servicing.
The only thing to think avbout in my opinion is 'crash worthiness' - I don't know how late model escorts did in ncap, but worth thinking about with your kids in the car.I think....0 -
throttle cable is not a lot of money, hesitant running could possibly be an airflow sensor (£30 maybe more dependant on model, only a few minutes to fit) 28mpg around town doesnt sound too bad on stop start driving, dirty airfilter will rob you of power and 5mpg or even more and definitely wont help the hesitant or lumpy running. it sounds like the car needs a good service and once over0
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Thanks for all the replies, I was out yesterday. My car is a P reg. It is serviced every March, but I will certainly not be going to a "big name" again, really is too expensive. I think I have come to the same thoughts re the 7K in my pocket and keeping a 2K one on the road, so I'm going to get it to a garage this week, to get the high rev running sorted and will mention the fuel economy. DH's company car is up for renewal in 18 months time, so as long as nothing major goes wrong, we'll look at my car then. Thanks for all your advice, it was interesting only one person thought I should change it - I'm going to go and give my little car a good clean inside and out now to apologise to it for thinking of changing.
Purple cars rock!0 -
I also think that you should change it. I have driven Fords all my life until recently (including 3 Escorts). From experience, I can tell you that you will have to keep on throwing money at a P reg Escort in order to keep it on the road.
Newer Fords are excellent cars (in particular the Focus and Mondeo) but you will still find that they start getting expensive to maintain around the 75-85K mark.
You can pick up a P reg 1.4LX Escort for around £1000 at a dealer with about 80K on the clock. However this really is the age when the older Fords start to crumble.
If you can get the work done cheaply then sell it on. If the work is going to cost a bomb then I'd price it cheaply and get rid.0 -
Vic, if that is the case, why then do people rate Fords so highly?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing Fords (I've always thought of them as pretty robust motors) but we've had a succession of Nissans and all have gone well past the 80k mark without needing any repairs at all in most cases, they just keep running until the tin-worm gets them. I can't remember the last time a Nissan of ours has needed any more than a replacement pipe or minor welding at MOT time (although a couple of weeks ago the rear wiper and electric mirrors stopped working -- blown fuse).0 -
Err, I'm whispering this,
re the mileage, its just coming up to 20K - for the second time!
Oh dear!0 -
jjames wrote:Vic, if that is the case, why then do people rate Fords so highly?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing Fords (I've always thought of them as pretty robust motors) but we've had a succession of Nissans and all have gone well past the 80k mark without needing any repairs at all in most cases, they just keep running until the tin-worm gets them. I can't remember the last time a Nissan of ours has needed any more than a replacement pipe or minor welding at MOT time (although a couple of weeks ago the rear wiper and electric mirrors stopped working -- blown fuse).
Tizz, I'm amazed you've got 120K from an Escort - that's very good going! Given the mileage it's probably worth less than 500 quid... I always draw the line at repairs which cost more than a substantial percentage of the value of the car, but I suppose it depends on whether you want to go to the expense of a newer one.0 -
True enough -- any 9-year old with over 100K on the clock, unless it is a large diesel, is worth very little.
Can still be the better the devil you know though -- unless you're willing to spend at least £1500, and probably closer to £3000 on a replacement it's probably better to stick with what you've got until it drops to pieces. A basically reliable car sold for £500 is a foolish sale IMO unless there is a good reason for getting shot.
Or is this opinion just the result of me being spoilt by owning old bangers which refuse to go wrong? Current car on 130K, 94M, only fault on the car is a blower that occasionally only blows at full speed, no rust anywhere, first time every time starter (generally within 0.25 seconds), engine virtually silent at idle when warm. Unfortunately, said car is probably still only worth £500. Bummer.
Even more of a bummer when the old bus is actually quieter than the other car (a 1.3 Hyundai on a Y plate) which has been absolutely reliable but the engine doesn't quite have that nice purr to it that the old one does!0 -
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