What do you budget for maintenance?

I try to put away £50 to £100 per month in a seperate account for repairs & consumables until I've got a grand - at that point, my assumption is I've got enough to cover pretty much anything that isn't going to write off the car, and if the absolute worst happened, I could go on ebay and buy a new car the next day if I needed to.

If/when I use some of the money, I begin to build it back up to a grand.

Then again mine's a 15yr old Clio 172, so even a new timing belt (and associated gubbins) can easily be upward of 400 smackers and you don't want to that particular job at home...

Having had to replace my own exhaust the other weekend I really do want to begin doing more stuff at home though - I genuinely don't know what I'd do without youtube when it comes to maintenance....

fred246 wrote: »

I really don't think you can set a monthly figure for repairs to an older car. It's not going to work.

I quoted a figure for budgeting purposes, which is just a way of assessing what I have to spend. I may spend more which means I'll go over budget and have to adjust it. I'm "rich" enough not to have to put specific money aside.



It looks like my A/c compressor has gone. Hot weather or not I'm not going to bother replacing it. That would be far too much over budget!:D

How long would expect break/ tyres to last?

I bought a new car so started from ground zero. I am at 23k miles in 1.5 years. How long could I go without replacing anything?

I have a pot of £500 per year and that is for any repair costs/MOT, when I dip into it for parts or MOT I start topping it back up again. The money is kept in its own account as a dedicated car pot. I shop around for insurance (currently have it on a 'normal' policy to keep my NCB going). I run a classic VW.

Best tip I can give you is make sure you trust your garage/mechanic.

You can check things out yourself ie lights/electrics just by switching them on/off.

Brakes, well, you will know when them are starting to go as it takes just a little longer, or needs more of a press.

Handbrake if it needs to be pointing to the roof lining to engage adjust /change the cable.

Clutch if you need to move your knee to your face before you can change gear then get it looked at.

Oils /fluids you can check/top up yourself.

Tyres check visually for defects, buy a tread measure for a couple of quid and avoid curbing your wheels/tyres. Make sure they are pumped to the recommended spec, also do not drive them pumped up to carrying a load if you dont do that).

Give your bodywork a once over when washing, look underneath to keep an eye out for rust /holes which need repairing (welding is expensive unless you can do it yourself).

Suspension press down on the body and see how many bounces before it stops (should only be press down and release, it goes back into standard hight without bobbing up/down a few times. When it starts bobbing your suspension needs looking at/start planning to replace).

Exhaust smoking (blue/black) after running for a few mins and your car needs looking at.

Spark plugs (or glowplug) change every few years.

Cam belt/chain google or check your manual to see when it should be replaced (can be expensive and cripple your car if not changed), you can here your engine making a different sound to what you are used to.

Yes, you can buy a haynes manual or even an owners guide (on ebay), but with the internet the info is available for free and many car groups on FB have a wealth of info/experience.

DD265 wrote: »

TAnother consideration is if the car needs a repair that costs more than it's worth which is unlikely but possible; I'd need some money to put towards a replacement.

I get your point & totally agree with you taking more notice of this aspect of budgeting (I was exactly the same) - but the above quote is something that people often say, but doesn't really make sense to me.

A car might easily be only "worth" a few hundred on the open market due to how fashionable it isn't, or how sexy it doesn't look, but at the same time be a thoroughly decent car, that you know the history of, and has been treated well.

If a job came up that ended up costing more than it's value, it would be emintently sensible to have the work done, because the alternative would be to replace it with a car that you don't know the history of, and no guarantee that you won't need to spend just as much in the near future on it's own set of problems.

Of course, cars can be money pits, but just because the monetary value of a job is more than the market value of the vehicle, doesn't not mean it's always wise to scrap the car.