Car repair / loan advice needed

alvorada · 12 July 2018 at 7:06PM

Hi there,

Posting on behalf of my partner - we're currently in a bit of a predicament due to his car. He has a Mazda 6, '15 plate, and the actuator on the turbo has failed. The garage (a local garage) and Mazda themselves have said that the actuator cannot be bought and replaced separately and that the whole turbo will need to be replaced entirely. He has been quoted in excess of £3k for a Mazda turbo, or around £2k for the current turbo to be sent away to be repaired.

We really can't afford this repair currently. We have a 3 week old newborn, so really this has came at the worst possible time.

The car is tied into a fixed sum loan with Creation which has a settlement figure of around £14.5k and the car has been valued at around £8k.

Not an ideal situation at all... so I'm really just looking for some advice on what our options may be? Initially we were thinking we might take out a bank loan, pay off the settlement figure and also ask for extra to cover the repair and then pay that off over x amount of years. It might mean making payments for longer but hoping that the interest will be quite a bit less than the Creation loan.

My partner did also approach a few dealerships to ask about trading in the car but ultimately it's not his ideal option. Despite this failure, he loves his car, it's not that old and really he would like to keep it for the next few years at least.

Another thing to mention is that just before this failure occurred, his car had only just had its MOT 2 weeks prior. He needed new callipers, discs and break pads... is this something that perhaps should have been picked up on during that or is it likely that it's just coincidence that this occurred so soon after?

The car warranty ended in April so sadly no luck there. He has contacted Mazda directly numerous times in the past 2 weeks and they've been less than helpful, assuming no responsibility whatsoever or offering any alternative options.

If anyone has any suggestions which route we could perhaps take, it would be much appreciated.

jimbo26 · 12 July 2018 at 7:14PM

In relation to the MOT. An MOT just checks certain items for safety reasons. It should not be seen as a clean bill of health for the entire car.

whambar · 12 July 2018 at 10:55PM

As mentioned already MOT isn’t a service and may well not pick up the actuator which is more likely to suddenly fail not progressively fail. As car over 3 yrs and out of warranty Mazda would only ever give a goodwill contribution as a %of cost and this would only be if car bought from a franchise Mazda dealer with full Mazda history etc.

The amount outstanding on loan is huge for value of car and as a fixed sum loan I don’t think this has the VT option - any turbo failure may hinder a VT even if you could

It’s very worth contacting a turbo Diesel engine specliast and getting a quote (use trust pilot or some other indie review to check they appear ok) and get a quote from them as that’s who your garage who quoted £2k would use but mark up cost, you may find it many £100s cheaper.

The most cost effective way in my opinion to repair current car as it’s £1500-2000 as you would have no car and £6k debt to sell it and still need to deposit a new car.

Personally if in this position I would probably go down the route of a 0% purchase credit card - pay for repair on this and identify some monthly savings to offset the repair repayment - anything like supermarket pizza instead of takeaway, checking utilities and mobile , tv etc on best (cheapest package)

Many car warranties are worthless but a few providers do offer pretty comprehensive cover so maybe investigate cost of this vs potential risk of hefty repair going forwards. Of all things to have serviced regardless of mileage I have my oil changed every 12 months or 8k miles as I’m not a fan of longlife service or prolonged oil changes

I wouldn’t use a bank loan as this would incur interest be payable over 12 months or more and you will be paying for another service and possibly repairs whilst still paying for the last repairs and could get an even bigger monthly cost

System · 13 July 2018 at 2:18AM

Reconditioned Turbochargers are quite cheap, sub £500 should see one supplied and fitted.

foxy-stoat · 13 July 2018 at 8:53AM

Apply for a few credit cards if you havent already got some and pay for the repair and 0% or low interest rate shuffle a few years and clear it.

What is the interest rate of the loan? Was the car overpriced at the beginning? If you havent got GAP insurance then I would seriously think about buying that as well - if this car was subject to a total loss claim you would be minus £6K and no car. Scary.

macman · 13 July 2018 at 11:08AM

I don't know where you are in the UK, but I can recommend an independent Mazda specialist in North Kent if any help? The prices you have been quoted are just silly.

dresdendave · 13 July 2018 at 8:22PM

jimbo747 wrote: »

I presume you'd have gap insurance, so I'd probably take car back, find a backstreet car park and set fire to it, report it stolen.

From a moneysaving point of view that is a sensible idea. It's highly likely you will be provided with free board and lodging courtesy of her majesty.

alvorada · 15 July 2018 at 11:49AM

Thank you everyone for your replies and advice, much appreciated. Looks like we will go down the credit card route instead of a loan - although we're also getting second opinions on the price of a turbo to be bought and fitted so holding off on agreeing to the repair work until we see if we can get it for any cheaper.

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Apply for a few credit cards if you havent already got some and pay for the repair and 0% or low interest rate shuffle a few years and clear it.

What is the interest rate of the loan? Was the car overpriced at the beginning? If you havent got GAP insurance then I would seriously think about buying that as well - if this car was subject to a total loss claim you would be minus £6K and no car. Scary.

I think the interest rate is around 11%. The car wasn't overpriced, however my partner's previous car finance deal with his old car was a bank loan that consolidated a few other debts as well. He then traded the car in much earlier than he should have because it had been badly damaged on two occasions (drunk driver smashed into it while parked overnight, causing a lot of damage to the rear of the car, then a few months later my partner hit a deer on his way to work, causing lots of damage to the front!). After that he just didn't feel particularly comfortable driving the car which is why he traded it in, but ultimately it had loads of negative equity at this point and this is why he has quite a high amount on finance for his Mazda.

System · 15 July 2018 at 12:48PM

Ouch. Yeah I can understand wanting shut of the previous one because when you hit an adult deer it does do quite a bit of damage. Hitting a cow will write off a car.

Have a look at a loan option including clearing the current finance because there's a lot of cheap credit about at the moment, much lower than 11%.

sourcrates · 15 July 2018 at 1:02PM

I think Mazda, or the garage you spoke to, may of been telling you porkies, now it may be model dependent, and the turbo may of suffered other damage, but.........

Turbo actuators for the Mazda 6 are available on Ebay from £36 !!!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321798639141?clk_rvr_id=1598729929789&vectorid=229508&lgeo=1&item=321798639141&rmvSB=true

Even a generic video on youtube showing how to change the actuator :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubLIgMZijsQ

Its a simple bolt on/bolt off part, but again, check its the right part first, as it may be model dependent.

Herzlos · 15 July 2018 at 2:22PM

I take it the car stills runs with the turbo disconnected? If so it'll be a lot slower but it'll give you time to figure something out.

Car repair / loan advice needed

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