Repair or not?
I bought a 2004 Seat Altea 2.0 TDI Sport 2 years ago. It currently has slightly under 129K miles on the clock. It didn't give me a problem till a couple of days ago when both rear springs broke at the same time. I was quoted £225 but since it's time for it to pass the MOT I will also need to change rear disc pads (advisory last year), oil and oil filter and diesel filter. This will surely go over £400.
When I requested a part exchange quote in several dealers a couple of months ago I was told I could get around £500, £600 best case scenario.
So the question is; is it worth it to fix the car, or such a big expense is not worth it for a 13 year old car.
Thanks very much for your input
When I requested a part exchange quote in several dealers a couple of months ago I was told I could get around £500, £600 best case scenario.
So the question is; is it worth it to fix the car, or such a big expense is not worth it for a 13 year old car.
Thanks very much for your input
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Comments
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So many variables to your question... for a start how much would you have to spend on a replacement car if you get rid of this one?
If your budget is only going to get you a car of similar age/mileage/condition then you might as well stick with the devil you know,
Discs, pads and an oil change are all routine consumables and service items anyway and replacing a couple of springs on 13 year old car that's done 129k is hardly unreasonable or expensive.
If the discs and pads were the only advisory on last years MOT i'd definitely stick with it for now.0 -
just sold a 2003 Leon TDI 122k for £750.
i would think you could get £800 maybe private.
the springs are usually a cheap job, have a look underneath to check they have broken.
also the discs and pads should be cheap cheap cheap.
we replaced the discs and pads on out toledo and it cost about £75 all in, i bought the pads (Bosch) £15 and the garage supplied the discs and labour £60.0 -
£400?
What's the alternative, £thousands on a newer car which will also wear brake pads out and has the potential for big bills also?0 -
So the question is; is it worth it to fix the car, or such a big expense is not worth it for a 13 year old car.
Thanks very much for your input
It is ALWAYS EVERY SINGLE TIME worth repairing what you have. Say it costs you £500 to fix it but you decide that its not worth it. So you decide to buy another car instead.
Option 1: Buy a better used car. That'll be £3000 or so for one in what you consider better condition but that still won't guarantee it won't have faults and as brake discs and pads are consumables you may end up changing them anyway. That car will still be depreciating in price and you're likely to lose £500 in depreciation in the first year. So to save a £500 repair you've spent £3,000 with no guarantee of more reliability but a guarantee you'll be setting fire to money in depreciation.
Option 2: You decide you want a new one on PCP because you want to be sure of no repair costs so you get a £15,000 retail price car on PCP. The depreciation in the first 2 years is typically around £6-£7000 on a £15000 new car and you'll be paying for that through the PCP deal. To save £500 you've just set fire to £4000-£5000 for the first 12 months and most likely spent the equivalent of the £500 repair in the first few month's PCP repayments.0 -
Agree with the above about repairing rather than replacing.
As a mate of mine used to say,
"You know what's wrong with the old 'un"
Another used car is possibly going to have a whole new set of unknown problems of it's own.0 -
Advisories are just that and can vary due to tester.I bought a 2004 Seat Altea 2.0 TDI Sport 2 years ago. It currently has slightly under 129K miles on the clock. It didn't give me a problem till a couple of days ago when both rear springs broke at the same time. I was quoted £225 but since it's time for it to pass the MOT I will also need to change rear disc pads (advisory last year), oil and oil filter and diesel filter. This will surely go over £400.
When I requested a part exchange quote in several dealers a couple of months ago I was told I could get around £500, £600 best case scenario.
So the question is; is it worth it to fix the car, or such a big expense is not worth it for a 13 year old car.
Thanks very much for your input
I've had advisories that haven't appeared next year.0 -
Repair.
You are looking at £400 to fix yours up for another year, even changing the insurance over onto a replacement car is likely to be £40, and then the car you buy is not free, without an MOT yours is worth maybe £50, so you have £10 to buy a new car with, so include the £400 bills, and what will you get for £410?I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....
(except air quality and Medical Science
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I bought a 2004 Seat Altea 2.0 TDI Sport 2 years ago. It currently has slightly under 129K miles on the clock. It didn't give me a problem till a couple of days ago when both rear springs broke at the same time.
Same thing happened to my 2004 Mondeo both rear springs went at the same time.
I paid a little more than you to get them replaced. Mind you if they last as long as the first lot I will not complain!0 -
I would always say "better the devil you know", plus if your going to own a diesel, then an older diesel is better.
On the downside, if your questioning spending money on basic servicing, then the car is probably shagged already.“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
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