Old car eating up money - What to do ?

Slinger

Slinger

Slinger

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Joined
4 Dec 2006
Posts
468
Location
Hertford/Portsmouth
Hey all,

So yeah, my 14 year old MK2 Clio is eating up money, and in August I will be commuting 60 miles a day round trip for a new job. (for less money, but hey what can you do)

Heres what the car has needed in the last 3 years (fair enough it is old!)

- new cat converter
- ignition coil
- 2 x driveshafts (and these new ones are knocking a tiny bit again!)
- ball joint
- battery
- rear shock absorbers
- brake hoses
- top mounts, bearings, coil springs, tie rods, arb bushes/droplinks - all to try and fix a knocking sound!

and then of course standing servicing costs, tyres, headlight bulbs etc.

and now after trying to trace knocking over small bumps, I have to take a stab in the dark and install some new front struts. (have to undo all the work i done to change the coil springs) another 50 quid here. Mechanics cant pinpoint the knock, but suspected struts.

its over 1200 in repairs and servicing costs since I have had it, approx 3 years. not including the 123 quid tax every 6 months. Its barely worth 800 quid (gauging autotrader) thats without any knocking noises I'd imagine.

Either than that, its ok at the moment, touch wood., engine is on 89k, runs well. The steering has play in it too, and the gearbox and clutch is iffy. Struggle to get into reverse or first gear sometimes, especially when parking, you have to left off clutch and push down again for it to engage.

Here the thing though, I dont have a lot of savings for another decent car, and I start a job commuting for less money in august(its a way more exciting job than currently)

I want a vw bora, and need about 2.5k for one. (Under 100k, 1.9 tdi se or along those lines)

I have heard a lot of good things about them, economical, bullet proof engines etc. Though when issues arise and its in need of repairs, I do wonder if its a good choice as diesels can be more expensive to repair. Therefore is it a good idea to get this (once I got the cash) when I am starting on a lower salary...? The cheaper thing to me is saying get a small petrol car for cheaper fuel costs, insurance, tax etc etc. But..... they tiny and either are boring or look ugly haha!

Do I cut loses and sell car? save what I can from insurance, tax, etc towards another car ? Save what I can till new job, take a bank loan, or overdraft increase and get another car? Then I have to pay that loan back monthly too, it will be too much for my lower salary.

I can take the train, but this employer likes that I have a car, and I really like being able to hop in the car and go. Thing is a monthly train ticket is £213! My insurance is 61 quid a month, tax 123 every 6 months(cant afford 220 a year at once) and petrol likely to be at least 150 a month to get into work. Yes, more expensive, but then I do have use of the car outside of work to visit family, go to shops etc.

You never know when cars will need repairs, do I repair things until this knock is sorted? Something else will come up after for sure. Clocking up to 1200 miles a month is going to hurt it, haha.

Either way I am saving money every month where I can in the meantime, but these repairs are eating into it!

OCUK!....what do I dooo? :P
 
I earn a pittance, and also do a silly commute for the money (80 miles a day).
In the end I couldn't be bothered doing it in the bean can that was my MG ZS or Rover 600, so sold them both and got a decent motorway cruiser (Rover 75 CDTi).

If you do your own DIY car repairs, choose the right diesel and you won't go wrong. Avoid ultra-modern as they have DPFs and other bits and bobs to go wrong - a good Mk3 Mondeo that's had a DMF and injectors is a good shout. Either that or the Mk3 Mondeo with the 1.8 - economical enough for commuting at 37-40MPG.
 
mattyprice4004 said:
To be fair I can't afford to pay it in one lump, and usually do it every 6 months. Mine's only £100 odd too.
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Still unsure why people do this. Is it because you don't want to fork it out in one go? Surely you can afford it? What about repairs and such, simple MoT requirement repairs can reach these amounts? VED is the easiest expense to budget for. You know exactly when it's coming and how much it will cost.

mattyprice4004 said:
Enlighten me? :)
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Just giving you a hard time 'tis all :p
 
wingman said:
Still unsure why people do this. Is it because you don't want to fork it out in one go? Surely you can afford it? What about repairs and such, simple MoT requirement repairs can reach these amounts? VED is the easiest expense to budget for. You know exactly when it's coming and how much it will cost.

Just giving you a hard time 'tis all :p
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I always seem to be broke come VED time, no idea why. Just done another 6 months too - then again I swap cars far too much. :)

I deserve it to be fair. :p
Howard said:
I can't keep up with you!
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I was offered this one which is a little bit more unique than the others. Paid pennies for it, no major faults, a shedload of work done.

We all know I'll sell it soon though. :D

In its defense - 160BHP, doing around 50MPG on a 50/50 commute, every option possible (heated electrically adjustable leather memory seats!) and nothing broken yet. We'll see though, early days.
 
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it's only costing you about 53 quid a month to run and you've replaced lots of bits which generally need replaced over the lifetime of the car so I would just keep running it until the car finally throws a big bill your way then replace it... a bora nearing 100k could need any of the things you've replaced on the clio
 
@mattyprice

If you're swapping cars often it's not a bad idea to do just 6 months. It's people who buy cars with the intention of keeping them three years and drop 6 months a time.

Friend of mine bought a new Ibiza few years back and she only ever dropped 6 months VED on it a time, despite paying finance on a new car. It's cheaper to buy it for the year, and as blatently obvious this statement is, the next one takes a year to come round, not 6 months!

I do love how you swap out cars as much as I want to! Living the dream (except for the Rover part). :p

@OP

I'd seriously consider keeping the car. You obviously know it well having owned it for three years, and you've replaced a lot of parts that shouldn't require your attention again for some time.
 
Wait till the day he gets something that isn't a Rover! Surely matt is running out of Rovers to get his hands on.
 
Rybo89 said:
Wait till the day he gets something that isn't a Rover! Surely matt is running out of Rovers to get his hands on.
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Don't worry, there will soon be a thriving second hand market full of lovely new MGs for Mat to pour over. :)
 
I changed cars as much as mattyP in my early to mid 20's, it's good fun to be fair and typically dead easy to find a swap.....They weren't all clapped out old rovers (certainly weren't sterling examples either) though!
 
Part of me wants to do the same but the other part of me can't be arsed with the faff and just wants to drive something dependable and nice :p
 
To be honest I am planning on moving away once it gets to the point there's no decent Mk1 75s left - I'm fed up of all the smaller models, and the late 75s were pretty poorly built compared to the early models.

It's pretty unique in that it has the early fully wooden dash (rather than plastic), has every addition inc the dual zone climate, the Hi-Line instrument cluster and is a manual. It also has cruise, rear electric sunblind, Harmon Kardon audio system etc. A lot of the early Connoisseur SE models were automatics or were missing one of the key 'expensive' options.

Next step will be a Honda Accord diesel, likely on an 08 or 58 plate. I drove one a few months ago, was really nice. Just waiting to see what issues crop up once they're a bit older - hopefully nothing too bad.

Accord 2.2 i-DTEC Tourer would be ideal, but we all know they'll hold value well. :p
 
Run the Clio into the ground. Don't replace it until it properly breaks. If you can put £100 a month towards the car and related costs it'll take two years before you reach that magic 2.5k figure to buy the bora before you even consider the VW breaking down.
 
Keeping it does seem the best at the moment, even with all the bills! - I just really like the idea of a bigger car, a motorway cruiser like mentioned.

The annual tax is 225 or something, its less for a 1.9 diesel bora. Think its ~175. I just dont like shelling out 225 at once, I used to when I first got it, however lately been unsure weather I would be selling it within the next 6 months. It hardly saves much paying annually anyway, least I dont get an even bigger dent in my salary for that month.
 
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