Soldato
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That's one single example. With most cars and most people, they will lose much more than £300 changing a car every year before regular maintenance expenses start.
Bills and car life cycle, where do you draw the line?
- Thread starter Makhaira
- Start date
That's one single example. With most cars and most people, they will lose much more than £300 changing a car every year before regular maintenance expenses start.
I look at it differently, tyres, brakes etc are just consumables to me like fuel.
I'd take a 10 year old car over a new one as no amount of mechanical failures (on a common Ford, Vauxhall etc) will cost you what a new car has.
To me as long as the car is structurally sound & the bodywork is tidy it's a keeper.
i keep putting my car purchase off to the extent i will have owned my fabia 16 years from new next march .nearly always fails mot but under £200 (bushes and suspension bits due to our unmade road)
tbh i spent a lot of time worrying about dents and scratches when new but now i can relax , slight 5th gear whine that might be bad news for the gearbox but just bought some vw g60 oil to replace the oil thats in there (total oil loss afew years back ,garage refilled but oil worth a try)
tbh i spent a lot of time worrying about dents and scratches when new but now i can relax , slight 5th gear whine that might be bad news for the gearbox but just bought some vw g60 oil to replace the oil thats in there (total oil loss afew years back ,garage refilled but oil worth a try)
That's not how a "write off" works.
Luckily your Sportage won't wear out tyres
Or brakes
You still need to replace things when they wear out (which they will)
I'm not saying you were wrong to buy a new car, that's entirely up to you - but using the above points as justifications is kidding yourself to be honest.
Been replacing all my cars (sometimes for the same model but lower mileage but mostly with ones that have lower road tax) when they are due for repairs/service that approach half value of the car (changing clutch/DPF/cambelt etc is my trigger point).
As long as the bodywork and interior are in good condition, the rest is just bits. They can be unbolted and replaced.
Any car more than 5-6 years old is worth more in terms of what it would cost to replace than in terms of what you might sell it for.
Any car will cost money each month.
With new cars it is depreciation, with older cars it is repairs. (But most people ignore the depreciation because it is not something they knowingly spend each month, if people actually had to take the money out of their pockets and burn it in-front of their faces, people would feel very different about it)
As long as the bodywork and interior are sound, and it continues to meet your needs, Ignore the notional resale value and just keep it going until it no longer meets your needs...
My current vehicles were all bought at around 20 years old, I spent a couple of thousand each getting them mechanically up to scratch and will run them until either they (Or I) die.
Even with no expense spared maintenance and servicing I bet I spend a lot less each year than I would have done with running new/newer vehicles.
Any car more than 5-6 years old is worth more in terms of what it would cost to replace than in terms of what you might sell it for.
Any car will cost money each month.
With new cars it is depreciation, with older cars it is repairs. (But most people ignore the depreciation because it is not something they knowingly spend each month, if people actually had to take the money out of their pockets and burn it in-front of their faces, people would feel very different about it)
As long as the bodywork and interior are sound, and it continues to meet your needs, Ignore the notional resale value and just keep it going until it no longer meets your needs...
My current vehicles were all bought at around 20 years old, I spent a couple of thousand each getting them mechanically up to scratch and will run them until either they (Or I) die.
Even with no expense spared maintenance and servicing I bet I spend a lot less each year than I would have done with running new/newer vehicles.
Soldato
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It really depends how you view the risk of an older car and if your job relies on the car. Also how the car will be maintained.
The problem comes when you start gambling without thinking about it.
The problem comes when you start gambling without thinking about it.
When you can no longer stand either the resentment at spending money on your current car or the desire to buy a new one.
That and if you can afford to do so. Changing car is expensive no matter how you slice it, some times it's easier to justify to yourself than others.
That and if you can afford to do so. Changing car is expensive no matter how you slice it, some times it's easier to justify to yourself than others.
Just run it into the ground? As long as you don't trash it, you can still run it very cheaply with quality parts. Shell oils are £19 for 5 litres, most quality filters and fluids are dead cheap. Find a small independent garage and buy the bushes you need and ask them to fit them.
Brakes are £120 and are dead easy to fit yourself, or pay a garage a couple of hours labour to fit. The clutch kit is £90 plus a few hours labour at a friendly garage so probably £250 all in?
In answer to your question though - draw the line when you can't be arsed to do it anymore. However, if it's a money thing, things can be done much more cost effectively than many people think.
Brakes are £120 and are dead easy to fit yourself, or pay a garage a couple of hours labour to fit. The clutch kit is £90 plus a few hours labour at a friendly garage so probably £250 all in?
In answer to your question though - draw the line when you can't be arsed to do it anymore. However, if it's a money thing, things can be done much more cost effectively than many people think.
We will agree to disagree
all 6 of my cars that I have owned have not lost more than £800 come re sale and my previous Focus ST I put 14k miles on over 18 months and it needed new tyres all round and new front brakes when selling it paid 5k sold it for 4.2k.
Soldato
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my version is tyres, brake pads/discs, clutch, fluids, filters and plugs.
ie things that are by design wear parts, i suppose you could count valves and rings in there too but realistically if a modern engine is getting to that stage the rest of the car is most likely ready to go anyway.
Different strokes for different folks - was just pointing out that's how it worked for us.
Of course the tyres and brakes will wear out eventually but there's another thread running where a guy got 42k miles out of his original Sportage tyres. That's 5 - 6 years at current/anticipated annual mileage.
And anyway, climbing into a new motor and being greeted by that lovely new car smell, smooth engine and 201x tech = priceless!
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Perhaps an attempt at humour? Or just a daft response....
The Kia he bought is nearly new iirc and better in every respect than your pile of cack Corsa I can assure you, I used to have an equally cack Corsa and my father in law has a 2015 Kia Sportage like the OP.
It’s incomparable to the Corsa and in every way it’s better, it bloody well should be given the huge price difference! - I don’t particularly like Kia’s also.
It certainly is much nicer than the Corsa - the only thing I miss is the automatic transmission. But that in itself is a reason for considering getting shot of the Corsa. It had (has) the servo operated Easytronic system which is essentially a slightly modified gearbox and clutch. I've been lucky but have read horror stories that once they do fail, the repair bill well in excess of the value of an 11 year old car even without a knackered transmission.
I'm thoroughly enjoying my new Kia, up until a few weeks ago agree probably not even a make I would have considered but read good reviews plus first hand reports off colleagues at work, I took the plunge.
Getting back to the OP, it is something that will vary from person to person or according to circumstances - for example if the alternative had been buying a 5 or 6 year old used car vs. keeping an 11 year old runner, I would opt for the latter. Being in the fortunate position of being able to afford a new car (even if it is a Kia) the time seemed right.
I'm thoroughly enjoying my new Kia, up until a few weeks ago agree probably not even a make I would have considered but read good reviews plus first hand reports off colleagues at work, I took the plunge.
Getting back to the OP, it is something that will vary from person to person or according to circumstances - for example if the alternative had been buying a 5 or 6 year old used car vs. keeping an 11 year old runner, I would opt for the latter. Being in the fortunate position of being able to afford a new car (even if it is a Kia) the time seemed right.
It's all about balancing the total cost of ownership from what you already have against what you might replace it with.
By TCO, I really do mean everything, ie. fuel, depreciation, typical servicing and tyres, probable annual bills, VED and insurance. So for example, my E91 is approx £3k/annum, all in, as depreciation is very low on a 14 year old car and we don't do that many miles a year.
So consider say a typical £15k car s/h. In VERY rough terms, chances are that it'll lose 50% of it's value in 3 years. So about £2500/annum. Add to that insurance, fuel, servicing etc, and you're probably closing in on £4k/annum for our mileage
So purely on monetary grounds, it's sensible for me to stay where I am. That's the logic I use.
By TCO, I really do mean everything, ie. fuel, depreciation, typical servicing and tyres, probable annual bills, VED and insurance. So for example, my E91 is approx £3k/annum, all in, as depreciation is very low on a 14 year old car and we don't do that many miles a year.
So consider say a typical £15k car s/h. In VERY rough terms, chances are that it'll lose 50% of it's value in 3 years. So about £2500/annum. Add to that insurance, fuel, servicing etc, and you're probably closing in on £4k/annum for our mileage
So purely on monetary grounds, it's sensible for me to stay where I am. That's the logic I use.
Perhaps an attempt at humour? Or just a daft response....
The Kia he bought is nearly new iirc and better in every respect than your pile of cack Corsa I can assure you, I used to have an equally cack Corsa and my father in law has a 2015 Kia Sportage like the OP.
It’s incomparable to the Corsa and in every way it’s better, it bloody well should be given the huge price difference! - I don’t particularly like Kia’s also.
Sorry, I wasn't aware that you know my own opinions better than I do.
