Car failed its MOT

Epburpee

Epburpee

Epburpee

Associate
Joined
25 Nov 2011
Posts
568
Location
Flat Norfolk
I can pay £800 to get a new cat and have the whole exhaust system changed.
I've been quoted this by a garage I've gone to for years, so I don't need a second opinion.
It's got a couple of other small advisories I am not concerned about.
Changed the Cam belt a couple of years ago, and it's a fair assumption that I can expect another 12 months +

This is a Peugeot 208 2011 reg. The usual costs are about £110 per month to get me to and from work and pick up groceries, plus a couple of car parking fees.
My question is about the cost-effectiveness of alternatives. This is the only car I have ever had.

I could get an electric bike or car, then I won't have to pay for fuel as well.

Does anyone rent cars or do long-term leasing? The quotes I am finding are way out of budget and clearly not cost-effective long-term.

** edit 2012 reg not 11
 
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If the car is otherwise reliable and you aren't doing 3k miles per month, or you aren't in the higher rate tax bracket with a good salary sacrifice scheme at work; the most cost effective route is to fix the car you have and keep using it.
 
Rilot said:
If the car is otherwise reliable and you aren't doing 3k miles per month, or you aren't in the higher rate tax bracket with a good salary sacrifice scheme at work; the most cost effective route is to fix the car you have and keep using it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, hadn't thought about the salary sacrifice option and work does offer it.
 
When my first car started kicking up bills like this I paid it, because I didn't really have the money for something else, and because it seemed like the car would be ok if I just fixed that one thing.

In reality, these bills meant that car cost quite a lot to keep running, it consistently kept needing more repairs, and it became very unreliable. I scrapped it.

When I see this situation, I think "jesus get rid of that hunk of junk before it costs you more money".

My options would be:
- Fix it and sell it
- Don't fix it and scrap it

Then it's a question of what is your budget and requirements for whatever you replace it with. For your short range trips I'd be thinking used EV.
 
Epburpee said:
I can pay £800 to get a new cat and have the whole exhaust system changed.
I've been quoted this by a garage I've gone to for years, so I don't need a second opinion.
It's got a couple of other small advisories I am not concerned about.
Changed the Cam belt a couple of years ago, and it's a fair assumption that I can expect another 12 months +

This is a Peugeot 208 2011 reg. The usual costs are about £110 per month to get me to and from work and pick up groceries, plus a couple of car parking fees.
My question is about the cost-effectiveness of alternatives. This is the only car I have ever had.

I could get an electric bike or car, then I won't have to pay for fuel as well.

Does anyone rent cars or do long-term leasing? The quotes I am finding are way out of budget and clearly not cost-effective long-term.
Click to expand...

With that low mileage/fuel cost, any fuel savings from going EV are unlikely to save close to what it would cost you to do so.

£800 sounds like a lot, but really it's only what, 2-3 months of lease payments?

Nasher said:
TBH even then it doesn't usually beat running an old car for cost.
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Indeed, although you save on tax, the monthlies on the schemes are usually inflated when compared to private lease deals, so you don't end up saving anywhere near the 20/40% you'd initially expect.

One of my mates at work got a new Niro on our SS scheme at the same time I took a private lease on a used one, and even in the 40% tax band, he's still paying £150/month more than me for the same mileage/term!
 
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throwaway4372 said:
When my first car started kicking up bills like this I paid it, because I didn't really have the money for something else, and because it seemed like the car would be ok if I just fixed that one thing.

In reality, these bills meant that car cost quite a lot to keep running, it consistently kept needing more repairs, and it became very unreliable. I scrapped it.

When I see this situation, I think "jesus get rid of that hunk of junk before it costs you more money".

My options would be:
- Fix it and sell it
- Don't fix it and scrap it

Then it's a question of what is your budget and requirements for whatever you replace it with. For your short range trips I'd be thinking used EV.
Click to expand...

It's only an exhaust, they all need replacing eventually unless it came from the factory in stainless steel.

Going and buying an EV is just throwing money away. You'll lose it many times over in depreciation.
 
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Need a new cat? What does the emissions test report actually say? If your exhaust is blowing then you'll not pass the lambda test so it's possibly nothing to do with the catalytic converter.
 
I might buy a new car. It’s going to cost £1500 to change the whole exhaust system and the Cat. So, I think I might just need to bite the bullet. I only bought this Peugeot previously and in hindsight it wasn’t the best buy because its engine is not highly regarded.

Can I have some recommendations about what cars to look at and also what to look for when shopping around. I hear some bad stories about people buying and then get a massive headache after when problems crop up, sometimes even just after having it for a week or bigger jobs coming up too soon as well.

Main use is city commuting. But I really like the option of being able to get in my car and go long distances though, realistically that would be infrequent and could be up to rouhgly 4000 miles per year.

So annual mileage is approx. 10,000 in total. And I really just need the city commuting plus short journey’s. This is only about 5000 miles per year.

The alternative is I eat the £1500 and don’t have to buy a new car. The Cam belts / engines are not regarded well on these 208 1.2 petrol engines. They have wet cam belts which are prone to degradation. However, I sprent £600 changing this two years ago.

Can I have some advice of what to look at and ask when shopping.

Can I justify reparsing the Peugeot? I figure if I can get three more years it might be worth it. Something else migth go wrong, but that could also happen with a different car.

And what cars to look at. Thanks.
 
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TLDR:
Can I have some recommendations about what cars to look at and also what to look for when shopping around. I
Annual mileage is 5000 for city driving and short countryside trips.

Can I justify reparsing the Peugeot for £1500? I figure if I can get three more years it might be worth it. Something else might go wrong, but that could also happen with a different car. The cam belt has been replaced already two years ago.
 
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Epburpee said:
I can pay £800 to get a new cat and have the whole exhaust system changed
Click to expand...

Epburpee said:
I might buy a new car. It’s going to cost £1500 to change the whole exhaust system and the Cat.
Click to expand...

Is it £800 or is it £1500?
I'd get a 2nd opinion from a different garage - as previously mentioned may not need a new cat, just an exhaust section.


Also punch you reg into GSF or Eurocarparts, and you can at least get a rough idea of what parts will cost (obviously excluding labour)

www.gsfcarparts.com

Catalytic Converter | GSF Car Parts

Shop our range of Catalytic Converter from top brands at competitive prices. Use our car reg lookup to find the right Catalytic Converter for your vehicle quickly. Buy online or in-store with free nationwide delivery over £25
www.gsfcarparts.com www.gsfcarparts.com


E.g. a Cat is £247.21 and the various exhaust sections aren't particularly expensive depending on what is actually needed.
 
Armageus said:
Is it £800 or is it £1500?
I'd get a 2nd opinion from a different garage - as previously mentioned may not need a new cat, just an exhaust section.


Also punch you reg into GSF or Eurocarparts, and you can at least get a rough idea of what parts will cost (obviously excluding labour)

www.gsfcarparts.com

Catalytic Converter | GSF Car Parts

Shop our range of Catalytic Converter from top brands at competitive prices. Use our car reg lookup to find the right Catalytic Converter for your vehicle quickly. Buy online or in-store with free nationwide delivery over £25
www.gsfcarparts.com www.gsfcarparts.com


E.g. a Cat is £247.21 and the various exhaust sections aren't particularly expensive depending on what is actually needed.
Click to expand...

It's £1500 on their official estimate. The original was the lowest end of what he guestimated off the top of his head, so I was being optimistic.
They can get it down a couple hundred or so using fully aftermarket parts.
 
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Ultimately you need to ask yourself whether you want cheap motoring, or a new car?

If the former, then fixing the existing car is the obvious solution. Yes it's £1.5k, but if your budget is £8k, then that still leaves you with £6.5k for future repairs which may or may not be needed.

If the latter, then fine, but that's of course going to cost you, and there's no guarantee that any car you buy for £8k is going to be problem free. Yes you get 6 months of consumer protection (assuming you buy from a dealer), but:

A) There's a significant difference between those consumer rights existing, and actually being able to fall back on them without some sort of battle
B) After those 6 months you're basically on your own and if the new car throws up a £1.5k bill after that, what are you going to do then?

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If you're looking at an EV for the new car, then as far as fuel savings go:
  • We'll assume the current car does 45mpg (taken from here), at current fuel price of £1.56/l that's ~15.75p/mile
  • We'll assume any EV you buy gets ~3.6 miles/kw and that you charge exclusively on a cheap tariff, e.g. Octopus Go at 6.9p/kw, that's ~1.92p/mile
  • 15.75-1.92 gives a difference of 14.46p/mile
  • For your 10k/year miles, that's a total of ~£1446 saved in fuel - we'll round that up to £1.5k to make the calculations easier
  • Subtract ~£1k from the first year to have a charger fitted
  • Subtract £1.5k from your £8k budget (for the repair which wouldn't be needed), leaves us with a value of £6.5k to break even.
  • £6.5k - £500 remaining from year 1 gives £6k
  • In 2027 you'll save £1.5k, leaving £4.5k
  • From 2028 onwards you'll save £1k (due to the 3p/mile tax on EVs being implemented), so that leaves a further 4.5 years, giving a total of 6.5 years to break even
So yes, if you're happy keeping the "new" car for 6.5 years then it could be the sensible option, but that comes with a whole load of assumptions, e.g. no repairs for either vehicle, fuel prices stay the same as they are currently, etc.
 
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