Would this bother you? Am I being an Uber protective drama Queen?

Agree but there is a fine line between sorting it yourself and not waiting for lazy/slow DH and having to do everything yourself because of lazy/slow DH.
OPs DH is capable of buying a car but he hasn’t prioritised it and now everyone is feeling the consequences.

You got a 'check engine' light and needed your oil topped up, and now you're convinced that you need to buy a new car? The problem isn't the car, it's your anxiety.

You'd be more likely to have a problem with driving an unfamiliar hire car than using the perfectly fine one you are already used to.

You’re being ridiculous, the car is fixed. Any car no matter what age and miles can have problems or break down at any time .

@Yaea i get mine serviced inbetween mots and before very long trips if I’m worried about the car.

get the garage to check it over, top stuff up etc.

100k is not game over. Had several cars way beyond that.

My own DH can be like this but fortunately I don’t wait around for him, I tend to just get on with things. I can’t remember the last time I took him with me to buy a car, must be about 23 or so years ago. A penis isn’t necessary for a car purchase, just money or finance of some sort.

We drove from the North of Japan to the South (1800km) in a rusty car with 200k miles on it. It was good as gold and we sold it for £50 at the end. Just have it serviced first.

YANBU his procrastinating would drive me crazy.

100k is just run in as my mechanic DP would say 😂

You're being a bit dramatic

Travel light in your car. Buy a roof rack if needs be.
Or go in his and take a power bank and plenty of water and snacks just in case.

You shouldn’t rush buying a new car. It’s a big investment and rushing it can be an expensive and dangerous mistake that you have to suck up long term. You have two working cars already. His has just been fixed. The mileage isn’t crazy either.

Honestly if you’re really worried just travel light in your car. Kids really don’t need that much stuff. I used to take two toddlers on the train with all our stuff for a week. You don’t need a cot bed or a million costume changes.

I think it’s easy when you feel worried as a mum - this is a danger - to focus in on things eg the mileage. IMO rushing your husband to purchase would be a mistake as people and best doing things in their own timeframe. (Also my friend bought a car recently that was a disaster - but had been pleased at how quickly they bought it.) You may find if you insist on taking your car that he finds the motivation to sort it anyway.

It isn’t broken

I don’t think you’ll be putting dd in danger-but I do think the journey will be much more stressful than it needs to be! He can easily sort a new car in 3 weeks if he doesn’t want, for example, a specific colour. Or hire one unless it’s not possible financially.

jesus wept you can buy a car

I agree with both of you in certain points.
No it won't put your DD in danger, going in any car has risks etc.
But likewise I understand the apprehension of breaking down on the motorway or somewhere unsafe with a 2 year old - it's every parents nightmare, besides getting stuck on the motorway in traffic.
Nobody wants that situation, and it's understandable it's casting a shadow over your holiday.
However your husband isn't wrong for wanting to buy the right one, cars are expensive money pits and it's a minefield trying to pick the right one.
I am the car buyer in my family, and in a rush I purchased a car for a LOT of money and within 6 weeks it had to have the engine completely taken out for a repair. It cost more in multiple repairs than it was worth in the 2 years I owned. Buying another one doesn't guarantee you won't have issues.

If the garage have fixed the issue, and it's a sturdy car 100,000 miles doesn't mean the end for a car but I'd be thinking about getting a new one to save expected repair costs.

I don’t see the issue either with the mileage or age, a well maintained car can keep going safely for a lot more than 100k miles. Any car no matter the age or mileage can breakdown for many reasons. I had a 2.5yr old car with less than 30K mileage flash up with warning messages and needed to go back to the garage for fixing so mileage and age isn’t necessarily a reflection on its reliability.

Maybe take it to a garage for a service and check over before the Devon trip. I would agree with your husband that rushing to buy a replacement car before the holiday to Devon means you don’t have time to consider and look properly and depending on what you decide the garage where you buy it (if it is from a garage) may need time to MOT/service/clean etc so 3 week’s isn’t much time for something which is likely to cost thousands. Yeah it’s possible to just buy another car straight away but if there is no rush to do so (which your husband doesn’t think there is) then give yourselves time to get something that’s right for what you need.

I remember a family holiday to France where the car broke down whilst there on the way back to the ferry (radiator broken). It was middle of the day around bastille day so everything was closed, managed to find a mechanic to help and who’s family gave us colouring books etc, got taken to the port, could drive onto ferry as was a short distance, breakdown truck all the way from south coast to northern England- it was an adventure we still talk about and certainly didn’t spoil the holiday.

Breaking down is usually just an inconvenience not often a danger.

I drive a 14 year old car. It gets MOTd and serviced and is a great car.

150k miles on it.

I don’t see the issue

I don't think it takes long to buy a car? We had ours break down and were towed to a garage, I was alone, and was told the car could not go on the road again due to safety concerns. The next day we got a lift with 3 young kids to a car sales place and bought a 7 seater and drove home in it. We said afterwards it was the best thing that could have happened, we would have spent months overthinking it. But it was a case of phoning, hi do you have any 7 seaters in X budget, yes we'll be there in an hour, deal done. I would also be anxious about being stranded. I think you need to start pushing the car sale and do research yourself.

Its not about danger its about a long trip in comfort and not worrying about breaking down.
Insist on going car shopping this weekend

Chill, 100k is nothing. It's been repaired. Make sure you have breakdown cover and enjoy the break

Get it serviced before the trip if you haven't recently. If you've had it serviced recently do a long journey check list before going - oil, water, washer fluid, tyre pressures
Both mine and my partners cars at 14 years old. Mine has 50000 and my partners 100000 miles on the clock and both have had similar issues. They both have needed new batteries and spark plugs in the last year or so for example.
We'd happily take either on long journeys but we make sure we give them a check over every month or so depending on use and keep an eye on various things that need replacing every so many miles. For example we realised that week that my partners car was due some new filters at it had been just over the recommended time.

We went on holiday 2 summers ago and it was my dad's new car with low mileage that broke down. A spring broke and that was a bigger pain as it was under warranty we had to drive and hour and a half away to go to the dealership. If it had been our car out of warranty it could have been sent to the local garage and caused less disruption.

Three weeks is plenty of time, I bet he gets one then next day when he runs the car into the ground.
On a side note (just to confuse things). I would not be happy driving that far in a car I just bought, that's just as risky.
Personally I would consider what you want to buy and then hire one.

Time for a bit of weaponised incompetence to motivate him then. Tell him that ideally it’s a decision you’d make together but if he hasn’t got time then you’ll sort out buying a new family car by yourself as it’s urgent before you go on your long trip. Tell him which websites/dealers etc you’re going to look at and actually start looking so he knows you’re serious. I’m sure you’ll be surprised how quickly he can manage to sort it out if the alternative is you buying something unsuitable/undesirable.

I would just use your car with a roof box tbh

i would want it fixed. She’s not in danger but a breakdown on those poxy roads down to Devon could cost you hours and hours

He can look properly when you’re in Devon😊 I used to find that if I started doing the work the husband would take over as he thought he would do a better job. So start looking for a vehicle online and see if he wants to step in 😂

If the car has been fixed and the warning light has gone off, I wouldn't worry. My OH has a few very old cars (1990's) and I don't really ever think about it as he does maintain them. I think I also come from a generation that drove old cars so it wouldn't worry me. We were also once in a similar position; our estate car not returned from the garage and due to go on a camping trip to France. A roof box on my small car saved the holiday. Kids were rather packed in the back but it was fun. Enjoy your time in Devon.