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

Maybe in the 1970s, because most cars would have rusted away or fallen to bits by then. Modern vehicles are easily capable of very much higher mileages.

My car has close to 200K miles and is 15 years old but it's a Prius and they are tanks (easily get 300K miles from them).

I'd take the family car to a garage for a service and ask them to have a look and say whether they thought it was in decent shape for a longer trip. Given the previous problem was fixed I don't see any reason why you couldn't drive it to Devon.

Alternatively, do some research on cars and present your DH with a shortlist of possible options?

We had a 7 hour drive to Cornwall last year. 4 weeks before, the steering rack went (dh car, 15 years old, 120k). Had it fixed. The week before the steering rack went again. Had it fixed. Car was perfect to drive.

Took my car to Scotland which took 5 hours (1 year old, 8k) and it broke down. Had to be towed to the garage and we had an onward journey in the AA van. Had to use a hire car for the rest of the trip.

What I'm getting at is that cars don't have to be old to have issues. All cars regardless of age can break down. And usually, once that issue's fixed, it's fixed.

What was the dash light for? What got repaired? Cars tend to tell you to stop driving so that no more problems can happen due to the issue that the car has.

MOTs are useful for that day only really, you could drive out, hit a pothole and break your coil spring. If you then drove the car back in, it would fail the MOT.

I'd be more inclined to use the car you have. You know the history of the car and you know that you've taken it to reputable garages. You don't really know what has been going on with second hand cars, for all you know the car you want to buy could have had the same issue as yours and has been fixed. You just wouldn't know about it unless there are receipts and history.

My DH goes into analysis paralysis for larger purchases too. It’s incredibly irritating when you need something quickly.

The recent issue you had sounds like nothing to worry about - it was low on oil and the garage topped it up, all cars need their oil topping up every now and again so that’s now fixed. If it was leaking oil you’d see it on your driveway/road underneath the car.

However, as you’ve lost confidence in the car and are worried about spending day 1 of your holiday sat on the roadside waiting for a breakdown truck then that’s not boding well for a relaxing family holiday. 3 weeks is plenty of time to buy a used car. Can you take your husband out this Saturday or Sunday car shopping?

I’ve found over the years I have to add some momentum to DH’s analysis phase of buying!

This. The issue with the oil isn't life and death and it's been fixed by the garage. It's somewhat OTT to be demanding a new car is bought in 3 weeks and that your current car is a death trap and is game over.

I find it somewhat strange too your professing to have no interest in cars and this is your husbands area yet to come on here with pretty strong opinions that your own car is unsafe and that your skeptical the garage has sorted the issue despite admitting to not knowing the first thing about car maintenance. I'm not particularly interested in cars either but as a grown up responsible adult, I have enough intelligence to go research cars online that are within my price budget. If it's something that is that important to you, you'd take some ownership as well as being involved in the research and purchasing of a car then sitting back saying it's nothing to do with you.

So youhave no interest in cars bit have decided a car is not suitable to drive but don't want to buy one yourself but also want to hire one?

My daily drive has 230,000 miles on it. I would happily drive it to Devon. You could buy a new (brand new or second hand) car tomorrow, and it could still break down.

If you're that worried, why not take all the paperwork for the existing car with you, and look for a new car while you are on holiday? That removes all the stress of work, and you may get a better deal.

Hopefully they’ll bring it back for you. They’ve relaunched the Ford Capri after all…though it did take the best part of 40 years…

The only cars that have left me at the side of the road because they broke down were under a year old; a Nissan and a Lexus. So there’s no guarantee a new car won’t let you down either. I have been stranded by a Mercedes, but that was a puncture so not really the car’s fault. Oh, and my Fiat Uno ran out of petrol when I was a student 🤣

100,000 miles alone is not enough to make a car breakdown - it’s a peculiar old fashioned uk obsession. My parents are the same. But do those on mainland Europe have the same fear at 160,000kms? Of course not…it’s just a number…

@parakeet this is exactly how I buy cars!

I like Fiestas. I just buy a newer Fiesta.

God knows what I'll do now they don't make Fiestas.

Good point!

I'm not a fan of older cars with high mileage. I'm scared of breakdowns especially with a child in the car. I agree with you, you should go get a new car if he won't.

Just do your research online

I have great news for you. You don't have to be interested in cars, nor to know anything about them, in order to buy a new car. The same goes for me, and I have managed to buy about six (used) cars in my life so far, and not one of them was a duff. The last two have been through one of those Car Supermarket type places, which makes it even easier. Just agree with your partner what the budget is, then get the same make and model as your last family car. You can research what's available in one evening, then buy it this weekend. Don't be a wimp!

100,000 in 14 years is nothing! My poor car has done 60,000 in 2 years and is perfect.

Cars need their oil topped up. If neither of you check the oil regularly eventually you will get a warning light. This is just a normal part of owning a car.

My trusty Honda jazz (great family car) is 15 years old and going strong. Very fixable and the jazz forums tend to report the same sort of faults so easy to keep an eye on what can/will go wrong

Pay for a service before you go, get breakdown cover if you've not already got it or consider upgrading it for the trip if you've got just basic cover
Or hire a car for the trip
Should be fine

My MILs car always has warning lights go on all the time - in her case it's a sensor issue but FIL is very handy with cars and has even bought one of those warning code box things.

I think getting a new used car in 3 weeks is too much but enough for a new one.

An oil pressure alert isn't a big deal. The advice to not drive the car with low oil pressure is because not having plenty of oil can mean increased friction between moving parts, which can damage the parts if it goes on too much. It's to protect the car from damage, not because the car will be an immediate danger to people.

Sounds like the car has oil now and has been checked by a garage so it should be fine.

If you want to replace an old car, that's fine, but nothing you've said makes me think the car you have is a death-trap. It might help you feel more confident to learn a bit about car maintenance and how to do basic things like oil checks, tyre changes, etc?

@Yaea To make yourself feel happier, make sure you have a container of oil and a container of coolant in the car on your journey, (you can go to Halfords and plug in the make etc of the car on a tablet in the aisle and it will tell you which oil to buy). I travel with both these days just to be on the safe side as the car does go through oil a little faster. (A full oil sump will last a lot of miles so if it’s been done recently it should all be fine) this is merely a sensible precaution.
If you or husband don’t know how to top up/check these things pop round to the garage and ask someone to show you or take a look on Youtube. The lights come on to warn us there is a problem before it gets serious. They go off once the problem is solved. Im sure it’s fine.
You might have no interest in cars, but learning the basics of oil/coolant/ levels & tyre pressure is worth your time. My dad was very adamant about me learning the basics and I can also change a tyre if necessary.

The car sounds fine. It had an issue, the issue was fixed. As long as it’s got an MOT and is overall well maintained, there’s no reason it shouldn’t last another 50,000 miles.

Our last family car had over 250,000 on the clock and was still going strong! DH used to rack up 40,000+ miles a year travelling all over the country for work. 100,000 is fine!

A compromise would be a hire car for Devon and he looks at cars online/ sorts some viewings while you're away for when you get back?

Cars these days don’t tend to lose oil unless there is something else wrong

Hire car

its a holiday not a stress opportunity

You have no interest in cars but don't trust the garage that your issue is fixed. You are being somewhat hysterical about something that is not a big deal.

You do have an interest in cars, you've just started a thread about them! You're dithering as much as he is. It's not the 60's when cars were the man's domain. Sort it yourself if you are genuinely concerned. Otherwise, if you think your husband is putting your child in danger then so are you.

Get a quote for a hire car. Start looking at the local car dealerships online. You are more than a capable of choosing a car. Then discuss with him your findings. You’re an equal adult in this relationship. I would say not being a drama Queen but you are being a bit of a cliche ‘oh Im not interested in cars’ but you do seem to have pretty sensible knowledge about cars! So get on with it and choose one that you would prefer and tell him.