Would you upgrade car in my position and if so to what?

[littlegreybird]

I own my car outright. I've had it nearly 7 years and it was nearly new. It now has 110 000 miles on the clock as I drive quite a lot - 32 mile commute round trip and lots of daytrips/visiting of family around the country. It's a Fiat Panda Pop and I have loved it - I bought it after ex and I split so it's quite sentimental. It has been reliable but for the last 2 years or so has needed about £200 to get through Mot or on issues found at service, and I assume that will only get worse.

It's also quite basic - no aircon or bluetooth. I just drove home from work and have been reminded of how hot it is at this time of year and driving on the motorway it's a case of windows open - can't hear the radio, or melt. I also have two sons who are very tall (12 &14) and it's a squeeze in the back. But it's cheap to run and tax is cheap as emissions are low, which is important to me for environmental and financial reasons.

I could buy a car outright, but wouldn't want to spend a large chunk of savings, but monthly repayments of up to £200 would be affordable. But I just can't decide if it's worth it when the car I have is fine - at the moment. Should I bite the bullet or wait until it packs up? I also wondered if I should upgrade but keep this car for ds to learn in/have as a first car. I have a garage, but would it just pack up after 3 years not being driven?

I've been looking at cars of up to £10k (used, obviously) and starting to get excited about some of the features we could have, but then think would I rather have the money in the bank? Are all small cars going to be tight on my teens? Aaargh! Any help would be amazing!

Lifes too short to drive around in a car that doesn't really meet your needs if you can afford to upgrade. Go for it.

Also don't keep that car, just get a cheap one when your ds is learning to drive if you want to. Re the environmental thing, lots of newer cars are better for the environment now in terms of emissions.

I certainly wouldn’t keep an ordinary car garaged for three years to let my son drive - what’s the point? It’s not irreplaceable or vintage or rare and it’ll just cost you to store it and get it roadworthy afterwards, depreciate in value and tie up your money. Sell it. If at some point your son needs a car, buy one then.

Personally I’d upgrade for something a bit bigger with air con. But air con is very important to me in a car!

Hmmm I would have said drive it till it dies £200 at MOT for a car of that age and mileage would be expected however if it’s petrol 150k-200k is the max mileage you’d likely get and that would be a push I think. Given you’ve said your kids struggle to fit and it’s without modcons...sell it (someone’s ideal first car if looked after) don’t trace it in unless you get a good deal and get the new car. Life’s too short to not enjoy driving. If you can afford it do it

I'm generally of the 'better the devil you know' mentality when it comes to cars but in your situation I reckon I'd be looking too. If your older DS was 15 or 16 I might be inclined to hang onto it but three years not being used won't do it any good at all -- cars like to be driven, generally.

Pandas are quite spacious inside considering their small exterior size, so you might need to go up a class or two to get a noticeable improvement in room.

If you've liked your Fiat, you could stick with the brand; the Tipo isn't as characterful as a Panda but it is extremely roomy, and very good value. Similarly the 500L has a good amount of room inside.

I drive a Suzuki splash and did so when I lived in the U.K. as well. They’re small, so low emissions and tax, cheap to run, Japanese reliability and for a small car very spacious, even in the back. They also have quite a high driving position, so very comfortable. They have air con and we replaced the standard radio with a Bluetooth one - an easy diy job.

I don’t know if Suzuki still makes them (mine is 10 years old), but I think the Swift is similar.

Personally I always go for buying second hand outright. Yes you may end up spending “more” on servicing and repairs, but it’s more than made up for compared with monthly payments and depreciation.

Oh and I wouldn’t keep the Panda for your son either - you’ll still have to spend money getting it through MOT every year, unless you SORN it. Just get one nearer the time for him.

I'd keep the panda for now, a 10k second hand car could be a pig in a wig. £200 for MOT combined with the low cost to run is cost effective.

I would start looking however, there are 0% deals on new cars which are affordable if you stay small.

And definitely don't keep it in the garage for 3+ years.

When my car gives up, I think I am going to look at leasing. You seem to get some good deals that way.

I would squeeze another year or two out of it and use that time to save up for an upgrade to an electric car. Don’t bother with leasing.

Pandas are not very safe cars so no way I would let my teenager drive it. I got rid of one after my child was born because of its dreadful safety rating. I would get a nice second hand estate with your 10k, preferably a volvo for safety reasons and have your teen as a 2nd driver when they pass their test. Cheaper and will be much more cautious as womt want to prang mums nice car.

Leasing can be a good alternative, my DS currently leases a Corsa with all bells and whistles (Apple play, reversing camera, parking sensors, heated seats and so on - excellent aircon too!) for about £150 a month however watch the mileage as most leases will limit you to 10,000 a year and it looks like you usually do quite a bit more than that. The extra costs for exceeding the annual mileage can be super high.

Try a Toyota, they are brilliant cars. Mine goes to the car park in the sky on Wednesday after 21 years.
I'm replacing it with another Toyota.

Thanks all.

Not going to lease- we are way too messy and would definitely go over the mileage. There would be no cost to keeping the car in my garage but I guess everyone is right in that it would seize up in there - I think I just don't want to let it go, though the safety comment has taken the shine off a bit as I didn't know that.

I have a £3k Focus bought in late 2019, it has aircon (no need for bluetooth) and enough space for real people plus luggage. There's no need to spend a fortune on cars - I just looked and there are plenty around still, and I live in a rural area. If you are near the cities you'll have lots of choice. Obviously may not be the car you want but the point is you don't need to spend a fortune.

I would probably hold onto it but I have an 11 year old Citroen with less than 50,000 miles on the clock so what do I know!?