WWYD broken car...buy another

[Bloodycar]

Name change due to details.

2010 diesel 170k miles. Cost £2k a few years ago. Leather interior, heated seats, blue tooth...top spec. Clean tidy car, no rust etc. Fits our needs perfectly.
Needs over £2k of repairs, timing chain, cams, oil pump.

I have £3k in savings....that's it nothing else. Don't want anymore monthly outgoings, mortgage due for renewal next year.

Would you repair the car or buy something else? Even though the used car market is crazy right now.

I’d buy something else with a good warranty. You could spend that £2000 then something else crops up.

I don't think I could afford anything close to what we need with a warranty, sadly.

I'd suggest any warranty on a £2/3k car is probably not worth the paper it's written on most of the time. They're done through third-party providers and are notoriously difficult to actually claim anything on them, with a fairly large list of exclusions and time limits anyway.

It can be a case of better the devil you know if is a good car otherwise that suits your needs. As you said, used market is still pretty strong right now and not so much for the money available. You could end up spending £3k on something that is going to throw up another big bill down the line.

Is a risk either way and not sure what I'd do really. It does feel a big chunk to chuck at current car for repairs, but maybe then you'd have a car you know is sorted and sound as best you can, which is perhaps more of a gamble if were to buy something else?

Yes @Yogibearspicnic I am so torn.

My hubby was a mechanic for the brand we have. He can do, and has done, most of the serviceable repairs. This one is just too big to do on the drive.

Tempted to buy something else, but like you, wouldn't get much for the money and insert someone else's problems.

Need to decide soon as fed up of driving hubby's long wheel base van for the school run!

Have you looked at how long the car usually goes for? 170k is a lot of miles.

Similar situation here but ours has half the mileage. Things tend to crop up around the 100k mile mark so would you need much more doing at the 200k mark? Diesels have a very expensive particle filter that can cost up to 3k. I'd speak to your garage and check your vehicle car forums to 'ask the experts'. But I'd err to a cheap runaround as an alternative, buy private, find someone local/FSH, a vehicle that's been looked after with much less mileage and take a punt.

It's a mazda, husband says they easily last 250k plus when looked after. Only issue with them is rust, which ours doesn't have atm.

It depends how well maintained its been throughout those 170k miles as to whether its worth repairing it imo.

Some of your repairs are actually service items sods law they've come at a time where repairs are required. Spend the money and budget borrowing service items.

And tbh, with a £3k budget, you could be replacing it with far worse.

I would do the repairs. It sounds like you've already had your money's worth with this one, and you won't get another car with this spec for the money you have, plus, any 'new' car will be an unknown.

I have an old Mazda and in your shoes, I'd be repairing it rather than buying another car. Better the devil you know.

£2K for another year's motoring isn't that bad value tbh.

i'd go for the repair option too. I had a very similar car (not a Mazda though) which died a few weeks ago. The difference is that my repair bill was quoted as £5k. At £2k I'd take the risk.

Can you buy another of the same make/model with less miles for 3k? 2k is a lot of money to put in a car that's got 170k on the clock. You might not want another monthly expense, but having a car that is reliable and won't throw up big bills due to its age is rather necessary.

If your dh is a mechanic and he thinks the bodywork is in good enough condition then maybe do the repairs. At that budget most older high mileage cars you buy will be sold because they are knackered or about to become very expensive so you're probably better off with the one you know so to speak. Cars are a total money pit.

Your husband is a mechanic who’s seen the car and you’re asking us?

@Whalewatchers to replace the car like for like they are selling at around 3-4k, cry!!

@Abergale yes, we are butting heads with the right course of action. He hasn't seen inside the timing chain and cams as he is no longer on the tools. Just need some other view points.

@WonderingWanda this is part of the dilemma. I say buy another, then change my mind. Hubby is saying do repairs or drop another engine in. All options concern me as we will be using all our savings.

If the car’s been fully checked and only needs these things, I’d probably repair. At least then you know what state it’s in. Buying a £2k-£3k car is always a huge risk - it could last you many years, or it could die tomorrow. It’s often difficult to tell what people are hiding when they sell cars.

If your DH knows these cars inside out then I'd go with his opinion on what's best. Some of that sounds like the major service stuff rather than repairs though
I don't think £3k will buy you much in terms of a replacement car so probably better repairing the current one?

Thanks @CrotchetyQuaver

It makes me so uneasy spending more than we paid for the car. But the way the market is right now doesn't fill me with confidence buying another.

Cars always make me a bit nervous but you've got your own personal mechanic to give it a proper once over so trust his instincts op.

Buying a replacement car (if you get a loan or PCP etc) is likely to cost you £250 or £300 pcm.

So if you spend £2,000 on repairs and the car runs another 10 months - you've won the gamble.

We had to do similar earlier this year. We "won" the gamble.

TBQH if the car needs significant maintenance again we might not do it but we won't be able to afford another car. We'll need to adapt to life without one. (We only have one car).

I think we can just about manage it if we join the local car club (closest car is a 30 minute walk, no buses here) and start using online shopping.

If your husband can do the work but needs a pit or ramp to do it, have a look around / post on local pages asking about renting one. There are community projects around for this sort of thing or people sometimes have them in a barn or garage for rent etc. Our neighbour does that for his cars.

This. If you know the rest of the car is pretty good (as he's looked after it) then chances are it'll be this one expense then be good for at least 12-24months+
Diesels can go on forever.

If the timing chain has broken then it's probably buggered a whole lot more of the engine and possibly transmission so I'd scrap it. But I suspect you mean that the timing chain is due for replacement which will cost £2k. If you husband is a mechanic then I don't see why he couldn't do it for a lot less unless it's a horrible engine out job (which it could well be).

Is keep driving it until it actually breaks an option? I ran an old car quite a way beyond a timing chain change interval because it was old, pretty much worthless, wasn't hammered, and I reckoned on a lot of tolerance in the service interval (20%). In the end I got rid because of expensive electrical repairs killed it economically. The engine was still running fine.