To pay £1200 for this repair?

[RevoltingPeasant]

Bought a secondhand car off my sister in November, only really use it twice a week or so. It cost £3000 - wasn't really worth that much, but I don't like screwing over a family member and she needed the cash.

It started making a funny noise recently, so I took it to the garage. It's the catalytic converter and it's going to cost £1000 plus there's one other thing that needs doing, bringing the total to £1200

I don't really have this much money, but I could put it on my cc and pay it off in installments of a few hundred quid over the next couple of months.

If I don't pay it, I feel like I'll have chucked away the three grand on the purchase price, not to mention my car insurance for the year. If I do, I'll be scrimping to pay it back.

Have told them to fix it but have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach... AIBU or WWYD? :(

[cheekeymonkey]

Just to add, support your local mechanic, they work very hard!

[mermaidspurse]

ha! cheekey that is why we are not sunning ourself in the south of France

[pinkhebe]

I 'think' it was my cat converter that went on my punto. kwik fit fixed it for £350. Definately worth getting a second (or third) opinion.

We have a lovely little one man garage across the road who i usually use but I was in a hurry.

[cheekeymonkey]

Can't believe how much people are prepared to pay! Dealerships, Kwik Fit - bloody hell!

[BoneyBackJefferson]

just to add to this

the last tim my exhuast was making a funny noise it was a couple of loose brackets.

FFIW check to make sure that they have put new parts on the car.

but then I am a cynic

[mermaidspurse]

and ask for all your old parts, especially the cat

[RevoltingPeasant]

Thanks everyone. Boney and mermaid they did say they would show me the old cat when I came in. They said it had rusted right through and the 'central bit' needed to be replaced and so that meant all of it?

They are doing it tomorrow morning BUT I have got a local garage to give me another quote so if he gets back first thing I might ring the Toyota people and tell them to hold off.

[StealthyKissBeartrayal]

How muchis your car actually worth then? You are getting dangerously close to honouring a sunk cost

[RevoltingPeasant]

Stealth the dealer who valued it said he'd pay around £2100 for it but would sell it on for £3k which is what I paid.

Thing is, if I don't repair it, I have basically thrown that 3k away. And I cannot buy another car, not for months or even a year. It took all my savings. But the garage guy says it is too good to scrap and if I mend this it ought to be good for another 5+ years.

I think I am going to mend it but just trying not to get too screwed over in the process.

[mamatomany]

This happened to me with a cambelt, in case anyone didn't know always change the cam belt when you buy a 2nd hand car.
Anyway I scrapped the car because it simply wasn't worth repairing which is tragic because there was nothing wrong with everything else on it.

[Strumpypumpy]

I would get another quote from a local mechanic. My starter motor died recently, dealership quoted £800 parts and labour. Local dude £320. And he gave me a lift home. His labour charge is 1/3 of the dealership, who incidentally were arse holes to me on the phone, are out in the sticks and couldn't guarantee me a courtesy car. But my car is worth about £4k, it's a diesel has done 98k miles so the engine is ok but peripherals are breaking. I usually trawl through the breakers yard sites for parts myself.

[HotCrossJins]

Toyota are expensive. I was quoted £1700 for a clutch. I traded the car in.

[AmyStake]

Try scrapyards/breakers yards as Strumpy has advised. You can really get some good deals there.

If not buy the part online and ring round the garages to see who can do the job the cheapest for the work.

Your next purchase is a Haynes manual for your car. I can't live without mine. It has saved me a few times!

[elephantpoo]

Depending on where in Devon you are I know 2 very good garages you could use......very honest and they do a good job. Also, wouldn't cost the earth

[discobeaver]

You know the dealers are going to be laughing their arses off as they rip you off. 1200 sounds extortionate - almost half the cost of the car? Shop around, like you would for any purchase. Good luck hope nothing else goes wrong!

[RevoltingPeasant]

Okay, getting the message I should get some second opinions!!

So: I have already told them today to go ahead and do it. Do I ring them first thing tomorrow morning and say hold off?? Will feel like right little woman saying, 'oooh I've changed my mind'.

But it's probably worth eating humble pie, right?

[RevoltingPeasant]

Come to that, if I have already authorised them to charge it to my cc might they still go ahead?

Authorised it this pm but they said it wouldn't be ready till tomorrow so I am guessing that they won't actually do the work till tomorrow.

[OkeeDoeKee]

I took my Fiat to a main dealer for an MOT once. They quoted £800 to put everything right to get it through it's MOT. I knew they were trying to rip me off as my car had gone there the previous year for an MOT and two of the 'issues' they had picked up and been there the previous year and not mentioned. I was told the reason was because they had anew MOT tester who was more thorough!!!

Anyway asked around at work for trustworthy independent garage. he fixed everything for £80 and it got through it's MOT.

Either find a trustworthy independent or as other people say buy the part yourself and get the independent to fit it.

[RevoltingPeasant]

PS - elephant have PMed you with my area, thanks so much!! x

[BatFlattery]

You'll have 12 month's warranty on ANY parts you buy regardless of where you buy them from - this is a manufacturer's warranty, so not linked to seller.

I agree with posters above, don't take the car to the main dealer or chain garages as they will charge at least double what anyone else will charge. Try and get a recommendation from someone you know at work/kids' school/whatever for a reputable local independent garage. A car worth £3k is DEFINTELY not worth taking to a main dealer.

Alternatively, according to DH who is in the motor trade, contact an aftermarket parts supplier such as Unipart or Partco or Cafco. They will usually be much cheaper.

PS, I haven't read much of the thread so apologies if repeating advice already given.

[MistyB]

You can phone first thing and ask them to hold off if they have not started the work already. If they have not started and you ask them to hold off, they cannot charge you for work they have not carried out but they can charge you for the investigation work they have already done. If the car is "in pieces" and you decide to move it to another garage, you may need to get someone to put it on a flat back trailer and tow it, in the snow earlier this year, I found someone who could do this for £45.

I had a problem with my car earlier in the year and took it to a dealer as thought they would be able to fix it more quickly. They went through the quote with me telling me what was labour and what was parts. I was honest and said that I could not afford to spend that much money on a car that was worth X and would see if the local garage could help. Their labour rate was about half and they used some generic and some reconditioned parts and the job worked out about half the cost.

If you have a new car, it is sometimes worth spending money to have it serviced at the dealership but with a second hand car you have to weigh up how much you are spending on it compared to the possible replacement cost. If you do the work for £1,200 you will have a car that runs. If you don't do the work, will you need to buy another car and something equivalent is likely to cost you £3,000 so probably worth spending the money for now. You could also ask them how much other work is likely to be done on the car in the next 12 months (and remember that the dealership list will be longer than the local mechanic list and the parts and labour will be more!) to see if that makes a difference to your decision.