Aibu about my car?

[VelvetSpoon]

Previously posted about my car and it's MOT. I'd put it in and garage had given a totally vague estimate of £250-500+ for repairs. Anyway after some negotiation by my bf, we got them to agree they'd do some welding and repair rear brake for £250-300 and we'd do some other minor repairs ourselves.

Those were the only 'issues' on the MOT fail. It did also refer to tyres reaching end of life but we weren't too bothered about that as they have well over 1.6mm of tread and are in reasonable condition.

Anyway, after a couple of weeks they said the work was done, it had passed. We went to collect and paid the £300. Driving home afterwards I noticed from the repair breakdown (which wasn't handed over til I'd paid) that they'd charged £25 for the minor repairs we'd done. Bit annoying but one of those things.

Also on the MOT there were now about 5 other advisory items, including brake discs/pads for front brakes.

Since then I've driven the car on about 4-5 occasions and done about 70-80 miles in total if that. This week it started making a weird squeaking noise (when driving and braking). Bf thinks it is the pads that now need replacing.

AIBU to think that something shouldn't be advisory if it's going to fail within a few drives and only going a tiny distance? I now can't drive my car because it's too dangerous (frustrating as I've just passed my test and really want to be driving).

If the discs need replacing then yes I'll have to sell it for what I can get (probably £250-300) and wait til another cheap car comes up. And yes I'll be back to using public transport. Which makes taking my test pointless.

tyres were new (part worn) when I bought it a year ago

They were either one or the other, they can't be both!

My bf says there's no point spending more than the car is worth.

Where did that nostrum come from? Cars aren't investments, and all that matters is how much cash it costs to run them each year. My car is worthless and costs me about five hundred quid a year in maintenance, over and above routine servicing. Since it's utterly reliable, perfectly comfortable and will cruise all day at 100 70, that five hundred quid is the cost of not spending five grand to replace it. Bargain.

If the discs need replacing then yes I'll have to sell it for what I can get

You really have no clue about the economics of running cheap cars, do you?

Halfords sell a pair of front discs and pads for a ford fiesta at £50 an axle, so £100 for the whole car. Tyres are £40 a corner, so £260 for brand new discs, pads and tyres.

You can check the discs yourself. When the car is cold look through the wheels struts and touch the disc with your finger... feel the edge... is there a big ridge? If its like a millimetre of raised edge then the disc is fine. Discs are pretty thick and you can lose a lot of disc before it gets too thin. I pay about 50 quid for a top Merc Brabus disc.

I've just spent £600 on my car that is worth £500. Why? Because if I sold it and brought a new car with that money I don't know what faults the new car might have in a month or two. I now have a fully working car that I don't have to worry about at all. Money very well spent

The problem with old cars is that mechanics will rip you off.

My car failed the mot on a few things, I asked if it could be sorted for under £100 and he said no way more like £200 and it could be more. My ex is a ex mechanic and fixed it all for £38...

How appalling, BrandNew, that the mechanic might expect to be paid for his time, and wanted more money than someone doing it nothing.

My ex didn't even spend an hour on it.

New linkage chain and new brakes. Not worth £200.

No normal mechanic is worth £160 for an hours work.

In the car part shop my ex has an account with light bulbs are 17p. Halfords they're over a pound.

The car industry is a complete rip off. I only drive my old car because I've got someone like my ex to help me out if I need it. I was quite willing to pay the garage a fair amount so I didnt have to ask my ex but faced with a rip off trick I had to ask him.

He used to own his own garage but stopped being a mechanic because he hated the industry of ripping people off.

I pay about 50 quid for a top Merc Brabus disc

I call BS on that. A full fat Brabus Merc will have some pretty big discs, most likely cross drilled. Probably at least £150-£200 per disc.

My bf says there's no point spending more than the car is worth.

The worth of a car is not monetary but what a well maintained, good running car is worth to you. Things like brakes and tyres are simply running costs of the car as wearing out is just what they do.

If major things start going wrong due to the age of the car then yes, it might not make sense to repair it as there may well be other expensive things waiting in the near future.

It did also refer to tyres reaching end of life but we weren't too bothered about that as they have well over 1.6mm of tread and are in reasonable condition

1.6mm of tread in an uninterrupted band across the central 75% of the width of the tyre IS the legal minimum. These tyres are definitely near the end of their life and as such (despite any likely lack of bulges, cuts, cracks or uneven wear) are absolutely NOT in reasonable condition.

As for the point that something shouldn't be an advisory if it is going to fail- that is exactly what an advisory is for. You must remember that an MOT, although technically valid for a year, only means that on that day, it was a pass. It is absolutely possible that something could pass one morning and fail in the afternoon. It depends how you drive, where you drive and the leeway with which it was passed in the first place.

Brake pads are not expensive- and pretty much anyone can fit them. My OH did mine recently but my uncle has done them previously- neither are mechanics but both have "car fixing" experience. Discs and pads are going to be more expensive if you leave it longer. The idea of not spending more than a car is worth is absolute BS. I'm not sure I can really put a price on knowing that my car is safe for everyday use!

The idea of not spending more than a car is worth is absolute BS.

Yep the ops grasp of bangornomics is poor. I can sort of understand the logic if it is a major fault, indicating reliability problems, but what she's talking about are routine repairs and replaceable parts which any car needs.

If she does punt the car on. She'll have to buy again at the bargain basement end of the market and a seller of a 500 quid car is likely to be pulling the same shit she is - scrimping on repairs and not maintaining it properly so she'll have another big bill come MOT time.

I don't have a poor grasp of anything thanks .

My car is 11 years old. I spent £300 on it to get it through MOT for which I was clearly overcharged (I note all the posts telling me I'm an idiot don't criticise the garage for charging me for parts I'd already replaced which is a pisstake. Ok only £25 but that's not the point - it gives me little faith in anything else being genuine).

I've had this car a year and spent £300. I am replacing the pads once bf has time to do it and am NOT driving it in the meantime. I have said that previously.

If I need to replace the discs, bf can't do it. So it will need to go to a garage, and that will cost about £200.

So assuming I pay that I've now spent what the car is worth. What about the next thing that goes wrong, and the next? It's ok if you are, or know, a mechanic. But I'm not and I don't. And there comes a point where it does not make sense to continue.

If it was something like a diesel VW which are proper workhorses and go on for years, it might be different, but that's not the,case here.

As for my car not being properly maintained, prior to my owning it the car passed every MOT first time with no advisories. Which is why I was shocked it failed on various issues and then second time had other advisories not mentioned in the first MOT.

prior to my owning it the car passed every MOT first time with no advisories

How can you tell?

Anyway, brakes are wear and tear. Replacing them is inevitable.

The whole trade is a rip off.

Would your bf be able to try and do the disks by looking at youtube tutorials since he's quite handy?

Op I'd pay the money to get it sorted and have a year driving it. Since you've just passed your test it's fine to have a little run around that can take a few minor bashes. (reversing into the car park bollard was mine, most people have little scrapes) and then next year when you've got a years no claims discount you can get something nicer.

Either save up and get a car worth a couple of grand (again maintenance will have to be done, tyres, brakes ect) or get brand new car. You'll get a Cheap deal as you don't do a lot of miles and the money you save by not being a new driver, no tax, no mot ect will go towards paying for it. It's not worth having a banger unless you're pretty handy or know someone who is.

As for the mot failing it on others, it all depends on the garage. Kwik fit will fail you for things a smaller garage wouldn't. That's why their mot's are only £27, they have to make the money back.

So assuming I pay that I've now spent what the car is worth. What about the next thing that goes wrong, and the next?
Any car that only costs £500 is inevitably going to be one thing after another needing replacement/repair. What were you expecting?
Cars cost money, they are not an investment, they don't hold their value, and they cost more money as they get older.
If you ditch this one and buy another £500 car you will have the same thing.

I've checked it's MOT history online. I have all the certs as well, but online confirms no fails/ no advisories before this year.

Bf has said he's not willing to do the discs. Another family member could do it except they live 4 hours away and won't be visiting any time soon.

I'm wary of throwing money at it indefinitely. I'm also wary of buying another car which may have other unknown issues. In 18 months - 2 years I'm planning to buy a new car but while I'm a new driver it doesn't make sense to do so. Plus my DS is about to take his test, and this is one of the few cars I can get him insured for under £2k on.

For now I'll hope the discs are ok when we replace the pads.

My car is 11 years old. I spent £300 on it to get it through MOT

So is mine. And with I suspect a rather more inter-galactic mileage, too. It's worthless to sell, but is fast, reliable and comfortable. Just as a car needs a tank of fuel every few hundred miles, it needs tyres, pads, disks, shock absorbers, CV joints, oil, filters, gaiters and various other stuff at appropriate intervals. They're moving parts. They wear.

Are you seriously saying that as my car is worth, at most, a couple of hundred quid, then at the next service I should scrap it as it's not worth servicing? Why would I do that? I throw about £500 quid's worth of maintenance at it a year, tax it and insure it, and I get a car which is as reliable, fast and comfortable as a new car which would be depreciating at twice that before it had turned a wheel.

online confirms no fails/ no advisories before this year.

Which means the car was well maintained, lucky or taken to a dodgy garage :) 11 years old with no advisories means they have checked the brakes etc before MOT and replaced them. My car is 5 years old and has had advisories for brakes and tyres which is par for the course.

OP, if you're not prepared to spend £200 on a set of discs for a car that's worth as little as you say it is, why on earth do you think you'll be able to sell it for £300? Who do you think is going to buy it?

You really do have no grasp of the economics of running a car, as other posters have said and honestly you're not doing yourself any favours here because you're coming across as a "Well, my boyfriend says..." type of woman.

This is how running cheap cars works. What do you expect for a £300 banger?

In 18 months - 2 years I'm planning to buy a new car

I hope you understand the economics of that a bit better. The moment you drive it off the dealer's forecourt you've just written off 20% of its value.

A cursory glance at local for sale ads shows several cars, same model as mine, for sale for £350 with no MOT. Ok playing devils advocate you could argue they don't sell at that price but I do think £300 is realistic (if discs need replacing) as car has almost 12 months MOT and if you can fit the discs yourself it's under £100.

I'm relying on my bf on this because he's been driving and owned cars for 23 years. I'd be a bloody fool to think I know better than him about cars. So yes in this respect I will defer to his opinion. Just as in other matters where my knowledge is greater he defers to mine. He spent 15 years driving a series of cheap cars, and whilst he had a few which kept going for a few years with minimal investment (a few hundred per year), he had others where expensive faults arose within months of purchase. Thats the lottery of 2nd hand cars. On balance, his view based on that experience is once you've spent (in a year) what it's worth, it's probably time to get rid, because the next bill will be much bigger. It might not, but it might.