WIBU to use rent money

[DoorMat1010]

Suddenly my car needs a lot of work. It's used on a daily basis and I can't get round it, I need it for work.

There's around £450 worth of repairs to be done to the car and rent is £500.

Obviously I'll speak to the agency first but for the last 3 years I've paid rent on time or even a week earlier.

I can pay the overdue off over the next 10 months at £50 a month.

Feel like I'm up shits creek without a paddle.

WIBU to do it?

I just sold a ten-year-old, very reliable car for £500 so it might make sense to do that rather than repair the one you have.

This is why I don't have a car.
A car is a luxury. If you are this hard up you shouldn't have one.
Always have a secondary plan on getting to work as things like this can crop up if you can't afford to fix them- public transport.
You have to pay rent. Being housed a priority.

No do not use the rent money for anything other than rent you will just end up in a mess. What happens if something else comes up 2 months down the line and you can't afford that extra £50.
You should really look at your overall budget and see where you can cut back. So if you have any paid for TV service get rid. Cut back on what you are spending on food etc. Account for every penny. Unless you have a job where you actually need the car during the working day to get to clients etc then you will have to find an alternative, care share, walk, cycle, public transport etc until you have saved enough for repairs.

DoorMat You have my sympathy too. Been there and well remember the crushing anxiety.

Someone else has mentioned MoneySavingExpert and I can definitely recommend having a read on there and maybe posting some details on their forum. A great supportive place for getting suggestions on budgetting and debt clearance as well as making it through tight spots like this.
I also agree with pp who suggested garage may have payment plan options - I know we have local ones that do this sometimes.

I'd spend £50 on gumtree on a second hand bike and use that to get to work. Then save £50/month until you can afford to fix the car.

What you are proposing is more debt on top of the debt you already have. If you have maxed out your credit card and overdraft you can't really afford £50/month extra.

If you start using public transport (round here it would cost £2/day for me to get to work) it might actually be cheaper than owning a car anyway.

For me, the sums work out as the following:

£2/day bus x5
£15 taxi x 1 (weekly big shop!)
= £1500ish per year.

Now I have a thirsty old Volvo, and I pay £35 petrol/week, then spend maybe £100 on tyres, £400 insurance, £60 MOT, £200 tax, £100 in oil, bulbs and consumables, and £50 getting it washed per year. That's about £2,700 give or take, before I pay for any repairs (I'm looking at you, £300 clutch replacement )

Straight away that's £100 per month in my back pocket that can go towards a better quality of life for you.

Where do you live Tart that the bus is only £2 a day!

I would give you notice to quit if you even asked to do this I'm a bit rusty on the old Housing Laws but I'm sure that's not allowed until the tenant has actually defaulted on the rent? .

OP. Please don't be ashamed to seek debt help if you think you need it. I get the car may be a necessity. But rent and council tax are always priority bills. Always. I currently have £10 to last me until Tuesday. Because I paid my rent and council tax. Before getting other stuff like utility bills and getting food in. They're not optional - they're a ballache yes but a necessary ballache to keep a roof over your head. I know you said your car is a necessity but how much of one? Is it not possible to get public transport for the month to your work whilst you balance the books?

Tart I live very close to work but, I drive to meetings once I'm at work so a car is essential, not everyone sits at a desk all day.

No, don't do it. Why don't you speak to the garage first about a payment plan?

The landlord may have financial commitments that depend on your rent. It's not their problem, it's yours.

If the landlord were to agree then you may think you could do that whenever you had a big bill to pay. How long before you think you really need a holiday so you'll just ask if you can bump the rent again?

Can we assume the OP needs the car and not wade in with alternative transport suggestions? OP could be somewhere rural with no buses, like round here, and I'm sure has considered this.

To the original question, as a LL I would rather you discussed this with me than potentially lost a job, and the means of paying the rent. Eviction and finding a new tenant is not cost-free.

You would need to be sure that this is a one-off though, no LL wants to be seen as your financial back-up plan!

Could your m in law help ? Where's DH - can he not get a loan if you're maxed out ?

never ever prioritise anything else over your rent. Seriously

Well if you are prepared to live in your car then go for it. Personally i value the roof over my head as a non negotiable priority.

Fwiw i wouldnt even ask the agency about this. It will ring alarm bells. The LL may start getting their ducks in a row to give you notice if they suspect you have money problems. Which you do. 10 months to pay it off is really bad!

If you need transport for your job could your employer help out in some way? Advance on salary? Loan of a company car?

Agree with others, never use the rent money for anything other than the rent.

I hope you find a solution, but you need to pay your rent.

Totally not the point of the thread but where on earth is it that you can spend 10 pounds on the bus a week to replace 35 quids worth of petrol (which will get you about 300 miles)

I drive 300 miles a week to get to work and the public transport option to replace that would cost me 160 pounds

Totally not the point of the thread but where on earth is it that you can spend 10 pounds on the bus a week to replace 35 quids worth of petrol (which will get you about 300 miles)

I wish I lived in one of these magical places. I can't do my job without my car. I'd like to use the bus more for environmental reasons but it's expensive and unreliable (not to mention the danger of people making conversation with you-shock horror!).

Don't do this. It won't make you look good to either this landlord or future ones. It just looks like you can't afford your rent. I'm sure they didn't care that you paid rent earlier sometimes, it doesn't get you any brownie points. I don't drive and I manage. It's possible you absolutely need your car but if not can't you get public transport for a while and save up? Talk to the garage about a plan before you talk to the letting agency. Rent should be number one priority and not paying it last case scenario. I wouldn't put any doubt in their minds.

Please pay your rent first!

is there any merit in trading in your car in its current state for something else? eg using it as a deposit against another car, or selling it on in its current condition to get a small deposit together?

I had this same dilemma a few years ago: I needed a car to work and earn money, no public transport options but had an old car which gradually turned into a money haemorrhage, I realised I would end up paying out much more than it was worth to keep it on the road, and never get any money together as a buffer or to buy a new car because of its maintenance costs

Eventually I traded it in as the deposit against a small car, on a lease scheme from a dealer, it was a 3 year deal with a service plan: and although it seemed foolish and counterintuitive to add to my up front monthly costs it made more sense in the long term
it gave me a predictable outlay each month on the cars cost with no surprises, and I knew I had reliable transport for work and everything else. As it was a small new car it was also only a £20 road tax and much more fuel efficient so I ended up saving that way too.

The lease scheme only lasted 3 years but by that stage I was in a better position having been able to work reliably and put in extra hours and shifts as I always had transport, and I had built up a bit of savings by then: I had also spent 3 years pretty stress free about transport and driving a newish, safe, well maintained car.

I could have bought the car outright at the end of the lease but at the time it was more appropriate to give the little car back to the dealer and use my savings to buy a different one that was more suitable for our needs eg childrens seats etc

It felt really scary signing up to a set monthly cost when I had been hand to mouth for so long, but in the long term was one of the best things I did to sort out my financial, transport and work stresses at the time.

From an employer's point of view I'd also advise against asking for a salary advance, but am wondering if by any chance you're eligible for workplace loans instead?

I'm the first to admit I'm projecting about the advances, though; I've done it, and found that "an absolutely one-off request" tends to be quickly followed by another and another once the principle's established. I've even heard of an someone else's employee banking "advances" then simply doing a bunk ...

i have struggled with the rent in the past OP but looked at Martin's Money website he advised as most of us have the Rent is the priority.
now I try and build up a credit with the rent, I pay extra every month, in case of lean times.

Another landlord here and echoing what josndmax said. This sort of thing is quite common and as long as you pay the next rent on time and pay off the arrears as soon as you can, it's not worth the landlord saying no, especially as you are a long-term tenant.

Cars can be essential. Not everyone works 9-5 Monday to Friday on a reliable bus/train route. Where I used to live if I'd needed public transport to get to work on a Sunday I'd have got into work for 4.10pm and would have needed to leave straight away to get home! Working until 10pm in the week would have meant getting home at 1 am, and they would never have paid for a taxi.