I can't afford a car then?

[Rakatakatar]

I'm self employed, started my own business domestic cleaning 4 months ago. Has been doing really well, just gone up to 3 days a week.

My car is on its last legs, it has MOT due in March but it isn't worth saving as it's a 2006 model with a heap of problems.

I assumed I'd be able to get finance of some form but nope. Nowhere will accept me, being self employed without 6 months proof of earnings is working against me, plus I have bad credit from years ago.

This morning I decided to suck it up and ask my parents for a loan. They said no 🥴

Anyone been in a similar position? What did you do?
I'm worried that if I can't get a car sorted I won't be able to work and then I'll really be screwed.

Hasn’t OP stated she’s a single mum of 2
very small!children?

There is a company that advertise all the time for bad credit risk. I think they are called Autozone.
If you don't keep up payments they immobilise your car.
May be worth looking at?

OP,
You could try asking the local church via the Acts235 charity for up to £150 cash for a need like this. People make requests for cash for washing machines etc. It's not a debt but a cash injection. That takes your cash to £550 plus what you might save by March

www.acts435.org.uk/needs/

You can consider trading the car in for a 2nd hand electric cargo bike, and investigate if you can get a grant or loan to top the money up:

energysavingtrust.org.uk/grants-and-loans/ecargo-bike-fund/

Sorry, it seems the scheme was so successful it has now closed! I don't know if there are other avenues though.

Check what its worth in scrap OP. I used www.cartakeback.com/ last year and got £373 for my DH old ford focus. They come and collect it from you. It didn't pass its MOT and it wasn't worth fixing.

Before you phone garages and start racking up repair bills, have you tried to get somebody to look at it for free via the Nextdoor app? The are so many that tinker with cars as a hobby or retired mechanics that might be willing to help.

Have you seen anybody in your immediate area that has their car jacked up as they do DIY repairs/maintenance? There are loads of people like that near me.

Ask for help. If they can't help, you've lost nothing. If they can fix it, problem solved.

It's not that I can't afford it or I don't have the money, it's that I can't get the credit.

Um, you wouldn't need credit if you could afford it and had the money ...

smallbusiness.co.uk/small-business-grants-uk-2548113/

No, she has a DH.

Have you seen if you have a local Credit Union - it’s like a bank but run non profit for a local community and is intended for people who struggle to get ‘traditional’ forms of credit. You can look to see if there’s a qualifying one near you:

www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk

Apologies if this has already been mentioned but I didn’t read the whole thread.

Don't you have to have saved for a period of time before you can get a loan from a credit union?

What about crowd funding - you need the car for work don't you.

If your car isn’t roadworthy now your insurance won’t be valid even if you have a current MOT.

Does DH work full time? Or do you both work part time and juggle childcare? Why is the cost all down to you if you will share the car?

Have you looked in the newspapers to see if any cars are forb sale? Do they do that in England. I left when I was 23 and an now 78.

That's a bit retro; it's all online on websites like autotrader.co.uk now, and to a lesser extent Facebook marketplace.

Used car prices have gone through the roof though; my beat up old hatchback with 130k miles on the clock was valued at £1400 by the insurers when it was written off; that was how much comparable cars were going for on Autotrader. It was an absolute wreck, and I was shocked it got through its last MOT. I think the OP said she had £400 available, and honestly good luck getting something which moves under its own steam for that sort of money.

If you have lots of seemingly unconnected electrical problems, they might have a single cause like a dodgy earth connection, which should be relatively easy to fix.