How can I make £1000 quickly?

[QuestionableMouse]

Not a begging thread! Even if people offered money I wouldn't take it!

My car caught fire driving home from work last night. The engine is fucked and it'll never run again. I'll get probably £3-400 scrap value for it so that's a start. Realistically looking at about £1000 for a new car - I can't get to work without one (genuinely - the closest public transport stops miles away and due to the condition of the lanes it's not safe to walk the rest of the way!)

I'm sorting some stuff out to go on vinted which might get me another £50 or so. And some models/pocket dragons that will get about the same.

A loan or a credit card isn't an option - I'm already struggling monthly without adding another payment!

gardening. I know it’s winter but there’s lots of people out there whose gardens could do with a good cutting back and tidying.

you might get some one off jobs. I know it’s not the ideal time of year but…

Have you got a quote for a new engine op? You might be better investing in that than a £1000 car. As you said scrap value is 3k so I’m presuming it’s not a very old car.

and you could apply for a credit card and put the cost on that?

Put this issue on your local community Facebook page. You might find someone who needs to get rid of a car for cheap or has a spare one you can use

You’d have to sit a CBT test and buy a moped, hardly seems worth it.

Offer yourself as a local babysitter for holiday parties, etc? Charge £20 an hour, cash only.

Matched betting

@Needsomesupport84

Sorry I was replying to the poster who said OP isn't covered for this. They don't know the policy details so have no way to tell if OP is covered.

I understand the payout will always fall short of actually replacing the car, although £7k is and extreme figure for a like for like difference

I didn't say that OP wasn't covered for this. I said they won't be covered for mechanical failure which this is likely to be.

How realistic would it be to cycle to work? A good bike’s cheaper than a crap car…

What about a second hand mo ped?

Sorry, I don’t have any money-making suggestions but just to say that my first car caught fire while I was driving on a dual carriageway (was very dramatic- I got out just before it really ignited and the tires and windscreen exploded). My insurance paid out in full.

Obviously but this lady obviously doesn’t have £1250 hitting her account any time soon or this post wouldn’t exist 🙄

@AnneValentine OP could have £1250 hitting her bank on payday but it's allocated to bills. OP needs a spare £1000.

Very interesting! And scary sounding, glad you made it out! What was the cause of it?

Apparently an electrical fault @Peacheroo 😯 My poor Dad was mortified as he had bought the car for me not that long prior.

It was terrifying. This was 2003 and I didn’t even own a mobile phone at the time so just stood rather helplessly at the side of the carriageway and then a lovely van driver pulled over. First he phoned 999 and then approached the car with a fire extinguisher before quickly realising it was too risky for him to tackle. I had two fire engines and a police car turn up (and caused a very long tailback on the A23!) Was a week before my wedding day and I had been on my way to meet a make up artist.

Very glad to have got out and that no-one else came to any harm.

OP, forget the people telling you to start a small business taking in ironing, walking dogs, tutoring etc. Those businesses take a long time to get established and there is plenty of competition.

The best advice is to get a loan from a relative or 0% credit card. Pay the minimum repayment every month. Then do the bank switching thing, and every time you get a payment from that, use it to pay down the credit card. I don't think there's a limit on how many times you can switch accounts, although obviously you can't switch to the same bank more than once. You may still need an extra job in order to pay off your debt before the 0% period expires, but it shouldn't be too painful.

I don't know about matched betting, but might also be worth looking into. As others have said, survey sites, cashback etc can all give small amounts that would make a dent in a small debt and allow you to pay it off without too much pain.

I appreciate that you said that you don't want a loan or credit card but as your car is your means to get to work it might be needed if other plans fall short.
Compare credit cards - how to find the best card - October 2023 (moneysavingexpert.com)

You can look at 0% for purchases cards (if you buy your car from somewhere that can accept a card payment), money transfer cards you can put the money into your bank if you want to buy from a private seller or balance transfer cards. Useful if you already have a card that you can buy a car with and then transfer the balance to the new card to reduce the interest.
Balance transfer credit cards: Up to 28 months 0% - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)

You can still get a second job/xmas work which is great advice and get the card paid off as soon as possible.

@Waitingfordoggo that sounds utterly terrifying! So glad they paid out and you were looked after. I won't have a three door in case something happens and DD can't get out of the back in a hurry. Fingers crossed OP can get a payout.

I'd absolutely fight this.

Basic insurance is for fire and theft, if it caught fire on a motorway it's unlikely mechanical.

I had a van catch fire from a cigarette butt on a motorway 30 years ago, that was scary and I managed to extinguish it.

How do you think the fire started?

Mystery shopping - look at ESA, if you fancy all day counting people in and out somewhere on a Saturday they pay £90 for example?

0% finance credit card then commit to a part time job to pay it off.

What @Winter2020 said, great minds etc! 😊

In which case she could use it now and would have longer than stated to raise money to cover those bills.

@QuestionableMouse Have you contacted utility companies to let them know you're struggling? You may be able to free up money right now by delaying on bills, and then pay back in installments when the weather's warmer? Utility companies are pretty friendly when you phone them up and talk to them. They just don't like it if you go out of communication.

I have feeling that a vehicle that's been on fire gets a category A or F write-off and can't be returned to the road.