Would you pay to fix up your old runaround

[Lorddenning1]

My 2004 Corsa broke down yesterday, the garage has fixed the car at a cost of £56, which isn't bad, however he has noticed the car needs more work, it's currently mis firing (news to me) I have it book in for its MOT in a couple of weeks and I have been told it will fail, due to this fault, so for the MOT and the mis fire it will cost £150 to fix, this isn't including anything else it might fail on, the car is only worth £600 anyways. So my options are, to pay for the £150 and anything else it needs or take out a loan for £2,000 and get a new car, repayment of the loan will be around £50 a month for 4 years (we can just about manage this).
We only have the one car and I need it for work, I personally don't like the car, it's too small for a family of 4 and to make things worst it's only 3 doors so it's hard to put the kids in and out, but I'm trying to not let this rule my judgement. What should I do, what's the most practical thing to do, we don't have a lot of money, we are just about managing due to high child care costs, but that's a different thread.

Of course it’s worth £150 to fix it. A 14 year old car will require maintenance, that’s a no brainier.

Why would it be a sensible financial descision to spend £2000 on a new car, when you can fix your current one for £150.

If you have to borrow £2k for a new car then you can’t afford it, sorry. How much will you actually pay back over the term, inc the interest?

Also a car @ 2k is going to be a reasonable age, surely? No guarantees that at its next MOT it will cost you more than £150 to pass.

BUT....... If you don’t like your car and want to replace it, then there’s nothing wrong with that, that’s what most people do if it’s within their reach. But is it a good financial descision? No.

PS I’d wait and see what the MOT, there may well be other issues that means it will cost more than another £150 to pass.

But personally, I’d say if it costs £300 and will mean it has a good chance of it keeping running for another year then that’s a good investment!

I had come to the same conclusion, I have brought it's MOT forward to Monday, hoping there isn't more things wrong with it, and then go from there. I think £300 seems reasonable limit.
I know we can't afford a new car but I didn't want to stick with the old one and throw money at it, more than the cars worth. Deep down I know getting a loan for a car is stupid but I hate ours, so throwing money at it too for me gives me an excuse for a new one (heart ruling.l my head) the repayment amount would be £2300, which I don't think is too bad :) we shall see on Monday though

Once it fails the MOT you can't legally drive it so bringing it forward might not be sensible

I was going to leave it and drive it until the MOT runs out but I drove it home from the garage this morning and there is no way I can drive it, its broke :( the guy said I would risk breaking another part of the car if I drive it with a Miss fire :(

So it's basically going to cost me another £50 for the MOT and then I will then decide it's fate

£200 is four months loan paymen, even if the car only lasts four more months you have sort of broken even?as pp said £2000, it might not be much of an upgrade and end up costing you more money, better the devil you know sometimes

I don't think £150 is too bad?! I got rid of my old polo last year because every time it had to go to the garage there was loads with it and it was costing me £500 a time. After almost a grand in a year, I decided enough was enough and we got a new car. We were fortunate enough for my parents to help us out to get something a bit bigger than our budget would have allowed. So we got a Leon.

Yeah true, how do people even afford an upgrade and get a new car (newish)

It's £150 for the mis fire, there may be more yet :( bloody hope not

There comes a time with every car when it turns into a money pit. You have to take a risk on whether the £150 is all it needs for the next year, or whether it'll need another repair for another £150 next month. It's just luck of the draw.

I've had two "money pit" cars where it's just been one thing after another - you get sucked in. You spent your £150, then a few weeks later it's another £200 and you think, "well I've already spent £150 and I'd lose that if I PX'd it, so I'll spend the £200. Then it happens again. One one of my "money pits", I managed to spend over a thousand in just 6 months because the garage kept assuring me there was nothing else likely to go wrong, but every time, something else did go.

If it were me who had a 14 year old car that wasn't really what I needed, it'd be PX'd whilst it was in running order to at least get a PX value (the one I spent £1,000 on had to be scrapped and I only recovered £50!).

Thing being, you could spend £2300 on a £2000 car, and still have to fix something on it the following month.
Unless you are in the market for a 3 yr old car or less, then you are likely to have to pay out every now and then for repairs and replacements. You would be better off doing that without having the loan repayments on top of those bills.
That said, of course, getting another £500 car (with 5 doors) is a 3rd option I'd certainly look at.

For me it’s a case of better the devil you know. And at 14 I’d fix it.

But what garage is this is it a chain or Independant. I’ve found a good local independent garage and do trust them but been ripped of by the chains.

Also I pay £35 for an MOT.

OP, please do look up 'Local Authority MOT Testing Stations' on google - as their name suggests they are run by local councils and are totally impartial. They have no vested interest in your car failing its MOT as they don't carry out repairs. Instead you get a completely professional and extremely thorough service.

If your car does fail at one of these you will get an honest summary of what needs doing which means you can be aware of attempts to 'inflate' the repairs required when you take it to a garage. Furthermore it will also give you a genuine guide as to whether it's worth getting the problem sorted out: I have always found the testers at LA testing stations very happy to provide realistic advice and suggestions.

We started doing this after seeing the tip on Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert website years ago and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

I'm in the same situation. My car is 17 years old. I'm taking it for its MOT next week, and I know it'll fail on a couple of minor issues at least, could be more. It seems to be developing a problem with the brakes too. I really don't want to spend a lot of money on it as its only worth scrap value.
It is a good little runner, solid, and has flown through the last 4 MOTs. And it's pretty low mileage for its age.
I have money in the bank to buy a replacement car should I need to, but it could also have issues (I'd be looking at something of a similar age). Current car looks like an old banger, that's never bothered me, but it detracts from its resale value. No-one wants to buy a car that looks like a bag of crap lol!
It's a case of deciding "if it's gonna cost more than X amount" it'll be scrapped, but I don't know what amount I should put on it?

OP, if you can afford £50 a month, I'd keep the car, and squirrel that £50 into a car account each month. You can use it to pay for repairs, and use it to go towards your next car when this one really gives up the ghost. That will also soon tell you if £50 a month would be a bit of a stretch for a loan.

I wonder under the new MOT testing rules what will happen to the LA ones as if it has a major fail they have to keep until fixed.

Martin Lewis is a great source for advice.

Car failed, no surprise there, £370 to fix I have told them to go ahead and fix, and use the £50 I would of used for the loan and putting that aside to save for a new car

Thanks for coming back to update.
there you go, you now have a car all fit and ready to go for the next year, for £370 rather than £2300. How good does that feel ?

I love lorddennung's spin on this!
I agree- excellent news OP!

Err back's sounds I mean...

Spin!!! Not sounds... argh!

I am happy that my car will be fixed, I'm not happy that it will be £370 though to be honest. I'm hoping that I may be able to sell it at some point in the future and scrape some of the money back, let's see, I may post back here in another year when it fails again, but like some poster said better the devil you know.
I actually want to thank mumsnet though for financial advice I received a few months ago, they said I should work out how much I spend on Christmas, birthday car maintenance etc over the year, divide between 12 months and transfer that amount over each month to save, so I have been doing that ever since, it's meant that I can pay for my car to be fixed now and not have to worry and run to mum and dad for a bail out. Thanks mumsnet

Oh I forgot I de cluttered the house and put stuff on eBay, so far I have managed to earn £400, which has gone towards a caravan holiday I'm august again advice from mumsnet,,, look at me being a self sufficient adult (for once)

Messy

Well done OP. Great 'adulting'