Can't afford to repair or replace car. Now wtf do we do?

[Royalgalas]

Our car's head gasket has gone. Repair would be £1200 - 1500 so it's effectively a write-off (we bought the car for £1650 in May and its MOT is due before Christmas).

Can't afford the repair, can't afford any increase to our monthly outgoings, so we can't get one on finance. We have £1900 in "savings", which is actually the remainder of a loan we received from a relative to do up our house. Our only option is to buy another heap-of-shit car using this money, the only buffer we had.

Our second baby is due soon. We planned meticulously to ensure we could afford nursery fees etc, but a few unexpected costs have completely messed us up. DH and I are both desperately applying for promotions but I'm so stressed about money, I can't sleep. I've been awake since 4am, in a complete spiral.

How do people afford to live comfortably? I see all these people in new cars and new clothes with 3+ kids and I can't fathom how anyone can pay for it. We're in decent jobs, we are incredibly prudent with our money (All shopping from Aldi/Lidl, second hand clothes etc, no holidays) and we're still barely getting by.

Is there any car option I haven't considered??

Reading back through your posts op - 48K isn’t a bad income especially when you’ve only got 1 dc ( I know another is on the way) , you say you’re only debt is a small cc bill and the 5K loan and that was the total cost of the car. Do you have a large mortgage? As I would expect most people on that sort of income to save the money for a 5K car.
You mention you don’t qualify for any ‘ help’ but you’ll be getting child benefits on top so you’ve nearly got a 50K income. That’s actually above average for the size of your household, you already say you’ve cut right back and have no savings apart from the ‘borrowed £1900’.

I think I might just put this thread to bed, I came on here asking specifically for advice about paying for car repairs/financing a new one. I didn't come here to be made to feel more shit than I already do.

Once more though: my maternity leave is only six months. My daughter's nursery is very oversubscribed and they don't hold places open. On top of that, I suffered horrendous PND in the 6 months after she was born and I know I will need additional childcare if it happens again. We don't have family that we can rely on to that extent. Nursery is not a luxury for us, it's another household expense. If we absolutely had to, we'd pull her out. The entire point of my question was to look at what options we have before we take drastic measures (which taking her out of nursery would be).

We have previously looked at condensing DH's hours but for various reasons, the juice isn't really worth the squeeze. A second job is probably the best option. It won't be easy to manage a newborn and a toddler on my own, but it would only be a 2-3 shifts a week and I have a couple of friends and family around in the evenings who I think would be able to help if needed.

I'm not flouncing off this thread, but I'm not feeling emotionally robust enough to field criticism of me buying my kid an ice cream in the park. Thanks to everyone who has given me such helpful advice and kind comments, it really has made a big difference and given us so much to consider.

I think you need to have a careful, honest look at your finances. The car has sent you over the edge (as it would anyone) but you keep mentioning additional expenses like house repairs and Im sorry to say again those nursery fees. PND is horrible but nursey and expensive solution. Also you were very unhappy when someone suggested cutting back in treats - if you are really short of money then you should cut right back on extras.

Our cars kept us poor. We ended up getting a Dacia on finance. New. Nothing amazing but so much easier than the constant juggle.

Good luck OP. Things are tough for a lot of people at the moment and I hope you get through it ok.

Hi OP, sorry money is tight atm.

When is baby due, how long until you start maternity leave?

I can absolutely understand wanting to keep DC1 in nursery for those 2 days a week, for everyone's sake (it does her good to go and it does you good to have the break). It must be about £380/month (assuming you use TFC)?

As a general rule, it doesn't make sense to have savings when you're paying interest on a loan. So I think you should use the £1900 to pay off the highest interest loan or credit card that you have.

Are you tied into fixed mortgage repayments or could you reduce them for 6 months just until the free childcare kicks in for DC1?

It might be worth you and DH looking into whether your employers offer any kind of employee benefit whereby you can use salary sacrifice to buy or lease a car... it can be an affordable way of doing it, you save money on tax and NI as well.

If you can find the money to buy another car I suggest looking for a used Skoda Fabia as they are good value and reliable.

Good luck in getting your situation sorted, my daughter continued with her childminder whilst I was on maternity leave. I had a health condition too and little family support. Can you find childcare closer to home? Alternatively I didn’t drive when mine were babies and would push one in the buggy and carry the other. It got me much fitter and was good for my mental health.

However I still don’t buy ice cream in the park more than 2 or 3 times a year. I find a corner shop or even better Iceland buy a multi pack for the same price or much less normally than 2 whippys if there is more than we can eat I pass them onto to strangers in the street. Not saying don’t have a treat but try doing it economically as possible.

Just a thought, but wondering about a credit union?

If you do buy another used car, you can get the AA to do a check on it before you go ahead with the purchase. It does cost, but you might consider it worth it to avoid expensive problems for the future.
We've always had secondhand cars, and the most we've paid was 2k, on the whole it has been substantially money saving. You've been unlucky.
I've been with the same mechanic for years, his advice is buy popularJapanese cars for reliability and availability of spare parts. If you can find an independent mechanic who uses recycled spares routinely, it will save a fortune. I know mine has an arrangement with the local breakers yard.
Are there any playgroups near you ? I don't even know if they are a thing any more, but they are cheaper than nursery. There may be toddler groups running in your local library or stay and play sessions somewhere near, which would give DD company but would save a lot of money for you, although you would have to be there too.
Do you have any spare room in your house that you could rent out to earn extra cash? Could you tutor in the evening/weekends to bring in a bit more? If you've cut back everywhere, the answer is to get more coming in somehow. Not easy when you are on maternity leave, I know.

You own your home?
In your shoes I would honestly take a proper detailed look at how the next 5 years look financially. Factor in nursery fees, and running a decent car.
Think about your mortgage payments/equity. Could you extend the term and lower your payments? Could you remortgage to release some equity to help?
I understand you might not want to but its the cheapest form of finance and these are your most expensive years.
You can always bring the term back down once kids are in school/ you have promotion etc.

Op something a bit left of field- but have you costed up taking your daughter to nursery by taxi? It might be cheaper than running a car

Don't take your child out of nursery OP.

The people suggesting have no idea about the impact of PND.

Instead of taking your daughter out of nursery could you reduce her to 1 day instead of 2 ?

I would try to extend the loan and get a car. My Ford Fiesta has been brilliant. Cost £8k, three years old, low mileage. I got a £7500 loan from marks and Spencer, costs £135 for 60 months at 2.9 per cent.

Royalgalas
My sympathies. We're in the same position. My car broke down a couple of months ago and we're going without a motor for a year and are trying to save like mad for a 'new' one, even though the nearest bus stop is three miles away (Lucky we are fit!)

Prices for used vehicles are crazy at the moment!

Presumably you got a full mechanic check on the car before you bought it? You may have comeback against them if they missed something.