Help me find the most economical way to get a new (or used) car

[Wazzzzzuuuuuuup]

I'm really struggling with the decision. Mostly cause I just can't be faffed with cars so I am not at all interested, and have therefore ended up in a kind of decision paralysis.

My 12 year old Renault Clio is coming to the end of its useful life. It has 100k miles on the clock and is starting to rack up repair costs. Insurance and tax are very cheap. It is petrol. I have just started a new job with a 30mile round trip commute which is half my previous journey at the last job. I also need to go between sites a couple of times per week so expect I will claim £100-£120 pm in expenses for fuel etc.

For relevance the new job gives me around £400pm more in my take home, and money is not a worry. However I don't want to spend all of my newly earnt pay rise on a new car just so I can go to work when I have zero interest and enjoyment in driving otherwise. That seems like a really shitty life trade, in terms of more hours/responsibility if all I have to show for it is a new car. DH has a decent 4yo car, and a 10 minute commute to work.

So I need to decide whether to
A. Run my car til it dies and keep on paying for repairs plus life hassle when the car is inevitably off the road for repairs.
B. Buy a new car through the company salary sacrifice scheme, maybe electric. No deposit required, tax efficient, all costs included in payment. This would wipe out most of my pay rise and a small hit on my pension.
C. Use savings to buy a cheap runaround for DH and I take his reliable car to work
D. Get a PCP type of deal on a new or nearly new car on finance

I am really stuck.any advice on any of the above options would be gratefully received. Also, if you were to buy new/nearly new, would you go for petrol, electric or hybrid in my situation? I could likely charge at work, and would consider getting an at home charging point for a full electric.

Bumping for the morning crowd...

I’m in a quandary too as my 9yr old car is getting a bit rickety and broke down on the M25 alone last week (scary and the police had to shut the motorway lol), with a £600 repair bill (car is only worth £2.5k) but the cost of cars seems extortionate atm. Can’t you just swap with your DH car as he’s got the shorter commute?
Finance is quite pricy, so I think a bank loan would be cheaper tbh. If you buy an old runaround, you’ll still have the same issues as your car now. If he’s only doing a 10 min commute, it won’t take as much toll on the car, as you would be driving further on your commute.

I would go c or d, but I’d seriously consider electric for him or could he cycle?

I would also swap cars with your DH until the Renault totally dies. If his commute is only 10 mins then if the car is in for repairs then a taxi would not be too bad.
I read somewhere that the most economic thing with cars is to run them until a repair costs half their value. So if your car is worth 2.6k then if a repair would cost more than 1.3k then get rid.

Thanks all. Have discussed further with DH and have agreed I'm going to drive his car all week and see how it goes. I'm a little tentative (although I have driven it before) as it is so much bigger than I'm used to and has too many switches and buttons.

It seems like a bad time to take on a new and expensive financial commitment even with the new job and pay rise. If it comes down to having to replace The Clio I think I would try and buy outright from savings rather than take a lease or loan.

That's a really useful rule of thumb re the cost of repairs as a proportion of car's value.

I'm of the persuasion that you run a car til it dies, but no actual knowledge if this is best but I think it makes more economic and environmental sense (to me). My previous car lasted 15 years from new which basically worked out at £500 per year as cost less than £8k, I'm currently on a 25 Yr old VW which I've had for over 22 yrs and passed its last Mot with no work needed. It's at less than £500 per year as cost £10k.