Scared my car goes

LirW

Okay that might be a bit of an odd one: I'm irrationally scared my car goes and I don't know what to do and really want to be prepared for the case.

But let's start from the beginning:

I had to do a Visual for the NCT today that I failed with my car 2 weeks ago. Had a look on the sheet and saw that I was doing 2000 km in the meantime, I almost had a heart attack. There is a lot going on but in a nutshell my car isn't suitable for my needs anymore.

I bought it 2 years ago, it's a very basic 06 Citroen C3 (1.1 petrol) and bought it when I was living in Dublin. I really like the car and in fairness beside a few little moodswings it's a trooper. But now I'm living in the countryside and depend on the car with driving the kids and bring my man to the bus. The kms pile and it's not the most economical to run but it does the job. Yet I'm driving a lot, at least 400km per week.

But now I'm really scared that at some point it has a major issue, I drove it to its demise and need a new car.
Since we just bought a house and spend what we have on the renovation we currently can't come up with a deposit, it's probably different in a year.

The insurance needs to be renewed in 6 months time and I don't know if it'd be more economical somehow changing the car at that point, or get another year out of my current one.
Basically I don't know what to do, what would be the wisest way to handle this and I'm bricking it that one morning my car is simply dead. Also the thought of taking out a new policy drives me crazy.

I know f all about cars and the only need I have is bringing me from A to B.

Can someone calm down a lady that is stressed about every little thing at the moment since my house is in absolute bits thanks to tradesmen demolishing the lot?

Toyotafanboi

If the car has been good to you and you've been good to it (with regard servicing and maintenance) there's no reason why it won't go on being a trooper for years to come.

Modern cars very rarely suffer catastrophic failures of any kind unless you ignore an awful lot of fairly obvious forewarning symptoms.

If I were you I would relax about the whole thing. Get the car an annual service and make sure it goes through it's NCT, if you do both of these and adhere to any advisories, your car can be as dependable as any much more modern/ expensive car on the roads.

Maybe consider taking out an AA/ RAC policy if you are really nervous about the car giving in and want to put your mind at ease. The basic policies aren't too dear.

That said if you look up reliability in the dictionary you won't see a picture of an 11 year old Citroen C3. Consider saving for a year or two with a view to trading up then if you find the car is totally unsuitable for your needs, but I certainly wouldn't panic into anything.

LirW

I'm always doing the service and maintenance that's necessary because I want the best for it.

I already have an AA policy going, so that's making it a bit better.

I have to say, I might be a bit paranoid because my very first car was an 03 Opel Corsa and it had every issue a car could have (the clutch went once a year which would cost me around a grand in repair) and while it wasn't old the previous owner didn't care about it.

Also my car will be 12 when the policy is due to a renewal and it's already insanely expensive (paid close to a grand insurance) and it's said the 12 year renewal is usually a sore one.

But yeah, I'm probably just worrying way too much about everything.

delly

Hi OP, I can empathise with your stress levels, but have gone past having similar thoughts. I have a 171 company car, but also an '01 3 series BMW. It's great having a company motor, but it's the '01 car that manages the important home routines such as school runs etc.

The way I see it, the BMW cost me €1,800 back in 2011, but today is economically worthless. While it has had a few issues over the years, it only let me down once and that was due to a dying battery. Yes, the tax is a pain in the arse, but knowing the history of the car and knowing it has been serviced regularly is what will make me keep it until it dies.

What got over my fear of it failing one day is to accept that it will happen and to have a plan in place. That means a few days of inconvenience and taxi rides, while picking a €2k replacement car from the bangeromics thread. In the meantime put a few quid away each month and let that be the replacement fund. If paying 1.9 litre tax isn't enough to make me change, then the fear certainly isn't.

la ultima guagua

delly wrote: »

..... it only let me down once and that was due to a dying battery. ........

Over 20+ years this has been my experience too. OP, if you think your car has its original battery it might need to be replaced. Otherwise, as others have posted, keep it well serviced on or ahead of due dates:)

biko

Keep up with services and check oil and tyre pressure regularly and the car should last many more miles.

LirW

Thank you, that is reassuring really

Dartz

Once it's running and up to temperature - at a constant speed the miles aren't hard for it. It'a a steady state. Start-stop will be tricky, and shorter journeys.

I've managed to rack up 20k on the big board this last year. And ran 2k past the last service. A mix of motorway running to the dangleberry of wexford and back every two-three weeks, a few runs up North to Belfast. Did 2k just in the last 2 weeks... lol

B00056718

delly wrote: »

Hi OP, I can empathise with your stress levels, but have gone past having similar thoughts. I have a 171 company car, but also an '01 3 series BMW. It's great having a company motor, but it's the '01 car that manages the important home routines such as school runs etc.

The way I see it, the BMW cost me €1,800 back in 2011, but today is economically worthless. While it has had a few issues over the years, it only let me down once and that was due to a dying battery. Yes, the tax is a pain in the arse, but knowing the history of the car and knowing it has been serviced regularly is what will make me keep it until it dies.

What got over my fear of it failing one day is to accept that it will happen and to have a plan in place. That means a few days of inconvenience and taxi rides, while picking a €2k replacement car from the bangeromics thread. In the meantime put a few quid away each month and let that be the replacement fund. If paying 1.9 litre tax isn't enough to make me change, then the fear certainly isn't.

Very clear and structured way of thinking.

OP: If it's any help, my car, although bigger and diesel, is 04 and has 314000km on the clock and I'm confident it will be able to double it with a bit of luck.
Maintenance is the key. Only recommended oil grade and never exceed the intervals.