What to do, one of our cars starting to give up....

terrydel

Looking for some advice as my girlfriend's car is now giving trouble and we are trying to decide what is the best thing to do.

I've a 2004 3 door Audi A3 1/6 petrol with 117k miles. I've kept it well serviced in the 5 years+ I've had it.

My girlfriend has an 2003 4 door Renault Megane 1.4 with similar mileage, she services it every year but its starting to really give trouble. Two of the elec window motors ceazed today with the cold and seem to be busted. It also needs new tyres/brake pads/some bulbs.

We live in a rural area, with 25km & 35-40km e/w commutes respectively, so she does more commuting mileage. I've also got a decent motorcycle that I can use when needed or the weather obliges.

My car is the one that gets used at weekends, so we both probably do 15k kms a year on average.

The question is now is it worth getting rid of the Megane as its costing too much to keep running, and possibly the Audi too?

We have two dogs and need a car for them to go in, so we need one 'old' car that we arent too concerned about dirtying up.

We pay a lot in rent so altho the idea of a new car on finance appeals, it might not be financially feasible. Im not sure what the cheapest options are that we could get on finance, I've never looked into it?

Other option Im thinking is let my girlfriend have the Audi, which is more reliable and still a nice comfortable car to be in (has full climate control, still in really good nick interior-wise, bar dog hairs!). Then we buy something else second-hand thats more suitable for the dogs to go in?

Either way, we'd want something thats reliable and cheap to run in terms of tax/fuel/maint etc. Would going down the finance/pcp road mean we could get x number of years of servicing included and stop having to worry on that side?

If not, what kind of options could we look at second-hand?

Is keeping either or both of the current cars even an option?

Hard to assign a budget really, I think we could go 10-15 cash for a 'new' second-hand car + trade-in (probably almost nothing for the Renault, maybe 1500 on the Audi?), and we'd need to work out our budget in terms of weekly/monthly finance payments. I'd hazard a guess we could do 100euro a week? As I said, I've no idea what the rates are these days for finance/pcp.

We are not massive car people or suv-obsessed so practicality/reliability/affordability are the main concerns.

Thanks in advance.

acronym Chilli

terrydel wrote: »

Looking for some advice as my girlfriend's car is now giving trouble and we are trying to decide what is the best thing to do.

I've a 2004 3 door Audi A3 1/6 petrol with 117k miles. I've kept it well serviced in the 5 years+ I've had it.

My girlfriend has an 2003 4 door Renault Megane 1.4 with similar mileage, she services it every year but its starting to really give trouble. Two of the elec window motors ceazed today with the cold and seem to be busted. It also needs new tyres/brake pads/some bulbs.

I sense you're trying to avoid putting funds into a money pit, which is sensible. However, it's not clear that that's where you're at yet. Bulbs and brake pads and tyres are all incidental consumables. You don't change a car because of them failing (I suppose, if you're going to change your car, you may avoid doing them).
The window regulators, I'd check once they've thawed and price the job if needing repair.
Is there more than that wrong with the car?

The question is now is it worth getting rid of the Megane as its costing too much to keep running, and possibly the Audi too?

Other option Im thinking is let my girlfriend have the Audi, which is more reliable and still a nice comfortable car to be in (has full climate control, still in really good nick interior-wise, bar dog hairs!). Then we buy something else second-hand thats more suitable for the dogs to go in?

You mean an older car/beater for hauling dogs? It's quite possible for that to turn out even more problematic than the Megane. Or if you mean a van or something kitted out for dogs then maybe it makes more sense (i.e. more utility).

Either way, we'd want something thats reliable and cheap to run in terms of tax/fuel/maint etc. Would going down the finance/pcp road mean we could get x number of years of servicing included and stop having to worry on that side?

It could, but you should calculate things. Like, do you have credit on current cars? If not, there's no monthly payment at the moment. If you put that money (couple hundred a month anyway) into a "rainy day fund", you'd quickly be well covered for most repairs (albeit suffering the inconvenience cost if that happened).
On the other hand, it could be really nice to have a new car, and the peace of mind of a warranty might make a big difference to you.

Hard to assign a budget really, I think we could go 10-15 cash for a 'new' second-hand car + trade-in (probably almost nothing for the Renault, maybe 1500 on the Audi?), and we'd need to work out our budget in terms of weekly/monthly finance payments. I'd hazard a guess we could do 100euro a week? As I said, I've no idea what the rates are these days for finance/pcp.

I'm not well up on the offers either. But if you've 10-15k cash to put in, and can take credit, you've definitely got options. If you're not a "car person", so prioritise functionality ahead of other considerations, you could buy a Dacia Logan MCV outright. They go from €11,890 to €16,690 in the pricelist (dearest one is with the Diesel engine and the higher trim level), I'm sure there are a few extras that get added on, but you'd have minimal need to finance. https://www.dacia.ie/vehicles/dacia-range/new-logan-mcv.html

terrydel

acronym Chilli wrote: »

I sense you're trying to avoid putting funds into a money pit, which is sensible. However, it's not clear that that's where you're at yet. Bulbs and brake pads and tyres are all incidental consumables. You don't change a car because of them failing (I suppose, if you're going to change your car, you may avoid doing them).
The window regulators, I'd check once they've thawed and price the job if needing repair.
Is there more than that wrong with the car?

You mean an older car/beater for hauling dogs? It's quite possible for that to turn out even more problematic than the Megane. Or if you mean a van or something kitted out for dogs then maybe it makes more sense (i.e. more utility).

It could, but you should calculate things. Like, do you have credit on current cars? If not, there's no monthly payment at the moment. If you put that money (couple hundred a month anyway) into a "rainy day fund", you'd quickly be well covered for most repairs (albeit suffering the inconvenience cost if that happened).
On the other hand, it could be really nice to have a new car, and the peace of mind of a warranty might make a big difference to you.

I'm not well up on the offers either. But if you've 10-15k cash to put in, and can take credit, you've definitely got options. If you're not a "car person", so prioritise functionality ahead of other considerations, you could buy a Dacia Logan MCV outright. They go from €11,890 to €16,690 in the pricelist (dearest one is with the Diesel engine and the higher trim level), I'm sure there are a few extras that get added on, but you'd have minimal need to finance. https://www.dacia.ie/vehicles/dacia-range/new-logan-mcv.html

Thanks for the reply.
As for the megane, its runing but its tatty and having got a window regulator done on the audi recently (yeah prob more expensive than the Renault) i know its a fairly costly part in a car worth very little. Hopefully as you say, they might come back to life!
Totally agree on the old beater turning out to just be another problem/money pit, Ive said that to the missus and its why Im weary of replacing a low value car with another one. You get what you pay for and all that eh?
I am not bothered by new cars and in fact the idea that you lose a fortune of the value in first few years always puts me off, but perhaps pcp/finances negates that? I guess I need to research that a bit. A warranty would deffo be a huge plus in that column in swaying us. Im not sure if those deals cover basic yearly service? If so, again it would be a big plus point for us.
The option of a van would apply to me, something like a caddy or transit connect I do like. As long as it had a bit of comfort to it, up to the level of the A3 I'd be happy enough. 1990s hiace-style interior like me old man had would put me off!
We owe nothing on either of our current cars.
Buying new is an option but if thats the case I think we'd have to sell both current cars or keep the Renault as its a four door, a 3 door Audi isnt suitable for the dogs and they aint going in a new car!
Lots to think about!

Irish Steve

Renaults of that vintage are well know for breaking various plastic parts in the window regulators,especially when the windows are frozen shut. The good news is that while the replacements from Renault are not cheap, because they are such a common problem, the parts to repair them are readily available from third party suppliers on sites like E-Bay, and they are not a huge problem to fit.

As long as there are no major items like cam belts imminent on the Megane, it may be worth considering keeping it going for a bit longer, in the scale of things, there are worse vehicles out there for the sort of use that you are looking at.

Idbatterim

tax on both of them is cheap.

Two of the elec window motors ceazed today with the cold and seem to be busted. It also needs new tyres/brake pads/some bulbs.

you could need that stuff on a nearly new car depending on the mileage it has done, that is mickey mouse stuff!

also those cars if you were to sell them now, would literally have to be given away, Id simply keep them!

colm_mcm

Give her the Audi and buy something slightly better for yourself.

antiskeptic

terrydel wrote: »

Looking for some advice as my girlfriend's car is now giving trouble and we are trying to decide what is the best thing to do.

I've a 2004 3 door Audi A3 1/6 petrol with 117k miles. I've kept it well serviced in the 5 years+ I've had it.

My girlfriend has an 2003 4 door Renault Megane 1.4 with similar mileage, she services it every year but its starting to really give trouble. Two of the elec window motors ceazed today with the cold and seem to be busted. It also needs new tyres/brake pads/some bulbs.

We live in a rural area, with 25km & 35-40km e/w commutes respectively, so she does more commuting mileage. I've also got a decent motorcycle that I can use when needed or the weather obliges.

My car is the one that gets used at weekends, so we both probably do 15k kms a year on average.

The question is now is it worth getting rid of the Megane as its costing too much to keep running, and possibly the Audi too?

We have two dogs and need a car for them to go in, so we need one 'old' car that we arent too concerned about dirtying up.

We pay a lot in rent so altho the idea of a new car on finance appeals, it might not be financially feasible. Im not sure what the cheapest options are that we could get on finance, I've never looked into it?

Other option Im thinking is let my girlfriend have the Audi, which is more reliable and still a nice comfortable car to be in (has full climate control, still in really good nick interior-wise, bar dog hairs!). Then we buy something else second-hand thats more suitable for the dogs to go in?

Either way, we'd want something thats reliable and cheap to run in terms of tax/fuel/maint etc. Would going down the finance/pcp road mean we could get x number of years of servicing included and stop having to worry on that side?

If not, what kind of options could we look at second-hand?

Is keeping either or both of the current cars even an option?

Hard to assign a budget really, I think we could go 10-15 cash for a 'new' second-hand car + trade-in (probably almost nothing for the Renault, maybe 1500 on the Audi?), and we'd need to work out our budget in terms of weekly/monthly finance payments. I'd hazard a guess we could do 100euro a week? As I said, I've no idea what the rates are these days for finance/pcp.

We are not massive car people or suv-obsessed so practicality/reliability/affordability are the main concerns.

Thanks in advance.

I've just had an 03 Audi A4 nicked. It had nearly 190K miles up (petrol 1.8 turbo). It had life left in it yet, although getting properly saggy. It stood me 400 euro a year in depreciation (assuming I get a grand from the insurance) for the 6 years I had it.

I've a mate just dumped his 98 Megane after it got too troublesome. Depreciation on that a good deal less than the Audi.

It's quite a jump to spend 10-15K on a car when you're in the same ball park of depreciation as me and my mate. You can carry out quite a few repairs on the existing motors for the kind of depreciation a 10-15K car will cost you. And if lucky, you won't have to carry out those repairs...

la ultima guagua

terrydel wrote: »

.........We live in a rural area, with 25km & 35-40km e/w commutes respectively, so she does more commuting mileage...........

My car is the one that gets used at weekends, so we both probably do 15k kms a year on average..

So, she has a commute of 80ish km ?

Would y'all consider getting an electric car & using the Audi for any long trips.

Head over to the EV forum

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1634

E.G. Mel.b started a fine thread on the topic

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057745707

AMKC

Looking for some advice as my girlfriend's car is now giving trouble and we are trying to decide what is the best thing to do.

I've a 2004 3 door Audi A3 1/6 petrol with 117k miles. I've kept it well serviced in the 5 years+ I've had it.

My girlfriend has an 2003 4 door Renault Megane 1.4 with similar mileage, she services it every year but its starting to really give trouble. Two of the elec window motors ceazed today with the cold and seem to be busted. It also needs new tyres/brake pads/some bulbs.

I say keep both cars for the time being at least until something big like clutch or a fanbelt/timing chain need doing then maybe scrap it. In the meantime try saving for when that time comes. A Skoda Octavia estate could be a good choice. The electric regulators and other bits for the windows on the Megane can be got cheap online and are something you can change yourself. I know some of the bulbs on the Megane are a pain to change but if you buy good quality bulbs they should not go as often as cheap ones. You might as well get the tyre's and all that done don,t go to made but not cheap either.

terrydel

Irish Steve wrote: »

Renaults of that vintage are well know for breaking various plastic parts in the window regulators,especially when the windows are frozen shut. The good news is that while the replacements from Renault are not cheap, because they are such a common problem, the parts to repair them are readily available from third party suppliers on sites like E-Bay, and they are not a huge problem to fit.

As long as there are no major items like cam belts imminent on the Megane, it may be worth considering keeping it going for a bit longer, in the scale of things, there are worse vehicles out there for the sort of use that you are looking at.

Thanks for reply. Yep, can deffo see the argument in favour of just hanging tough with both. I got a new window reg for the audi recently, it was official audi so wasnt cheap but yeah I know the ebay, non oem route is the way to go with the Megane.

terrydel

Idbatterim wrote: »

tax on both of them is cheap.

you could need that stuff on a nearly new car depending on the mileage it has done, that is mickey mouse stuff!

also those cars if you were to sell them now, would literally have to be given away, Id simply keep them!

Tax on the Renault is 385 I think, 514 on my Audi, not as bad as it could be but not cheap in my eyes.
Agree, apart from the the window reg its all very standard stuff.
Again agree that they are worth little to nothing if sold.

terrydel

antiskeptic wrote: »

I've just had an 03 Audi A4 nicked. It had nearly 190K miles up (petrol 1.8 turbo). It had life left in it yet, although getting properly saggy. It stood me 400 euro a year in depreciation (assuming I get a grand from the insurance) for the 6 years I had it.

I've a mate just dumped his 98 Megane after it got too troublesome. Depreciation on that a good deal less than the Audi.

It's quite a jump to spend 10-15K on a car when you're in the same ball park of depreciation as me and my mate. You can carry out quite a few repairs on the existing motors for the kind of depreciation a 10-15K car will cost you. And if lucky, you won't have to carry out those repairs...

Cheers, thats very informative.
I paid 6100 for my Audi, have it 5 years & 3 months and its might get me 1k now also.
It probably only needs a few hundred now put into it but nothing immediate or vital.
Megane was bought very cheaply too.
I can deffo see a good argument to press on with what we have.

terrydel

AMKC wrote: »

Looking for some advice as my girlfriend's car is now giving trouble and we are trying to decide what is the best thing to do.

I've a 2004 3 door Audi A3 1/6 petrol with 117k miles. I've kept it well serviced in the 5 years+ I've had it.

My girlfriend has an 2003 4 door Renault Megane 1.4 with similar mileage, she services it every year but its starting to really give trouble. Two of the elec window motors ceazed today with the cold and seem to be busted. It also needs new tyres/brake pads/some bulbs.

I say keep both cars for the time being at least until something big like clutch or a fanbelt/timing chain need doing then maybe scrap it. In the meantime try saving for when that time comes. A Skoda Octavia estate could be a good choice. The electric regulators and other bits for the windows on the Megane can be got cheap online and are something you can change yourself. I know some of the bulbs on the Megane are a pain to change but if you buy good quality bulbs they should not go as often as cheap ones. You might as well get the tyre's and all that done don,t go to made but not cheap either.

All good points and I think thats the route Im coming round to.

acronym Chilli

terrydel wrote: »

Tax on the Renault is 385 I think, 514 on my Audi, not as bad as it could be but not cheap in my eyes.

Here's where you need to start from in really being analytical on this.
You've got 2 cars and tax of €385 and €514, total of €899
No car will have less than zero tax, impossible. In fact, today I think the cheapest is €120 (which is what you'd pay on electric car... I'm excluding classics). So for 2 cars, you cannot get the tax lower than €240. Absolute maximum annual saving is €659. Unless you switch to 2 electric vehicles, I don't see you achieving that.

On the Dacia MCV I mentioned, you'd have tax between €280 and €180 depending on the engine. If you changed your Renault for that car you'd save up to €200 or as little as €100 annually, which is money but does little to offset the extra depreciation of the new machine. You're talking about €4 per week. If you have a fancy take-away coffee once a week it's the same thing.

When motoring feels expensive, it's because it sort of is. I'm not trying to be smart, but the easiest and most reliable way to get your motoring costs down would be to switch to a single car (maybe even a newer one). Then you've one set of road-tax, one insurance policy, one parking space, probably less miles in total than you'll manage on 2 cars so less fuel, and so on.
But you get less flexibility and utility too of course (and sounds like that doesn't work with commuting unless you switch to motorbike fulltime).

Finally, to chime back in on an earlier point you raised RE PCP. It doesn't in any significant way change the economics of vehicle depreciation. All it does is change the sequence of cash-flows (i.e. timing of when you put up various parts of money) and may be a good deal regarding interest rate. But depreciation is still depreciation and you're still exposed to it whether you buy for cash, using PCP, or with money you borrow from Credit Union / Bank / whatever.

jim-mcdee

Scrap em both and buy a dacia duster. great cars.

terrydel

acronym Chilli wrote: »

Here's where you need to start from in really being analytical on this.
You've got 2 cars and tax of €385 and €514, total of €899
No car will have less than zero tax, impossible. In fact, today I think the cheapest is €120 (which is what you'd pay on electric car... I'm excluding classics). So for 2 cars, you cannot get the tax lower than €240. Absolute maximum annual saving is €659. Unless you switch to 2 electric vehicles, I don't see you achieving that.

On the Dacia MCV I mentioned, you'd have tax between €280 and €180 depending on the engine. If you changed your Renault for that car you'd save up to €200 or as little as €100 annually, which is money but does little to offset the extra depreciation of the new machine. You're talking about €4 per week. If you have a fancy take-away coffee once a week it's the same thing.

When motoring feels expensive, it's because it sort of is. I'm not trying to be smart, but the easiest and most reliable way to get your motoring costs down would be to switch to a single car (maybe even a newer one). Then you've one set of road-tax, one insurance policy, one parking space, probably less miles in total than you'll manage on 2 cars so less fuel, and so on.
But you get less flexibility and utility too of course (and sounds like that doesn't work with commuting unless you switch to motorbike fulltime).

Finally, to chime back in on an earlier point you raised RE PCP. It doesn't in any significant way change the economics of vehicle depreciation. All it does is change the sequence of cash-flows (i.e. timing of when you put up various parts of money) and may be a good deal regarding interest rate. But depreciation is still depreciation and you're still exposed to it whether you buy for cash, using PCP, or with money you borrow from Credit Union / Bank / whatever.

Thats a great post and I know you arent being smart in any way.
The option of one car as a means to save money is as you say probably the best way to do it, but given the rural nature of where we live and our schedules/outside vommitments etc, both of us need a car really.
I think the upshot of what you are saying is that given our cars have done most/all of their depreciating, they are really as cheap to run as they are gonna get, and anything else that isnt already done its depreciating will be costing us more, is that correct?
That unless one or both cars dies completely and gives us no option, we are better to stick with them, paying for any repair/maint as required?
And that if we do decide to replace, the cheapest option is really to go down the bangernomic route, replacing like with like?

Idbatterim

Yes definitely keep them. Say you buy a newer used car, you think they won't require parts etc?

You'd swear that the government were paying people to drive "chape tax" cars! Cheaper tax, but how many multiples of the pittance motor tax saving are people losing in deteciation and interest?!!!

You know what's expensive tax e1494 or 1809 I am paying now. The old cars sub 1.7 etc even on the old system were relatively cheap motor tax!

TheFarrier

Op you say you have 10 to 15 in cash to spend. That will buy you any number of quality used cars that should keep you motoring for years, without the need for monthly repayments or massive depreciation of a new car.
Unless I picked this up all wrong then imo getting rid of the Renault, keeping the audi for the dogs and spending even 7 or 8 grand or more if you wish should have you going well.

Edit: just spotted the audi is a 3 door not suitable for the dogs.

Re the van, I have a transit connect for work, 2014 reg, by far the most comfortable van I've ever had, loads of space lovely cockpit, and I paid 10k this April for it with 64000km on it. With your budget you could easily buy a similar van and a nice car for your gf or just the van and keep the audi

terrydel

TheFarrier wrote: »

Op you say you have 10 to 15 in cash to spend. That will buy you any number of quality used cars that should keep you motoring for years, without the need for monthly repayments or massive depreciation of a new car.
Unless I picked this up all wrong then imo getting rid of the Renault, keeping the audi for the dogs and spending even 7 or 8 grand or more if you wish should have you going well.

Yeah, I think if we did have to buy a car we could stretch that far, my own thinking would be to spend at the lower end of that if not even less.
My worry would be that some 6-8k car might have plenty of gremlins waiting to surface too.
The only reason I dont like the idea of the Audi for the dogs is that it is a 3 door and small in the back.

TheFarrier

terrydel wrote: »

Yeah, I think if we did have to buy a car we could stretch that far, my own thinking would be to spend at the lower end of that if not even less.
My worry would be that some 6-8k car might have plenty of gremlins waiting to surface too.
The only reason I dont like the idea of the Audi for the dogs is that it is a 3 door and small in the back.

Edited my previous post

duffman3833

over 2 years ago i decided to get a €10k car. At the time i was thinking it was sensible thing to do as it was low mileage and been a Mazda, reliable enough and would be worth spending 10k on. I wont be doing it again, not for a while anyway. All cars, no matter what age will required maintenance and possibly develop a fault or 2. One of the glow plugs failed on the Mazda, which wasn't cleaning the DPF and that was costly enough to fix. So now, i got a car sub €4k this time. Less depreciation, it will have similar maintenance costs and parts can be cheaper since its an older car. So far so good. With the Mazda i lost 4k in a year and half of ownership. With my sub 4k car, i will lose maybe a quarter of its value from depreciation. I think a car around that price point is the best to go for, less depreciation and its not run to the ground.

terrydel

TheFarrier wrote: »

Edited my previous post

Thanks, I've been thinking about those transit connects for a long time and if/when I eventually decide to get something 'new', they'll be high on the list.
If you have time and don't mind, can you pm me some details on the running costs of one, tax, fuel econ etc? Did you buy it as a comm. vehicle?

acronym Chilli

terrydel wrote: »

I think the upshot of what you are saying is that given our cars have done most/all of their depreciating, they are really as cheap to run as they are gonna get, and anything else that isnt already done its depreciating will be costing us more, is that correct?
That unless one or both cars dies completely and gives us no option, we are better to stick with them, paying for any repair/maint as required?
And that if we do decide to replace, the cheapest option is really to go down the bangernomic route, replacing like with like?

Sort of...
What you want to avoid is taking an old car and then spending thousands repairing/maintaining it on big ticket items (e.g. timing belt, DMF, clutch, head-gasket repair, etc.,etc.,) while at the same time it starts to accumulate lots of smaller repairs (hoses get brittle, bushes, etc.,) and you have a money pit. Worst case you spend money on things like TB, DMF and Clutch, and then next NCT your car fails on corroded sills and the repair for that (welding etc.,) is unaffordable because the corrosion is under petrol tank and labour charges are through the roof.

The challenge is this: to avoid the money pit you need to be a bit of a fortune teller. Since that's tricky, best bet is to keep up to date with servicing, pay attention to the car (mechanical sympathy etc.,) and when a big item does crop up think twice before fixing it. It helps if the car is reasonably cheap for the small items (cheap parts and an independent mechanic or DIY).

I wouldn't scrap a car because of window regulator(s) alone. But if I thought clutch/DMF was on way out, I wouldn't fix regulators until I knew whether I was going to fix the clutch/DMF.

When it does finally come to car-changing time, I don't know if Bangernomics will work for you. If you get the right car it can be grand, but you could easily flush a few hundred/couple of thousand down the drain too.

It's a bit of a lottery.

Since you have cash, and need vehicles on regular basis (i.e. can't have it up on axle stands in your drive for a week while you repair something), you should be open to spending a bit more as other posters have advised. Like looking around the €4k mark so you're not scraping the bangernomics barrel. Or think through the options of a brand new car like a Dacia (with warranty etc.,), while still being prepared to go for a €1k bargain if you're lucky enough to find one.

Finally: keep an eye out for family/friends who are changing cars and where you know they've taken care of the current car (maintained etc.,), and if something good pops up then let that trigger a decision. Much better to be car shopping when you're not desperate!

And in fairness, you're not desperate as it stands. You've 2 cars on the road, taxed/insured/legal, and you've money in the bank... and it's nearly Christmas

terrydel

acronym Chilli wrote: »

Sort of...
What you want to avoid is taking an old car and then spending thousands repairing/maintaining it on big ticket items (e.g. timing belt, DMF, clutch, head-gasket repair, etc.,etc.,) while at the same time it starts to accumulate lots of smaller repairs (hoses get brittle, bushes, etc.,) and you have a money pit. Worst case you spend money on things like TB, DMF and Clutch, and then next NCT your car fails on corroded sills and the repair for that (welding etc.,) is unaffordable because the corrosion is under petrol tank and labour charges are through the roof.

The challenge is this: to avoid the money pit you need to be a bit of a fortune teller. Since that's tricky, best bet is to keep up to date with servicing, pay attention to the car (mechanical sympathy etc.,) and when a big item does crop up think twice before fixing it. It helps if the car is reasonably cheap for the small items (cheap parts and an independent mechanic or DIY).

I wouldn't scrap a car because of window regulator(s) alone. But if I thought clutch/DMF was on way out, I wouldn't fix regulators until I knew whether I was going to fix the clutch/DMF.

When it does finally come to car-changing time, I don't know if Bangernomics will work for you. If you get the right car it can be grand, but you could easily flush a few hundred/couple of thousand down the drain too.

It's a bit of a lottery.

Since you have cash, and need vehicles on regular basis (i.e. can't have it up on axle stands in your drive for a week while you repair something), you should be open to spending a bit more as other posters have advised. Like looking around the €4k mark so you're not scraping the bangernomics barrel. Or think through the options of a brand new car like a Dacia (with warranty etc.,), while still being prepared to go for a €1k bargain if you're lucky enough to find one.

Finally: keep an eye out for family/friends who are changing cars and where you know they've taken care of the current car (maintained etc.,), and if something good pops up then let that trigger a decision. Much better to be car shopping when you're not desperate!

And in fairness, you're not desperate as it stands. You've 2 cars on the road, taxed/insured/legal, and you've money in the bank... and it's nearly Christmas

Good stuff, I'll take all of that on board. Cheers.

martyc5674

terrydel wrote: »

Thats a great post and I know you arent being smart in any way.
The option of one car as a means to save money is as you say probably the best way to do it, but given the rural nature of where we live and our schedules/outside vommitments etc, both of us need a car really.
I think the upshot of what you are saying is that given our cars have done most/all of their depreciating, they are really as cheap to run as they are gonna get, and anything else that isnt already done its depreciating will be costing us more, is that correct?
That unless one or both cars dies completely and gives us no option, we are better to stick with them, paying for any repair/maint as required?
And that if we do decide to replace, the cheapest option is really to go down the bangernomic route, replacing like with like?

Do enlighten us!

_Brian

Honestly the Megan needs a service to deal with the consumable items mentioned, they need doing on all cars from time to time.

Both windows, my feeling is they were damaged operating them partly frozen, this was done to the car rather than a fault with the car.

Change it if you wish, but the items above are not a fault or flaw and are by no means signs a car is on its last legs.