Stick or twist

Clearlier

I suspect that I should stick with what I have on this but am wondering what the people on here think.

I'm based in the UK so numbers will vary but the overall principle probably doesn't change.

I've just started a new job, it's hybrid working but requires a round trip commute (90% motorway) of approx. 190km/115miles twice a week. That'll be the bulk of my driving with only 5-7 thousand km on top of that.

My current car is a Mazda 5 2.0 sport that's 15 years old with 240,000km on the clock. I've kept it in good repair although the bills have mounted up a little recently with new clutch, radiator and suspension parts (although they've had to be replaced regularly since I got it 12 years ago).

I expect to be in a position to buy a new car, possibly electric in about 3 years time but my question is what I should do in the meantime.

I'm assuming that the most sensible thing to do is to hold on to my current vehicle and hope that it holds out. It does feel pretty pricey to run. I filled it up at a nearby petrol station and re-filled it again when I got back and I use about 13L of fuel with some fairly conservative driving.

In a couple of months I will have the possibility of spending £3-4K on a car if I want. Options that I have thought of are to replace the current car - if I do that it'll need to hold 5 comfortably and have a boot that the dog can use or to get an economical 2nd car which I use for the commute. I'm guessing though that the cost of running a second car would wipe out most of the fuel savings that I might see and a replacement would still be approx. 10 years old and risky because I won't know the history very well.

Is there anything that I should consider looking at or should I just stick to what I have and hope it holds out until I'm in a better position to move on? I'd appreciate any thoughts.

bazz26

Your existing car is worthless to anyone else but it's invaluable to youf as it ows you nothing other than the cost of fuel. Remember that you also know this car and it's history. Buying another "stop gap" car on a small budget is venturing into the unknown around reliability and expense. I'd keep the existing car going until your ready to change to EV or it dies on you.

Clearlier

That is where my thoughts lean, I just want to make sure that I'm not overlooking anything. (I wouldn't mind having functioning air con too but I'll survive :) ).