just had my car fail its mot, not, one of the rear springs has a crack in it. a garage whilst fixing a cracked window mechanism mentioned that the bushings on the front suspension were looking pretty worn. The seats have seen better days, the interior is generally worn. The car is a '99 Octavia now at 156k and i am guessing that nothing is going to get better.

and on top of this it is due a cam belt in 12 months.

The car to this point has been reliable but i am beginning to wonder if now is the time to start thinking about something new.

To top this off in 6 weeks i get made redundant, on one hand i will have some money, on the other i won't have a job ❗ . If i say 5 grand what would be worth looking at.

I would say you repair the car until the bill exceeds the car's resale value.

I would say the car is pretty worthless mate. Get a quote from the garage to get it repaired and through its MOT, then compare that bill to what you can buy on the classifieds.

If your about to lose your job why not wait till you get your next job before deciding what car you need?

that was my thinking, but the cambelt and service would probably be that point.

and i don't intend to buy a car until i have a new job, more thinking about what is worth considering, what can i expect etc.

If then engine and gearbox are fine (ie not burning oil and returning decent MPG) then fix it.
I have a 1998 Volvo with 159,000 miles on it.
I need to do some suspension work on it when the weather improves. However the only thing that would make me get rid of it is engine, gear box, clutch or crash.
Everything else is not a big deal to sort.

IMO better the devil you know. When that devil can't be repaired for a sane amount in relation to the cost of buying another car that you can rely on, it's time to start reconsidering.

It's not the value of the vehicle that matters, it's the cost of a new one. Assuming youre running it into the ground you're counting on zero resale value anyway (anythings a bonus) so all that matters is comparing repairs to the cost of the new car. Unless you absolutely need reliability and guarantees, then buy a spanking new one with a warranty.

Finally seen my 94 Primera die, MOT due in July it needs.
Front n/s wheelbearing
2 rear shocks
all new brake lines
new indicator lenses
the heater fan is bust
the electric ariel is bust
rear offside passenger window mechanism is bust
hit a pheasant that bust the front grill
new tca's
ps pump is iffy too
clutch slipping

it has done 160k, owned it for seven years and paid 1600pounds for it. Think I had my moneys worth!

The problem with spending 5 grand on a car is that you have no idea how reliable it is and could end up getting a lemon.

If the engine/gearbox/bodywork is sound then getting the suspension sorted is worth it I would think, as for cambelt i'd just include that under "consumables" along with tyres/oil/filters etc.

As for tatty seats/interior – get it professionally valeted and it'll look a lot nicer.

The spring is an easy and cheap fix.
Bushings are cheap and easy too.
Get down the scrappy for new seats – or check ebay and the likes.
And give the interior a good clean. It'll make a big difference.
Get the cam belt done – it'll do another 156k

when something major falls off irrepairably.

until then its just maintenance.

bangernomics rule unless you see a car as status.

bangernomics rule unless you see a car as status. bangernomics rule unless you see a car as status.

Or just particularly like an old car and keep sinking cash into it when it's not financially sensible <guilty, ~5K after passing the original purchase price> 🙂

in a similar position here. My 17 year old Volvo 480 failed it's MOT today in quite a big way. Major issues brakes and emissions. If it is a few hundred quid I'd be tempted to get it done but man in garage says 480 turbos are so rare these days that sourcing parts is getting increasingly more difficult – so future problems will get more and more expensive. It's the car's rarity (anf the fact it has pop up lights) that makes me want to keep it so much though. What to do?

If you think its past it, punt it! No point sinking money into a car thats had it.

Depending on size of car needed you could have something like a brand new fiat panda for 5k with the scrapage deal that runs til march. I think there also a few other companies like hyundai that offer cars for similar money.

Minimum it would give you 3 years worry free motoring.

my concern is that the car is structurally sound, i got an indicated 63 on the run from down from Chester to Cheltenham yesterday which suggests that the engine is sound. But today made me think, springs wear out, but so do dampers, steering racks, pipes, wires, etc.

To me a car is a tool, i am not interested in tinkering with it, i expect to put key in and drive away. i know people who enjoy tinkering with cars and spending money on them. That is fine if that is what you want to do.

Also I tend to buy a car 3-5 years old and keep em till they die.
I am really nervous of buying 10 year old cars cos at that age you have to ask why someone is selling.
By buying 3-5 year old cars you are buying from affluent middle class idiots who believe that cars start to fall appart after 3 years.

all you need right now for the MoT is a set of springs, scrappy will have something good enough for a pass, the rest of the faults are just maybes at the moment and flogging it will be easier with full MoT.

Got rid of a bluebird when it needed it's tank and rear axle dropped for welding, £300 at mates rates with other bits added in, cavalier with full ticket = £150
Bought a mondeo estate as scrap, replaced clutch, can't have spent more than £200 on parts over the next 5 years, flogged it quick as the gearbox started to fail.

Really down to what you think is acceptable, some like new bikes each season whilst others own the 20th incarnation of a bike they bought when they were 16

I'd at least keep running it until it dies, don't bother doing the cambelt if it's too much in comparison the value of the car and just run it til it snaps.

It'll be worth so little you might as well run it into the ground. Or at least you stop repairing it when cost of repair + value of car as it is more than the cars worth.

For the emissions get some Dipetene, seems to clear the engine and allows the pass, loads of people over here use it.

I assume it's a diesel with the quoted mpg – good independent should charge less than £250 for cambelt kit, springs will be £40ish each and no more than 1.5 hrs labour (change both otherwise handling will be comprimised) suspension bushes won't be excessive – and it sounds like you can wait to replace them. No reason why the car won't trudge round for another 10 years 250,000m is easily achievable on those engines and boxes if they're well maintained.
I'd spend the £500-600 and drive it into the ground.

Get a quote, if less than £1000 and it'll go to the next MOT – keep it.

Get yourself a Haynes manual, and borrow a set of spanners – springs and bushes aren't that hard or expensive to sort out.

In fact, if you can't borrow the spanners it'll be cheaper to buy a good set than to pay the labour for someone else to do the job.

You might not be interested in tinkering with the car, but paying someone else to do simple maintenance us a luxury for someone who's income is going to stop in 6 weeks time.

If the car is still suitable for yours needs I would keep it.

My Citroen ZX finally got traded in after the power steering rack failed and started leaking. Quote was £500 to replace, it was worth the same as trade-in. We decided to get rid as it was too small for us anyway, but otherwise we'd have probably kept it. We've spent more than the repair cost on interest on the £5k loan we got for the new car, and we ended up selling that two years later before the loan was repaid.

It also needed new front wishbones to get through its MOT, was quoted something like £250 a side by the garage. Took it to an independent who instead of replacing the whole wishbones, just replaced the bushings themselves and charged a couple of hours labour instead.

bushes aren't that hard or expensive to sort out.

if they are anything like a Golfs its really not an easy job
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1980960

Something new with a 5 year warranty makes a lot of sense

Add up repair bill V's newer car.

Always keep a bit of cash in reserve when buying a newish car for repairs.

I fixed up my old as I could do the labour myself. Annoying but saved me cash.

If you're a not student then get a new'er car!

Something new rarely makes sense! I could think of better ways of spending the depreciation that's left over from any repairs that might have been needed during those five years 🙂

I bought my 5yr old Mondeo for about £6500…its book price when new was something like £18,000. It would need to have some serious reliability problems to get your moneys worth over the first five years.

if they are anything like a Golfs its really not an easy job
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1980960

Thats rear bushes, op said front – from GSF just replacing bushes parts are c£10 a side, complete arm is <£30 a side. Decent VW specialist won't take more than an hour a side no matter how mullered the old ones are. rears aren't that hard if you, or the garage who does it has the right tool – parts £30ish a side, I was quoted an hour and a half labour to replace mine.

I can recommend a couple of decent garages if you're near Leicester.

that rear bushing task is an easy job.

Cars are transport nothing else.

whippersnapper – Member
in a similar position here. My 17 year old Volvo 480 failed it's MOT today in quite a big way. Major issues brakes and emissions. If it is a few hundred quid I'd be tempted to get it done but man in garage says 480 turbos are so rare these days that sourcing parts is getting increasingly more difficult – so future problems will get more and more expensive. It's the car's rarity (anf the fact it has pop up lights) that makes me want to keep it so much though. What to do?

One of my favourite cars. How's the rust holding off? I had a non-turbo version picked up dirt cheap which I had hoped to bring back to life but in the end the rust won. 😥

Whereabouts in the country do you live? As I know some good vw specialists in the Manchester/Darlington and Northamptom regions.

zedsdead speaketh the truth!

Front bushes are actually only £5 each from places such as GSF. Ive replaced my golf ( same bush) bushes recently.

Rear axle bushes are £18 for the pair and a few hours work. Again. Ive done them.

A spring is about £25 quid.

I dont think its quite bin worthy yet! If it is Ill have it!

marge – no rust at all. The mechanics seem solid, only 75k on the clock. Its just the fiddly little bits (the electrics) that are a bit dodgy…and the brakes.

Ok, so sounds like best thing to do is keep it and kill it.

Next question, i need a good garage in either Chester or Cheltenham who can change the spring, usual place can't fit me in until week friday.

Can anyone recommend a VAG specialist?

Torch it, you know you want to 😈