General / Off-Topic Car Advice!

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
Chevy66 said:
If you're pretty rubbish with mechanics suspension isn't the place to start. My mondeo is in a similar state, I started trying to replace a knackered balljoint but the pinch bolt is seized and I can't get the damn thing off, after snapping a socket extension I gave up and put it back like it was

I'm planning to just scrap it and buy something else. But I don't have the Girlfriend/Mini complications :D
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On an unrelated note, I have a Saab for sale! :p


Usually when I try to tinker with cars, I just make the problem worse.
 

Robin of Spiritwood

Robin of Spiritwood
Is a MOT some kind of inspection?

Down here we have to do periodic inspections of cars, at "approved" garages. The one I use is my regular mechanic's, and there's no way it fails since the same mechanic that fixes it has to inspect it.

What's he going to say, "I failed to get the car fit to pass the inspection"?

I'm running a Civic from 1999. It has 300,000 miles on it. No computer. Mostly still works fine. Not worth as much as a new set of tyres though. But it has had replacement of most of the suspension because of bad roads, a newly conditioned transmission, and a new cooling system.
 

Geehawk

G
I'll buck the trend and say get it fixed. At least that way you'll have a car you know the history of and what likely to go wrong/left to go wrong.
You buy a replacement and if it's 10 years old or so then it will be likely coming up for some big bills too.

Does not really matter if it's only worth £400 if you keep it.
 

Chevy66

C
Robin of Spiritwood said:
Is a MOT some kind of inspection?

Down here we have to do periodic inspections of cars, at "approved" garages. The one I use is my regular mechanic's, and there's no way it fails since the same mechanic that fixes it has to inspect it.

What's he going to say, "I failed to get the car fit to pass the inspection"?
Click to expand...

well that depends if you pay to have it fixed to pass the test or just pay for the test itself. Usually you would just pay for the test then get an estimate to make it pass it it fails.

The issue is the cost to fix is probably more than the car is worth
 

Patrick_68000

Patrick_68000
The only Saab that I had in my life was when I was young.

Sometimes, I worked in the transportation of goods.

And I have often driven a Scania truck.

;)
 

dubsdj

dubsdj
Being a mini owner for 15 years or so, I would say they are decent cars but you must prepare yourself for annoying problems. Mini's rattle a lot and generally have irritating noises that are very hard to pin point even by a mechanic. You will often have to go directly to BMW to sort out those issues which is pricey.

Otherwise good cars.
 

Zieman

Zieman
CMDR_Cosmicspacehead said:
but work is only 2.1 miles away, so I can cycle. Which is fine, until winter when it'll be too cold and icy to cycle,
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Rubbish!
Both me & my wife cycle ~3½ miles to work, no matter the weather. It's all about wearing right clothing and having the extra 5-10 minutes to spare if going gets rough (like -30 degrees centigrade and some headwind).
 

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
Zieman said:
Rubbish!
Both me & my wife cycle ~3½ miles to work, no matter the weather. It's all about wearing right clothing and having the extra 5-10 minutes to spare if going gets rough (like -30 degrees centigrade and some headwind).
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I wouldn't walk to work in the ice, let alone cycle.
People here simply can't drive in ice, so will quite happily mount the (un-gritted) curb and use pedestrians and cyclists to slow down.
It's just safer in a car (assuming you can drive on ice, which I can. Mostly).

Plus I'm lazy. :p
 

ZeroAi

ZeroAi
CMDR_Cosmicspacehead said:
I'm pretty rubbish with mechanics. Plus I don't have anywhere to work on a car, or any tools. Lol

I've already got a loan, originally for £5000, mostly to pay off credit debt (from fixing my car... lol) that was extortionate, and buy a few things we desperately needed, and I was hoping to be left with a bit more, but I spent it. Lol

Worst case scenario is I end up with no car, but work is only 2.1 miles away, so I can cycle. Which is fine, until winter when it'll be too cold and icy to cycle, but I could catch the bus temporarily (I do have a mild phobia of catching busses... Lol)
And due to traffic, cycling is often quicker anyway.

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
Click to expand...

Ok, that makes a lot of sense.

Another option would be to sell the car to someone handy, put the money in savings, and take the bus for a time while you consider all your options?

The upside is no more car fixing bills while during that time, and you could play videos games or read while riding the bus :)

Best of luck!!!

o7
 

Gortron

Gortron
CMDR_Cosmicspacehead said:
Hello!

I could do with some advice I'm likely to ignore. Lol

I've got an old 2005 Saab 93. It's MOT is due on the 23rd of October. And it will fail on multiple things, mostly suspension (most definitely needs 2 new front shocks, and 2 rear springs. Yay pot holes!), plus possibly front tires, brakes, and then wild card things that I don't know about. So quite a lot. At least £300 worth.
Plus a few other issues that aren't MOT failures, but need sorting (like my intermittent EML coming on and going in to limp mode. Lol)
The car isn't worth very much, maybe £400-500 private sale, if that. Or £200 trade in/scrap.
Other than that. It's a nice car! Lol
I like driving it, when it works. And it's reliably gotten us to London several times. It only seems to like breaking down in garden centres or on the way to work.
I've already spent quite a bit on it, new alternator, battery, thermostat, cambelt and water pump kit.


So I've been trying to find a new car to replace it for £2000~, with no luck.
(Looking for a nice smallish automatic petrol, at least a 2008, that's not French or Italian. Lol)


Now, my girlfriend wants to learn to drive, and hates my Saab (it's too big, and too broken). So she offered another £1000 if I get a ...wait for it...

A Mini, In black, with a white roof, that's automatic and petrol, and at least a 2008, in good condition, from non-smoker, with low miles, that's not stolen or written off.

Basically they don't exist at that price range. :p

Anyhoo. Advice time.

Do I;
A) See how much passing the MOT will be, then decide to fix or scrap?

B) Just scrap it/trade for any suitable-ish car ASAP. (I do enjoy fobbing off dead cars to dodgy dealers!)

C) Just scrap it until I find a new car, and cycle to work.

D) Hold out for the magical unicorn mini that's drastically underpriced, but not stolen written off. Lol

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
Click to expand...

I've replied to you about this before...…… https://www.lookers.co.uk/dacia/new-offers/dacia-sandero-offer/
 

Wotthe Dickens

Wotthe Dickens
CMDR_Cosmicspacehead said:
Hello!

I could do with some advice I'm likely to ignore. Lol

I've got an old 2005 Saab 93. It's MOT is due on the 23rd of October. And it will fail on multiple things, mostly suspension (most definitely needs 2 new front shocks, and 2 rear springs. Yay pot holes!), plus possibly front tires, brakes, and then wild card things that I don't know about. So quite a lot. At least £300 worth.
Plus a few other issues that aren't MOT failures, but need sorting (like my intermittent EML coming on and going in to limp mode. Lol)
The car isn't worth very much, maybe £400-500 private sale, if that. Or £200 trade in/scrap.
Other than that. It's a nice car! Lol
I like driving it, when it works. And it's reliably gotten us to London several times. It only seems to like breaking down in garden centres or on the way to work.
I've already spent quite a bit on it, new alternator, battery, thermostat, cambelt and water pump kit.


So I've been trying to find a new car to replace it for £2000~, with no luck.
(Looking for a nice smallish automatic petrol, at least a 2008, that's not French or Italian. Lol)


Now, my girlfriend wants to learn to drive, and hates my Saab (it's too big, and too broken). So she offered another £1000 if I get a ...wait for it...

A Mini, In black, with a white roof, that's automatic and petrol, and at least a 2008, in good condition, from non-smoker, with low miles, that's not stolen or written off.

Basically they don't exist at that price range. :p

Anyhoo. Advice time.

Do I;
A) See how much passing the MOT will be, then decide to fix or scrap?

B) Just scrap it/trade for any suitable-ish car ASAP. (I do enjoy fobbing off dead cars to dodgy dealers!)

C) Just scrap it until I find a new car, and cycle to work.

D) Hold out for the magical unicorn mini that's drastically underpriced, but not stolen written off. Lol

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
Click to expand...

I'm normally the optimist but one thing to consider is if your gf fails her test, and fails again :) You could be stuck with her choice of car but not her driving ! (happened to me once..)
 

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
Well, an update!

I've so far failed to find a suitable replacement for my car.
With just a few days until my MOT expires, I've just booked in it for the test.

If it fails in an epic manner, it'll just go to the scrap dealer... Lol
If it only fails on a few bits (suspension, which it will fail on) and nothing else, I'll fix it up until I do find a new car.

I'll be cycling to work next week either way. Lol
 

[VR] optimal_909

[VR] optimal_909
I am not familiar with the UK used car market, but I think a good shed is what you need. Something that was good as new, ubiquitous hence prices are low, parts are plentiful.

Ford Fiesta, for example.
 

GJ51

GJ51
Lease a new car within your budget and never worry about it starting and pay no maintenance except oil chg.

Get another one in 3 years

Haggle for < 1% of the sticker price as your monthly payment - e.g. $20,000 sticker should be under $200/month

Here in the US you can find great EOY deals for as little as .9% of sticker or less.

I currently lease a 2017 Honda Accord nicely equipped for a payment of $179/month 3/36,000 only paying taxes and license fees as down pymnt.

You can get smaller vehicles for even less, sometimes getting under $150/mo.

That's only $5400 over 3 years for a brand new vehicle that you won't have to maintain or worry about. Just gas and go.

If you pay $5400 for a used vehicle, you'll likely just need to do it again in 3 years - but your driving a used junker instead of something with bluetooth built in. :)
 
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