Bangernomics question - when do you bail?
Discussion
I had a volvo t5, the original nutty one. It was in and out of the garage. Had - had a hard life. When the clutch went I ditched it. Thankfully the garage bought it for spares for £150.
I'd say 50% of its value is too much. Because if you put a whole load of money into and then something else major goes wrong it just becomes a money pit.
I'd say 50% of its value is too much. Because if you put a whole load of money into and then something else major goes wrong it just becomes a money pit.
RemainAllHoof said:
At the moment, nothing, but I just spent nearly £400 on getting it back on the road. This plus a new exhaust box (£150) about 2 months ago is making me question my sanity in keeping it.
I would run a banger like a banger....second hand exhaust that might last a couple of years instead of one that will last 8 years, etc etc.johnnyBv8 said:
I would run a banger like a banger....second hand exhaust that might last a couple of years instead of one that will last 8 years, etc etc.
A good point. I haven't quite mastered this yet as I've only had slightly more expensive cars in the past which "deserved" brand new kit.RemainAllHoof said:
A good point. I haven't quite mastered this yet as I've only had slightly more expensive cars in the past which "deserved" brand new kit.
Only buy what will last the same period as you expect the car to either last or the time frame before you fancy a change unlessYou own a succession of the same make model and plan on transfering the best parts over from one car to the next one before scrapping the rest.............
This is how several items - full stainless steel exhaust, cat pipes, leather interior, K&N panel filter, remapped ECU, enlarged throttle body and a wholoe load of other parts ended up being on several cars I owned over a 8 year period - till I couldn't find a rot free one anymore......
The question each time should be "could I buy a better car for the price for the repair bill on the current one?".
Even if it's a £500 repair on a £200 car, unless you think you could get something that is likely to be better and/or more reliable for the £500 then you may as well fix the current car.
Even if it's a £500 repair on a £200 car, unless you think you could get something that is likely to be better and/or more reliable for the £500 then you may as well fix the current car.
Steve H said:
The question each time should be "could I buy a better car for the price for the repair bill on the current one?".
Even if it's a £500 repair on a £200 car, unless you think you could get something that is likely to be better and/or more reliable for the £500 then you may as well fix the current car.
This makes the most sense to me, but excludes the scrap value of the broken one. There fore, can you buy a car to replace it for the cost of the repair plus whatever cash you'll get for scrapping the broken one.Even if it's a £500 repair on a £200 car, unless you think you could get something that is likely to be better and/or more reliable for the £500 then you may as well fix the current car.
In the above example, if the repair would cost £500, and the broken car is worth £200, you've got £700 to go theoretical shopping with...
Anything over £100 for a single repair item. I don't consider tyres and brakes repair items. I had a Volvo S60 that was a decent runner, I had fitted new discs and pads over the course of ownership which well exceeded that limit, but when I noticed leaking struts at the front and the cheapest I could find were on Ebay at £115 each the car got part-exed.
less about value of repair IMHO more about seriousness of problem.
I.e. £300 for an exhaust may seem a lot, but that £300 will last 5years.
Where as a "Minor oil leak" or "some oil usage" that costs £15 to top up a month, could wind-up being blown rings, engine fail, and lack of MOT.
So in my eyes, when I've run them I work on 3 points:
1) how much the car means to me. So if I enjoy driving it, and it's doing it's job, why worry
2) seriousness of developed problem - RUST, main one I give up on. Engines can be changed.
3) TCO - Total Cost of Ownership. I.e. how much is it going to cost me over the next 12months if I keep it, or change it. If I change for another £300 car, what's to say it'll run for 12months better than this one?
I.e. £300 for an exhaust may seem a lot, but that £300 will last 5years.
Where as a "Minor oil leak" or "some oil usage" that costs £15 to top up a month, could wind-up being blown rings, engine fail, and lack of MOT.
So in my eyes, when I've run them I work on 3 points:
1) how much the car means to me. So if I enjoy driving it, and it's doing it's job, why worry
2) seriousness of developed problem - RUST, main one I give up on. Engines can be changed.
3) TCO - Total Cost of Ownership. I.e. how much is it going to cost me over the next 12months if I keep it, or change it. If I change for another £300 car, what's to say it'll run for 12months better than this one?
I run bangers all the time - my current car is a V70 T5 costing 900quid - I've spent 100quid here 200quid there on it and its a great car - fast, reliable, comfortable, well appointed soo I see no need whatsoever to spend any more on a car.
The golden rule is simple with bangers - Are you going to keep it? If you have a repair costing 300quid and you plan on getting bored with it in a few months and moving on to something else, don't bother and simply change it straight away, however if you plan on keeping it for say another 12months it's prob worth spending a few hundred on it for a years motoring
Sometimes you may get your fingers burnt in that you might spend 300quid on a banger and then a couple of months down the line it will do just that and go "bang" but thats the risk unfortunately - i've never had one do that yet and lets be honest, new cars a just as likely to cost you dearly in servicing terms too and the same principle applies - spending hundreds on repairs on a decent new car is pointless if you plan on changing it in a few months - the difference being with a new car it affects resale - not an issue with a banger
The golden rule is simple with bangers - Are you going to keep it? If you have a repair costing 300quid and you plan on getting bored with it in a few months and moving on to something else, don't bother and simply change it straight away, however if you plan on keeping it for say another 12months it's prob worth spending a few hundred on it for a years motoring
Sometimes you may get your fingers burnt in that you might spend 300quid on a banger and then a couple of months down the line it will do just that and go "bang" but thats the risk unfortunately - i've never had one do that yet and lets be honest, new cars a just as likely to cost you dearly in servicing terms too and the same principle applies - spending hundreds on repairs on a decent new car is pointless if you plan on changing it in a few months - the difference being with a new car it affects resale - not an issue with a banger
RemainAllHoof said:
johnnyBv8 said:
I would run a banger like a banger....second hand exhaust that might last a couple of years instead of one that will last 8 years, etc etc.
A good point. I haven't quite mastered this yet as I've only had slightly more expensive cars in the past which "deserved" brand new kit.Impossible to say.
I kept spending on a Saab 99 Turbo but every week something else would go wrong.
Finally I gave up & I sold it.
The next owner will probably get 20 yrs trouble free motoring !
Same on my wife's A6 at 150k I asked her if she definitely wanted to keep it, she did so I had the cambelt and water pump done.
Shortly after the boot lock packed up as did the alarm then the Aux belt tensioner - after doing them the gearbox went.
So I fixed it then sold it.
The last 6 months motoring had cost us more than the previous 5 years !
I kept spending on a Saab 99 Turbo but every week something else would go wrong.
Finally I gave up & I sold it.
The next owner will probably get 20 yrs trouble free motoring !
Same on my wife's A6 at 150k I asked her if she definitely wanted to keep it, she did so I had the cambelt and water pump done.
Shortly after the boot lock packed up as did the alarm then the Aux belt tensioner - after doing them the gearbox went.
So I fixed it then sold it.
The last 6 months motoring had cost us more than the previous 5 years !
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