When does Bangernomics have to come to an end?
Discussion
A bit of advice is needed on my Knackered old Micra, which is due for it's MOT tomorrow and will almost certainly fail.
It cost me £450 18 months and 30000 miles ago and has to date not had anything wrong that I coudln't fix myself very cheaply. When it fails tomorrow I'm trying to establish what the cut off point is to keep it running given it's lack of value. I'm thinking £250 as There aren't many decent £500 cars out there and I know this one. If it's greater than this then I think I will stick it on ebay as an MOT failure and maybe get £200 to put towards something else, but then I will be forking out at least £300-400 to get something else.
So if that makes sense where do you draw the line?
It cost me £450 18 months and 30000 miles ago and has to date not had anything wrong that I coudln't fix myself very cheaply. When it fails tomorrow I'm trying to establish what the cut off point is to keep it running given it's lack of value. I'm thinking £250 as There aren't many decent £500 cars out there and I know this one. If it's greater than this then I think I will stick it on ebay as an MOT failure and maybe get £200 to put towards something else, but then I will be forking out at least £300-400 to get something else.
So if that makes sense where do you draw the line?
Get a couple of quotes for scrap value, take that away from the £400 purchase price and you effectively have your answer. If you think that it is going to cost £200 to get through an MOT I would humbly suggest saving the £40 cost of failing and put that into the new car fund along with any road tax that you can claim back 
Doofus said:
I thought that the point was you drive it until it dies.
Well sort of, I try and move them on when there is still a bit of life left in them, my bangernomics man maths works like this, my wifes old car (02 Focus 1.6) needed 4 new tyres @£250, a clutch/timing belt and water pump @£300 inc parts and labour and discs and pads @£75, so in total £625 needed spending, plus the tax and mot were due in 2 months.Value of car with all these bits done was about £1k, I sold the car for £600, and spent another £600 on top buying a new (old) car that has new tyres, belts, clutch, with 12 months t&t that and needs nothing doing for a year at least, win for me and the missus gets a shiny new (old) car.
Its what I have done nearly every year and works out well for us.
Edited by Jazoli on Tuesday 21st August 19:00
My shed cost me £281 18 months ago, Ive just put a second mot on it yesterday and it cost me £350 with the mot and work done although everything I had done was advisory only.
My cut off point would be £500 if I know I have a good shed as better the devil you know.
The end of the day when it comes to buying any car under £500 it's always going to be a bit of a gamble and a bit of luck.
I've known qualified mechanics get caught out buying bangers, so I say stick with the micra.
My cut off point would be £500 if I know I have a good shed as better the devil you know.
The end of the day when it comes to buying any car under £500 it's always going to be a bit of a gamble and a bit of luck.
I've known qualified mechanics get caught out buying bangers, so I say stick with the micra.
It's possible that it's only the rear shocks that have gone and that these are causing lots of other problems, if this is the case I can buy replacements for £60 and fit them myself. If it's more than just the shocks then it is going to get costly. I think it's worth spending the £35 to see what does need doing.
Out of interest if an exhaust bracket is missing but the exhaust is securely held on will this be a failure? One was so rusted it half fell off so I broke the rest off so that it didn't rattle and it's been like that without issue for 6 months.
Out of interest if an exhaust bracket is missing but the exhaust is securely held on will this be a failure? One was so rusted it half fell off so I broke the rest off so that it didn't rattle and it's been like that without issue for 6 months.
I will just reiterate what others have said. If the Micra is reliable but needs a little spending on it to get through the MOT, it is worth at least what you would spend on your next shed to keep running. (so approx £450??)
Buying a new car is always a risk, dependent on what the seller maybe hiding from you or what you cannot observe or find during the test drive. As others have stated it is better the devil you know....
Last MOT I spent about £700 on my aging 156 SW to keep it running for another year. Better than buying another £700 car with an unknown pedigree.
Mike
Buying a new car is always a risk, dependent on what the seller maybe hiding from you or what you cannot observe or find during the test drive. As others have stated it is better the devil you know....
Last MOT I spent about £700 on my aging 156 SW to keep it running for another year. Better than buying another £700 car with an unknown pedigree.
Mike
iva cosworth said:
What do you expect it to fail on BTW ?
- Both rear shocks are knackered- Can see where they have leaked.
- Car only starts with throttle flat to the floor (not sure if this is a fail)
- Front end has a serious creaking issue (incredibly loud) when making any low speed turns ( presumably something is bent or knackered in the front suspension) so I'd be amazed if this is not a fail.
- The car shudders and vibrates at anything over 55 mph very badly and I don't think it is the balancing as tried different wheels and exactly the same effect (so could be the rear shocks, or something bent).
- Missing exhaust bracket.
Mr Obertshaw said:
iva cosworth said:
What do you expect it to fail on BTW ?
- Both rear shocks are knackered- Can see where they have leaked.
- Car only starts with throttle flat to the floor (not sure if this is a fail)
- Front end has a serious creaking issue (incredibly loud) when making any low speed turns ( presumably something is bent or knackered in the front suspension) so I'd be amazed if this is not a fail.
- The car shudders and vibrates at anything over 55 mph very badly and I don't think it is the balancing as tried different wheels and exactly the same effect (so could be the rear shocks, or something bent).
- Missing exhaust bracket.
definitive list.
Jazoli said:
Well sort of, I try and move them on when there is still a bit of life left in them, my bangernomics man maths works like this, my wifes old car (02 Focus 1.6) needed 4 new tyres @£250, a clutch/timing belt and water pump @£300 inc parts and labour and discs and pads @£75, so in total £625 needed spending, plus the tax and mot were due in 2 months.
Value of car with all these bits done was about £1k, I sold the car for £600, and spent another £600 on top buying a new (old) car that has new tyres, belts, clutch, with 12 months t&t that and needs nothing doing for a year at least, win for me and the missus gets a shiny new (old) car.
Its what I have done nearly every year and works out well for us.
So... to get your old, known car back into shape would cost £625 versus £600 for the new, unknown car? For me, even taking into account the MoT and Tax cost(£200?) I'd stay with the devil I know. All it takes is one decent problem on the new, unknown car to wipe out the saving, and a new MoT doesn't guarantee nothing needing doing for a year?Value of car with all these bits done was about £1k, I sold the car for £600, and spent another £600 on top buying a new (old) car that has new tyres, belts, clutch, with 12 months t&t that and needs nothing doing for a year at least, win for me and the missus gets a shiny new (old) car.
Its what I have done nearly every year and works out well for us.
Edited by Jazoli on Tuesday 21st August 19:00
Mr Obertshaw said:
... On the plus side all the bulbs work!
Excellent. Make sure the front wipers and washers all work effectively (wipers don't smear and both washer jets put fluid half way up the screen assuming that it has single jets), that the horn (singular, even if there are two fitted) works, there are dashboard lights of some description for the indicators, hazard warning lights and high beam and that the speedo illuminates when the sidelights are on. Also have a glance at the tyres (make sure that there are no bulges and the central 3/4 of the treads are deeper than the 'tread wear indicators'), and make sure all doors (it used to be the front doors only, now I think it is all passenger doors) can be opened from the outside. Also make sure the interior mirror and one outside mirror are OK (not badly shattered 
).This will take you perhaps 10 minutes and reduce your chance of an MoT failure by at least 50%
.As others have posted, total costs in your case of around £450 to get it through the MoT seem to be reasonable... Also "better the devil you know" can be a reason to stay put (other posters have given examples where moving on has worked for them - they have a point!).
When the car's been MoTed, please post the list up if it fails
; we can advise you further then. But don't forget that the MoT is actually pretty basic, and won't pick up every last running fault (there's no driving at high speed for example, nor a section for "particular method needed to start the engine") .Good Luck
, though I suspect the car will do better than you expect .Mr Obertshaw said:
iva cosworth said:
What do you expect it to fail on BTW ?
- Both rear shocks are knackered- Can see where they have leaked.
- Car only starts with throttle flat to the floor (not sure if this is a fail)
- Front end has a serious creaking issue (incredibly loud) when making any low speed turns ( presumably something is bent or knackered in the front suspension) so I'd be amazed if this is not a fail.
- The car shudders and vibrates at anything over 55 mph very badly and I don't think it is the balancing as tried different wheels and exactly the same effect (so could be the rear shocks, or something bent).
- Missing exhaust bracket.
The Moose said:
If you're aware of this list, but are still driving it around, aren't you breaking the law anyway? What I mean is that the thing is deamed unroadworthy and therefore illegal? Or have I got that wrong
No, you've hit the nail on the head which is why the MOT system is a joke anyway.I've buy another, but I've never spent more than 281quid on a car, and they've all been ready to go.
iva cosworth said:
I have said before.
It is NEARLY always cheaper to repair what you have got than buy another car.
To be fair, that's a difference of experience.It is NEARLY always cheaper to repair what you have got than buy another car.
My 306 cost me 95quid, ready to drive.
106, 126quid, drove it away.
Corsa..
Just depends how long your tether is for economical viability.
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