New Car or Not

[Smurfsarepeopletoo]

I have a bit of a dilemma at the moment, as in, I cant decide whether to get a new car or not, I currently have a 59 plate, Octavia VRS TDI, DSG Estate, with 155000 on the clock, the car has a few issues as below.

Aircon doesnt work (tried to regas myself but didnt do anything, but system still pressurised, and cant hear the compressor kick in)
Bodywork a bit tatty.
Slight Knock from the rear end,
Roof Lining sagging, so I ended up stapling it back together,
Rear drivers door doesnt unlock or lock with the fob or key, and the window doesnt work on that side,

I have owned the car for 5 years, and in that time I have had the Inlet manifold flaps removed and the car remapped, Turbo Actuator replaced, new radiator, and just recently had rear discs and pads and other consumables replaced.

Now I have about 7K available that I could spend on a new car, however, I am struggling to decide if I should, or maybe just spend a bit on mine to get a few things sorted.

Firstly, I cant really find anything that really floats my boat, that doesnt scare me with horrific bills.
Im concerned that if I get something and 6 months down the line it throws up a relatively big bill, its going to be a hassle.
I want something relatively nippy thats a bit fun, so anything similar falls into a similar age to mine, and the majority are higher mileage.

I have a new job, so wont need my car to commute, so dont really need a diesel, but need something of a decent size for going out with the wife and pooch.

So, do I keep mine and spend a bit of the money getting a few bits sorted, get the petrol equivalent of mine, or just get something else completely.

I await the collective wisdom of PH, and welcome any suggestions for a replacement.

[Haltamer]

I'd probably say keep it - Better the devil you know being the classic line.

The issues you've mentioned sound like they could be sorted with a bit of DIY time investment over a weekend - Bit of a polish up / touchup paint, jack it up and have a peer at the suspension, and (by the sounds of it) probably plug the rear door harness back in wherever it's running.

[ahenners]

I'd be inclined to keep it and do whatever necessary to fix the issues with yours. Does £7k in the current market get you something significantly better and new enough that you won't have similar issues to put right? I'm not so sure it does. Most of the consumables maintenance sounds like its already sorted on yours.

[ZX10R NIN]

If you're not sure of what type of car you want, then spend some money on what you have for now & once you've worked out what type of car you want then buy.

[georgeyboy12345]

If I had a car with those niggles it'd do my head in and i'd plan to get rid of it. Aircon can be a massive ballache to sort, bodywork is very expensive to sort, replacing the various suspension components will probably prove costly, if you want the headlining doing properly by an upholsterer it'll be very expensive, the doors and windows will also be expensive to sort. I reckon all this will cost at least £2000 to sort, and at the end of it all it'll still be a 10 year old car that's gone over halfway to the moon.

On the other hand, 7 grand isn't really enough to get anything decent in the current climate, I think you'd need at least 12 or 13 grand. It's a tough one.

[ZX10R NIN]

If you can live without an estate then there are some good options out there.

[Smurfsarepeopletoo]

ZX10R NIN said:

If you can live without an estate then there are some good options out there.

Do you have any suggestions? I dont need an estate, just something a decent size, I keep thinking of a petrol Octavia VRS, a couple of years newer than mine, but in petrol form.

[ZX10R NIN]

Mondeo in Titanium X sport spec, it's a better steer than the Octavia & they have better NVH levels:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108146...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106153...

VXR Insignia a very good steer

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102088...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107265...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108116...

528i

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107185...

[stevemcs]

Get the AC looked at properly, the door will want a lock and the window most likely the regulator.