Auto troubles - Do I keep or sell my shed
Discussion
Hello pistonheads,
Recently I bought a SAAB diesel estate for £1k, give or take. This is our second car. Main user is me unless there is emergency with main vehicle which is new.
The service history was fine, visible condition not great (in and out). Workhorse as people say. Convenient for my short daily commute.
I have invested about £1.5k already in maintenance/repairs. This means that I am now £2.5k in. And I now have a car thats worth … £1k. All 0% credit card.
The car is fine for me to go to work and back and do chores. However to get into appropriate shape to drive the kids around I probably need to spend another grand. This covers steering rack, fumes coming into cockpit (i think front exhaust blowing) and something to do with breaks that is not disc related. I stop fine but feels a bit soft at bottom of pedal.
I wonder if I:
1. Sell the car, suck up a car loan and buy something newer with warranty for up to 8k. Accept im not ph worthy shedder. Have a second family option for emergencies.
2. Live and use as it is till mot and then decide whether to keep or sell. Kids use main car or uber.
3. Do all repairs, accept there is a risk something else goes wrong and potentially £3.5 in hole. Have a family car thats worthy of kids. Keep for 3-5 years per initial plan.
Please let me know what you would do in my shoes. Please be honest, Im not sensitive.
- I have 2 month emergency fund.
- £4k in 0% credit card till next year
- Generally like driving the car
- I started using car for deliveries outside of work, already made £1k that paid my other debt off and got me money for Christmas for kids
Recently I bought a SAAB diesel estate for £1k, give or take. This is our second car. Main user is me unless there is emergency with main vehicle which is new.
The service history was fine, visible condition not great (in and out). Workhorse as people say. Convenient for my short daily commute.
I have invested about £1.5k already in maintenance/repairs. This means that I am now £2.5k in. And I now have a car thats worth … £1k. All 0% credit card.
The car is fine for me to go to work and back and do chores. However to get into appropriate shape to drive the kids around I probably need to spend another grand. This covers steering rack, fumes coming into cockpit (i think front exhaust blowing) and something to do with breaks that is not disc related. I stop fine but feels a bit soft at bottom of pedal.
I wonder if I:
1. Sell the car, suck up a car loan and buy something newer with warranty for up to 8k. Accept im not ph worthy shedder. Have a second family option for emergencies.
2. Live and use as it is till mot and then decide whether to keep or sell. Kids use main car or uber.
3. Do all repairs, accept there is a risk something else goes wrong and potentially £3.5 in hole. Have a family car thats worthy of kids. Keep for 3-5 years per initial plan.
Please let me know what you would do in my shoes. Please be honest, Im not sensitive.
- I have 2 month emergency fund.
- £4k in 0% credit card till next year
- Generally like driving the car
- I started using car for deliveries outside of work, already made £1k that paid my other debt off and got me money for Christmas for kids
Morning,
Couple of questions
- is an old diesel estate really good for short commutes? Is it pre diesel particulate filter era then?
- what are your diy skills like?
I typically get cars where I am the last owner before the scrap man. This would not be viable if I didn't diy though.
But of course you need to buy tools and have space for them etc, so it is something I built up over the years.
Also with shedding, there is a danger of getting too invested in a car. Spending £2.5k on a £1k car is a slippery slope, because you will feel it "owes" you more and you keep chasing your losses.
The shed model works best when a £1k car gets a repair bill of over its value, it is just replaced with another shed.
Hard of course when faults aren't easily obvious. I personally prefer to fix things where I can, but give the car is not and will never be a classic, you have to draw the line and hopefully move on to something with more life in it (Honda accord for example)
Finally, going up to £8k - that is a really tricky zone, because you could get either a nearly new basic car like a dacia sandero, but could get an absolute dog of say a bmw or merc that is 10+ years old but looks flashy.
Couple of questions
- is an old diesel estate really good for short commutes? Is it pre diesel particulate filter era then?
- what are your diy skills like?
I typically get cars where I am the last owner before the scrap man. This would not be viable if I didn't diy though.
But of course you need to buy tools and have space for them etc, so it is something I built up over the years.
Also with shedding, there is a danger of getting too invested in a car. Spending £2.5k on a £1k car is a slippery slope, because you will feel it "owes" you more and you keep chasing your losses.
The shed model works best when a £1k car gets a repair bill of over its value, it is just replaced with another shed.
Hard of course when faults aren't easily obvious. I personally prefer to fix things where I can, but give the car is not and will never be a classic, you have to draw the line and hopefully move on to something with more life in it (Honda accord for example)
Finally, going up to £8k - that is a really tricky zone, because you could get either a nearly new basic car like a dacia sandero, but could get an absolute dog of say a bmw or merc that is 10+ years old but looks flashy.
My dyi skills are pretty bad. Also no tools or room to learn to fix/maintain.
It does have dpf but i actually do deliveries so often on motorway for 30mns. Judging by smell i had couple of regens.
Previous owner did a short commute so let me know if I can check for pre-existing issues linked to diesel that i wouldn't have captured so far.
Very good summary, thanks. Lessons learned for next time.
It does have dpf but i actually do deliveries so often on motorway for 30mns. Judging by smell i had couple of regens.
Previous owner did a short commute so let me know if I can check for pre-existing issues linked to diesel that i wouldn't have captured so far.
Very good summary, thanks. Lessons learned for next time.
Edited by Blue_star on Saturday 22 November 10:56
2/3 of those faults, while being classed as "its fine for me but not the kids", are actually roadworthiness things which affect other road users if they fail (steering rack and brakes). So I'd say unless they can be magically sorted for <£100 then its not worth continuing with this particular car.
The Saab 9-3 was a great car but as time progresses, all except a very few are showing signs of wear, age, and of course the infotainment is now hopelessly out of date. I've had 2 in the past, for similar money, but I was very selective about what was fixed (they were both roadworthy) so they lost me little - certainly less than £1.5k-2k as you're looking at now. Maybe 200-300 in repairs over a decent amount of time and about 500 each in depreciation/buy-sell costs (one was bought private and sold at auction; the other bought retail and sold private).
The Saab 9-3 was a great car but as time progresses, all except a very few are showing signs of wear, age, and of course the infotainment is now hopelessly out of date. I've had 2 in the past, for similar money, but I was very selective about what was fixed (they were both roadworthy) so they lost me little - certainly less than £1.5k-2k as you're looking at now. Maybe 200-300 in repairs over a decent amount of time and about 500 each in depreciation/buy-sell costs (one was bought private and sold at auction; the other bought retail and sold private).
paul_c123 said:
2/3 of those faults, while being classed as "its fine for me but not the kids", are actually roadworthiness things which affect other road users if they fail (steering rack and brakes). So I'd say unless they can be magically sorted for <£100 then its not worth continuing with this particular car.
The Saab 9-3 was a great car but as time progresses, all except a very few are showing signs of wear, age, and of course the infotainment is now hopelessly out of date. I've had 2 in the past, for similar money, but I was very selective about what was fixed (they were both roadworthy) so they lost me little - certainly less than £1.5k-2k as you're looking at now. Maybe 200-300 in repairs over a decent amount of time and about 500 each in depreciation/buy-sell costs (one was bought private and sold at auction; the other bought retail and sold private).
Previous owner passed 3 mots, last one a month before I got the car. Should be fine to drive. The guy isnt connected to mechanic *to my knowledge*. Im probably freaking out over nothing as Im used to driving newer cars.The Saab 9-3 was a great car but as time progresses, all except a very few are showing signs of wear, age, and of course the infotainment is now hopelessly out of date. I've had 2 in the past, for similar money, but I was very selective about what was fixed (they were both roadworthy) so they lost me little - certainly less than £1.5k-2k as you're looking at now. Maybe 200-300 in repairs over a decent amount of time and about 500 each in depreciation/buy-sell costs (one was bought private and sold at auction; the other bought retail and sold private).
Edited by Blue_star on Sunday 23 November 08:36
Just to give an update (not that anyone asked):
- I realised the car doesnt have abs. This makes a difference when stopping
- I changed the front tyre. Despite being road legal this made a world of difference on the feel when stopping. Its amazing what £63 tyre can do
Down to 2 things to take a look at mot time. I built little bit of a cash cushion with my second job; £600 does not change the world but feels good to have it saved. Haven't made my money back yet but see how the next few months go.
Regards
- I realised the car doesnt have abs. This makes a difference when stopping
- I changed the front tyre. Despite being road legal this made a world of difference on the feel when stopping. Its amazing what £63 tyre can do
Down to 2 things to take a look at mot time. I built little bit of a cash cushion with my second job; £600 does not change the world but feels good to have it saved. Haven't made my money back yet but see how the next few months go.
Regards
Blue_star said:
Just to give an update (not that anyone asked):
- I realised the car doesnt have abs. This makes a difference when stopping
Regards
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. ABS has been mandatory on new cars in Europe since 2004. What year is the car? Also ABS makes no difference to braking or the feel of braking unless you are doing an emergency stop or on a very low grip surface (ie Ice/snow). - I realised the car doesnt have abs. This makes a difference when stopping
Regards
I had a Volvo V70 with a soft pedal, the cause was the ABS module.
Blue_star said:
In other cars I have driven, when abs is working 2 things happen.
1) abs light flashes
2) there is this banging sound as if additional break is applied.
Perhaps is very refined on the saab or not working. Did the above happen in your volvo?
I tested stopping suddenly.
Its 2011
If it s a 2011 car it will be fitted with ABS. The flashing light when ABS activates isn t that common anymore - I can’t remember the last car I had that did that. That said, if the ABS if faulty a light should certainly be permanently lit or maybe a dash message. 1) abs light flashes
2) there is this banging sound as if additional break is applied.
Perhaps is very refined on the saab or not working. Did the above happen in your volvo?
I tested stopping suddenly.
Its 2011
Take the car somewhere quiet and do an emergency stop. If the wheels lock it s not working, and on a 2011 Saab it should be present.
Edited by wiliferus on Sunday 11th January 09:31
When you put a car in for MOT one of the things they check is that the correct lights illuminate on the dash when the ignition is switched on. If an ABS light is supposed to show and yours doesn't then you've got a problem right there.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dnq6q1ULZTM
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dnq6q1ULZTM
The way we tend to advise is
Are you going to buy a brand new car ? If so then don’t spend any money on the current car
Are you going to buy another old car - if your spending 5k on a replacement then that doesn’t mean your buying yourself out of trouble. In which case keep your old car
If the mot is due shortly then don’t spend any money on it, get it mot’d, if it costs less than £1000 to fix then spend it and keep it running
Don’t waste money on the steering rack, do investigate the exhaust leak, brakes check for leaks, old brake fluid but also the inside faces of the discs
Are you going to buy a brand new car ? If so then don’t spend any money on the current car
Are you going to buy another old car - if your spending 5k on a replacement then that doesn’t mean your buying yourself out of trouble. In which case keep your old car
If the mot is due shortly then don’t spend any money on it, get it mot’d, if it costs less than £1000 to fix then spend it and keep it running
Don’t waste money on the steering rack, do investigate the exhaust leak, brakes check for leaks, old brake fluid but also the inside faces of the discs
Panamax said:
When you put a car in for MOT one of the things they check is that the correct lights illuminate on the dash when the ignition is switched on. If an ABS light is supposed to show and yours doesn't then you've got a problem right there.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dnq6q1ULZTM
Which is exactly why this sort of thing exists:-https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dnq6q1ULZTM
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271143841802?_trkparms=...
You really need to use a code reader nowadays to make sure nobody has been unscrupulous. As you say, checking the lights is a good first step though.
Richard-D said:
Panamax said:
When you put a car in for MOT one of the things they check is that the correct lights illuminate on the dash when the ignition is switched on. If an ABS light is supposed to show and yours doesn't then you've got a problem right there.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dnq6q1ULZTM
Which is exactly why this sort of thing exists:-https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dnq6q1ULZTM
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271143841802?_trkparms=...
You really need to use a code reader nowadays to make sure nobody has been unscrupulous. As you say, checking the lights is a good first step though.
Blue_star said:
Sorry to be stupid but what is this? Not diagnostic tool?
Not stupid at all, I probably should have explained more fully.That is a device to wire up to an LED or lamp in your dash. It will turn on a light when it senses an ignition live input then turn it off after a (user defined) delay. It is being sold with the intention of turning on a dashboard warning light with the purpose of tricking the MOT tester.
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