Spending money on keeping a car running
Discussion
It's difficult to gauge the best financial route to take when it comes to spending relatively large amounts on keeping a car on the road.
I don't mean an old classic, or your dream car, I mean a car you like, but don't love, and know you will be changing in the next 12 to 18 months.
My situation is my VW 2.0 TDi is overdue it's cam belt change, and in 5000 miles when it has it's next service, I will need to get it done. It will also need new front tyres at this point, so as a total I will need to "invest" around £900 in it, barring anything unforeseen.
Car is about 5 years old, and actual value is probably £8500, so I start thinking, do I put almost a thousand pounds into this car, which within a year Id want to change, and get nothing back for it -or- I take the thousand I would have spent and part ex the car and put it all towards a car Ill keep for 4 or 5 years.
Financially it makes no sense for me to change the car, it's not a bad car, but I really want a new car, and the thought of putting nearly a grand into my current car grates a bit, especially as it would probably not affect how much money I can get for it (Ive never had a maindealer salesman ask "have you had the cam belt done?" during a part ex negotiation).
So at some stage the car will be part ex'd, either with a new cambelt, 2 new front tyres, and recently serviced, or it will be part ex'd as is. Would getting the work done really affect what I can get for it? I am struggling with trying to work out what works best financially, do the work and keep a car I don't love for at least 2 more years, or part ex it shortly before it's next service. When does it become a false economy to spend the money on it?
I don't mean an old classic, or your dream car, I mean a car you like, but don't love, and know you will be changing in the next 12 to 18 months.
My situation is my VW 2.0 TDi is overdue it's cam belt change, and in 5000 miles when it has it's next service, I will need to get it done. It will also need new front tyres at this point, so as a total I will need to "invest" around £900 in it, barring anything unforeseen.
Car is about 5 years old, and actual value is probably £8500, so I start thinking, do I put almost a thousand pounds into this car, which within a year Id want to change, and get nothing back for it -or- I take the thousand I would have spent and part ex the car and put it all towards a car Ill keep for 4 or 5 years.
Financially it makes no sense for me to change the car, it's not a bad car, but I really want a new car, and the thought of putting nearly a grand into my current car grates a bit, especially as it would probably not affect how much money I can get for it (Ive never had a maindealer salesman ask "have you had the cam belt done?" during a part ex negotiation).
So at some stage the car will be part ex'd, either with a new cambelt, 2 new front tyres, and recently serviced, or it will be part ex'd as is. Would getting the work done really affect what I can get for it? I am struggling with trying to work out what works best financially, do the work and keep a car I don't love for at least 2 more years, or part ex it shortly before it's next service. When does it become a false economy to spend the money on it?
walm said:
Face it. You are a man. You are on PH.
You WILL be getting that newer car.
So the best thing is to PX it with bald tyres just before the next service is due.
I have to agree, once the itch starts there's nothing that can stop it (except for the wife, who I told I would be keeping this car "for ages")You WILL be getting that newer car.
So the best thing is to PX it with bald tyres just before the next service is due.
WinstonWolf said:
Another 5K miles on an overdue cambelt, good luck with that 
I am optimistically (or stupidly) going with the theory that VW engineer in a bit of leeway on the whole cambelt thing, but if not and it blows up......new car!!!Truth is it's not really the best time to be changing car, but £1000 (Im rounding up) on a £8500 car just seems insane. And as for all those threads about cheap PCP deals, they really aren't helping.
Iklwa said:
walm said:
Face it. You are a man. You are on PH.
You WILL be getting that newer car.
So the best thing is to PX it with bald tyres just before the next service is due.
I have to agree, once the itch starts there's nothing that can stop it (except for the wife, who I told I would be keeping this car "for ages")You WILL be getting that newer car.
So the best thing is to PX it with bald tyres just before the next service is due.
WinstonWolf said:
Another 5K miles on an overdue cambelt, good luck with that
I am optimistically (or stupidly) going with the theory that VW engineer in a bit of leeway on the whole cambelt thing, but if not and it blows up......new car!!!Truth is it's not really the best time to be changing car, but £1000 (Im rounding up) on a £8500 car just seems insane. And as for all those threads about cheap PCP deals, they really aren't helping.
So really I need to do cambelt right away? I have that "cant get what I want" deflated feeling right now.
Maybe I should just put £550 into getting that work done, then come service time do the rest, and end up putting the money into the car and keeping it for two more years to try and get some value out of what I put in.
Maybe I should just put £550 into getting that work done, then come service time do the rest, and end up putting the money into the car and keeping it for two more years to try and get some value out of what I put in.
A grand a year keeps the average shedder mobile (me anyway). A grand to keep a £8.5k car tip top for a year sounds like a good investment. Would you not get a better return selling privately rather than a trade in? If so then yes, spend the money.
Or look at it this way; it might be gone in the not too distant future, but right now it's yours- take some pride in it.
Or look at it this way; it might be gone in the not too distant future, but right now it's yours- take some pride in it.
Edited by johnny fotze on Tuesday 13th May 15:17
Iklwa said:
So really I need to do cambelt right away? I have that "cant get what I want" deflated feeling right now.
Maybe I should just put £550 into getting that work done, then come service time do the rest, and end up putting the money into the car and keeping it for two more years to try and get some value out of what I put in.
Cambelts and oil you do on time, the rest is negotiable IMO Maybe I should just put £550 into getting that work done, then come service time do the rest, and end up putting the money into the car and keeping it for two more years to try and get some value out of what I put in.
scubadude said:
MTFU and change the timing belt yourself- if a ham fisted VW dealer can do it you can (you managed to type your post! Thats as much skill as is required!)
Either that or bring your service forward- they are not cast in stone :-)
That's a good idea, I change my own belt every day, so how hard can it be to change a cars belt? Either that or bring your service forward- they are not cast in stone :-)
Do you have any pictures of where the cars actual waist is? Looking at the car it's not immediately obvious. I also popped open the front boot earlier, and looks like the previous owner left a big plastic cover in there with "TDi" written on it, not sure if I need to empty the front boot to get to the belt.
johnny fotze said:
A grand a year keeps the average shedder mobile (me anyway). A grand to keep a £8.5k car tip top for a year sounds like a good investment. Would you not get a better return selling privately rather than a trade in? If so then yes, spend the money.
This is worse than Mumsnet, I was looking for irresponsible responses that would involve me spending large amount of money I don't have on a car that is largely unsuitable for my needs, but goes fast I guess I need to accept that it makes sense to spend the dosh, and not hold off any longer. Just hope that Murphy's law doesn't strike and the cam belt lets go on my way home. Private may be the best way forward, as at least the prospective buyer would appreciate a car that has been maintained on time.
If you're planning on trading it in then I wouldn't bother spending any money on it whatsoever as dealers seem to take no account at all of service history or mechanical condition. On the other hand it is a fairly new and expensive car, £900 is not really a lot on such a valuable car to keep it running. If you don't like it and want to change then why not trade it in right now as it is, if not then I would get the work done and keep it for a while.
I regularly spent 200-300 quid keeping the servicing up to date on my old Octavia TDI, including a new cambelt less than a year ago. I figured look after it and it will last a while longer.
However, when it started filling up with water, and this in turn started to affect the electrics, I decided it was time to change.
Went out and spent £8k on a 4 year old Octavia hatchback.
Sold the old one for under 500 quid, so as a percentage of value, I spent 60% of its value, only to change it anyway. So spending 11% of the value of yours seems like a bargain!!!
However, when it started filling up with water, and this in turn started to affect the electrics, I decided it was time to change.
Went out and spent £8k on a 4 year old Octavia hatchback.
Sold the old one for under 500 quid, so as a percentage of value, I spent 60% of its value, only to change it anyway. So spending 11% of the value of yours seems like a bargain!!!
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