at what point do i scrap my car?

E

elefantfresh

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i'm driving a 96 fiesta with 70k on the clock - its going ok but theres 3 or 4 things wrong and i have it booked in for a service this thurs. at what point do i stop putting money into it and just go and buy a new car? i was thinking if it cost me >1000e to fix everything and i got another couple of years out of it then it would be worth it or am i just throwing money away and should bite the bullet and go and get something newer?
 
There would want to be a hell of a lot wrong with a ford fiesta to be charged €1,000 to fix; they are about the cheapest car to fix and work on that you could hope for.
You can go in to Halfords and get practically any part for a Fiesta for pocket money.
Old model fords aren't as reliable as Japanese cars but they are sooo cheap to fix that it evens out.
 
What is wrong with it?

@70k miles it's still good for another while, or should be.
 
I've 150k on my car (not a Fiesta) and the maintenance costs are no worse now than they were a half-life ago. Still a lot of life in your Fiesta.
 
In a similar boat myself (98 megane for the NCT on Mon, fingers crossed!!).

I reckon any car loses 20% of it's current value each year (or about 50% over 3 years). So even a replacement "banger" at €5000 will have lost €1000 after a year.

The other main consideration of course is reliability, it's not as much spending the money on repairs but knowing the car will start/run when you need it.
 
I had a 97 Fiat Cinquecento (91k on the clock) for 5 years (adored the low petrol usage,easy parking, 1.1 engine so quite nippy) My husband hated it because of the safety aspect (no air-bags, so small that a minor collision could have meant me wearing the engine!) Finally bit the bullet on 1st July and bought a Yaris - can't understand why I resisted so long - although I do miss the sun-roof, esp. after the weather this week!!

It really depends on your other outlays elefantfresh - mortgage, credit union loan, credi card bills etc. IMO you can't put a price on your life or your family's lives. On the other hand, if you're happy with the Fiesta and wouldn't have problems if you were car-less for a few days, in the event of repairs etc. no point shelling out €15-20K. Fiestas are good runners, not rustbuckets and hold their value quite well. Even at 10 yrs old, the low mileage should mean its worth around €2000-2500 privately or trade-in.

BTW main dealer allowed me €1700 on my little car, (a year younger but 20k miles more) so maybe do a bit of digging to see what you'd get trade-in and then decide. Nissan are doing a 90's deal and will allow you 2-3K depending on what model you buy. IMO can't fault Toyota from the safety aspect, (9 air bags in the Yaris model I have- although to be fair I'm prejudiced as a Carina E saved my husbands live twice!), good value for money, 3 yr free-recovery(even for something as minor as a puncture!) 3 yr service warranty and 12 yr anti-corrosion. Sorry waffling now!! Love the new car!! Hope this has been helpful and it all works out for you, Amanda.
 
Sorry to wander a tad OT, but is there some sort of scrappage scheme on at the moment, related to waste disposal / environment? My gf is convinved there is, but I can't find anything up to date on the web (there's a few references, but they vary in details).

adam
 
thanks for all the replys people - i guess i'll let the garage decide for me tomorrow when they tell me how much it will cost to keep him motoring! i'm not that pushed about getting a new car if this one will keep plodding along. i don't do much country driving. mostly just commuting about dublin. i suppose if i was doing serious milage i'd have to think about something bigger. i do like the focus though....but don't tell my fiesta that!
 
dahamsta said:
is there some sort of scrappage scheme on at the moment,adam
Click to expand...

Would it be the Nissan ad. I think they are offering 3k on all trade inns regardless of the condition of the car.

Having siad that, I was checking the price of a new Nisssan Almera against the price of a new Toyota Corolla in the UK about a year ago. The Nissan was over 2K cheaper than the Toyota. For some reason at the same time they were both the same price in Ireland. Nissan had an offer that you could swop your nissan when it was one year old for a similar brand new car.

Toyota had no gimmicks. - Go figure.
 
thanks for all the replies people - picked up the car this morning and cost me total 500e from proper ford garage. new exhaust. new alternator. oil change. new oil filter. new rear brake pads. and they fixed my radio! hurrah! mechanic reckons its going to cost "about" 500e each year now as it gets older and older but as the milage is only about 70k he thinks i should easily get another 3-4 years of it with regular servicing.
thanks again!
 
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