Hi all,

Just a quick question.

With my Grandad currently in hospital recovering from a stroke, my dad or myself has the task of looking after the car, ie tax is due and the car is due a service in the next month.

My question is the car has only covered say 700-800 miles since the last service (Feb 08) and the mileage stands at 2774 for a 56 Plate car.

With the use the car gets just potterinf down to the shops and the occassional run to the coast on a sunday Morning is it worth getting a service on the car or shoudl we do it ourself.

We have a funny feeling we would be wasting Money as I think Grandad won't be driving the car for a wee while when he gets home (not sure when could be a month or so).

What do you think?

Can you keep the car off the road? If you can you should SORN it and not bother retaxing it or servicing it until he needs to drive it again.

Yeah, SORN sounds like a plan - garage it if you can, and then give it a full service before you / he needs to use it again.

BUT...

Being a 56-plate, it's still under warranty, which would tie you to manufacturer's service intervals if you don't want to void the warranty...

Davy,

Without trying to be negative.

But if you're grandad is still in the same way he was before, do you really think he'll be driving it again ??

If not, then i would consider servicing/tax and selling it.

If he will eventually drive it again, sorn it, and check with dealer re warranty etc if it's not serviced.

Get the car serviced & any warranty issues sorted now, If it needs taxed, tax it, then surrender it and declare it SORN then lay the car up until it's needed next

We're not sure if he will drive again at present, but we don't fancy selling it at present, and the problem we have is we have no where to sorn the car so we would prob stick 6 months tax on it for the time being. The car is still under warrenty so it might have to be the case we take it to the dealer to get it done.

If it comes to the stage of selling then think we would try to keep the car in the family as we have done things like that before and that once well kept car gets sold to a painter and decorater who has it covered in paint and bashed.

What about your dads driveway ?

result don't need to sorn the car the tax is not due to july so thats one problem solved for now.

I'd just service it then, and use it yourself to keep giving it a few runs.

What car is it ?

Ibiza 1.2

I

As far as I am aware you don't don't need to use a dealer for servicing in order to keep the warranty. Servicing just needs to be done as per the schedule - eg. every year or certain mileage, which ever comes first.

I'm not sure if my grandad took some extended service plan where he has to get the car serviced at the dealer another thing we have to check out his paperwork if we can find it!

Doing so little mileage/short journeys is a killer on cars, so I'd get it serviced to ensure that should it be driven again it's not going to fail you.

The oil & filter is a must IMHO, along with brakes.

Yeah my grandad had that problem before with the brakes, the lack of use on his last car the garage condemned some part of them, think they glazed up or something.

I've driven the car a few times and seems to run ok but think it has been neglected over the last couple of weeks.

Another question is it worth washing it as I'm sure it not's been cleaned in say 2 months.

Give it a good lengthy run to work up a good temp in the oil. Have service done including old engine oil flush. I presume you'll need to do this for the warranty. i know technically you dont need main dealer service for the warranty but it's bound to be a damn site easier in the event of a claim.

I don't suggest selling it just now unless your Grandad is in favour and suggests this. it may hinder his recovery if you do so- it's a bit of a mind game thing.(I tried to spell phsycological but gave up).

If you are to use it don't just pootle to the shops but put a good run on it. Would your Grandad mind you using it for a while to run up the miles? On such a low mileage car it wouldn't affect future values too much. Would get some money's worth out of the car and do it some good rather than sitting in the garage.

Good luck

I don't see there being a problem with me driving it as my grandad has always wanted me to give it a run for him before he had the stroke, we were before he had it planning to go down to the coast and give it a wee run.

If he made a full recovery then he would be using it to the shops, doctors, runs as where he stays it's on a hill so the car is much benefit to him.

If it's going to be laid up for quite a while, remember to move it occasionally so the tyres don't stand on the same spot for too long. Leave the handbrake off too if the storage location is safe, putting it in gear instead.

As mentioned above, I appreciate there are the phsycological reasons for not selling it.

But - what about looking at it from a financial point? What is the cost of 700 miles worth of taxi journeys vs the cost of servicing, insurance, depreciation, tax, fuel, repairs etc.

Might be worth doing a few sums at some point.

Depends how much grandad wants/needs the money.

What I mean is if you/your family try to sell things, move things, change things in his life he may feel he is losing control of what is going on with his life which may not aid his recovery. Someone else may explain better what i mean. Pixi?

So if he doesn't need the money and there is a chance(however slight) he may be driving again. I'd just take good care of his car for him for the time being. Use it, maintain it and when the time comes take him out a run in his own car.

Edited 16 January, 200917 yr by loskie

don't think it would matter about the cash if it came to sell it and got sweeties for it, his last car he got about a grand if he was lucky and it was about 7 years old when he came to sell it with 10000 miles on the clock.

On the original question, give it a good run out somewhere using the brakes to clean off the surface rust and flow the oil around everything then get an oil and filter change done.

Then park it up and take it out every week or two for a quick run. Trickle charge on the battery every so often might be a good idea too.

I'd look at selling too I have to say, obviously with his consent, as 700 miles of taxi is probably a lot cheaper than running a car every year.

Keeping "old people" myself I don't think selling is an option unless this is instigated by your Grandad. He'll see it as a sign that his independance and freedom is being taken away from him. I know it's way more cost effective to sell,but...

a wee update on this... It turns out he bought a servicing plan for the car and for the first two years the services are free, so we're going to book it in and get it serviced.

Davy

. Trickle charge on the battery every so often might be a good idea too.

Good advice. Like others have said, run the car occasionally, leave the handbrake off if possible.

You might want to consider one of these to keep the battery in good order.

Not a nice thing to think about - but at moment Grandad sounds like he's still got his mind .Been through the stroke cycle with my dad (over a year ago ) if things aren't planned in advance -you have a long road to go .e.g -dad was in hospital ,getting his pensions etc paid into his bank, yet still needed money for things - because I had no written authority ,I could not draw money for him, and his stroke had affected brain ,not body .

And there's plenty more that falls into the same category . Fortunately he lived in Scotland ,so the problem of healthcare ans homes did not come into it .Suggest you have a look at this side of things -some of the carer agencies will give you details .

On the other hand ,got a cousin well on in years now that hasfully recovered from a minor stroke years ago -so it's not all doom and gloom.