Thoughts and advice, please, regarding my beloved old workhorse estate, now 155k+ miles. Mainly a local rural runabout, but occasional long motorway or UK several 100 mile trips are needed, when it needs to be as reliable as any car can be.

Had hoped to keep it pretty much forever, and was 'happy' spending £6-800 (hopefully less!) a year on the inevitable round of bushes, links, bearings, brake parts, suspension parts, and so on and so on, plus the annual de-rust and paint. Justified it against the capital cost of another 2nd hand car (I don't have income now, as retired), plus the inevitable annual works required on that too. (Which, when I had a second smaller 2/hand petrol car, was just about as much on the same kind of items; in fact, pretty much been the case even on some much newer cars which I've owned.) Better the devil you know, too. 

"They'll go on forever," everyone used to say. Well, until the powers-that-be finally ban them...

But it's all getting a lot more expensive now, parts and labour, plus very hard to find a good mechanic where I live (and certainly one doing a good job for sensible money).

And next year it'll be timing belt & water pump time (not mileage, but years), and then there's potentially a clutch (had the car since 2007, about 60k then, never replaced knowingly); God knows what else is in the pipeline and could need urgent replacement. No clue what they could cost, either, but I fear they'll be seriously challenging.

 

Just had 2 broken coil springs replaced, 2 new front tyres, 1 battery, 1 rear brake caliper, now told I need some or all of the brake lines replacing (and being quoted silly money)...

 

Sadly, I can't do major mechanic work myself (no facilities and too old). Can have basic welding done, and other minor replacements (did door locks and window motors, for instance).

 

So give me your thoughts, please. I hate to let it go, and hate even more the thought - and cost! - of buying a new one. And I don't want to keep on buying and scrapping old cars, either: very much want to buy and keep. But is there a point where it's just a silly and utterly economical idea to hold on?

 

Cheers.

 

 

Don't bother with the timing belt and water pump change. You're at the point where the risk/benefit/cost equation makes it not worthwhile.

Shop around for brake pipe replacement,  after getting independent confirmation that it's even necessary. 

Plod on.

As you know with any old car you will have good and bad years in terms of how much you spend on them.

As said if the timing belt is on time but not mileage if it was me i wouldn't get it done next year or probably even the year after that.

Every year i keep thinking that my clutch might need replacing but it's still ok and mines on the original at 191k so i wouldn't worry about that.

 

No depreciation so you are saving money in real terms. Risk the cambelt as it will cost more than the car maybe worth or just as much. When the time comes and it’s beyond economical repair a scrap type agent will come and collect it and put money in your account. 

3 hours ago, Breezy_Pete said:

 

Shop around for brake pipe replacement,  after getting independent confirmation that it's even necessary. 

 

Hmmmm, yes indeed. I was told by the garage that the front hoses were split and therefore dangerous, needing urgent attention. (It passed MOT fine 4 months ago! And there's no noticeable lack of braking pressure, though the worry that they suddenly split is obviously there.) They apparently noticed this when taking off the front wheels to do the coil springs; didn't check the rear hoses, they said, but might as well do them (hmmm again), especially as the MOTs have for many years referred to the standard rear and front corroded ferrules (but just at a 'monitor' level).

I looked on Euro Car Parts and found that their bits are half the cost that the garage quoted me earlier today.

Not helping that I've moved house, and the old garage, which I at least trusted, is a fair drive away. But I have asked them for a parts and fitting price anyway, for comparison.

I am getting a bit iffy about this new garage; highly recommended by locals, but... ?? I've already tried another nearby garage and they were not impressive at all (don't mention rear handbrakes!).

Anyhows, I've agreed with them to get it up on the ramp in a few days on a while-I-wait basis to check if the back hoses do need doing, and I'm taking a reasonably mechanically-competent friend with me to use the opportunity to inspect the underneath of the car (and of course the hoses).

Said friend did have a quick crawl underneath the car tonight with a torch and said that whilst the rear hose pipe metal bits were a bit visibly corroded, the rubber front ones looked absolutely fine, wheels fully turned both ways. So, um, hmmmm again...

Edited 10 April, 20242 yr by Elsie

26 minutes ago, gav_is_con said:

When the time comes and it’s beyond economical repair a scrap type agent will come and collect it and put money in your account. 

All £200 or so of it 😄