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Cars ..repair or buy
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Please dont read this if you can spend more than a months wages on buying a car !!!
My beloved little car is terminally unwell ...in fact its pretty much knackered
Mechanic reckons it is probably a cylinder head problem and has given a very rough estimate of 500 suids to get it running again -its an L reg Citroen AX - will probably cost me 50 squids to scrap it if not repaired ( the new battery has cost that much 
)
Someone at work is selling a slightly newer car for the same price ..."reliable good runner etc" (its an Astra btw)
mechanic says think about it - sometimes its better the devil you know
my little car has another 6-7 months MOT - but the bodywork is getting bad
would you spend the 500 quids getting it fixed or take a chance on the other car ( after having it looked at obviously)
any poor old banger drivers out there ?
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Comments
A rough estimate of £500 for a head gasket sounds a bit cheap.. it'll probably cost more. There is only so much money you can throw at a car... maybe its time for a change...?
thats what im thinking tbh - the mechanic is very good tho and doesnt rip me off - he has offered to run the Astra through an MOT check if iam interested to check it out
i just dont want to end up with something that is going to blow up on me in a couple of months because i really cant afford the expense
my gut feeling is that my car may struggle to get thru next MOT anyway -and i wanted to part with it before then because of the bodywork ...just was thinking about buying something a bit newer than the Astra ..although if i get 12- 18 months out of it with no major costs it will be a bargain
its just a bugger that mine died on Friday because it means i need to sort some transport out - preferably before Christmas
I think you just answered your own question.. of course the Astra isn't your only option.. there are loads of cheap cars out there....
yes- i was going to get my scouts out after christmas
but buying from an unknown source (paper ads etc) puts me at more risk of buying a lemon doesnt it? and i dont have a lot of spare time (or transport) to spend chasing the real bargains
The price of scrap has gone up recently and car breaker took my last old banger away free of charge despite me removing several light bulbs (spares for new car) and the battery. Also kept the spare wheel as tyre was new.
Body work will take a beating over the winter due to all the salt on the roads so compare your car with the Astra.
The big question is.....do you trust the person who is selling the Astra.
there is a time when it becomes economically unviable to keep repairing a car
the trick is working out when that is
go for the one with the lowest mileage bunes, and like you say, get it checked
and you'd be less likely to sell a duff car to someone you knew, so the chances are they think it's ok
you can buy an ax for £500 Buney.
The Astra is a better car but check for oil leaks on the front suspension and rust under the wheel arches. Take someone with you or even better ask the mech if he knows anyone with something for sale cheap.
Where are you too as someone here might be able to help.
I once had an old banger that I kept getting fixed. In the end, I couldn't afford not to get it fixed when something else went wrong with it, coz I had spent so much money on it.
Finally, when something else went wrong, I just took it into a garage to have an MOT done on it. I did this just to see how much money it needed spending on it. It was going to be several hundreds more pounds (and this was 25 years ago).
So I drove it straight to a scrap yard, they gave me £25 for it and I walked home.
Buney, I think I'd change it.
thats what i was thinking - its also the fact that its a bloddy nightmare getting to and from work without a car -im almost convinced the Astra would be an option provided it is ok - reasonably cheap to run and repair ?
hi Bobs
mwah bunes
thats a real bummer, especially this time of year
will keep everything crossed for you
I have bought cars from motor auctions in the past, and picked up a couple of bargains. You really do need someone who knows what they are looking at though.
Good luck with it Buney, I think I would change it.
yes -it seems wisest
im going to have a quick look at the Astra tommorow after work - just to see if it is even worth considering and then will talk to mech or colleagues husband will give it a look over fow me if it looks a go-er
ta
Nicko im in Manc
oh its an N reg with 68k
god im a flash git ..no wonder i cant pull!
Let me know how you get on. I am a fan of older cars but sometimes you end up spending too much with no reward.
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/ROVER+200/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-12-4294966797-4294966929/advert.action?R=200748299728913&distance=224&postcode=bn27+3nf&channel=CARS&make=&model=&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=
Just a quick look at something you can buy for no money.
There's a limit to what you can get away with on a banger. They are cheap in terms of capital up front but unless you're useful with a spanner then they will hurt in mech bills.
If the head has gone then that's not major unless the reason it went was a warped head or block. Then it gets silly and more than the car is worth. A new gasket is relatively cheap it's the labour that will cost you here. If your have warping then forget it.
Sounds like you think the ax has had it anyway. A scrapper will not charge you for it at the mo as metal is in big demand. Call around.
Astra - loads about, not known for great reliability, relatively cheap bits.
My 1st car was an AX....head gaskets are a common problem on them.
As with many older cars things tend to go wrong...and it is a citroen, so expect other things....such as the heater matrix.
Id be inclined to get shot of it no matter how much you like it...I really didnt want to get rid of my AX as it was the sporty GT and a hoot to drive....but the engine fell out one day (no really it did!) and I thought sod it and bought a brand new car instead.
Mine is the GT too - lovely little boy racer car and was very nippy till the last few months
AA man thought it had probably "blown a valve" and was only running on 3 cylinders - mech though head gasket was going when he worked on it a few months a go
would love a newish car but dont have the cash to flash at the mo unfortunately so need a very cheap runabout for the next 12-18 months or so
Pity you didn't post this a couple of weeks ago Buney.
Someone dumped an old Porsche 944 at the bottom of the track that leads to our house. Unlocked, ignition hotwired. It ran as well.
Cops weren't interested (not reported stolen, not used in any reported crimes). Council didn't want to know (not parked illegally), and the Park Authority were hassling me about it cos they thought it was mine.
So I guess you could have had that as no one wanted it.
Its gone now though - people started pinching bits off it, and after I banged the Park and Local authorities heads together it got shifted...