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The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - joegrundy

My daughter has an inherited incurable illness (EDS) which makes life difficult and despite her best efforts makes it difficult for her to work. Her husband does his best.

They have an old 06 Mercedes a Class diesel (130k miles) (no, I don't know why either) in which they and my grandson recently came down to Pembs for their first holiday (we house-swapped).

Their car went well while on holiday but first day back started blowing black smoke, cut out, all sorts of issues. Their indy spent some hours looking at it (didn't charge) and suggested could cost upwards of £1,000 to fix.

They looked around and found an 04 Megane petrol for sale locally, £450. Mileage less than 80k, a housewife's runabout - husband has bought her a new 18 plate instead. MOT history check looks fine, and this is a car has been serviced annually, etc. A genuine seller. Omly concern is that from MOT advisories tyres have plenty of tread but are old and cracked/perished. Looking at Asda tyres dot com thing a new set all incl would cost £160.

A Megane would not have been my recommended car but at this end of the market, I believe, condition and service history is all important.

Worst comes to worst, the cost of the car plus tyres is about £600. If the car lasts a year, that's £50 a month. The Bank of Dad can stand that.

This is motoring in the real world.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - oldroverboy.

It is indeed motoring for many. if it has a years mot on it as you say £50 a month. is about the best. can they not afford a dacia sanderos on a lease at £99 amonth..... maybe between you both the costs of a lease car.. there are suzuki celerios pre reg for £5990 on auto trader, surely a better bet? even a pre reg sanderos???

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - BMW Enthusiast

I had an 04 Renault Megane (diesel) bought new back then and the only problems I had with it was a faulty fuel filter and window regulator failure fixed under warranty. This is a well known fault with these cars which causes the glass to drop right down into the door and can be a tricky job to fix. The bolt on the window regulator is made from cheap plastic and that's the problem. Also headlight bulbs don't last long in these cars. They're not a bad car at all but it's hard to recommend a 14 year old French car to anyone. Try and find a Toyota or Honda instead. Definitely get rid of the Mercedes. That's definitely a money pit.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - joegrundy

Useful points.

My default advice - as it was with my son 3 years ago - was to go for a Sandero, deposit funded by Bank of Dad, on PCP.

Unfortunately, they would not be able to pass credit checks so PCP is out.

Hopefully, this Megane will last for a year or more.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - oldroverboy.

Useful points.

My default advice - as it was with my son 3 years ago - was to go for a Sandero, deposit funded by Bank of Dad, on PCP.

Unfortunately, they would not be able to pass credit checks so PCP is out.

Hopefully, this Megane will last for a year or more.

Buy it on HP as a guarantor, or buy it yourself and include them on the insurance and then they can pay you? when you reach an acceptable lower figure, pay off the loan..

ZOPA £5000 loan 3.7% couple of hundred interest over 3 years??? cheaper to borrow £5000 than £4000... ( i looked yesterday as have just paid of mortgage on a flat i own,) have enough cash for purchase, but don't want to burn reserves..

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - KB.

People here will extend their genuine regret, good will (and some, their prayers) on hearing that. And heartwarming that the indy has done his best and actually done something of practical value, not just offered sympathy.

It may well be that the Megane will be the best thing since the proverbial freshly baked loaf didvided into equally divided pieces. For years I chose to drive old bangers (and we're talking Maestros, Maxi, Renault 16 etc. here) and despite them being universally disparaged they served their purpose and earned theeir keep admirably (albeiit with some inexpensive attention from a tame indy, such as your daughter's). Compared to the depreciation of a newish car it was cheap motoring and with limited concern about them getting scraped in car parks or the possibility of being car-jacked (there was always a limited market for stolen Maestros and Maxis).

I recently found Asda Tyres to be as cheap as any - you might even want to see who their nominated fitters are (they're shown on the website when you put your postcode in) and approach them directly to see if they might want to deal direct.

Good wishes.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - oldroverboy.

Asda tyre = Halfords..

Edited by oldroverboy. on 01/09/2018 at 13:33

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - Avant

"A Megane would not have been my recommended car but at this end of the market, I believe, condition and service history is all important."

That says it all! Sympathies for her from all of us: she's lucky to have you on hand to help out and give her good advice.

Old petrol Renaults have quite a good reputation for soldiering on, so this one should have a better chance than many cars of that age to give good service.

I hope the X-type continues to flourish.

(Edit - just seen your other thread. Delighted to hear that it does.)

Edited by Avant on 01/09/2018 at 13:31

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - joegrundy

Asda tyre = Halfords..

Not sure about this. Asda use local fitters. A set of tyres for this megane, fitted, balanced, valves, etc., would be £160. Not the best, but EU rated at least. I used them for tyres on the Jag, but the local fitter beat their prices by a few quid. As I said, this is about low cost/desparate motoring and at this level a few quid matters.

One of the issues resolved by this purchase relates to immediate need. Not only to get the grandson to school, but my daughter has been offered a course of physiotherapy/hydrotherapy which may (fingers crossed) be life-changing or at least very significant. As long as she can get there. This car will (again, fingers crossed,) enable that.

When you get to this level, immediate need and all, things change.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - joegrundy

Many thanks for the good wishes. They mean a lot.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - KB.

Asda tyre = Halfords..

Not sure about this. Asda use local fitters. A set of tyres for this megane, fitted, balanced, valves, etc., would be £160. Not the best, but EU rated at least. I used them for tyres on the Jag, but the local fitter beat their prices by a few quid. As I said, this is about low cost/desparate motoring and at this level a few quid matters.

One of the issues resolved by this purchase relates to immediate need. Not only to get the grandson to school, but my daughter has been offered a course of physiotherapy/hydrotherapy which may (fingers crossed) be life-changing or at least very significant. As long as she can get there. This car will (again, fingers crossed,) enable that.

When you get to this level, immediate need and all, things change.

No, I wasn't aware and could see no association with Halfords in their respective advertising or pricing. But presumably Adsa would have to link up with someone in the motor trade in order to offer tyres and if it had some association with Halfords then so be it ... it troubles me not (and I'm not one of those whe call Halfords H********). And, yes indeed, they list local independant fitters to do the job. I used one just this week and they welcomed the offer to deal direct as it was to their advantage. I was happy to do it that way as I suspect Asda are big enough and ugly enough not to lose sleep over my going direct to the local independant fitter, to whom I am happy to give business.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - KB.

Ah, just spotted that the swear filter doesn't like calling Halfords by it's alternative, less polite, nomenclature either.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - joegrundy

Just thought about some options.

Daughter is due to pick up this megane tomorrow (cost £450) and will take to her indy for check over, etc.

Looking at new Dacia, a Sandero Ambience on PCP would be deposit of £1500, payments £100 pcm x 36. Bank of Dad could stand that.

I think we'll see how this megane goes, if it lasts a year then good. If not, a Sandero is next option.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - KB.

One positive re. the Renault is it has a good NCAP rating. Five stars and a mix of green and yellow for the front occupants with no nasty orange colours on the diagram. Possibly better than the Sandero.

It's a bit of a mystery to me that they recently revised / faclifted the Duster but didn't seem to improve the safety ratings and it still only qualifies for a less than impressive star rating.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - Engineer Andy

To be honest, unless a modern car has a 2 star NCAP rating, its at least as good, if not better than 4 star cars like mine that are 12yo and rated under older systems. And 4 star cars back then were considered to be safe. Cars can only achieve a 5 star rating today if they include all those collision warning/avoidance gizmos, which are often included to protect pedestrians as occupants.

Saying that, I'm sure almost identical cars will attract different insurance premiums if they differ in NCAP rating. Worth the OP looking into that as well, as some cheaper cars that have low NCAP rating may be quite expensive to insure compared to a more expensive car with a higher rating.

Some manufacturers may still do 'in-house' insirance deals, but they often lock you in after year one because alternative insurers put higher premiums on them (various reasons, including NCAP ratings, lack of security features etc).

OP: Try not to rush into buying something before doing all your research.

Best of luck.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - oldroverboy.

Ah, just spotted that the swear filter doesn't like calling Halfords by it's alternative, less polite, nomenclature either.

They don't make cooking room furniture do they?

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - gordonbennet

All our best to your daughter too, hope the forthcoming treatment has good results.

Make and model so long as you keep to simple NA petrols don't seem to matter that much, so long as its seen some decent servicing and been kept away from street racer yoof types, most typical cars can give decent service if looked after.

The problems are different to what they used to be, at one time rust was the biggie, but most cars so long as you avoided FWD were simple to work on, now its probably just as well to ask your chosen indy what he doesn't want to work on and avoid buying something he can't stand being near or stresses to avoid like the plague.

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - SLO76
Although Renault’s of this era are terrible for electrical problems some of the best cars I’ve owned and flogged over the years have had Renault motors under the hood. I never had a moments bother with any Mitsubishi or Volvo with a Renault engine. A good auto electrician in the neighbourhood is vital to keeping any Renault from the noughties alive on a budget though as your average mechanic will just throw parts at it.

Edited by SLO76 on 01/09/2018 at 21:39

The Reality of Low Cost/Desperate Motoring - joegrundy

Many thanks for the responses.

Positives with this (private) purchase are that the current owner seems genuine and has pursued regular servicing without scrimping on cost.

If it lasts 12 months, well with a new set of tyres maybe, at £600 that's £50 a month. About the best we could hope for. Fingers crossed ...

Cheers