I'm not asking for specific advice, just mulling things over generally. I only learned to drive 3 years ago at 26, and have practically 0 knowledge of cars. Since then I've owned two cars that I've spent almost £3k on for repairs, services, tyres etc.

My current car is a 10 year old fiesta that I like a lot, but it's just cost me another £700 to get through its last MOT. The main reason I decided to pay for the repairs rather than scrap it is because I'd already spent £800 on a new clutch, cam belt, and tyres in the last year and didn't want to "waste" that money.

I know every case is different, but is it ever worth spending £700 on a car that would struggle to sell for £1000? In the future should I scrap any Banger that presents with a bill over X amount?

An aquaintance, much younger than me, spent as much each year as it was worth, for 3/4 years, getting an old Vauxhall Nova through the Mot because it's low insurance group was vital given that his insurance was loaded due to a drink-drive conviction

Welcome to the black hole that owning and running a car financially is.

Tyres you cannot avoid on any car old or new. If you buy a simple tyre gauge, you can check the tyre tread depth yourself and not rely on someone who might want to sell you tyres whether its needed or not.

Servicing is not something you should avoid on any car old or new. You can however shop around and check you are getting value for money, a good trustworthy service and not being subjected to unnecessary upselling, such as changing stuff that doesn't necessarily need doing at that point in time, brakes being a common upsell.

Repairs need to be done if they affect the road worthiness of the car. Again shop around and check the trust worthiness of the repairer. Places like google, trustpilot etc.

Once everything is sorted, maybe ask or pay a trusted mechanic for an examination and opinion on the state of your car and likely upcoming costs.You may then decide its time to change.

On the other hand, start to take an interest in car mechanics, learn. Many resources, youtube etc. Learn to do basic things yourself, changing bulbs, wipers checking tyre pressues, tread depths, fluids and how to look out for problems before they become too serious.Also, regular cleaning in places often ignored, under the car, around suspensions, brakes pays dividends and can lead to longer life. You will also see if there is a potential future repair coming your way.

Edited by brum on 11/03/2021 at 14:16

I'm in a similar position. I have only owned two cars although I've been driving for several years. My current vehicle is worth about a grand give or take and has had a lot of work. I've learnt that you very much get what you pay for. If you've spent under 5k on it then in all likelihood you're going to need to spend a fair bit to keep it going.

The other point to bear in mind (which I learned the hard way) is paying attention to the service history before you buy to see what you might end up having to replace and also what common problems you get on that model at a certain mileage.

In a nutshell, I don't think it's worth buying a banger and then worrying about what you might get for it. If you like it, keep it going til it dies then invest in something with a greater lifespan next time.

what makes me give up,is when i''m spending every weekend fixing it .

I know every case is different, but is it ever worth spending £700 on a car that would struggle to sell for £1000? In the future should I scrap any Banger that presents with a bill over X amount?

If you see yourself as a bangernomist, the logical rule is to keep your current car going until you decide that fixing it will cost more than scrapping it and getting another. DON'T just say 'fixing it is more than it's worth'. The car you know has many advantages over another, unfamiliar one.

I know every case is different, but is it ever worth spending £700 on a car that would struggle to sell for £1000? In the future should I scrap any Banger that presents with a bill over X amount?

Yes

and I was going to say "and no", but X could theoretically = infinity, so I suppose that must be Yes again.

I dunno what the "X-factor" is though.

Your initial 800 for tyres clutch and such was a "sunk cost". You aren't getting that back, so another 700 to protect it seems an entirely reasonable investment to me, assuming it was necessary, which is kind of a separate issue.

Many people take the current value of the car as the cutoff point, but that's an arbitrary amount, and has no real or necessary relationship with the cost of maintenance. You don't factor in the resale value when deciding whether to buy an ice cream, or a holiday in France, or an ice cream while on holiday in France.

If you dump the devil you know, you will probably replace it with the devil you don't know, a high risk operation, riskier still if you know next to nothing about cars.

OTOH, there has never been a better time to be clueless when running a car, for a mixture of paradoxically contradictory reasons

A lot of free advice (Were you overcharged, for example?) and info (Was the diagnosis reasonable given the symptoms?) is available on't nyet.

For the same reason, there has never been a better time to educate yourself and acquire "traditional" DIY mechanical skills and knowledge.

OTOH, there has never been a better time not to bother.

If you don't fancy it, you can tell yourself that "traditional" DIY mechanical skills are a diminishing asset because newish cars are an unfixable nightmare and the internal combustion engine is a dead duck technology anyway.

Its The End Of The World As We Know It.

Don't sweat it.

i had my astra 17 years, bought from new and quite low mileage at 58k when i got rid. It had been an extremely reliable car to drive and actually all it had 'fail' was one lightbulb, eveything else was wear and tear like brakes and waterpump oilpum cambelt change at appropiate age.

i sold it to a mates mate for £10 when WBAC value it at £100, as he would do the work to keep it running was was slightly overdue:

New brakes, New cambelt, new water and oil pump, plus full service.

All the above would have cost me about a grand to do, and due to circumstance change and now having lots of kids, there was no need to run a second car in London where we live. Even without the circumstances change, i think when a car needs A,B and C doing which total a multiple of its worth, its time to get rid.

I think it depends on the type of repairs.

If repairs are to do with the body and structure - then it's probably not worth it. Usually it's a slippery slope downwards as probably other parts of the car will need repairing in the near future. Also welded patches if not thoroughly rust protected inside and out will encourage future rapid rusting. ( I know as I've restored cars in the past - some where I've cut out previous layered MOT repairs)

If repairs are mechanical such as brakes, suspension parts etc then it's likely these replaced parts will have a long serviceable life ahead of them!

It has to be remembered as you change to newer cars the complexity increases. A new car with a modern touch screen to control everything seems an attractive option to some but this could become a liability when this same car is a decade or so old! The other consideration here is the increasing complexity of emission controls depending on the Euro rating of the day - a modern diesel with advanced EGR, DPF, SCR could easily be written off with a potential multi £1k repair bill. A £6k chemical factory(to replace all bits) attached to the hottest part of the car - what could possibly go wrong!

If you have an older car that is generally in great condition then a bigger mechanical repair quote that is potentially more than the car is worth could still be worth doing. Sometimes it's better the devil you know........

Brakes, tyres etc should always be classed as consumables - these wear out on cars new and old.

The joys of motoring.

From when I ran bangers, if you have the storage space, the best thing you can do is buy another one of the same make/model - as rust free as possible. It becomes a great source of spares. I even swapped the engine over on mine.