Link doesn't work for me.

Have you lost it?, no you may be coming to a crossroads though where you can't see the value in throwing constant money at a fast depreciating new vehicle, costing the earth even if it sits on your drive, lots of us feel the same, are we bonkers?, probably, living with the results of idiot politicians all your life has that effect.

It sounds like you might be considering bangernomics, which can be the very cheapest form of motoring, but usually if have a reasonable mechanical knowledge (or a tame handy chap) and can keep your cheap old motor running reasonably on a shoestring.

It might not be the cheapest car owning for those who can't fix ther own, the cars you buy won't have kudos or image or be the safest either, but there is considerable satisfaction at getting off the consumer treadmill.

Instead of PCP's have you considered buying nearly new Korean and taking advantage of the excellent warranties instead, with your mileage you should be quids in.

Edited by gordonbennet on 08/04/2012 at 23:12

No, you haven't 'lost it', but the key to running an old car is getting a good one in the first place. This is the tricky bit, and there are no guarantees.

Not even a new car can be guaranteed 100% reliable. The best warranty is being able to afford alternative transport if your car breaks. Could you hire a car for a week? Could you toss away the old one without sentimentality and get another one? If the answe to both is "yes" then you have a compelling argument for bowing out of the depreciation game.

None f us can make the link work, but it looks as if you're looking at an old Nissan Micra - 5-door, presumably, but with less room in it than a current-model Fiesta. Other factors against it are that this isn;t a fun car: you need it for work and famiy-to-be - and you say you're no mechanic.

Surely - even if you can't afford to buy outright and you need another PCP - you can find a 5-door Fiesta (or Micra if you must) of similar age to the one you have, wthout such a hike in monthly payments?

Another thing to watch out for is that if you were to hand the Fiesta back, there may be negative equity or a penalty payment for ending the contract early. You'd need to check the terms and conditions carefully.

As a former owner of a 3-door Micra K11 (my first car!), I HAD to get rid of it at 10 years old as it was starting to cost me more to run per year than it was worth. The dealership (full Nissan service history) said that the front cross-member was indeed starting to deteriorate, though not bad enough to be hazardous.

It had failed its MOT twice in one year on a shot rear brake cylinder (waer-and-tear - fair enough) and more crucially a rusted thorugh section of bodywork by the front seatbelt mounting point (which had to be replaced/welded). Good for its day, but past its sell-by date now.

I would suggest looking at the last of the previous-generation Mazda 2s, based on the previous Fiesta/Fusion and (according to a German car mag) very reliable. See HJ's review for more - the flat load lip (like the Fusion) may be useful. Probably quite cheap now that the current Mazda 2 has been around for 5 years now.

One of the run-out Ford Fusions may be worth a look (despite the odd looks on some models) - make sure you get the stability control package as my sister tells me they handle badly if they don't have it (she's had two Fusions). Weirdly enough, they don't seem so good for build quality, given they were built in the same factory as the Mazdas - maybe a component issue?

Never buy a Ford, I've had two.