Bangernomics- the game's moved on

Having seen that you cannot find an acceptable replacement for less than £1000 could you instead spend the money repairing your current Fiat? I note that you don't say what has failed, but a quick scan through the MOT history shows no mention of corrosion (on a 20 year old Fiat??)

It's certainly still an option. The clutch and DMF need replacing, but the issue could also be something more sinister, which would only be apparent once the box comes out. The clutch/dmf is around £900 to fix,and it would need transporting.

My dilemma is that the Multipla, bought for £500, has done 137k, is on its original turbo and is also overdue another cambelt. The bodywork is pretty poor and although reliable, is very much worn out.

I've not got the time/ will to do the clutch myself, especially as it would need to be done on the driveway and I'm concerned that throwing the best part of a grand at it might prove wasteful, especially as I'm venturing into the Ulez zone more now, and it's not compliant.

Saying all of the above, I'm still not 100% sure what to do.

I think you're probably right, I'm just not used to spending big money. (for me) on cars,let alone repairs!

Anyone recommend a good recovery service near Aylesbury, to drag a Multipla to Mr Clutch in Hemel?

It's certainly something that I can't just ignore.
I'll have to work out what it'll cost per month and see if there's anything I can do to mitigate the extra expense.

Not the prettiest example but one turned up for sale www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409133982908?sort=price-asc&advertising-location=at_cars&body-type=Estate&fuel-type=Petrol&postcode=CV12%208AY&price-from=500&price-to=4000&year-to=2005&fromsra

Supposedly full service history, and Ulez OK for 600 quid

It has got alot harder to get cars these days, for sure. They are out there, but they are very few and far between, and thus pop up when you least expect them.

On my daily drivers, barring the fancy ones, I didn't spend more than £1.5k for anything that was over 8 years old. 2 years ago, I spent £3.5k on a 13 year old BMW estate, which wasn't free of faults, but a clean car overall. Sure, it's taken some cash over the year, but I'd be lying if I said my previous cars didn't cost a penny.

The only real bargain I got recently was the B5.5 Passat TDI Estate, which was sub-£500 ; at the time, I had offers at almost double to buy it off me, for what was a worn out filthy car ; the interior felt like you needed a tetanus shot when you got it ; it was a canal-owner car. The engine alone was probably worth what I paid for the car.

To get it to a standard I liked, and less like a ****box, it would take almost the same money again, not to mention the time, which is most likely why the previous owners sold it. If you include the 'detail' I did to the bodywork to remove 5 years worth of scratchwashes on Jet Black paintwork, it probably did owe me more, but it was a fun project. It also felt risky when I bought it TBH!

Inflation has played a big part, as well as cars breaking very well vs. what they are worth. As has been said, a weekly shop is proper money now, as is eating out with friends.

My dad bought a function but tired Audi A6 for £1k. It was tattier than we wanted and it needed the brakes rebuilding before we even hit the road, as well as an overdue cambelt, at our latest forare with bangernomics.

I do have three cars for sale (father's having a clearout), of which two would be useful for you, between £1.5-2k, where one could take the drumkit, but neither are ULEZ compliant ; PM me if you wish. One car at closer to £1k is compliant and a very good car, but I doubt it could take a drumkit. Reason why that is cheap is because Saabs don't seem to fetch as much, but I can also see why they don't.

set your home address to different locales and see what's avail further afield? i bought a 95 corolla a few years back for 300, but i had to get a train from durham to london to collect it; but 350 for what was an exceptional vehicle was absolutely worth it

The repair costs of cars is another thing for bangernomics costs, as well as the slowdown of new car sales.

More tech in cars does sometimes cost more to repair, but there is an element of substitutional change, once we take off the rose tinted glasses. KE-Jetronic cars were hard to diagnose and had pricey bits to change, and Crypton machines weren't cheap. Timing lights were the cheap items they once were, once inflation is accounted for. Furthermore, almost anything either required carefully prodding to get something right or to buy a series of manuals. A few of us forgot how self maintenance did have an investment cost without the advent of YouTube and forums. So there was always a cost.

However, labour was cheap. I remember my dad getting a very rotten MkIV XR3i patched up in all sorts of ways (boot floor, sills, both floorpans, and the battery tray), along with sorting out the handbrake and engine tune up for less than £500 20 years ago ; that price probably didn't change for almost 10 years. It was almost worth throwing it away, as a nicer XR3i would have been over double that back then with not much searching back then.

However, as property/land prices went up, so did overheads, which then went into the bills. When I started, a pricey garage was around £35/hr. These days, for someone who won't have your car leave with more faults than when it went in, you're looking at £60+ in most cases. I do know of 1 or two people cheaper who are great, but you're screwed if you need a car repaired in a week (TLDR ; you'll work to their time, and obviously, others know how good/cheap they are), thus you need a 'backup' daily, or look to another option.

For most, that option was a new car, especially when the PCP deals were favourable. The cars are likely to work, and you know you're not likely to be bitten by a hefty cost.

TBH, if I sent my 325d in to have work done, I wouldn't be far off a PCP deal and most would say it's not worth keeping. If you account for insurance, tax, repairs and servicing, it costs me £165 a month without fuel. Ouch! A few of us spoke about this and figured to have a car with creature comforts and to do it cheaper, it would take something like a Clio 1.5 DCi.

The other thing? Maybe this will be a 'B word' benefit, but with the influx of Europeans working over here, they were stunned at our car prices. They're massively cheap!

Go to Spain, France or Germany, and my '£4k on a good day' 325d is more like a £7k car. The SL? 5 figures with ease. I knew of Polish folks who used to buy engines and cars for not much off the asking price vs. 'our' guys offering a derisory sum, only to drive them back home, it was worth doing that!

Drum kits certainly come in a variety of sizes, and having owned a 2dr 1300E years ago, I can assure you my kit definitely didn't fit in it, especially the 24" bass drum.