[Closed] Am I mad to change my car?

Just keep it till it dies. Otherwise you are wasting an otherwise working vehicle. Use is better than recyclikng it or selling it or wasting more recources on a new one.

I do similar distance on a cargo bike (with toddlers). any reason it needs to be in a car?

Keep it. It doesn’t owe you anything, it runs well, you won’t be able to get anything decent for what £££s you’ll get and in a few years time you might appreciate the extra space. And you won’t have to be too precious about child grime.

Or keep it because I know it’s a good runner and anything else would be a bit of a risk in terms of cost of running?

This is why I'm keeping my 2007 Fiesta for a similar purpose, driving to station a few times a week.

As above. Keep it, no brainer imo.

Unless of course you can do the nursery run by bike?

What state are the consumables in, tyres brakes, exhaust etc. If they'll last another 12 months then obviously keep it.

I changed my perfectly good 07 plate Cmax to get something we could tow with. The Cmax was solid - nothing seemed to go wrong. The new (old) car is currently in the garage next door having a new turbo fitted @£1400.

If you have a good runner - hold on to it! 🙂

There doesn't seem to be any point in changing - boil it down to it's root - "shall I spend 3.5k (best case) to £6.5k (worst case) now, to hedge my bets against a big bill of say £1000 down the road?".

Add into the mix 'Nursery' which is temporary for a few years till school?

It's a petrol so you shouldn't have to worry about the constant short trips, there will be little or no wear on consumables other than clutch (unless it's an auto).

WBAC is a front for a car auction, auction prices are typically lower than private sale anyway and older cars are more of a risk for them so get priced relatively poorly I think. So it probably is worth 2-2500 if you can find a buyer.

Put that towards an electric cargo bike for the nursery run?

I'm with P-Jay...you're looking at a £4-£6k outlay to save a couple of hundred quid/year on fuel/VED.

No brainer for me.

keep it.

I am similar - 2007 Mazda 3, owned from new, gets used to go the 2 miles to the station and back when the weather is crap, I am in a rush or have somewhere else to go on to afterwards. Otherwise I use my bike or (very occasionally) walk. It's paid for, it runs okay, never let us down, relatively cheap to run (although a few larger bills over the last few years). I cannot see past keeping it and furthermore I can park it at the station without any worry about it getting damaged.

Keep it, slam it, wrap it, ICE it.. bro'

Keep.

I do 25k ish a year in my car, mrs_oab 12k a year.

I only change them when the scrapyard is offering me money.

Depreciation is biggest cost IMO, followed by the repair bill on a car someone else abused for years before you bought it...

Simons - WBAC is BCA car auctions, they simply pay a fixed percentage of CAP book value for the vehicle there is no offset for older cars etc, it's always the same formula.

In an ideal world I’d buy a BMW i3 or a Leaf but I really can’t make the sums work for my usage

Used Zoes etc are quite cheap now. The range isn't great on older models but that wouldn't affect you.

I kept my old Transit van - 300,000 miles / 16 years later it is still working. Just spent money on consumables and a service once a year.

Changing a secondhand vehicle for another secondhand one is daft.

I normally advocate getting the newest car you can but in your case I'd probably stick. Your current car will more than likely be a nicer place to sit compared to any super mini you look at, it owes you very little, my mechanic mate says they're good for 250k miles (I had been looking at something similar) and you know it's history.

I hate buying second hand cars, always think the seller is trying to do me over and have seen plenty that are so obviously crash damaged you wonder how the salesman has the cheek to insist they haven't. 'The best you'll see on Autotrader, first to see will buy'. Really? Anyway, I'm swaying back to a i3.

Used Zoes etc are quite cheap now.

Don't you have to rent the battery though?

Don’t you have to rent the battery though?

Yes, you do. It's £60/month (for the sort of mileage I'd be doing) which is probably more even than I spend on petrol even in my inefficient old bimmer, let alone the upfront cost of the car (which as above is surprisingly reasonable).

I hate buying second hand cars, always think the seller is trying to do me over

Yeah - same.

I'm not sure eBikes are the answer here, either. The distance to nursery isn't really the problem - the problem is that the only route is a NSL main road followed by loads of traffic on a big hill. I'm happy to ride it when it's just me but I don't think I'd take the boy that way. Too many angry drivers and speeds that are too high.

how about a twizy (depending on the number of passengers)? you can buy them out of the battery lease at relatively low-cost

how about a twizy (depending on the number of passengers)? you can buy them out of the battery lease at relatively low-cost

What I didn't say explicitly in the first post was that I drive to nursery, take my bike off the roof and complete my commute (another 4 miles) by bike. So (for my very specific use case) I need a car with bike-carrying capabilities. Otherwise I'd have bought an mx5 by now.

Keep the Beemer. I think that model has the N52 engine which is MUCH stronger than the N53 that replaced it (I had an '09 one and it use to treat injectors as consumable items... @ £200 a pop just for the part + a tendency to require an oil service after they went pop + 6 cylinders = me getting shot). However, with yours my understanding from the local BMW indie it that the N52 is a cracking motor and if yours is a manual there is very little to actually go wrong as it's naturally aspirated too.

What I didn’t say explicitly in the first post was that I drive to nursery, take my bike off the roof and complete my commute (another 4 miles) by bike. So (for my very specific use case) I need a car with bike-carrying capabilities. Otherwise I’d have bought an mx5 by now.

get the mx5 - I used to sling my bike on the boot rack of my old one regularly 🙂

Keep it. I've been working my way around our Civic replacing all the bushes, shocks etc as its getting a bit sloppy and rattly, its on 175k but no intentions of replacing it at present. I'm DIYing it so the cost is just a few hundred quid, but even at garage rates, you'd have a loadsa change from the £4-6k you are thinking of spending on a newer car.

Keep the Beemer. I think that model has the N52 engine which is MUCH stronger than the N53 that replaced it

Yep, mine is older than the mid cycle update (early 2008 IIRC just before the aesthetic face-lift). So slightly less powerful but supposedly more reliable.

get the mx5 – I used to sling my bike on the boot rack of my old one regularly 🙂

Every day, though? I'm not sure.

If it is pre LCI then I think that has the straight six N52 engine, same as my 56 plate 330. It is a peach of an engine and very highly regarded due to its design. People prefer it to the engine that replaced it, N53 which has a lot more issues. Therefore, if your car is in good condition, it will be worth far more to someone looking for that specific engine.

Mileage wise, 105k on those is fine. If maintained properly it will do over 200k.

Only potential big bill is if the electric water pump goes which is about £800. When it goes you have to stop immediately.

Defo keep it, for that engine and the build quality overall. Many have newer BMW's and say they feel cheaper inside than that era.

Even if not the N52, I would keep as the cost of change doesn't make sense. You would be spending more than you would save in my opinion.

Looks like a unanimous decision then. The bimmer stays.

If it is pre LCI then I think that has the straight six N52 engine

Yeah, that's right except that the new engine came a few months before the 'LCI' facelift. My car predates both so it's got the older N52 engine. /pendant mode 🙂

P.S. My phone keeps trying to autocorrect bimmer to bummer. Heh.

I suppose the only other consideration is the environmental effect of sitting in constant traffic at 20mpg. Maybe a newer, more efficient car, perhaps with stop/start tech might stop the birds coughing and that might be worth paying for.

I suppose the only other consideration is the environmental effect of sitting in constant traffic at 20mpg. Maybe a newer, more efficient car, perhaps with stop/start tech might stop the birds coughing and that might be worth paying for.

As it's a petrol, and not THAT old, the local effect is not such an issue as it would be with a diesel and its particulates and NOx. Of course you are contributing more to the greenhouse effect but then manufacturing a car also does that. And if you sell it you are just moving the problem elsewhere anyway.

I'm another on keep it. If it's reliable, is doing what you need it to do, then why change. OK we all like something shiny and new.

Mine is a 2002 Nissan Primera saloon (P12) - has all the toys, takes 4 people and 4 bikes and associated kit when needed, but I'm commuting between 18-24 miles a day, then trips to Wales at weekends. About 8,000 a year. I did used to cycle commute before a driver broke my back.

Commuting is 25 mpg, long runs upto 40 mpg (petrol). Flies through it's MOT every year. Looks almost new, including the 'beige' interior.

I'd consider getting rid if it got un-reliable. It never breaks down, and I service it each year, and generally look after it, doing any little jobs. Even the engine bay is clean.

Fuel efficiency could be better, but I'd need say another £300 a month outlay to buy a car, plus the associated depreciation.