Should I sell my car?
I have a Mazda 2 (2004) which has only done about 69,000 miles.
But I've found it's a bit of a money-drainer, because it doesn't seem to be as sturdy even as my old Ford Fiesta, which rarely had anything wrong with it.
I was told earlier in the year that the garage I went to would buy my car from me for about £800, which surprised me, as I didn't think it'd be worth as much.
After replacing the battery, a switch needs replacing, which is going to cost £267. Last year my MOT plus a starter motor all cost about £400! I'm dreading what this year's MOT is going to cost.
I don't NEED a car in my life at the moment, but you know how it is -- it's nice to have. I generally only use it to drive to the supermarket. But it's more important when I go to visit my Dad as he lives in a village and he doesn't drive.
I'm worried that economically I'm spending more money on the car than it's worth. But I can't afford to get a super duper new car.
I could get a smaller car that would cost less to run, and just hope that it wouldn't mess up.
I just feel a bit resentful because I seem to be spending so much money on my car, and yet I'm scared about letting it go.
What do you think?
But I've found it's a bit of a money-drainer, because it doesn't seem to be as sturdy even as my old Ford Fiesta, which rarely had anything wrong with it.
I was told earlier in the year that the garage I went to would buy my car from me for about £800, which surprised me, as I didn't think it'd be worth as much.
After replacing the battery, a switch needs replacing, which is going to cost £267. Last year my MOT plus a starter motor all cost about £400! I'm dreading what this year's MOT is going to cost.
I don't NEED a car in my life at the moment, but you know how it is -- it's nice to have. I generally only use it to drive to the supermarket. But it's more important when I go to visit my Dad as he lives in a village and he doesn't drive.
I'm worried that economically I'm spending more money on the car than it's worth. But I can't afford to get a super duper new car.
I could get a smaller car that would cost less to run, and just hope that it wouldn't mess up.
I just feel a bit resentful because I seem to be spending so much money on my car, and yet I'm scared about letting it go.
What do you think?
400 a year is not an awful lot when it comes to maintenance costs. It's certainly one less thing that could go wrong for next years' MOT.
I fail to see how a switch could cost £267 to replace. If the switch is attached to something else then I could accept that, but it sounds like you're being ripped off. What switch is it? Source the part yourself and arrange labour with a local garage to fit it, I'm almost certain it would be significantly cheaper.
~Matt
I fail to see how a switch could cost £267 to replace. If the switch is attached to something else then I could accept that, but it sounds like you're being ripped off. What switch is it? Source the part yourself and arrange labour with a local garage to fit it, I'm almost certain it would be significantly cheaper.
~Matt
Original post by danty
400 a year is not an awful lot when it comes to maintenance costs. It's certainly one less thing that could go wrong for next years' MOT.
I fail to see how a switch could cost £267 to replace. If the switch is attached to something else then I could accept that, but it sounds like you're being ripped off. What switch is it? Source the part yourself and arrange labour with a local garage to fit it, I'm almost certain it would be significantly cheaper.
~Matt
I fail to see how a switch could cost £267 to replace. If the switch is attached to something else then I could accept that, but it sounds like you're being ripped off. What switch is it? Source the part yourself and arrange labour with a local garage to fit it, I'm almost certain it would be significantly cheaper.
~Matt
Hmm maybe. I was told it has to be sourced from Mazda. It controls other parts as well.
I have been thinking anyway about downsizing the car to something cheaper to run; I don't like the Mazda much anyway.
It's simply whether I feel having a car is worth the money or not... I don't use it for work, simply for the rare social thing or going back home which I might do every 2-3 months.
I guess on a relatively low income £400 does seem quite a lot. My older Ford Fiesta hardly had any problems, and felt nicer to drive.
Original post by danty
400 a year is not an awful lot when it comes to maintenance costs. It's certainly one less thing that could go wrong for next years' MOT.
I fail to see how a switch could cost £267 to replace. If the switch is attached to something else then I could accept that, but it sounds like you're being ripped off. What switch is it? Source the part yourself and arrange labour with a local garage to fit it, I'm almost certain it would be significantly cheaper.
~Matt
I fail to see how a switch could cost £267 to replace. If the switch is attached to something else then I could accept that, but it sounds like you're being ripped off. What switch is it? Source the part yourself and arrange labour with a local garage to fit it, I'm almost certain it would be significantly cheaper.
~Matt
That will be inclusive of labour at £50-60~ an hour. It's not the part, it's getting to it. I recently replaced the odometer bulb in my car. I had to remove the full steering wheel column, right hand side of the dashboard, height adjuster mechanism and the speedo's...to replace one LED.
Original post by ToastyCoke
That will be inclusive of labour at £50-60~ an hour. It's not the part, it's getting to it. I recently replaced the odometer bulb in my car. I had to remove the full steering wheel column, right hand side of the dashboard, height adjuster mechanism and the speedo's...to replace one LED.
Should be able to go underneath the car for the starter motor. It's not a big job.
Cars go through periods where you're constantly spending on them and periods when you don't spend a penny beyond maintenance.
You could start doing your own servicing. It costs me about £50 to service my Land Rover and Daimler each including the oil. You don't even need many tools. For my needs it's 1 spanner, a filter wrench an old washing up bowl and a large sheet of cardboard.
You could start doing your own servicing. It costs me about £50 to service my Land Rover and Daimler each including the oil. You don't even need many tools. For my needs it's 1 spanner, a filter wrench an old washing up bowl and a large sheet of cardboard.
Original post by samba
Should be able to go underneath the car for the starter motor. It's not a big job.
Because every car is made exactly the same.
Original post by ToastyCoke
Because every car is made exactly the same.
No, but starter motors are always located in roughly the same place, for obvious reasons.
I'm not an expert and it could well be different on a rear engined car, but yea.
This all sounds like wear and tear. Unfortunately they tend to come in threes. So the best choice is to either nip it in the bud and sell it as soon as possible. Or keep maintaining it and keeping a very usable car for longer. It's only 2004, so it's still quite new. It depends how much you like the car.
Also, isn't the Mazda 2 from this era based on the Fiesta? :/
Also, isn't the Mazda 2 from this era based on the Fiesta? :/
Original post by hobbit_
I have a Mazda 2 (2004) which has only done about 69,000 miles.
But I've found it's a bit of a money-drainer, because it doesn't seem to be as sturdy even as my old Ford Fiesta, which rarely had anything wrong with it.
I was told earlier in the year that the garage I went to would buy my car from me for about £800, which surprised me, as I didn't think it'd be worth as much.
After replacing the battery, a switch needs replacing, which is going to cost £267. Last year my MOT plus a starter motor all cost about £400! I'm dreading what this year's MOT is going to cost.
I don't NEED a car in my life at the moment, but you know how it is -- it's nice to have. I generally only use it to drive to the supermarket. But it's more important when I go to visit my Dad as he lives in a village and he doesn't drive.
I'm worried that economically I'm spending more money on the car than it's worth. But I can't afford to get a super duper new car.
I could get a smaller car that would cost less to run, and just hope that it wouldn't mess up.
I just feel a bit resentful because I seem to be spending so much money on my car, and yet I'm scared about letting it go.
What do you think?
But I've found it's a bit of a money-drainer, because it doesn't seem to be as sturdy even as my old Ford Fiesta, which rarely had anything wrong with it.
I was told earlier in the year that the garage I went to would buy my car from me for about £800, which surprised me, as I didn't think it'd be worth as much.
After replacing the battery, a switch needs replacing, which is going to cost £267. Last year my MOT plus a starter motor all cost about £400! I'm dreading what this year's MOT is going to cost.
I don't NEED a car in my life at the moment, but you know how it is -- it's nice to have. I generally only use it to drive to the supermarket. But it's more important when I go to visit my Dad as he lives in a village and he doesn't drive.
I'm worried that economically I'm spending more money on the car than it's worth. But I can't afford to get a super duper new car.
I could get a smaller car that would cost less to run, and just hope that it wouldn't mess up.
I just feel a bit resentful because I seem to be spending so much money on my car, and yet I'm scared about letting it go.
What do you think?
If you're not sure if you need it or not then live without it for a couple of weeks.
So just live your normal day to day life for a fortnight but a tally of how much money you've spent on transport, and then you can extrapolate that out to a full year to see how much cheaper it is than your car was last year, and will allow you to see whether it's worth getting rid of, because it's entirely possible that even if it's cheaper you'll find that the inconvenience of it is great enough to make the car worth it.
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