My car... grrrrrr!

[Morrus]

I have an old BWM 5-series, which has served me well up until now. I put it in for its MOT (yearly mechanical test required by law here) a couple of weeks ago it failed on a number of things. Nothing major, or so I thought at first - a side repeater indicator wasn't working because of some minor accident damage earlier this year, and a rear fog light wasn't working. There was also a problem with the exhaust mounting.

That's when the problems started! In order to fix the side repeater (normally a tiny, super-cheap job), I had to have the surrounding accident damage repaired. That cost me a bunch, more that I wanted to spend. Then I went on to the rear fog light, and it turned out that it was symptomatic of some more serious electrical problems. In short, I've just spent a whole load on it to get the repeater working, and now I find I have to spend twice as much as that again because the entire loom needs replacing.

I can't afford it, so I feel like I've thrown away the money I've spent on repairs up until now. The cost of the new loom is just too much, especially given that I'm moving house in a month, Christmas is coming and I've been hit with a whole bunch of other expenses in the last month or so. So I'm already severely out of pocket and without a car to show for it.

The biggest worry in all this is that without a car I can't get to work! I've had to take a bunch of holiday days so far while getting work done on it.

Frustrated. Very, very frustrated.

 

[Turanil]

Just curious: how much for the first repair, how much for the second one?

 

[Morrus]

It was £600 for the first one. The second one would cost me just over £1000. And the car's only worth about £500.

I decided to go ahead with the first because I figured that spending that £600 on another car wouldn't put me in a better position.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

Well then, you have to ask yourself how far you are willing to go. You can cut your losses now, or you can try to get this repair done with the idea of doing more as time goes by in order to make the car worth more.

The hardest thing to do is spend £1000 (or $ in my case) on a £500 car with the idea that you will sell it for £500 or less. If you instead think that with some more work that you can get more (is it a classic, in mint condition would a collector like it, etc.), then it becomes a project.

I'm not much of a car nut, so I would probably cut my losses (the need for transportation outweighs the need for a project in my case), but I thought that I'd give you some food for thought.

 

[Bront]

The question is more, can you get a car in as good a shape for that much? Technicaly the car may be worth only £500, but it's worth more to you if you can't find a car as reliable as this one. Fixing the loom seems a bit excessive, but with this and the other repairs, your car should be good for a few years yet, I would think, which could be worth spending the money now. Might be rough, but hopefully once it's done, you're good for a while.

 

[Morrus]

I'm not worried about its value - I just wanted it to pass its MOT. At £600 it made sense to do it, because the alternative would be to spend the £600 on another old car - and I'm not going to get anything better for that money. May as well repair the one I have and know it it's in good shape rather than gamble on another.

The second repair changes all that, though. I don't have the money to do it, so it's not a question of making a decision. What galls me is that I've thrown away £600 and I still don't have the car. If I'd known in advance, I wouldn't have spent that money, and would have gone for the risky used car option instead.

 

[Bront]

Well, that sucks then. Unless you can find a way to pay it off over time. How long do you have to get this done?

 

[Morrus]

Well, there's no specific time limit. But I can't get to work until I get transport of some kind!

 

[Rel]

Well, there's no specific time limit. But I can't get to work until I get transport of some kind!

Certainly there must be some kind of waiver that you can get to allow you to drive the car for a short period until the repair can be made. Mustn't there?

Here in the state where I live we have emission standards that must be met for your car to pass inspection. But even if your car fails, if you can show that you at least tried to fix the problem (by spending a certain amount of money - I think $200) then they'll issue you a waiver to drive the car for one year only.

And what's a "fog light". It sounds romantic.

 

[Warrior Poet]

And what's a "fog light". It sounds romantic.

Insofar as blinding lights are romantic.

A particularly bright light so as to be highly visible even in foggy conditions. Not like headlamps that illuminate the road for the driver, but like a beacon that other drivers can see. Designed so that, for instance, on the autobahn, when it's really foggy, and you're cruising at 180 kmh, you can (ideally) see the car in front of you and not slam into it. In theory.

Warrior Poet