Ah well, the time has come when we have to make a decision.
The clutch on the Civic is about to give up. Worse case, with flywheel (DMF) it's £1000 fitted. However, the car is also drooping to one side, so suspension will need looking at. A shock absorber alone is £130. I noticed today that the wing mirror is broken and doesn't stay in place, another £130. We put winter tyres on, and the old tyres were shot, so I need ~£300 for a set of tyres all round (plus potentially wheels to avoid a constant changing of the tyres every 6 months), and the Missus doesn't want to take a risk on second hand wheels after reading about safety issues. It's also due a service, another £120 or so (I'll do this myself, and the wing mirror and possibly suspension although if the clutch gets done, as they have to disconnect it all anyway it's probably more cost effective to get it all done at once). All of this, but the car is currently on 166k miles. If it were 100k or less, I'd get it done. I'm just hesitant to throwing £1600 plus at it, and having no idea what might go next. It seems to still drive well enough.
So now I have the following options:
1. Fix the Civic and take the hit. Not keen due to mileage. Whats the point where you just give up? Probably should have thought about this a bit more when I bought it.
2. Sell Civic (We Buy Any Car have quoted £1250, which I'd be happy with providing they don't start looking too in detail!) and buy something circa £2k (risky, plus most things I'd want to drive are high mileage so swapping one for another, which is kind of pointless).
3. Stretch the budget to 4-5k. There are a few Alfa Giuliettas in that bracket (Veloce models, 1.4 TB Multiair) and other things worth considering. Top end of budget can see reasonably low mileage.
4. PCP or other finance deal on new car. Not too keen for continued monthly payments to be honest. Do like the idea of a brand new car though, and I think you can get some half decent deals for failed deals etc.
5. Nearly new, but would be on finance. More sensible option than brand new, but PCP deals are limited.
6. We are also considering moving to London, in which case problem goes away as I just sell and that's it. However, lose NCB after 2 years of no use so not ideal.
7. Bangernomics (although neither I nor the missus really want something tatty and old, with less than ideal fuel consumption and higher tax).
Thoughts? Safety is an important consideration as well as we have a daughter. Whatever we have, it has to be fun, or extremely comfortable. I can live with either, although I suspect the missus would much prefer the comfort side of things. Low maintenance / monthly running costs are important, reasonably quick and good fuel. The Alfa Giuliettas do seem to fit the bill to be honest.
) and the stupid gearboxes cause endless problem s - manual all the way!!
what colour you got?
