Can things get any worse?

[daniel_mead]

Last week I was told that I have to move work in 6 weeks. I currently work in Canterbury and live in Faversham, but soon I'll be working in Medway. I'm trying to appeal on the grounds of the huge increase in cost for me to get there as my scooby is my daily drive but it looks like I won't be able to escape it and i'll have to change my car.

I'm still paying the loan I got for it and as the loan was also used for consolidating a couple of credit cards the car has never been worth what is left on the loan and wouldn't be until probably next year. So I can't just sell up, pay the loan and start again. I'd have to sell my scooby and get something with the money and keep paying the loan.

That was last week then to throw more crap at me, on my way home from work the other night just after midnight when it was snowy and icy, the car in front of me lost control going downhill and when I tried to slow down I lost it too and eventually went into a barrier stuffing up my front end. It's pretty badly damaged and I'm sure my insurance Co. would write it off and offer me a pitance as they would not be able to recoup anything from the other driver. We didn't actually hit each other though I know that had he not crashed I wouldn't off.

 If I claim I'll lose 1yrs no claims, 450 quid excess and get offered very little. I'll only have what they offer me to buy a relaible motor to get to medway and back at least until my loan is paid off in a couple of years.

If I don't claim then I either have to look at getting it fixed and selling it as I can't afford to run it to Medway and back or break it.

I was able to drive it home from the crash, it will need at least:

Bonnet, front bumper, front nearside wing and whatever is broken underneath those items. My car is an early classic 5dr uk Turbo in dark green I bought it last December for 2900. It now has 104000 miles full main dealer service history. STi rear lights (one is now cracked), the better seats from the newer model, short shift kit, 4 pot front calipers and matching discs from 2003 sti. Roof bars deleted. It also had morrette headlight conversion but one is now completely crushed apart from the actual lamps.

I still have the original headlights/side lights/front indicators. The bonnet scoop and vents can be transfered over.

I'll get a ling to some pics on here as soon as I can.

The question is really do I try and get it fixed myself and sell it or to I just sell as it is. Bearing in mind I then only have what I get for it to pay for a new car.

Cheers,

a very upset soon to be ex-scooby owner

 

[Guest leebo77]

That's bad news mate.  I know it's not the ideal solution in the longer term but for the short term, could you refinance the loan?  That may give you lower monthly payments and more opportunity??

Good luck whatever happens. [Y]

[Baz69birds]

F**ckin Hell  Lots of bad luck,

But ive always said if you got to sell a car dont drive it As something always happens to it []

as for the damage try these people

www.a-b-w.co.uk

talk to Darren see what he recons []

[yogi-]

Bummer, thats bad news m8.

[daniel_mead]

Re-financing insn't really an option I could consider unless all other alternatives prove useless.

Public transport to Medway isn't an option either due to the shifts I work.

I've uploaded some pics here http://ubaru.fotopic.net/c859078.html

[markie]

Really really bad news[] I'd look at fixing the car as cheaply as poss, then i would keep it untill i could see how much the increase in costs would be 2 & throw work over a month or so.

[darryl_martin]

Agree with Markie on this. Bad news mate and feel sorry for you but you do still have the lights which a lot of people wouldn't have, just trying to be +ve!!!! Try a few breakers, Grade A, Q-dog's been to one in essex looking at his car!![], see how much it would be to do it yourself.

On the cost front if you get a decent motorway run in it the fuel consumption vastly improves, so it might not be as expensive as you think. I do mostly motorway, but not long trips, and get 300+ miles to the tank 95% of the time, that's about 50 litres of fuel.

Good luck with everything

[wedmonds1]

Sorry to hear your bad luck mate..... 

 This wont be an ideal solution but i was trying to think what i would do and i reckon i would try and sell the car. I would get something smaller and set yourself the target of clearing your debts for a while.  Its a horrible thought but if you re-finance, you could end up in the same situation again but worse. 

 If things get tough for me, i imediatley pull my belt in and just hang on in there.  It wont be long before your luck changes and you are on the up.

[HairyDJ]

awful start to the new year mate.

think long and hard before you change to another car - you obviously pushed yourself hard to get this one and it will be so tough driving back and forth in a cheap & nasty replacement which you will hate because it reminds you of the lost scooby. See what quote you get for repairs, but also look at doing just enough to keep it safe & legal - that might mean dropping back to your old lights until the cash situation improves, but if you can live with a car that isn't going to stay quite as pretty as it was for a while then go for it. If you do keep it running, save the big right foot for special occasions - keeping the motorway cruising a bit slower and steady really does make a difference - if i can behave for a whole long run, fuel consumption is halved on mine. If you back off on the blasting, the tyres & brakes will last a fair bit longer and again might see you through to better financial times.

strictly speaking, you have to inform your insurance company whether you claim or not so you might do best to go for the claim & if they insist on writing it off, buy back the write-off. Whatever way you go, take care to think through all of the stages and consequences as you really can't afford to start down one route and end up having to change plans part way through.

Mine got written off a couple of years ago - I know how it feels to keep looking back and saying what if .... You're not going to be smiling much for a while, but do try to find a few upbeat thoughts to cling to - you didn't injure yourself or anyone else, and whatever happens you are still part of an elite crowd who have owned a scooby - a hell of a lot of people will never be able to say that.

Cheers, David

[daniel_mead]

Cheers for all the replies guys. I did do a test run to Medway and it's going to cost me about 3 quid a day extra which wasn't as bad as I thought as I must've got a better average MPG going there than I do on my run into Canterbury. Plus during work we often stroll into Canterbury to get a coffee, I can't quite see myself doing the same in Gillingham so that's the 3quid saved (no offence to any Gillingham residents just where I will be working is further from the town centre than it is now).

Took my dad to look at my car today as there was a puddle of fluid underneath it, and I need his help to get the bonnet up. He's an automatic specialist and knows far more about these sorts of things than me. We think it was coolant as the plastic bottle behind the nearside headlight looks like it was squashed, it started pissing it down so we gave up and went for a cuppa.

I'm now looking at getting it fixed as cheap as possible even if it means getting it done in stages, i'm working on the assumption that i'm going to medway but I never know my appeal could be successful.

I won't re-finance as defo couldn't afford it if this happend again and my wife is already stressed enough as it is.

I don't want to drive it far until i know for sure about the extent of the leak, so are there any decent yet cheap accident repair places in kent that anyone can reccomend?

[T123VOR]

Blimey unlucky and good luck fella these things have a way of sorting themselves out[]

 

Trevor

[Guest leebo77]

When I mentioned refinancing earlier on in the thread, I meant refinance the amount that you have outstanding, ie restructure the loan over a longer period.  Not borrow more. []

[daniel_mead]

  Quote

When I mentioned refinancing earlier on in the thread, I meant refinance the amount that you have outstanding, ie restructure the loan over a longer period.  Not borrow more. []

Ah, I see but while I can still afford the repayments I don't want to extend the term.

[Dalthegooner]

Thats terrible news mate [N] Hope your luck turns around pretty soon and the repair bill is not so large []

With regards to driving it with a leak, I'd get that sorted pronto. You don't want to risk overheating and doing engine damage as well []

[darryl_martin]

Spotted an L plate silver wagon (non turbo unfortunately) with a cleanish front end in a breakers this morning? Wings looked ok, had the wheel arch linings etc, but unfortunately bonnet/bumper were the non turbo type.

[daniel_mead]

My dad is letting me use his spare Punto (R reg 1.2 CVT) which means I can take my time in collecting the bits and get it fixed as cheap as possible.

Once it's fixed I'll see how expensive it is to travel the extra distance, I should get better MPG though as most of it is motorway.
 

[HairyDJ]

Good to hear something is working out for you - just get a nice big SIDC logo in the old Punto & we'll realise who's waving[]

[daniel_mead]

  Quote

Good to hear something is working out for you - just get a nice big SIDC logo in the old Punto & we'll realise who's waving[]

 

There's no chance of my forgetting that i'm driving the Punto and not the Scooby. My EVO sticker arrived only a few days ago, I've been toying with the idea of sticking that on the back as a piss take. 

[Guest leebo77]

Some good news mate, nice one.  Hope it all gets sorted. [Y]