New boiler time!

[Bailes1992]

Does your Dad have it on personal finance with an option to buy?

Some finance schemes with 'balloon'? payments are kinda tied up with a sort of virtual 'deposit'. By purchasing the car you might send your Dad back to square one limiting his next choice? just a thought just seems too cheap to me, like you've already overpaid and the finance company hold a fund of yours...

It's just an outright lease that covers everything from insurance to tyres. It is essentially an alternative to having a company car.
The price is worked out as the cost of the car minus the "Option to purchase fee" plus the cost of maintenance.
There is no balloon payment/deposit.

So yeah. 4 year old fairly well specced 320d for £7k.

[Welly]

Sounds like the lease co under valued the future value so in effect the payments were higher than they could have been and your Dad will have already paid into the final value.

[Bailes1992]

Sounds like the lease co under valued the future value so in effect the payments were higher than they could have been and your Dad will have already paid into the final value.

I do suspect that. The repayments are hideous! But he's still better off than having a company car.

Driving to Swansea this morning and seen an old colleague in the hard shoulder scratching his head.
Pulled over to see if I can lend a hand.
Turned out he fitted a part worn tyre last week and it let go. The tread has completely seperated from the sidewalls if that makes any sense. I think the tyre had been driven on flat before it was fitted.
3rd time I've seen a part worn fail within days of it being fitted! One I seen looked perfect before it blew out on one side. Dangerous things.
Unfortunately it was the drivers side so I drove the car up a verge into some bushes, as far away from the road as possible and changed the wheel for him.

Hopefully I will get some good karma now.

[steve_earwig]

There's an old saying that state "no good deed goes unpunished"...

[Bailes1992]

Mondeo is going in next Friday for a new clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder.
Was hoping to stretch it until the summer but the knocking is becoming louder and it's starting to vibrate/pulse at 30mph in 3rd which is very annoying.

Parts are around £500 inc VAT and looking at £400 labour inc VAT.

[Welly]

sh*t.

Not being funny like and I know you like to keep your motors in top condition (I do too) but I can't help thinking that most of the other TDCi's out there of the same age are going to be pretty rough now if they haven't had the TLC like yours has?

[Bailes1992]

Unfortunately I need to be able to have my car in such a condition that I can just jump in it and drive it up country without worrying about anything.

I could try to live with the DMF but I fear that one day, with no warning it will become undrivable. It does seem to be going downhill fast.

The bodywork on my car is getting a bit rough. Theres a few bad scratches, I damaged the sill quite badly a few months ago falling on a kerb and the car has quite bad road rash but the only thing mechanically wrong with it right now is the clutch.

I'm going to stick the clutch on a 0% credit card for 6 months and pay it off in chunks as my savings are running low at the minute.

I can't see me getting more than £2000 for it when I sell it next year as it will have 170k on the clock. I may just give it to the other half.

[Bailes1992]

Unfortunatley today the clutch went from an intermittent knock and vibration to being a serious fault.
Was shopping in Swansea this morning. Came out of a Tesco car park and up to a set of lights. Dipped the clutch and there was a huge screech, a few rattles and now it sounds like this...

[steve_earwig]

That reminds me of a motorboat engine Umm, maybe you need to stop driving it err, now.

I may just give it to the other half.

Thus making sure you carry on paying for the repairs, plus watching closely as your former pride and joy gets driven into the ground. Sell it for what you can get, use the money to buy her something that's small enough not to get driven into the scenery.

[GingerMagic]

That reminds me of a motorboat engine Umm, maybe you need to stop driving it err, now.

I may just give it to the other half.

Thus making sure you carry on paying for the repairs, plus watching closely as your former pride and joy gets driven into the ground. Sell it for what you can get, use the money to buy her something that's small enough not to get driven into the scenery.

+1 and if I remember correctly your Girlfriend got through 2 gearboxes in the space of 6 months....

[Bailes1992]

Missus got through a clutch and then a gearbox.
It was just wear and tear though.

I have 400 miles to do until Friday.
The car drives fine when there is load on the DMF.
I'll be nursing the car along, keeping the revs high and using as little torque as possible. We'll see how I get on!

[Bailes1992]

Another clip of the horrendous noise it's making.

[steve_earwig]

That's sounding good Nope, I really wouldn't like to drive than anywhere...

[Bailes1992]

Needs must and all that!
I have an exam Wednesday so Il be taking the missus car as it's more likely to make it. The rest of the week I'll have to drive the car 100 miles a day back and fore work.
I've warned the mechanic it could turn up on a flatbed any day this week.
I'm going to call it the "Getting to work Russian roulette" game.

[highlander]

Rent a car.