My car just crapped on me

[Half-Saint]

My 1998 Renault Megane is obviously seeking retirement. I have two failed shock absorbers which means all four of them need to be replaced. The radiator is leaking, a few belts need to be replaced as well and that's not all. I'm looking at about 1000€ in parts and labour at the official Renault garage. If I go to the "village mechanic", that goes down to about 500€ which is about as much as the car itself is worth.

I drive to work 60km on daily basis (120km both ways). I'm considering a new car but lots of people think it's not worth it. Since bus is not an option for me (2 hours by bus vs. 1 hours by car and that's just one way!), what do you suggest?

Cheers

[webwit]

Get another second hand car, drive it for a couple of years, dump it. Repeat. Me, I don't care much about cars, there's slow traffic anyway, it just needs to get me from A to B.

[Half-Saint]

If I continue to commute to work, at this rate I'm going to do about 35.000km per year on average. This means that I'll wear down a used car fast. Most used cars sold around here are 1. still quite expensive and 2. have considerable milage. On top of that, rewinding mileage is still very common so you basically can't be sure about what you're buying. This means that finding a good used car takes lots of time, effort and stress. I don't really want to go through all that every 3-4 years.

Hopefully a new car has 0 mileage and at least 3 years warranty. This has to count for something. And I should be able to drive it for at least let's say 8 years? Of course there's no guarantee that it'll go without breakdowns

[webwit]

Only silly or rich people buy a new car. Because after your first drive, it's already worth much less. If you want newish and reliable, buy one which is one year old, from a silly person.

[Half-Saint]

When a 2010 Focus Ebony (28.515km) costs 500€ less than a brand new one (after 4140€ rebates), which one are you gonna buy?

Oh yes, I know.. beat the used car salesman with a Model M until he lowers the price

[sordna]

1 year old cars are still rather expensive. Good compromise is to buy a car that has 1 year warranty left (2-4 year old car, depending on the warranty) and service records. You can verify the mileage that way, and it shouldn't (theoretically) have problems because the owner would fix them at the dealer under warranty.

[Brian8bit]

Get another second hand car, drive it for a couple of years, dump it. Repeat. Me, I don't care much about cars, there's slow traffic anyway, it just needs to get me from A to B.

I second this motion.

Buying a second hand car is an art. A lot of people are afraid of buying relatively new cars with high mileage, assuming that high mileage is high mileage and not taking into account the high mileage of start/stop traffic in a city compared to the high mileage of motorway/dual carriageway cruising. Company cars and rep mobiles that do a lot of high mileage motorway traffic can be had for very little while the stress on them has been minimal (fifth/six gear cruising at low RPM, compared to first and second gear high RPM revving the balls off the car around town).

You will only wear down a used car fast if it was treated like shit by the previous owner, or you treat it like shit yourself. Or the car is shit. Make sure the basics are covered such as regularly doing the oil and fluids and not thrashing the life out of the thing and it will literally drive you to the moon and back. And even then there's plenty of cars that are treated like shit and will make it to the moon and back. But then they're not French cars. After my own experiences with a Renault Scenic, there's no chance you would ever get me back in a Renault. Hateful thing with electrics that I eventually gave up on before breaking the car and parting it out.

[webwit]

I love to treat my car like shit and drive it till it falls apart. This is part of the fun of not having to worry. I've been driving my Mazda 2.0 for the past three years like I'm in a rally race, but only one or two years left before keeping it alive costs more than the value of the car. I'd hate to part with it because it's a lovely car. I'm a fast driver but not aggressive to others. I leave the others behind at the traffic lights, but don't speed (much) in cities. On the highway I'm trying to beat the record, but I keep lots of distance and have patience when someone is in front of me and doesn't spontaneously vaporize (this is one of the worst habits of non-ducks on the road). Dutch traffic where I live is horrible though, so this is mostly theoretical anyway. A second hand car which isn't a total disaster will cost more in maintenance than new, but still a lot less cost of ownership per year. I once read an article about the sweet spot regarding the age of the car you should buy (and when to sell), but I can't locate it.

[sordna]

I prefer Japanese cars too, it's a strong preference but not a requirement. Manual transmission is a non-negotiable requirement.

[Brian8bit]

Can't go wrong with Japanese for second hand reliability. Lately I've been looking at Honda Legend's with LPG conversions. You can get late 90s / early 00s examples for under £2500. Everything is leather and electric with enough space for someone like me that's 6ft 6 (I don't do hatchbacks very well). Nice places to be to waft along in. You can get old BMW 7 series (e38) for similar types of cash, but the running and maintenance costs of those can be eye watering.

[itlnstln]

I drive to work 60km on daily basis (120km both ways). I'm considering a new car but lots of people think it's not worth it. Since bus is not an option for me (2 hours by bus vs. 1 hours by car and that's just one way!), what do you suggest?

Cheers

I suggest you move. Seriously.

I live 5 minutes from work. Best move I ever made. I live downtown, and I can walk just about everywhere.

[ripster]

Nude Biking! MOAR ASS LESS GAS!

Believe it or not I DO own ONE French thing I like:

1383236276_daca9ee116_z.jpg (121.85 KiB) Viewed 5749 times

More details here:
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?2662 ... liek-bikes

Sorry for the gay shorts photo.

[7bit]

My 1998 Renault Megane is obviously seeking retirement. ... I'm looking at about 1000€ in parts and labour at the official Renault garage. If I go to the "village mechanic", that goes down to about 500€ which is about as much as the car itself is worth.

Your car is less expensive than your keyboards!

What about an old Mercedes with a Diesel engine?


^^^ 180D Easy to repair, unbreakable, eats any kind of Oil-like fuel and looks great!

(even the color matches the old Cherry keycaps!)

[ripster]

I envision all of Eastern Europe driving cars like that. Kinda like Cuba and American cars.

[webwit]

You have no concept of Europe. Old Mercedes are strictly driven by Turks. The cliche for Eastern Europe would be Trabant and Tatra.

[itlnstln]

What, no Yugos?

[7bit]

You have no concept of Europe. Old Mercedes are strictly driven by Turks. The cliche for Eastern Europe would be Trabant and Tatra.

Yea, and except for webwit, everybody in Holland drives a DAF:

[itlnstln]

That's hawt. It sort of reminds me of the FIAT my parents owned when we lived in the UK.

[webwit]

DAF is Dutch minimalist art. Especially the trucks. The cars were funny. They had the same speed&transmission in reverse. Why.. why are not all cars like that? I lived in Zandvoort as a kid, it had two things going: topless beach babes and a F1 track. Which was also used for reverse DAF races. Great fun. Mayhem, only a few cars would finish. My first car was a 25 guilder (just over 11 euro) DAF, I was 14. I wasn't allowed to drive on the public roads, but there was a big parking lot nearby at the beach which was considered private property, so I could race there. Crashed it

"The Style" - Dutch Art (a $28m painting)

[7bit]

, I've found the ultimate car for you:

[webwit]

The worst car I ever had was a Porsche. No, not the engine, that was great. But everything around it. When it rained, it would leak. That kind of stuff. What a piece of crap. P.S. Nice icon!

[002]

No, not the engine, that was great.

Great engine, not so great location

[7bit]

The worst car I ever had was a Porsche. No, not the engine, that was great. But everything around it. When it rained, it would leak. That kind of stuff. What a piece of crap. P.S. Nice icon!

Only the pre-owner is to be blamed for damaging the Cabrio-roof of your car!

Nevertheless, we are looking for a car for Half-Saint.

I think I've found the perfect car for him:

[Brian8bit]

A second cousin of mine had a 2CV, must be 12+ years ago now. It was so so so bad. The suspension was hilariously soft, so much so that in a cross wind on the motorway the whole car would start to lean and the engine was so underpowered that it would slow to single digit MPH when going up even the smallest inclines. There were no "conventional" back seats either. It was a weird cloth hammock set up (the only other car I have seen that in was a Fiat Panda).

[itlnstln]

I think I've found the perfect car for him:

But his is already dead and on the side of the road...

[7bit]

But his is already dead and on the side of the road...

His Megane is dead, but the one in the picture is pretty much alive. Also, you did not get the joke.

Let's organise a group buy for it!

Some of the Swedish members should contact Volvo and ask for a price quote!

[Ascaii]

lol. if anything a volvo would be better suited, as it would have more room for large amounts of keyboards.

[itlnstln]

But his is already dead and on the side of the road...

His Megane is dead, but the one in the picture is pretty much alive. Also, you did not get the joke.

I failed. I try to counter one joke with another and did not succeed.

[kbdfr]

(...) as it would have more room for large amounts of keyboards.

Large amount of keyboards? Then a Renault 4L would be a very good choice:



It allows for a huge amount of keyboards and a child.

(Or two )

[7bit]

It allows for a huge amount of keyboards and a child.

(Or two )

Yeah and a beat-up R4 does not look so lame as a Megane fresh from the factory!

Nice picture, BTW.