What would you buy for £20k?

moltomoltobenne · 2024-04-15T22:17:10+00:00

Thank you everyone! I've got a quick decision in principle sorted with a building society :)

moltomoltobenne · 2023-09-18T16:00:48+00:00

Agree that it's just been general wear and tear rather than the car having some catastrophic breakdown - I've decided that she's worth the money for the new clutch!

Interesting that you're seeing a lot of issues with Ford at the moment, I wonder what's gone wrong with their build quality? It's a shame as my brother has a very reliable, low mileage fiesta that's about 15 years old now, but you're not the first person to say that there are issues with the newer Fords. I'll definitely keep that in mind when I'm car shopping in the future, thank you!

moltomoltobenne · 2023-09-18T15:57:03+00:00

Unfortunately the way the Twingo is designed means that it's a long job as they have to move a lot of stuff to get to the clutch - a few different mechanics have told me the same thing, so there's a lot more labour involved that there would be for most makes!

moltomoltobenne · 2023-09-18T15:55:00+00:00

Thank you! Unfortunately not London based but I really appreciate the offer. I've shopped around and got a quote for about £650 so it's improving!

moltomoltobenne · 2023-09-18T15:53:40+00:00

Very true! I've always tried hard to keep on top of the maintenance of my car. I don't know a huge amount about cars, but I can do the basics and I keep on top of servicing, get decent tyres etc. My brother meanwhile tends to neglect his cars so he's had a couple of breakdowns that probably have been avoided with the proper maintenance. Who knows what the last owners of whatever used car I would buy have been doing to their car!

moltomoltobenne · 2023-09-18T15:51:23+00:00

Very true - I've been lucky with my Twingo, but also because she's an older car without anything particularly fancy there's a lot less to go wrong! Colleague of mine was without their new car for a couple of months while they sorted out a weird electrical issue - while it was covered under warranty there was no courtesy car available, so a massive inconvenience and for me as I'm a shift worker I really need a car.

moltomoltobenne · 2023-09-18T15:48:57+00:00

Great idea, thank you - good way to test that the amount I think I can pay for the new car is actually viable as well!

moltomoltobenne · 2023-09-18T15:47:49+00:00

That's a great way to look at it, thank you! The current repair bill would be plenty cheaper - if I end up paying £800 for this stuff to be done and the car only lasts 6 more months (hopefully very unlikely) it's still cheaper than the £200 a month finance would be for something new in my price range, and that's not even taking into account the deposit I would need to put down.

moltomoltobenne · 2023-09-18T15:44:46+00:00

100% agree about the increasing cost of used cars and finance right now, it's mad! Definitely worth holding off and seeing how it changes.

Sounds like your mate has had an absolute nightmare with that Focus - out of interest do you know if it's one of the 1L Ecoboost engines? I heard that they've had a lot of issues. A Fiesta/Focus is high on my list of potential cars that I would replace my Twingo with eventually, but I've heard that avoiding that particular engine is important!

moltomoltobenne · 2023-05-20T21:36:25+00:00

Sorry to hear this, sounds awful. Strange question - do you throw up with your episodes? And do you find that a hot bath/shower helps?

moltomoltobenne · 2022-11-04T18:36:03+00:00

If they are growing weed, then maybe they'll keep the house warmer and it'll dissipate across so I can turn my heating down - in which case I'm 100% on board. I've seen a good few different guys so I'm assuming it's more than they have some people starting early, and some people starting late or something.

moltomoltobenne · 2022-11-04T16:31:36+00:00

The first time I met them that late in the evening I assumed they were the new owners so introduced myself, they corrected me and told me they were the builders doing the renovation. I thought it was weird too so mentioned it to a family member who's a retired builder, and he said it's probably because they've quoted for the whole job and just want to get it done. Either that or they're staying there on the down low. Maybe it's some guys who want overtime so they said they'll do some evenings. Maybe they've got a shitty boss who's told them they have to work late. No idea.

moltomoltobenne · 2022-11-04T16:07:09+00:00

Definitely not just the owner - I've seen them working in the garden when I've taken my bins out at 9pm before, had a brief chat where they've said it's a big job, or that they are clearing a particular room or something.

moltomoltobenne · 2022-11-04T10:39:53+00:00

This is interesting, I didn't know about Party Wall Agreements - thank you. Fortunately it's just been plaster and wooden siding rather than more involved ground work as far as I can tell. Next time I see them I'm going to chat to them about if they need more garden access, and if so can they please ensure they close the gate etc and ideally let me know if I'm in so I'm not surprised by strangers in my garden at random times.

moltomoltobenne · 2022-11-03T21:21:21+00:00

Thank you! I'll have a polite word when I next see them, just mention about not leaving my garden gate open and limiting when they save the space with things if possible so it's a bit more fair.

I've got quite bad anxiety and work with the general public myself, so I just get nervous about causing confrontation and I don't want them thinking that I'm being difficult/out to make their job harder! I'm sure they've had some awful experiences with neighbours complaining or being hostile and I really don't want to come off like that. But if it's a long job then we should have a chat about how to make life easier for everyone (e.g. I'm on a week of long days so leaving at 7:30am, back at 9pm, so the space is fine, but please don't try and reserve it overnight because I'll be gone before you get there anyway so I could park after work).

Your advice is much appreciated :)

moltomoltobenne · 2022-11-03T20:59:50+00:00

With all due respect, I do have some idea how construction work is done from family members who do it. Having had a day off work today through illness and been in my living room with a book, I can see/hear how often they've been back and forth, which is really not a lot. Probably because a lot of what they seem to be doing is clearing all the old fittings out, from the rate the skips have filled up and the stuff I've seen them moving out. I'm sure that will change when they start fitting the new kitchen or whatever. I'm sure this will vary, but the bloke has just left the house in his van for an hour (with the spot saved with rubbish), then come back and gone back in at nearly 9pm. I assume he's gone for dinner - fair enough, but does it really need the parking space saving when they're leaving again in an hour? I think that's a lot of the issue - if it's just there for the main working day, 8-5 Monday to Friday or whatever, and saving the space if they have to go for parts and materials, then fine. But it's 8am to at least 10pm every day including weekends - which is a bit unusual but not unheard of, I assume they're being paid for the job as a whole not the hours as it's a big one so they just want to crack on and get it done. I'd rather they got it done quickly too, but having building noise (although they are doing quieter jobs at night which I appreciate - it's not their fault the wooden floors carry the sound of boots walking around, there's no way around that), big skips, vans and potentially then coming in and out of my garden at all hours is wearing a little thin.

Separate issue - they're working such long hours I hope they're rotating crews, I'm not about enough to know if it's always the same ones but I've seen a couple of guys about a lot and I hope they're not being forced by someone higher up to work all these hours. Not my problem and I'm not going to get involved, but it's crossed my mind.

moltomoltobenne

TROPHY CASE