I’m in a dilemma re my 2007 155000 miles Audi A4 s-line special edition Quattro 2.0 turbo B7.

[riccccccardo]

Hi guys



I’m in a dilemma re my 2007 155000 miles Audi A4 s-line special edition Quattro 2.0 turbo B7. Great drivers car in decent good condition overall normal scratch’s small dents stone chips alloys paint worn, no mods on car, leather seats, Xeon lights, Audi navigation plus, six cd changer I never use lol, Manuel.


I’m £4000 in debt at moment.

Can not afford to buy another car.

Need a car for work (don’t want to drive an old used Ford Focus thank you).

My car needs for its next mot pass;

Both upper+ Lower suspension arms changed.

Both front bushes changed.

I also have a slow engine oil leak most probably from oil filter box.

All in mite be from an independent Audi specialist in Harrow £1500 to £2000.

Also my starter motor starting to grind in winter time now so probably could do with changing maybe.


My dilemma is I’d have to take out another loan to pay for all the repairs and I cannot afford to buy another car possibly needing another two years to save for another (I want a Lexus next) my work I need a car like 70-30 percent even though can use public transportation but it’s not ideal 15 minute walk each way every day with a very heavy work bag, unreliability etc etc.


What do I do spend the money, take out a loan for repairs to add to my £4000 debt? Or sell asap and not have a car for two years (paying off my debt to)? FYI I earn 25k a year and pay rent to a landlord.

 

[Dani_B19]

Keep it.

Takr it to a local independent garage snd have all the above work done for a 1/3 if noy lese than what audi have quoted.

Have a look at refinancing your current loan onto a better deal and take out the extra needee for the work above.

If the loans already on the best apr possible take out a 0% credit card and out the repair work on that.

 

[antwan64og]

No family or friends good with spanners and a tool collection?
Change the parts with their help and start buying tools, become self sufficient.

Paying a garage to fix a used car makes less and less economic sense as cars get older, it makes far less sense getting them to fit modifications which add no real value to the asset.

Give a man a fish and feed him for one day, teach him to fish and he can feed himself for life.

It’s a bit daunting at first but it’s basically like lego but with more oil, busted knuckles and plenty of swearing at why the Zee Germans did things in a certain way that makes no sense as you try to get it off

 

[Seanchadwick2k3]

I was in a similar position years ago but my vehicle failures where a bit more catastrophic. Had a vw Bora which cost me 4 grand only for the gear box to explode just outside of the warranty period.

I had no option but to either scrap it or repair it. After my first introduction to forums like this I had instructions in my hand to completely strip and rebuild a gearbox and had sourced a second hand one for £160 ready to mod. I did have my dad to help who is a plant fitter but had never took on a task like this so armed with my guide and my dad we did the.job, it took weeks worth of the odd hour here and there of an evening and was painful but the car was fixed and lasted me a good few more years.

Do you research, beg borrow and steal what you need and give it a shot. What have you got to lose?

 

[DieselJake]

I’m £4000 in debt at moment.

I earn 25k a year and pay rent to a landlord.

Hope you don't take this the wrong way but these are surely the main issues.

I have been in a similar situation as I bought my Audi a long time ago whilst at Uni then after that got a job paying 21k and decided to move into an insanely cheap rented place... big mistake that was! I was going into my savings every month just to pay bills (fortunately I had savings) and a few things went wrong that I just couldn't afford to fix, as I liked the car and was/am used to a comfortable life and was being massively underpaid for what I did I asked for a rise... waited months before anyone saw me then wasn't really offered anything so I handed in my notice and got a better paying job elsewhere, plus my girlfriend lives with me now as well and she contributes a bit.

I know that's not really advise for everyone and I don't fully know the circumstances but if you like the car you'll make it work, if your going to get something else get a cheap runabout instead, I know you don't want to but a Lexus is surely going to lumber you with similar costs which it doesn't sound like your in a position to pay.

 

[Seanchadwick2k3]

As @DieselJake Said sometimes you just need to go cheap until your on your feet. I ended up with a written off MK3 Mondeo from a salvage auction £575 with 80000 miles. All it needed was a rear light.

Very easy to work on parts where cheap and lasted me 3 years. Bargain!

 

[OliNix]

Control arms are £400 for a full front set and tie rods. + a friendly fella to help fit them = £400 + a couple of crates of beer!

Simples £1500 for that is daylight robbery!

 

[i3oricua]

Buy the parts yourself and either do the work yourself or ask for help. I don't know where you live but with some planning I'd be willing to help if you don't live crazy far or if you're willing to come to me. Those are easy things to change, the control arms are anyways. The oil leak could be several things.

Honestly, I don't know if your car is paid for. If it's not, then I'd sell it and buy a car that is cheap and paid for, reliable, and easy to repair and maintain. A little bit of humility now could go a long way in a year or two.

 

[Metalsmurf]

Where abouts are you?

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