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Since England’s been experiencing a heatwave of late, I decided to take a little road trip to Bournemouth with my flatmates. Even though I live in central London, I have an old Ford KA that I use to zip around the city or take day trips across the country. Lots of people say to me, “Why on Earth would you need a car in London?” or “You’re so brave driving in all that traffic!” but I really don’t see it that way. I love driving and since I get 90% off the congestion charge for living in Zone 1, along with a parking permit that costs just a hundred pounds a year, it makes perfect sense.
This week my car was due for its MOT. I don’t know about you but I always DREAD the MOT. I make it through the year with no problems at all and sometimes completely forget when it’s actually due. But then Mum calls me up with a nice little reminder to go and get the MOT and I’m filled with a sense of dread. Where should I take it? Will I be ripped off? Will I need to get a bunch of work that doesn’t need doing? No-one likes to be told that actually they’re going to have to spend hundreds on something that from the outside, appears to be working quite fine.
Council MOT test centre or garage?
After reading some information from MoneySavingExpert.com I decided to take my car to a council test centre in Kings Cross. Across the country there are council centres where they MOT council vehicles but the law says they must be open to the public. The good thing is they’re not affiliated with any garage, so they have no reason to try to get extra money out of you. The MOTs here tend to be the most expensive – £54.85 – whereas some garages will do them for as low as £20 but you’re safe in the knowledge you won’t be ripped off with work that doesn’t need doing. However, the annoying part is if it fails, you then have to find a garage to do the repair work.
In my case, my little Ford KA failed.
I then spent the day running around London getting quotes to fix the problems – £300 seemed to be about the consensus. And my car’s probably only worth £700!
As one mechanic pointed out to me. Is it even worth it? He informed me they’re scrapping vehicles left, right and centre because lots of people feel it’s just not worth the hassle of repairs. So instead they buy a new one, or a newer second hand car.
Should I just buy a new car?
I then started looking at the option of buying a different car online, but with so many websites and cars available, it’s overwhelming to know where to start.
Coincidentally at around the same time, I was approached by Carspring, so I decided to check out their website. The great thing about Carspring is it enables you to buy a used car online and have it delivered straight to your door. That means no driving half way across the country to go and inspect the car you’re interested in, and a lot less hassle.
But if I haven’t seen it, what if I don’t like it?
If you’re not happy with it, there’s a money back guarantee within 14 days. You can purchase the car outright using cash you’ve saved up, or you can buy the car on finance by using Carspring’s car finance calculator. All you have to do is tell them your credit history, budget and length of agreement, then they work closely with their carefully selected finance partners to find a tailored finance package that suits your specific circumstances. It’s great for self-employed people like me and there’s often no deposit required.
While buying a new car is a big decision it’s certainly something I’m considering doing – I’ve signed up to Carspring’s newsletter and will keep my eye out for some good deals.
The post My car failed its MOT, should I buy another one? appeared first on Pommie Travels.
Source: pommietravels.com