Am I being unreasonable

I buy old cars and run them until they have to be dispatched to the scrap yard. Currently I own a Yaris, ten years old, which I have had for over 5 years. Completely reliable and as all our cars go to the same garage and we know the owner I would be very surprised if he overcharged me. DH's SAAB has now done over 200,000 is equally reliable but is beginning to show signs of age, little things go wrong that do not lead to break downs but need seeing to.

You are not wrong Ana

It's another world, gillybob!

Blimey when my car gets dirty I hoover it out... Not trade it in !

Ours gets quite a hammering gillybob with it being a seven seater. If we go anywhere as a family they all pile in ours and kids feet, food and dirty bits of treasure all take their toll.

Mine is twelve years old and still going strong, though it has cost me a bit more in the past two years. Much as I'd like to change it, I think I have to stick with it a bit longer and anyway I don't go on long car journeys any more - I "let the train take the strain".

Blimey harrigran A two year old car is positively brand new in my eyes !

We are thinking of replacing DH's car as it is 12 years old and done 120000 miles but will wait and see when it gets it's MOT in a couple of weeks. Neither of us knows anything about cars so have been looking around for something a bit smaller but not a 'Saga' car. Our problem is that we buy a new car and then run it into the ground so will find driving a new one with all its gismos a bit daunting. Thanks for posting this Galen as it has made me think we must ask about servicing costs before we buy.

The mechanic who serviced my dear departed Peugeot used to ring up when he had reached service costs of £500 as he said it was more than the car was worth.

DH used to do 40,000 miles a year, since he retired it is less but we still clock up quite a lot driving to France and Belgium four times a year.

I know my last c class had to have new tyres at 3years with 7000 miles on the clock

We got rid of our Audi A4 estate just before Christmas - it had done 115,000 miles and was still going strong - 55 registration. I have a 54 Mercedes SLk which does about 2,000 miles a year as we only use it in the summer when the weather is nice and we can have the roof down! DH has given up having that serviced by the Mercedes dealer as he says it is not worth it (and obviously won't affect any warranty). He did say, though, when I mentioned your car, Gallen, that underusing a car is almost as bad as overusing it.

I used to when I did 40000+ a year. But not now!

That did sound a bit odd but DH always had a new car every two years when he had a company car, suppose he got used to it.

I have to agree, Bags! My last Fiesta is 16 years old and still going strong -OH uses it now when his clapped out vintage Capri is out of action. Really, harrigan - the 'old' one is two years old.....

I'd expect any car to be reliable for two years! Good grief! My Fiesta was reliable for twenty-five! It only had to be euthanised because work on the chassis was going to cost more than the car was worth. The engine was still going fine, and I'd never had to have a new gear box, nor anything else really big.

We have a Mercedes Galen and that sounds about right. I must say it is the most reliable car we have ever had and thinking of getting another because the old one is two years old.

They're crossing dustbins with hippos these days you know! They have poor vision so they can't see you, but they can hear you and just charge blindly

We have a thirteen year old car. Everything seems to be £250 battery change /mot next month I know they will find something expensive. A gentle encounter with an aggressive dustbin £280 all since January .

I had the same thing Galen, the service for my car (just 2 years old) was almost £300. They found a small oil leak in the gear box so I had to take it back for that to be fixed (under warranty). I'm not a suspicious person but there was another lady there with the same car as mine, same year, who also had a small oil leak in the gear box!

I made sure my new car came with extended warranty and 3 years free servicing, as like you, I think it's an awful lot of money for not an awful lot. But also Mercs don't come cheap - and nor does anything to do with them.

More things can go wrong with modern cars. Not the engine so much as all the electrics. I wonder if that's what it's about.

I've checked on the merc site and that is what they say!

To keep the warranty I have to. It used to be every 60000 but then they altered it to every year or 15000 whichever came first and alternet big and little services. This is a big one.
I'll never buy another merc!

No, Galen you're not. Did he suck his teeth as well?

I remember a survey that showed women were charged more than men for the same service because the mechanics said the car needed more doing to it than it really did.

So, just think what they will try to get away with when a little old lady comes along.