Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - dontunderstandcars

Can anyone advise me what to do for the best?

My 2007 Ford C-MAX (which I've loved) has cost me loads of money over the last year or two in repairs. Since Christmas I've spent around £750 on repairs alone. I had started to wonder if I should see the car and get something more reliable. Last week my clutch broke and I've been quoted £530 to repair. This is the final straw - I definitely need to get a new car.

I now want to make the right decision about what to do with the C-MAX - should I sell it for scrap? Sell it to WBAC with the broken clutch for £126? Repair it and try to part-ex? Repair it and sell it privately? (I also don't want to sell anyone a car that will cause them more hassle.) What should I do?

Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - Ian D
As you have paid £750 in repairs recently, if, apart from the clutch it is a good car then the best option is to pay for the clutch, but only if it is in good order otherwise. What model (diesel/petrol) and what mileage is it on?
Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - dontunderstandcars
As you have paid £750 in repairs recently, if, apart from the clutch it is a good car then the best option is to pay for the clutch, but only if it is in good order otherwise. What model (diesel/petrol) and what mileage is it on?

Hi, thanks for your reply. It is on 135000 and is petrol.

Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - Ian D
I think I would pay for the clutch and keep it
Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - SLO76
The clutch could fail on a £5000 replacement, for example. In fact I’ve seen poorly driven cars with slipping clutches at 20,000 miles. If all that’s wrong with it is the clutch then £530 is a small price to pay for another year of two of motoring.

That said however, if you have the means and need dependability it may be time to upgrade. Only do so if you are talking about spending £5k plus as replacing one old car you trust with another you don’t know is unwise.
Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - Andrew-T

I now want to make the right decision about what to do with the C-MAX - should I sell it for scrap? Sell it to WBAC with the broken clutch for £126? Repair it and try to part-ex? Repair it and sell it privately?

You seem to have already decided. If repairing the car would restore it to good overall condition, do that; if that's unlikely, get rid. I suspect that you might not recover the cost of a new clutch in resale - so if you repair, keep the car; if you don't, scrap.

Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - badbusdriver

What were the recent £750 repairs for?. If it was wear and tear items, that, along with the clutch, doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the car, so I'd keep it and try and get another year out of it.

Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - nellyjak

£750...???...you don't get much in repairs these days for that kind of money..you obviously love the car..so I'd have the clutch done and stick with it.

There can often be just as much risk in buying a replacement you know nowt about.

Edited by nellyjak on 18/05/2021 at 07:22

Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - Cris_on_the_gas

With a 14 year old car and the mileage unless you are prepared to use the spanners yourself I would get shot as it is.

Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - Bromptonaut

If it's OK apart from the clutch and you can get it properly checked for other incipient costs then I'd suggest keeping. While repairs cost a lot depreciation will be higher in a replacement.

Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - corax

What was it on the car that cost £750 to repair?

Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - John F

I trust the £750 does not include consumables like oil and brake pads & discs which are just as costly for a one year old as a twenty year old car.

The OP's car has effectively stopped depreciating. Any half decent replacement will probably depreciate by at least £1000 a year. People these days seem to accept two, three or even four thousand (e.g. a PCP 'deal' for £320pcm) a year depreciation. If the OP loves the car, he should get the clutch repaired by a trusted indy. From the mileage it looks as though it's doing fewer than 10k per annum - there should be plenty of life in it yet if it's not too corroded. Even then it might only cost a hundred or so if it fails an MoT - like our 20yr old Focus did when it was 17.

Ford C-MAX (2007) - Should I repair my car? - Andrew-T

There's a parallel with our gas boiler, which was installed in 2000 (before we moved here) and received some new parts 15 years later - until the internal leak was diagnosed in the heat exchanger. A few years on, the fan became noisy and was replaced. It's still going strong, though the serviceman reckons the tube to the pressure gauge is probably blocked as it's not reading as it should. But I don't intend to replace the boiler just yet.

New boilers are probably like new cars - far more complicated than need be.