Stick or twist?

[ChrisCPompey]

Hi everyone. Here’s my dilemma. I have a 14 plate Yaris Hybrid and had a couple of issues with it. Inverter failed (scary), and had to replace the ‘normal’ Battery (which took two months! And I was left without a car for most of it, only given a courtesy car for the final few days after complaining to the senior area manager). Given how long it takes to get a brand new car, and how expensive and increasingly scarce nearly new used vehicles are, I’m considering replacing it next year (my service plan and extended warranty expires then). I was thinking about getting an Aygo X as it’s almost as big as the Yaris but now I’ve got used to it kinda like the hybrid.  I really don’t use the car a lot to justify spending a lot of money I can’t recoup (retired with limited income), so was even considering sticking with my current car and risking nothing major goes wrong once the warranty expires.  I do have it serviced and MOT’d at the dealership where I bought it five years ago. So I should I stick with my existing Yaris hybrid or replace it with a comparatively cheap alternative?

[RUToyota]

Given that "I really don't use the car a lot"..I think I'd be inclined to stick.

[Bernard Foy]

Hi Chris, given that you don’t use your car a lot I would stick with your present car. Why buy a cheap alternative which you don’t know and which could possibly give more trouble than the one you have. At least you know what you have. The devil you know is always better than the devil you don’t. Without knowing all the details, that’s about the best advice I can give you.

[ChrisCPompey]

Thanks for your thoughts.  Guess the money I’d save by not replacing it could be used if it needed any repairs. 

[Puglet]

Agree, sometimes it's better the devil you know. I always look at cost of a car over it's ownership lifetime, some years you win some you loose. Luckily with our cars of varing makes in recent years usually been ok, that's with cars 10+ years old and no warranty. Now that rust repairs are distant memory, cars tend to live longer so mechanical gremlins come into play. Had a big bill on our Astra last year for MOT, but that was ABS light so knew it needed new hub etc, that's modern cars for you, it's the sensors/electronics that are costly, but to be fair it has been fine for 3 years previous and it is an old car. For me it depends on the age of the car and any issues/gremlins which when they start to mount up it may be time to cut loose. 

Our toyota based 107, which is 14 years old now and has had no major issues, but is very basic so less to go wrong, could of upgraded to newer Aygo type, but it been very reliable so no reason to change.