Should I flip or stay (10yr old cars)

Good morning AAMers,
We have a 06 Hyundai Getz with 170k km on the clock. Good little car, but we have had persistent issues with the ABS sensor, despite having it and the seat replaced, it keeps lighting up the dashboard when it feels like it.
The car is also reasonably heavy on oil (3L topups every 2-3 months).
We drive 18600km a year (in this car), it's the second family car.
We have some savings (and are blessed to do so) but are not saving anywhere near what we used to before kids came on the scene. These are our ultimate savings which are running down and not being replaced (big ticket items only).
So this car is 10yrs old which would have been my 'out the gate' deadline in pre-kid times. I'm not mechanically minded and usually hand the car over to others for servicing etc. The NCT will not be due until November 2017 (got it done early last year).
Other 'big ticket' items on our horizon - we bought the house about 10yrs ago and so are expecting a slow trickle of appliance failures to start occurring. [We have to get a new boiler at the end of this week!]
The other family car is an 07 Focus with 110k km on clock so that will be having the same questions asked of it in approximately a year. That has had the entire electric loom replaced this year because the boot failed.
Driving a car into the ground is a good idea, but only if you can reasonably maintain it yourself. The worry of a yearly NCT and slow electrical failure is prompting me to replace each with a 2-3yr old car as they near their 11 yr NCT.
[Other preference is to get a car with a XX2 reg to avoid NCT queues]
Aside from the niceness of having a newer car (shiny!) and the worries above I'm not sure to flip or stay. Any advice? Would ye flip the car when it has a few months left to run on the NCT or now? Do people care about the NCT date when it's a 10yr old car?
I have other importing questions but will start a new thread with them when I have some thoughts here.
Thanks guys,
MS

You seem to have only one issue with the Getz. ABS sensor. Can you bring it to different garage perhaps a specialist and get it finally sorted. If you buy another used car, you might have more issues with it, or less. That is the unknown by changing car. Unless you buy something new enough to have a warranty.

Considering the biggest cost is likely to be depreciation, anything you buy will cost you more money to run. If you want better reliability a new car will be better.

Its really down to what you can afford.

AlbacoreA said:

... Unless you buy something new enough to have a warranty.

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Please don't perpetuate the myth created by 2nd-hand car-dealers about car warranties. Any car sold by a motor-trader to a consumer, must be

• of merchantable quality
• fit for purpose
• reasonably durable and
• as described

http://thecai.ie/your-rights/your-rights/know-your-rights/

[broken link removed]

From a garage or car dealer
In this situation you, as a consumer, are protected by the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 as you are buying a car for your personal use from a person whose normal business it is to sell cars. As a consumer you have the same rights if you buy an item second hand as if it is new. In this case if you find a fault with the car after you have bought it the dealer is the person who must set matters right. If you buy a commercial vehicle or a tractor from a dealer you may not have the same protection under the law. If you are offered an extended warranty on a used car think about the cost of the warranty versus the cost of repairs that the car is likely to need.

The age of the car has no bearing on a consumer's recourse for a faulty 2nd-hand vehicle purchased from a car-dealer. The typical "3-month engine and gear-box" warranty is just nonsense. Any attempt by the dealer to diminish a purchaser's rights by having them sign a disclaimer might be viewed as illegal.

I take the Getz to a brake specialist with electronic diagnostic kit as suggested but would be more worried about the Ford. Was it water ingress, DIY add-ons to the electrics or rats damaged the wiring?

Perhaps I should have said buy something used from a dealer with a warranty, or something new with an extended warranty.

I was mainly referring to a used car bought privately will not have a warranty.

mathepac said:

I'd take the Getz to a brake specialist with electronic diagnostic kit as suggested but would be more worried about the Ford. Was it water ingress, DIY add-ons to the electrics or rats damaged the wiring?

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Water ingress around windscreen seal, apparently 'typical of that series Focus'
Any time we get a bulb change it shorts the washer jets :/
We were figuring the Ford was a safer long-term bet than the Hyundai but as I said above we really only have one problem with the Getz (aside from much higher mileage and lesser general comfort in Getz)
We can probably afford to replace both but that will wipe out our savings.
The idea was always to go 'nearly new' and hopefully still under manufacturers warranty.
I suppose that we're trying to work out at what point we'll be spending more on ongoing repairs than will be 'worth it'

AlbacoreA said:

Perhaps I should have said buy something used from a dealer with a warranty, or something new with an extended warranty.

I was mainly referring to a used car bought privately will not have a warranty.

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Any warranties offered by a dealer or manufacturer are yours on top of your rights under Irish / EU consumer law. They do not replace them, they are additional.

microsquid said:

Any time we get a bulb change it shorts the washer jets :/

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Why do you need to keep replacing bulbs? Is it the same water problem? I have a 12 year old Skoda, I've replaced 1 bulb.

microsquid said:

The idea was always to go 'nearly new' and hopefully still under manufacturers warranty.

Click to expand...

See my posts in this thread about consumer protection buying 2nd hand cars or follow the links I've posted. Ignore SIMI bleatings and don't sign their contracts for sales. All you want is a receipt with the VIN/Reg No. specified.

microsquid said:

I suppose that we're trying to work out at what point we'll be spending more on ongoing repairs than will be 'worth it'

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They both have electrical / electronic problems which are proving problematic to resolve. It is a gamble.

mathepac said:

Why do you need to keep replacing bulbs? Is it the same water problem? I have a 12 year old Skoda, I've replaced 1 bulb.

See my posts in this thread about consumer protection buying 2nd hand cars or follow the links I've posted. Ignore SIMI bleatings and don't sign their contracts for sales. All you want is a receipt with the VIN/Reg No. specified.

They both have electrical / electronic problems which are proving problematic to resolve. It is a gamble.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the consumer info Mathepac.
We replace bulbs in the Focus about 2-4 times a year (one side, then the other, then back again). They just burn out. Only have replaced bulbs in Getz twice I think?
Friend has a 09 Hyundai i30 and their bulbs are always going too - I had figured it was car generational issue (can't wait for LED lamps that don't drain battery)

If you can sort out the ABS on the Getz, lose the Focus. That's a crazy amount of bulbs to be blowing, the electrics are still dodgy.

Micro squid do you have auto lights on the focus and if yes do you use them? (or do you turn lights on before you start the car engine). I have a friend who's focus was blowing bulbs frequently, turned off the auto lights and no more blown bulbs. When you start the car with auto lights on, and assuming it's dark enough for them to come on, you get a surge of electricity that stresses the bulbs too much. Bad design but worked for my friend.

We're not auto electricians btw so could just be a coincidence that it worked!

microsquid do you replace the bulbs yourself? If so are you very careful not to touch the glass with your fingers? If you touch it this could well be the reason they blow so quickly (although I know there are issues with the Focus and bulbs).