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It's going to die on me isn't it?
Oh yes. Don't even tell us the make/model as you'll get conflicting info, anecdata and confirmation bias. Just enjoy it.
pifko-
Just enjoy it
This.
My 14yo, 40k mile Panda cost £2k and I got two glorious years out of it. Including a drive to Belfast and back with a 6 month pregnant ms_com in the passenger seat. MOT after two years came back with some bits that are known for that car and would have cost more than it was worth to fix. Sold it on ebay for scrap for £300 (person who bought it probably fixed the bits and flipped it, but I don't care).
13yo 60k mile CMax that replaced that was £4k and my first auto (never going back to manual). Alternator died within a month, leaving me stranded outside my mother in law's in Brixton. RAC got me home by plugging in a battery back and following me back to Thornton Heath. Bought from a dealer in Surrey, they said they'd fix it under warranty but I'd have to get the car 17 miles back to them. Got quotes for recovery which were all over £100. 1 year of Green Flag with home recovery (a lot will only cover you over 1/4 mile away from home) was cheaper. Signed up for that, called them up next day and said "You'll never BELIEVE what just happened!? I know! The day after I signed up!" They came and took the car back to the dealer, who fixed it and brought it back. After that, for the 3.5 years I owned it I had it serviced every year, replaced the tyres once, but then it started to have more frequent issues that cost a few hundred quid at a time. Plus it was shit on petrol so decided to get something more fun (for me) and more economical.
April this year I bought a 2013 90k mile Octavia Estate VRS. £9k but traded in the C Max for £1,250. 0-60 in 7 seconds and 150 mph, which is fast, for me. Considering the above ownership history. O2 sensor started complaining soon after i bought it but ultimately getting that fixed myself was more economical than losing a day of work and arguing with the dealer to get them to fix it. I have since also had a bit more of a drains up service done to be preventative (injectors pulled and cleaned, valves inspected (didn't need cleaning), DSG gearbox serviced, full service etc - interestingly, spark plugs were only finger tight, but even on the mechanic's road test drive, he didn't notice any issues, just surprised him when he went to pull them). From now on I expect it to just be normal service and cost of ownership things. Eg. I'll probably replace the tyres before the next MOT and maybe even get the wheels refurbed at the same time (a good bit of historic kerbing). There are probably lots of things I would worry about going wrong, but if I get it regularly serviced by people who know what they're doing, I am happy I've done all I can to extend the life of it.
stevo_com
It's normal to be super anxious about the purchasing decision you're about to make right?
I'm just waiting for everything and anything to go wrong.
I went to the dealer (in Shoreham), it was a pleasant experience, the car was quiet, the seller pointed out what's being fixed before sale, I was ready to ask a question about the tyres (as they're flagged on the advisory) and that was raised before I asked. Went for a drive, quiet, no weird noises, felt nice, experience felt ok, sale felt none rushed, matched the reviews I'd read, long term car dealer. Noticed two things while driving, horn sounds odd and the inbuilt sat nav started up even though the console didn't raise. Mileage matched up.
It's going to die on me isn't it?