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Change in working situation means the Chomp family now need a second car for me to use. It's going to be used for
180 ish miles on a Sunday/Monday
30 ish miles per day during the week
180 ish miles return journey on Friday
I have no issue with a car that has a few dings etc but I do need it to be reliable, cheap as possible to run/insure and able to sit in comfortably for 3 hours or so for the big journeys. I'd not be averse to a big saloon, or a little runabout.
We do have a family of 4, who go out biking/camping so if it would handle these duties as well that would be a plus (not essential as we have a Yeti as the main family car which can handle those duties)
Tricky thing is - I want to spend as little as possible - ideally no more than £1000 inc tax/insurance (40 year old with full NCB)
Is this feasible - and if so what should/could I be looking for?
Car
any make and model at £1k buy on condition and any history.
Mk1 Focus, petrol.
I've got a 15 year old mk1 focus 1.6 and it's been really good. Gets used for urban commuting, plus handled a 3000 mile trip all across France last summer with the air-con on full the whole time.
Some kind of engine emissions light is on, which i think its the catalytic converter sensor, however its been through 2 MOT's like that and has had no effect on driving.
Being a bangernomics type car, it's not getting fixed until it's a problem!
having spent the last hour or so trawling through autotrader cars under £1k I'm properly shocked at what it will get you
I was expecting to struggle to get anything half decent - but there's now almost too much choice!
Question is should I risk a old jag\merc . . .
(not sure why I want to given that it wasn't on the radar 45 mins ago)
£1k does get you a lot these days, for sure. Old Jag or Merc..? well, maybe, but make sure you know the cost to fix one first.
Focus is cheap to run and fix, roomy, comfy, good to drive.
yeah - the head says steer clear of anything that was too pricey to start with
should really look at this objectively rather than seeing it as something fun
Mileage sounds like a diesel MAY be more economical - just depends on what you end up with/whether you know a decent independent garage etc.
A lot of people talk about the high servicing cost of diesels etc. but I haven't really found that to be the case with my diesel Ibiza.
I'd be looking for something unpopular that won't have great demand on the second hand market; Nissan Almera seems to be a car that no one wants second hand, so you can pick up some real bargains.
Something like this:
A lot of people talk about the high servicing cost of diesels
it's not so much the routine servicing costs but rather that there is a lot more to go wrong in a turbo diesel engine compared to a n/a petrol, so repair bills can be high.
I'd avoid anything that was spendy in the first place, and go for something relatively common so parts are cheap and widely available. OP - are you happy fixing stuff yourself?
I'd also very much buy on condition and history rather than a particular brand/model. A well maintained Fiat will be more reliable than an abused/unloved/unserviced Toyota (possibly, maybe). You get the idea 🙂
You need an e class. There's a reason German taxis are all e classes..
cp - Memberit's not so much the routine servicing costs but rather that there is a lot more to go wrong in a turbo diesel engine compared to a n/a petrol, so repair bills can be high.
Potentially true, but from the many many threads on here about whether to buy diesel or petrol, people poo-pooing the diesel option often use the line of 'the sums don't work out as servicing diesels is way more expensive...blah blah...' which I haven't found to be true.
Just pointing it out for the OP, really.
[url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201503091555156?onesearchad=used&price-to=2000&page=2&radius=30&search-target=usedcars&postcode=l86qz&channel=cars&sort=default&fuel-type=diesel&body-type=estate&logcode=p ]E Class estate 3.0l [/url]
Not that economical etc but what a lot of car for £790 🙂
I would not rule out a Jag or Merc.
One of the principles of bangernomics is to spend minimal on maintenance. It’s cheaper to fix mid market cars like fords etc but not always wiser. If you concentrate on consumables when purchasing i.e. a car that has had recent brakes, tyres, exhaust (service with oil change etc) then you should be ok for a couple of years bar something more serious. On a Jag or Merc a serious fault would likely be uneconomical to repair, you scrap it and move on. On a mid market car you have to make a calculated decision, any work over say £500 and you are potentially throwing money away as that + the scrap value could go toward the next car.
I’d look at as many as possible and buy on condition and service/maintenance history but don’t rule something out because of potential costs you should be aiming for nil maintenance other than an MOT every year and the cost of the call to the scrap yard at the death.
Big cars will cost (maybe much) more to tax and run, be under no illusions about that. Fine if you pootle to the shops now and again, but doing approx. 2000 miles/month will rack up fuel bills rapidly.
It would be wise to be flexible on the £1k outlay if it means getting a more fuel efficient car, if overall costs are to be minimized.
35mpg car means 57 gallons of fuel/month.
45mpg car means 45 gallons/month, a £60 saving ie several hundred quid a year, not far off what you propose spending on the car itself.
£1k including tax/insurance (if insurance is say £150) means £850 for car+tax, which looks pretty challenging, although depending on how old you are happy to buy, there are cheap options out there. The car linked below will be good for over 40mpg, ~£150/annum tax. I ought to declare an interest as it is the same as my own car. It's by no means a mile muncher on the motorway but is happy enough at 70mph:
Newer one with chain-cam 1.4 (slightly higher tax but probably offset slightly by better economy/reduced maintenance)
We bought ours for £1600 seven years ago with a similar mileage to the ones listed, not failed an MOT yet we've put 60,000 more miles on it.
Big old 5 series with loads of receipts and plenty of motorway miles, big diesel engine. Go for an estate if you want to do the camping stuff. Or anything of similar ilk, Audi, Merc etc.
You could go newer with a big mondeo with top spec, maybe not as good for bangernomics as may not be built quite as well but any car can be a lemon. You definitely want a big comfy car for those kind of distances, not a 10 year old focus. Big comfy seats, decent aircon, good engine and cruise control 🙂
petrol Nissan almera (dull but robust)
Petrol Suzuki ignis (ugly but robust)
I'd suggest something with a 1.9 VAG diesel however they tend to be the cars folks want to for your kind of requirement and are overpriced
Bigger car more comfort and they generally take better to higher mileage use
I would look for a Skoda Octavia - petrol due to starting budget should be able to get one in one of those weird or unpopular colours.
It kind of depends how long you expect to have to do those kind of journeys.
3 months - 6months - a year + ?
Prob looking at 6 months ish doing this mileage (although this may extend to a year)
I'm not bothered about cosmetics (odd colour or small dents are acceptable) and A\C is a plus.
Seen a few A3's that look ok for £500, but to be honest I have no clue when it comes to cars apart from how to drive them! I am well aware that bangernomics may not be the best option for a year of hassle free driving for under a grand
Jap stuff like Honda Accord or Toyota Avensis, boring but okay to drive and likely to most reliable for that sort of money. Auto ones are a nice easy drive now you've reached a certain age etc
After toying with something stupid (Quattro TT for a couple of grand), something hairdressery (megane coupe and a puma) and something that will prob go link stink for 500 miles (Leon Cupra that had been chipped) I'm test driving an automatic 2004 Nissan Primera this evening.
Mates dads old car so only done 50k miles at a snails pace and has FSH.
It should be comfortable enough for what I need it for and while the MPG wont be great (he reckons his old man got high 30's out of it) fuel is covered by the company expenses so I'm not going to worry about it.
I would start another argument, but why bother when there's a ready made one for you [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/which-reliable-fun-to-drive-reasonable-amount-of-space-car-for-1000 ]here[/url], from earlier in the week on this very subject 😀
binners - MemberI would start another argument, but why bother when there's a ready made one for you here, from earlier in the week on this very subject
The OP's thread is older than that one, binners...... 😀
I think was more of a polite update than anything else.
yup - just an update
if I don't hate it I'll be buying it on Sunday - and then will post another update as to how it is 🙂
[i]It should be comfortable enough for what I need it for and while the MPG wont be great (he reckons his old man got high 30's out of it) fuel is covered by the company expenses so I'm not going to worry about it. [/i]
Is that 45ppm, or just fuel (and you'll back-claim the tax back off HMRC)?
I would say Focus or Mondeo myself - both comfortable, reliable and plenty of independent garages that will be able to maintain them for you with relatively inexpensive parts.
Old zafira, better at family and camping duties than the yeti.
Dirt cheap, mine just keeps going. 04, leather heated seats, nice on long journeys. Owned for 6 years and about 90000 miles, now on 158000.
Few big bills between 100 and 120k,it's a diesel.
Simone
My brother has an S reg Mercedes E300 estate. He bought it seven years ago with 150,000 miles on it. It's now at 250,000 miles. It's never broken down. We've replaced the rear exhaust box and some brake pads, recently we found some 'new' front wings we fitted. No advisories on his last MOT, he wants to keep it till it dies.
I'm a fan of Small sized, small engined "common" cars,
I keep eying up 1.0L Vauxhall Agila's for me to use as a shitbox 2nd car to save the family MPV from some wear and tear...
Yes you can pick up an old Corsa for even less, but it will have had a harder life and a Agila is just so [i]un-sexy[/i] while still being quite practical (4 doors, bit of a boot), and if 90% of your driving is just going to be just you why pay to lug about much more metal and glass than you absolutely need.