Car for a year
Discussion
The absolute most expensive way to have a car for a year is to get a brand new one, as you're paying the first year depreciation. You pay this whether you lease, PCP or buy outright and sell on after a year.
If it has to be new, probably a Dacia Duster or Sandero would limit the damage. But it'll still cost a lot more than a used car.
The key thing is to minimise depreciation without spending a lot on maintenance, depreciation flattens out after around 10 years, so you're probably looking at something that age but reliable. That probably means a Toyota or Honda.
So for a mid to large five door, that's probably a Toyota Avensis, Honda Accord, perhaps a Mazda 6 from c.2009 for £3k or so, or perhaps a Lexus GS300 for say £5k, for a bit more performance and comfort.
Should be able to re-sell for say £1k less than you paid, worst case. And relatively unlikely to be too expensive to keep running.
Another option would be a Mondeo or Insignia, which will be cheaper to buy, more likely to break but cheaper to fix if it does.
Finally you could go to the other extreme, and buy a classic performance saloon such as an E39 BMW M5 or Lotus Carlton, on the grounds that values are only going one way, and thus you'll make a profit on it. However there's a risk of a big repair bill or two, which 12 months speculative appreciation may not cover. But best case is a negative total cost.
If it has to be new, probably a Dacia Duster or Sandero would limit the damage. But it'll still cost a lot more than a used car.
The key thing is to minimise depreciation without spending a lot on maintenance, depreciation flattens out after around 10 years, so you're probably looking at something that age but reliable. That probably means a Toyota or Honda.
So for a mid to large five door, that's probably a Toyota Avensis, Honda Accord, perhaps a Mazda 6 from c.2009 for £3k or so, or perhaps a Lexus GS300 for say £5k, for a bit more performance and comfort.
Should be able to re-sell for say £1k less than you paid, worst case. And relatively unlikely to be too expensive to keep running.
Another option would be a Mondeo or Insignia, which will be cheaper to buy, more likely to break but cheaper to fix if it does.
Finally you could go to the other extreme, and buy a classic performance saloon such as an E39 BMW M5 or Lotus Carlton, on the grounds that values are only going one way, and thus you'll make a profit on it. However there's a risk of a big repair bill or two, which 12 months speculative appreciation may not cover. But best case is a negative total cost.
^ W203s are pretty comfortable, decent to drive, generally nice cars. IME stuff will very likely go wrong over 12 months - I bought an expensively maintained one, and still spent a grand first year on servicing + repairs. With a lower value car, if the problem isn't serious or doesn't bother you, you can always ignore it - bangernomics/shedding approach. The downside is the risk that something breaks that stops the car being driven, and then it's expensive, or scrap it. Only other thing is the rear legroom is relatively tight, as it's a compact exec on an FR platform - but likely fine for kids and certainly for luggage.
That one is a post-facelift which is good news, the earlier cars are terribly rust-prone, facelifts only averagely so. Rear subframe is a hotspot for rot, there's a bit of a risk you buy a car that you can't get through another MoT without spending more than it's worth. Worth checking carefully.
Not the absolute lowest-risk option I reckon, but a nice car and worth considering as an option, especially if you find a good one.
That one is a post-facelift which is good news, the earlier cars are terribly rust-prone, facelifts only averagely so. Rear subframe is a hotspot for rot, there's a bit of a risk you buy a car that you can't get through another MoT without spending more than it's worth. Worth checking carefully.
Not the absolute lowest-risk option I reckon, but a nice car and worth considering as an option, especially if you find a good one.
Insignia Elite 220 a good decent family car that's swift reliable & won't depreciate much either.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201161...
SRI 220
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112160...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201161...
SRI 220
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112160...
p4cks said:
I just sold a visually better one for £800, with MOT until October. I didn't sell it on the open market though - too many known / obvious issues made worse by mine having been MOT'd by a very pernickity tester.The MOT on that one says the EML was on which on the petrol could well be the timing chain.
I was thinking something like this £5k Mazda 6 with a years MOT - reliable n/a petrol engine, should still have a decent (est £4k) trade-in next year providing it passes its MOT, but then you look at the MOT history and see mentions of corrosion everywhere, which could be an issue
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111300...
Or what about this Vauxhall Astra 1.6T for only £2650?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111300...
Or what about this Vauxhall Astra 1.6T for only £2650?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201201...
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