Absolute cheapest form of motoring?
Discussion
Inspired by a (heated) discussion with my OH last night about the merits of her Celica sitting on the drive, unused, slowly deteriorating, she agreed to sell it and get something a bit more affordable.
Only thinking about it further, I couldn't really think of anything much more affordable! It's lost all it's going to in depreciation, and save for oil and brake pads, unless something major gives up it costs pretty much zero in maintenance (I do any work needed, so no garage bills). So to lessen the blow would require paying less tax (pre 73?) or substantially less on insurance (erm... pre 73 for classic?!) or a substantial increase in MPG (diesel, hybrid)
So... assuming that ALL maintenance is carried out yourself, what is the absolute cheapest form of motoring today, considering ALL factors - purchase price, insurance, tax, petrol etc included.
Lets assume just for the sake of this argument that the car you are going to replace will return £1000 in your pocket to go toward initial purchase.
Only thinking about it further, I couldn't really think of anything much more affordable! It's lost all it's going to in depreciation, and save for oil and brake pads, unless something major gives up it costs pretty much zero in maintenance (I do any work needed, so no garage bills). So to lessen the blow would require paying less tax (pre 73?) or substantially less on insurance (erm... pre 73 for classic?!) or a substantial increase in MPG (diesel, hybrid)
So... assuming that ALL maintenance is carried out yourself, what is the absolute cheapest form of motoring today, considering ALL factors - purchase price, insurance, tax, petrol etc included.
Lets assume just for the sake of this argument that the car you are going to replace will return £1000 in your pocket to go toward initial purchase.
Peugeot 106 1.5 Diesel http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-Peugeot-106-Silver-dies..., doesn't cost much to buy, pretty reliable, parts are cheap and you can work on it yourself, and it get's 60+mpg.
That or a scooter.
That or a scooter.
wombat172a said:
Peugeot 106 1.5 Diesel http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-Peugeot-106-Silver-dies..., doesn't cost much to buy, pretty reliable, parts are cheap and you can work on it yourself, and it get's 60+mpg.
This, will never drop below 50 to the gallon, will never get you a speeding ticket on the moptorway as you'll top out at 80 on the clocks, and will be bulletproof mechanically. The only real thing to watch for is the rear suspension.Edited by happygoron on Wednesday 25th August 13:20
Papa Hotel said:
Steal a bicycle?
What sort of commute? Do you need to carry stuff? Kids? Dog?
No commute, but needs to either carry a child and two adults comfortably at weekends, or tow a trailer well! Personally I already commute by bike weekdays, but at weekends I need a car but so does the wife, which is a bit of a pain really as it means paying for a car that usually sits on the drive for 5/7ths of the years!What sort of commute? Do you need to carry stuff? Kids? Dog?
Davi said:
Papa Hotel said:
Steal a bicycle?
What sort of commute? Do you need to carry stuff? Kids? Dog?
No commute, but needs to either carry a child and two adults comfortably at weekends, or tow a trailer well! Personally I already commute by bike weekdays, but at weekends I need a car but so does the wife, which is a bit of a pain really as it means paying for a car that usually sits on the drive for 5/7ths of the years!What sort of commute? Do you need to carry stuff? Kids? Dog?
Davi said:
MonkeyMatt said:
An MGB GT!
that was my kind of thinking - get a classic to take advantage of the tax and insurance, easy (and usually cheap) to work on and with a few mod con parts like ignition systems fairly reliable.
A scooter you say?
http://urbanriderlondon.blogspot.com/2010/07/motor...
http://urbanriderlondon.blogspot.com/2010/07/motor...
Edited by james_tigerwoods on Wednesday 25th August 11:15
spikeyhead said:
Providing you can welld, and have a source of free steel then you'll have cheap motoring.
I can, and do!Papa Hotel said:
Just keep what you have. If it's paid for and has lost everything it will ever lose in depreciation, I'd keep it.
£200 a year tax and £600 a year insurance are the issue. That's £800 wife is spending a year to drive it probably no more than 100 times a year.Davi said:
Papa Hotel said:
Steal a bicycle?
What sort of commute? Do you need to carry stuff? Kids? Dog?
No commute, but needs to either carry a child and two adults comfortably at weekends, or tow a trailer well! Personally I already commute by bike weekdays, but at weekends I need a car but so does the wife, which is a bit of a pain really as it means paying for a car that usually sits on the drive for 5/7ths of the years!What sort of commute? Do you need to carry stuff? Kids? Dog?
matc said:
I bought a Porsche Cayman during the silly season recession and sold it on a year later for £5k more than I paid for it, even taking out fuel/insurance (didn't need a service) I was still about £2500 better off. Motoring doesn't get much cheaper than that!
That reminds of Evo's supercar costs article. If you really want cheap motoring, buy an Enzo five years ago! Cash flow and time travel may be a problem though 
Davi said:
Inspired by a (heated) discussion with my OH last night about the merits of her Celica sitting on the drive, unused, slowly deteriorating, she agreed to sell it and get something a bit more affordable.
Exactly what costs are you looking at with the Celica?The question really is about how many miles you do. With enough mileage then economy becomes the biggest factor. If you're doing a small enough mileage then things like insurance and even road tax come into the equation.
On the right car maintainence costs can be negligable (mostly oil and filter changes with low mileages).
To my mind the trick is to buy a car with unpopular specification and/or type. Generally these will be the cheapest purchases. I'm thinking luxo barges with small engines and poverty spec. Insurance costs and economy can be an issue of course.
If you're pre 2001 (if memory serves) then you're looking at below 1500cc and above 1500cc tax brackets. This cost differential can be easily outweighed by slightly less maintenance cost over the year.
If you have no interest in driving pleasure but just want a comfy box to pootle three people about in then a W124 Mercedes with the 2.0 litre engine wouldn't be a bad starting point. Solid car, comfy and very cheap to buy. A friend recently picked up a corker for under a grand. Took us to Monaco across the Alps without issue.
Other things to consinder would be a Nissan QX. Almost give away prices but again a solid (unpopular) car.
With more miles I'd be looking at a diesel or perhaps an LPG converted car. Worth doing your sums here though as the additional purchase price can outweigh the saving.
matc said:
I bought a Porsche Cayman during the silly season recession and sold it on a year later for £5k more than I paid for it, even taking out fuel/insurance (didn't need a service) I was still about £2500 better off. Motoring doesn't get much cheaper than that!
Bought an E36 from ebay for £1100 and sold it one year later for £2200. As above, never mind cost, what about profit?Someone once said to me that running a car is akin to digging a big hole and filling it up with money.
Depreciation is by far the biggest cost of owning a vehicle, then probably, fuel, maintenance and insurance/tax.
If your car has depreciated to it's lowest level and you can maintain and insure it for reasonable* money then it's probably best to keep it.
Either that or sell the car and use the money saved from running a vehicle in using cabs for short/infrequent journeys, you'd probably be better off!
Depreciation is by far the biggest cost of owning a vehicle, then probably, fuel, maintenance and insurance/tax.
If your car has depreciated to it's lowest level and you can maintain and insure it for reasonable* money then it's probably best to keep it.
Either that or sell the car and use the money saved from running a vehicle in using cabs for short/infrequent journeys, you'd probably be better off!
- caveat - 'reasonable' would depend on circumstance.
Davi said:
MonkeyMatt said:
An MGB GT!
that was my kind of thinking - get a classic to take advantage of the tax and insurance, easy (and usually cheap) to work on and with a few mod con parts like ignition systems fairly reliable.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff