Hi guys,
With the current cost of motoring just going up and up I'm seriously considering selling my Leon Cupra R and buying a cheap little car with which
to travel my 40 miles each day to work and back at the lowest possible cost. My wife has a Seat Altea so we are covered in terms of a "family
car".
I've worked out that I can probably save in the region of 260 quid per month taking account of all the main running costs. My Locost is nearly
finished so I have the "fun car" covered as well and the Cupra, although great fun, is probably not going to be able to compete with the
Locost in that department.
So - what are my options and what are your recommendations?
My first thought is the Toyota Aygo 1.0 Vvti petrol.
Comments/advice welcome as always!
Cheers,
Craig.
Gwiz?
Diesel Saxo, light weight and strip the lintier.. cheap as chips...
Then, stick a tirbo 2L engine in it and WHOOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHHH PSST
Seriously. for me 6 miles away from work I've bought a 100cc Speedfight scooter, ring ring ring
[Edited on 24/5/08 by coozer]
Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion will return 74.3mpg
Phil
Just pick up an old shonky diesel and run it on 50% diesel and 50% used cooking oil
Cheap as chips (pun intended )
Helps if you know someone who has used oil though - I know a place that give it away 
quote:
Originally posted by zilspeed
It takes a long long time to recover the cost of buying a new car.
I know, that isn't news.
Something diesel and cheap is probably the answer.
Or LPG, but I would say that...
My current sensible choice is a 306 HDI for under a grand. Don't actually have one, but if I needed something right now, that would be my choice.
[Edited on 24/5/08 by zilspeed]
Depreciation is almost as much as your fuel costs, I know where I'd be looking to save cash.
If it was me, every time I filled the tank I'd be thinking of the equal amount of money going down the drain, it'd kill me
Another vote for a shite-old-diesel from me.
[Edited on 24/5/08 by UncleFista]
quote:
Originally posted by UncleFista
Depreciation is almost as much as your fuel costs, I know where I'd be looking to save cash.
If it was me, every time I filled the tank I'd be thinking of the equal amount of money going down the drain, it'd kill me
Another vote for a shite-old-diesel from me.
[Edited on 24/5/08 by UncleFista]
Buy a 1500 quid Fiesta and stick the money in the bank
As mentioned previously Lupo 1.4 TDI or Polo 14.TDI , my bro has a Polo and it goes well, nice to drive but hits 65mpg no probs even when driven hard
at times.
Steve
Not a car, but pretty cheap to run!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzi4tL3QMWk
Quitgas, a guy takes a bike motorbike with a blown engine, sticks a set of batteries in it and an electric motor and builds himself a commuter
bike!
Obviously it'd be better if you could charge it up at work (on their electricity bill) or use solar panels to charge it up!
Mike
I've had the exact same thoughts recently..........
I'm running an Audi A3 TDi S-Line Sportback and I'm getting 50+ mpg on my daily commute.
I've had it almost three years and its first MOT is due soon and the cost are likely to start going up once out of warranty.
The difference between diesel and petrol is huge at the moment so an ecomonic petrol may be cheaper to run.
I've been considering a new Fiat 500 - small, funky, fun and cheap. And you can spec it any way yo want!
Buy a bike!
I've done that on 2001 and never looked back. Quicker (while in traffic) and, contrary to the common sense, you can get totally dry at pretty
much anywhere - if you use the correct vest. Also you can park anywhere, if that's an issue.
Think about a maxi scooter (like the Suzuki Burgman 400 or any other in this class) Plenty of engine, lots of lugguge space (you can leave the helment
and jacket, for example)
Saying that, I've shifted to a Yamaha Royal Star Venture - purely for the looks - a couple years ago bur I recogniz<e the the Burgman was
way more fitr to the job of commuting...
As another option. My mum has a w reg 1 litre yaris vvti. Had it from new. Its done over 100k and iv never done a thing to it apart from a water
pump a few months ago cos the brgs broke up and service items. Its still on the original brakes too! Iv seviced it from 30k. Costs at the most 30
quid for a full service.
My mum never gets less than 50mpg from it. Youl get one cheap. 1 litre so lower tax. They go like hell for a 1 litre. Pocket the rest. Theyr not
bad to drive.
Id get a cheap car and put the rest in an isa or something rather than a new car under warranty. Warrantys count for nothing. Cars rarely go wrong
until its up anyway. If they do they come up with some reason why its your fault especially ford.
[Edited on 25/5/08 by Danozeman]
Go for a 1-year-old low-mileage car - let someone else take the first depreciation hit, and you'll still have 2 years warranty.
I'd recommend Toyota - they'll go on forever, as long as you keep them properly serviced (whether at the main stealer or an independent
garage).
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Seriously. for me 6 miles away from work I've bought a 100cc Speedfight scooter, ring ring ring
I have a peugeot 107. Officially 61 MPG, I average 54 which isn't bad. Cheap road tax too. The down side is that it is hard on tyres.
My wife has a citroen C3 diesel. It too is good on fuel, but the fuel is more expensive. As is the road tax an the premium of buying a diesel. It
has a little more umph than the 107 but only when the turbo is in the zone.
The polo blue motion is't suppoesed to match its claims of MPG as well as other cars.
Second the C3 diesel , wife has one , lively performance and good on fuel (even at £1.31 per lt) Find it comfortable to drive as well Most modern cars tend to be reliable so I wouldn't worry to much about the warranty, says me with my £350 banger I got 11 years ago
quote:
Originally posted by chris mason
i'd forget about diesel being slightly more expensive at the pumps, if you work on diesel being £1.25 per litre or £5.68 a gallon, in a 70mpg tdi, that makes your fuel consumption 8p a mile
now take a petrol car that gives you 50mpg (if your lucky), unleaded at £1.12 per litre or £5.08 a gallon, that would give you fuel consumption of 10p a mile.
then there's the fact diesels tend to hold there money better, i've got a mk4 golf tdi and it's thrashed to within an inch of it's life and yet still returns 47-50mpg.
Go diesel it's the future
Chris
quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion will return 74.3mpg
Phil
The Aygo,107 and C1 are all the same.
Dont let the Toyota dealer tell you differently !
We have a 107 purchased at 1 year old from a Car Supermarket, cant fault it. Re front tyres ours needed changing at 22K not too bad ,cost just over
£80 for two.
Regards
Mike
quote:
Originally posted by MikeLR
We have a 107 ... Re front tyres ours needed changing at 22K
quote:
Originally posted by MikeLR
The Aygo,107 and C1 are all the same.
Dont let the Toyota dealer tell you differently !
We have a 107 purchased at 1 year old from a Car Supermarket, cant fault it. Re front tyres ours needed changing at 22K not too bad ,cost just over £80 for two.
Regards
Mike
Hi Craig,
How about a Rover 25 TD (I saw you comments about asthma, but hey you'll always be driving away from it)
Apparently they did over 70mpg, 60 in about 9 sec. I nearly bought one for the wife for about £500. Bought her a ZR160 instead
ATB
Simon
My friend has a C2 diesel and it's a little belter of a car. It has blown a couple of injector seals but apart from that it's been good and the road tax is only something like £35 a year + about 55mpg.
Hi,
Just a quick update :
Struck a deal today with Arnold Clark Toyota in Kilmarnock to buy a new Aygo Platinum 3dr 1.0 Vvti. I got a decent trade-in for my Cupra and they even
threw in air conditioning on the Aygo for free (£500 option) as well as tax, tank of fuel and a set of Aygo floor mats.
I'm happy with the deal but not happy with the prospect of walking away from my Cupra on Thursday...
I only hope I get as much fun from my Locost once it's on the road and driving a mundane car every day should give me the motivation I need to
get to and beyond SVA!!
Thanks again for your advice (even if I did end up ignoring most of it...) 
Cheers,
Craig.
[Edited on 26/5/2008 by craig1410]
glad to see tha stuck wi petrol, the world is a louder place with all these extra diesels around.
Been thinking just the same thing about my 6 mile drive to work, so I got my old mountain bike out and started riding to work - stay fit, costs
'nowt, and it's a lovely ride along Brighton seafront - can't think why I didn't do it years ago ......
quote:
Originally posted by Jasper
Been thinking just the same thing about my 6 mile drive to work, so I got my old mountain bike out and started riding to work - stay fit, costs 'nowt, and it's a lovely ride along Brighton seafront - can't think why I didn't do it years ago ......
quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion will return 74.3mpg
Phil
Just thought I'd add my tuppeth to this thread. I'm still running Chris Gamlin's old vw bora. It's a 1.9tdi 115 which has been
chipped (around 140bhp) and has just clocked 170k miles. I ran to and from work (about 55 miles) yesterday on the fuel light and on the way home,
driving conservatively (around 55-60mph in 6th) along the m25/a3 I achieved over 68mpg. I have recently found along with teh higher cost of fuel that
just driving slower and concentrating more on gentle acceleration, maintaining a steady speed and lifting off well in advance rather than slamming on
the brakes when approaching traffic queues and sets of lights makes a massive difference. Admittantly this is rather boring but lets face it motorway
driving has never been exciting. I recon over the 27 miles it make no more than 5-10 mins difference to the journey time and I can get 100-150 more
miles out of my tank.
Food for thought when you look at the price of a new car and the mpg of these green/eco friendly models when you could just drive your current one
more carefully.
Ned.
[Edited on 28/5/08 by ned]