I want a Cheaper Car

[harding1985]

Hi All,

Currently got a Ford Escort 1.6 with 68k on the clock and its currently costing me £30 a week in petrol to get to work.

With the MOT and TAX both due in 4 months and the vehicle being worth around £750 I cannot justify the cost of tax = £190 and MOT= £50, So I want to purchase a cheaper car to run about in, maybe a fiesta 1.25.

Any Ideas?

Cheers
Lee :T

[Zeitgeist]

It depends on whether you want a replacement car, or you simply want the most cost effective option.

The cheapest option would be to see if the car passes its MOT in four month's time. If it does, or only needs minimal work, then fine, keep it, otherwise scrap it and buy something that you like. This is likely to be cheaper than upgrading as you have to factor in depreciation and possibly a car loan.

Petrol costs are only a small proportion of a car's total running costs.

[harding1985]

Hi There,

True perhaps its better If i wait until August until the MOT and see if it passes!! I've had the motor a year and not had any problems (touch wood)

Lee

[Justin_Scotland]

The argument of Tax and MOT is irrelevent as either way you will pay this as an annual cost whatever the car you have. The only way you wouldnt need to pay MOT was if your car was a virtually new car. Then the £50 saving a year would be more than offset by the increased depreciation. A better solution would be to look at your driving style (how efficient) and how much you use the car. If possible now that the summers here get the bike out and do some cycling to work. If you live within 10 miles of work its the perfect time of year to start cycling.

[Jane Blackford]

We have a little Suzuki Alto and it is really cheap to run, does ridiculous mileage!

[harding1985]

The argument of Tax and MOT is irrelevent as either way you will pay this as an annual cost whatever the car you have. The only way you wouldnt need to pay MOT was if your car was a virtually new car. Then the £50 saving a year would be more than offset by the increased depreciation. A better solution would be to look at your driving style (how efficient) and how much you use the car. If possible now that the summers here get the bike out and do some cycling to work. If you live within 10 miles of work its the perfect time of year to start cycling.

I wish I could cycle to work but its over 30miles each way.... I'll end up getting to work needing a shower lol

[Pink-winged]

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1009335#post1009335)) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email abuse@moneysavingexpert.com (abuse@moneysavingexpert.com).

[AdrianHi]

I think you need to measure the cost of your motoring in the right way rather than thinking, I have to spend £240 to keep a £750 valued car running for another year.
You'll have to spend that to keep any car on the road and likely more.

If you are spending £30 a week / £120 a month / £1440 a year on fuel there is actually very little scope for cost reduction here, your not doing all that many miles.
All the time this old car doesn't throw any repair bills at you the best bet is to keep it going. Problem is cars are always expensive, having an older one doesn't make it cheaper by as much as you might hope.
Newer car = certainty of depreciation expenses, older car risk of repair expenses. The trick is to switch to a newer car before repair expenses rise too much.