Going from 30 to 80 mile round trip to work... What Car?

Aaron_Whitfield

Going from 30 mile (Company Car) to 80 mile (Purchased Car) round trip to work... What Car?

Hi,

I thought I would start the ball rolling in 2011 with a question relating to a job change requiring the purchase of a new/used car for an 80 mile round trip to work (currently 30). I currently have a company car which of course, I would have to give back to my current employer and start looking at cars. Here is my situation;

a) I am a family man so a family car would be required

b) It seems a diesel would be a good idea? (less moving parts, cheaper fuel etc.)

What would members recommend as a car choice in this situation?;

1. New or Used?

2. Options/Choices/Bommerang Scheme purchase or Bank Loan?

3. What make/model for this journey (mainly motorway)

4. Place of purchase (motorpoint?)

5. Size of engine, diesel/petrol?

etc.

Thanks in advance for any help here...

Regards

Mark.

BillTrac

Three years ago I went from company cars (over 22 years), to car allowance with my new employers.

After being used to Mondeo/Vectra/Saab size cars I finally decided on a Ford Focus as opposed to a larger size car. Petrol, as diesel was another £1000+

99% of the time it is only me in the car,but can carry 5 ok. I don't need to carry too much work related stuff. And probably easier to sell on if the job didn't work out.

Job has worked out , and I am on my second Focus. First one bought at 15000 miles. pxed at 77000 after 2.5 years. The current Focus bought at 12000 miles in May, now on 24500. Company policy is less than 4 years old/100000 miles.

I got both through Evans Halshaw. Both less than a year old when bought. First one had balance of 3 year warranty. Present one has another two years of Ford Direct cover.

Do not buy new.

Just a thought, but I know where I will be going when the current Focus is up for replacement.

And as for how to pay. Really up to you.

So in my opinion

a Focus is fine for family trips
b Diesel is preferable but you need to weigh up the comparitive costs

1 Used but recent
2 ?
3 Focus is fine for family trips
4 I went to EH but MP may need some researching
5 Both mine have been 1.6 petrol Zetecs

Aaron_Whitfield

BillTrac wrote: »

Three years ago I went from company cars (over 22 years), to car allowance with my new employers.

After being used to Mondeo/Vectra/Saab size cars I finally decided on a Ford Focus. Petrol, as diesel was another £1000+

99% of the time it is only me in the car,but can carry 5 ok. I don't need to carry too much work related stuff. And probably easier to sell on if the job didn't work out.

Job has worked out , and I am on my second Focus. First one bought at 15000 miles. pxed at 77000 after 3 years. The current Focus bought at 12000 miles in May, now on 24500. Company policy is less than 4 years old/100000 miles.

I got both through Evans Halshaw. Both less than a year old when bought. First one had balance of 3 year warranty. Present one has another two years of Ford Direct cover.

Do not buy new.

Just a thought, but I know where I will be going when the current Focus is up for replacement.

And as for how to pay. Really up to you.

Cheers Bill for your input... certainly the Focus is an ergonomically good choice...

10JH

How much are you thinking of spending?

Aaron_Whitfield

10JH wrote: »

How much are you thinking of spending?

Thanks for the question....

This certainly is the big (primary) question for this thread. Does one spend less given the distances involved (over time) and just write the car off or does one go with a 'choices / options' type scheme on a new car.

In the latter case, doing 80 miles a day (work) for 2 - 3 years might result in a non-cost effective loan scheme by the time I come to give the car back?

Essentially, it is more a question of what finance approach does one take rather than cost, for good budgeting overall. Needless to say, I am not looking for an Audi/BMW/Saab etc. but more a mid-range brand to keep the cost down.

Given I have to have a car and a reliable one at that, so new-used or new... what would be a good approach to purchase?

Lum

Focus or Mondeo

Might also want to consider an LPG car, though really an 80 mile round trip isn't that huge a commute so you need to weigh up the savings of LPG or diesel vs the extra outlay you pay for car vs how long you plan to keep it.

Aaron_Whitfield

Lum wrote: »

Focus or Mondeo

Might also want to consider an LPG car, though really an 80 mile round trip isn't that huge a commute so you need to weigh up the savings of LPG or diesel vs the extra outlay you pay for car vs how long you plan to keep it.

Thanks for the input...

This certainly appears to be the equation...

The last 'time' question is key... that is... 'write off versus give back' or for all intents and purposes 'used versus new'. Initially, I was thinking of giving back in 2 or 3 years for a choices/options finance type scheme and not be lumbered with a worthless car based on mileage done but having said that... if I buy a cheap Focus/Mondeo, would just writing it off and driving it into the ground still be a better financial option and then buying another one? The million dollar question...

Why an LPG? Because it is a cheaper initial outlay option?

Would a diesel not pay for itself quicker despite spending more given the 80 miles a day?

As always, thanks for any input here...

Lum

Less outlay and possibly cheaper to run.

I've not been able to do a fair comparison, but I have a diesel Mondeo "econetic" that gets pretty good MPG (book figure is 64mpg for "extra urban", but in reality you're looking at mid to low 50s for MPG). My GF runs a 1993 Nissan 200SX that is heavily modified and tuned with a big turbo, FMIC, chip, huge exhaust etc. etc. but also converted to LPG.

The 200SX is the cheaper car to run, in terms of fuel. It may only get MPG in the low 30s but the LPG costs less than 60p a litre wheras I'm paying more like 125p. More than double the price per litre for not quite double the MPG.

The price of diesel seems to be rising faster than the price of LPG and petrol at the moment too, possibly because the national fleet of cars has a lot more diesel cars in it than it used to.

Also a petrol or LPG car won't have a DPF and is less likely to have/need a DMF. This is a bonus in my book!

flyingscotno1

Lum wrote: »

The price of diesel seems to be rising faster than the price of LPG and petrol at the moment too, possibly because the national fleet of cars has a lot more diesel cars in it than it used to.

Happens every year due to increased demand for heating oils and diesel in this winter period. My garage can be level pegging or within 1/2p of petrol in summer and extends to around 4/5p at winter.

Lum

Around here it seemed to be happening during the summer too.

Diesel is currently more expensive than bloody V-Power at my cheapest Shell garage.

Hammyman

Lum wrote: »

Diesel is currently more expensive than bloody V-Power at my cheapest Shell garage.

Quite probably however the diesel car will do around 40% higher MPG for a 3% difference in fuel price.