Beamer or Banger

DGX

Go for a classic

I run a 1987 Audi Quattro (one of the last of the original shape)
I paid £1900 for it 18 months ago, which included a boot full of various hard-to get spares such as light clusters, and various pieces of trim

I then spent about £600 on getting it completely serviced (replacement of all fluids, brake pads, new cam belt and 2 new tyres). I would have spent less if I'd done the jobs myself, but a lack of time and inclination were strong influencing factors

It's 20 years old and reliable enough for me to know it's going to start every morning
Parts are plentiful and reasonably priced (Volkswagen/Audi/Porsche have always been thoughtful enough to use the same parts for various models)

I use GSF (formerly German Swedish and French) for consumable items such as plugs, leads, etc.
Here's the link...
https://www.gsfcarparts.com


So, for £2500 I have a car that has loads of room inside (but admittedly a smallish boot), does an average 32mpg, looks different enough to turn heads, and is great fun to drive

As a bonus, depreciation over the next 3 years or so is hopefully going to be very small, if non-existent, assuming of course I sell it

nicola1982_2

I drove a 13 year old 205 for 4 years - it just failed mot (beyond repairs) so got a rover for £380. New cars do nothing for me - I want something cheap to buy, economical to drive and pref as environmentally friendly as possible.

nicola1982_2

HenryWeston wrote:

theirs a lot of advantages of running old banger.... no worries about it getting scratched or dented, you dont need to polish it or wash it! you can buy any parts it needs from a scrap yard for a few quid (i needed an ABS relay for my 18 year old audi - £3 from local scrap yard!) other people in new cars move out of your way....as you obviously dont care if your car gets dented, so you get around town quicker!

So true - only disadvantage is police tend to pull you assuming you're a boy/girl racer!!!

DGX

Forgot to mention in my last post - 98,000 miles when I got it

SimonT

Also save by finding local specialist garage rather than main dealer.
Finally sold my old Volvo 940 last year after 8 years of faithfull service. Maintained most of the time by local guy trained in a Volvo main dealers.
Bought a big caravan and Volvo burnt clutch out trying to back it up a hill behind a pub in Lancashire so decided to change.
New car - Nissan Terrano - S reg - every conceivable toy - but same engine as a Black Cab - £5000.
Pulls caravan like its not there.
Best actual time to buy a car is 2-3 years old when they have halved in price but not seen a lot of miles.
New cars - especially on finance - are like giving money away to car dealers.
And oh yeah - I did the flash car thing - Escort XR3i, Scirocco GTX, Golf GTI (remember those!) and then had the light bulb moment .......

auntie_brenda

I do around 25,000 miles a year and am a girlie (well, womanie ) so need reliable car.

I bought a brand new Polo 3 yrs ago, has done 77,000 trouble free miles, averaging over 50 to gallon. However, as per my SOA, she cost me over £100 a month in servicing and tyres last year. And then there's depreciation _pale_ .....

But, I do love her......

and she's red

But next time will probably go for a Fiat (ducks quick) - I've never had any problems with them and they are cheap to run.

(But if you're reading this little red Polo - love you xx and will wash you soon, promise xx:o )

save-a-lot

Hi

I drive a Smart car and it is great, the Mercedes/Chrysler partnership went into the Smart so the mechanicals are fantastic. No rust as the outer shell is plastic mainly, and safety and strength of the car is brilliant due to the design. Cheap to insure, was £160 this year with NCD protection, tax is £40/year and it does approx 50mpg - more if driven carefully or when driven on motorways when you can get it into 6th gear and cruise. Mine cost me £4000 and I intend to keep it until it owes me nothing. No problems with it and it is on an 02 plate. If you want a car to commute in, it is a good second car. We do have a Focus as well for shipping the family around in.

My brother has a Mitsubishi Shogun SWB 3.0 V6 and that is LPG converted and that is just as economical (in terms of price comparison for fuel LPG v Petrol) as my Smart. But he does pay more for tax and insurance than me, so I am totally happy and it is a bit different.

hbl_2

A friend of mine blew £250,000 on cars and he didn't even buy new...

Where I come from if you have £250,000 you don't buy a car, you buy a house.

tomstickland

I've never paid more than £1200 for each of the 3 cars I have bought over 11 years. I do around 20K every year and only had one break down which I managed to fix (wire fell off fuel pump)
I do DIY maintenance. There's no reason why an old car is unreliable if you keep it up together. I've got an old BMW now and it's brilliant.

(i needed an ABS relay for my 18 year old audi - £3 from local scrap yard!)

Central locking ECU cost me £2 a few weeks back.

Marisan

When I first learned to drive I bought an old Austin Allegro for £400 - it got me from A to B while I was gaining driving experience.Then I had a Nissan Micra (B reg) which I drove until it literally packed up (sad,I loved that car - and it was a red one!)
Now I am driving a Ford Fiesta S reg,pretty old by some folks' standards but the newest car I've ever owned.I don't think I'll ever buy a brand new car,though.Waste of money.My neighbour has just taken possession of a brand new Audi,with all the trimmings including an irritatingly-voiced Sat Nav.All the neighbours have been round to the viewing,to ooh and aah.Four weeks down the line it hasn't been off the driveway.Duh!