The 'Great Keep Your Car Tip Top For Less' Hunt

charlieheard

trawden wrote:

I am thinking of getting a newer car soon, but not sure if i should. I woud like a little more room in the back for my son.

My 2001 corsa has only done 33000 miles, looking at the guides, i should get about £3500 for it. I have £2500 spare cash so am looking at the £6000 market. I have been told Honda, Vauxhall, Peugeot, and Ford are reliable makes but when i look at these cars, for that money i do get a newer car, but the mileage on these are much higher than my current.

Should i stick to my current low mileage car or get a newer one with higher mileage?

I dont want to get something cheap that will depreciate rapidly either.

Honest John recommends buying a newer car with higher mileage rather than an older car with low mileage, as long as it has been serviced OK. This is because parts like the exhaust, brakes and oil system will have regularly been at the right operating temperatures, and rust and contaminants will have been kept in check. Lower mileage cars will be prone to water in the exhaust causing the system to rust, rusty brake disks and water, etc in the oil.

Of your list, only Honda is very reliable, Vauxhall and Ford are average, and Peugeot are below average. Far Eastern cars tend to be more reliable, but have a look at Which?, Honest John, JDPower or Top Gear for a particular model's reliability. Have a look at a Honda Jazz, which is still small, but a packaging marvel. (also recommended by Honest John as the best small car at the moment)

Finally, consider if you do need a bigger car. My wife commutes to and from the hospital in Leeds every day in her 1.0l Toyota Yaris, getting 53mpg. She could afford something bigger and more "prestigious", but what's the point? Check that you actually need a bigger car, and don't just want one . I often find myself lusting after something better, but don't really. The alternative is to run the Corsa until it's no longer cost-effective to keep it on the road. That's what my wife plans to do with her car, and that's why we bought one of the most reliable brands...

charlieheard

Just remember that depreciation is the largest single cost when running a car - typically 65% of the value of a car over 3 years. That means that your £10,000 car will be worth £3,500 after 3 years, so it's cost you almost £2,200 a year just to own it! Cut the depreciaition and you've saved yourself thousands a year.

So you can buy a car that depreciates less, such as a new MINI, and save yourself money in a newish car. An alternative way to save money (and have some fun) is to buy a big old car and run it till it's no longer worth repairing. With the technology in modern cars, they become very expensive if anything goes wrong. People just aren't willing to take the risk on a big repair bill, so they can be bought for a few hundred pounds. But if you just accept that you'll scrap it and replace it when it does go wrong, you can have fun in the meantime. Not for everyone, but worth it for some. It's called "Bangernomics" (see here and here)

For a £1000, you can buy all sorts of fun cars and save thousands - just have a look at some of Pistonheads "Sheds of the Week"

geoffW

A cheap car service can be had through Nationwide Autocentres. A full service is about £150 but using Tesco Clubcard points it costs just £37.50.
I've just tried them for the first time and service seemed OK.
Geoff

ritchie840

I have been told Honda, Vauxhall, Peugeot, and Ford are reliable makes

I think somebody is lying to you :rotfl:

olly300

http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk - in short anything from the Far East is reliable and makes like Ford, Vauxhall have average reliability. Ford etc score highly in these indexes because they are cheap to repair.

teddyco

There is a big debate about how many miles to drive before changing the oil and filter. Some mechanics recommend 3000 and other's say 5000. My father owns a 1997 Toyota and he has been changing the oil and filter every 5000 and the car now has 200,000 miles on the odometer and the engine is still solid.

The best treat is that it's paid for!

The last car I owned had 150,000 on the clock when I sold it and I also changed the oil and filter every 5000 miles.

That' the best thing that one can do for their car.

harryhound

teddyco wrote:

There is a big debate about how many miles to drive before changing the oil and filter. Some mechanics recommend 3000 and other's say 5000. My father owns a 1997 Toyota and he has been changing the oil and filter every 5000 and the car now has 200,000 miles on the odometer and the engine is still solid.

The best treat is that it's paid for!

The last car I owned had 150,000 on the clock when I sold it and I also changed the oil and filter every 5000 miles.

That' the best thing that one can do for their car.

I agree, and make sure it is good quality oil, give it better oil as it gets older.
I had a Carina-E 1600cc from Toyota and changed the oil only once a year.
Sold it at 185K miles. But by then it was starting to use oil, especially cheap oil, so I gave it Halford's best (synthetic in light grey plastic container) and it improved to using about 2 litres per year - 12K miles).

JDPower

mrtg0525 wrote:

If you've got an older car and it's out of warranty, buy a Haynes manual or similar and do the basic services yourself.

Changing oil, oil filters, air filters, spark plugs and the like isn't that hard to do if you're a little handy. Also, especially if you're not driving that much, it allows you to control your service intervals a bit better; if you're mostly driving short distances, it pays to change the oil more often as the contaminants don't burn off that well on short journeys. Also, buying the parts and fluids yourself allows to control the quality of what goes in your car!

Another top money-saving time that bugs me pretty much every time I buy a car - folks, check your tyre pressures regularly. I've lost count of the vehicles I've bought that had tyre pressures that were way to low. That doesn't do the tyres any good and can severely shorten their lifespan. Plus, if you don't notice it and the tyre blows/jumps off the rim, you'll pay more for your insurance...

Also, if you're planning to keep your vehicle for a long time, it maybe worth investing in a stainless steel exhaust when the one on the car gives up the ghost. Over the years this is likely to work out cheaper than buying a Kwik-Fit exhaust every couple of years.

If you're running a classic car or a car that's considered special enough to have an owners club, it's often well worth investigating what benefits a club membership can give you. Larger clubs can often negotiate better deals for insurance and/or breakdown cover, some have discount deals at specialist garages, plus you can often tap into an informal spare network which is extremely handy if your car is rare and/or is suffering from high parts prices.

Speaking of parts prices, there is often no need for buying new parts if the old one can be reconditioned - not to mention that you often can replace defective parts with good secondhand parts. This is especially useful for body parts as it'll work out a lot cheaper to get a used bumper, door or wing from a breakers (provided it is the correct colour) rather than buying a new one and having to pay for getting it painted.

Brilliant tips there. My tip would be along the lines of the first and last combined: Get friendly with your local scrap yard if you've got one. You'll get used parts for very little money and any reputable yard will give you your money back or a replacement if it doesn't work.

Also, as the above post mentions, get a Haynes manual, read up on how to replace a part when it breaks down. If you think you can replace it then go to the scrapyard and you can take the part you need off a car and get a much better idea of if you'll be able to do it, without the risk of damaging your own car

golddustmedia

Acceleration; spare your foot, save the engine.

Next time you drive down the motorway every time you see a broken down car on the hard shoulder I'll bet you that it's not worn out bangers its 2 year old BMW's etc with aggravated salesmen stood alongside them.

There's a reason for this. Accelerate gently and don't try to drive at warp factor then you're not putting much strain and wear on the engine. In other words it has an easy life.

However "BMW man" hasn't learnt this and all that floor it from the lights and 100mph on the motorway has knackered his car.

Smile smugly as you drive past at 70mph, you'll still get there and while he's broken down you'll get there sooner too!

(What's more, you'll save a fortune on fuel costs too!).
Drive like a grandad, not a salesman

Practical lesson;
My Ford Orion, drove it like I stole it. Lasted 8k miles over 2 years. Repairs in excess of £1500.
My VW Passat, drove it like grandad. Sold it after 60k miles in 1 year. Servicing and maintenance under £500.

impster

Vauxhall owners, apply to join the Vauxhall Trade Club. This gives you access to buy genuine vauxhall parts at less than trade (i.e. virtually cost price). To apply to join you have to be involved in car maintenance or have our own garage facility. I do my own maintenance, and have a garage where our deep freeze, hosepipe and some old furniture is kept. That for me has proved enough to join the trade club. YOu may have to suggest loosely that you are a sole trader, but you don't need a vat number or anything.

Card takes around a month to get to you, and affter that you're laughing.

Impster.