New car - advice needed

BrandNewStart

Hi guys

I am looking to cut down my expenditure on motoring and to get out of debt as well. It's going OK so far, but I have been thinking of selling my car (Fors Focus Econetic) and getting something smaller. The Focus costs me £207 per month, and ideally I would like to halve that and also save money by going to a lower insurance group.

Can anyone recommend a suitable car? Ideally a hatchback that's cheap to run without being TOO embarrassingly mum-like! (I'm a 34-yr old bloke).

I have been thinking about just getting a cheap 2nd hand runaround for the next 6 months while I get myself in the black, but am concerned I might have unexpected bills etc.

I'd be very grateful to hear your thoughts, both on cars and on HOW to buy - Finance? Buy with a loan? Needless to say I don't have the cash lying around....!

Cheers

BNS

getmore4less

Whats the beakdown of the current costs.

What are the breakdown of any replacements

If you can't swap without finance, that will probably eat up most of any saving.

BlueC

Skoda Fabia. Or Suzuki Swift. Both great cars, reliable, cheap and economical. The Swift is a bit more fun to drive. You can pick up 3 to 4 year old models for £3500 to £5000 with 12 months dealer warranty.

As above though. You'll need to work out the ins-and-outs of your finance arrangement on the Focus to work out whether downgrading is actually going to save you anything.

A really cheap runaround for 6 months could see you straight more quickly but its a bit of a gamble in case there is unexpected repair bills. Again you'd need to do the sums and work out the risks and whether you're happy with them. Do you need the car for getting to work?

BrandNewStart

BlueC wrote: »

Skoda Fabia. Or Suzuki Swift. Both great cars, reliable, cheap and economical. The Swift is a bit more fun to drive. You can pick up 3 to 4 year old models for £3500 to £5000 with 12 months dealer warranty.

As above though. You'll need to work out the ins-and-outs of your finance arrangement on the Focus to work out whether downgrading is actually going to save you anything.

A really cheap runaround for 6 months could see you straight more quickly but its a bit of a gamble in case there is unexpected repair bills. Again you'd need to do the sums and work out the risks and whether you're happy with them. Do you need the car for getting to work?

Yes I do, although work is only 12 miles away and I can cycle, and am planning on doing this much more often.:j


It costs me £203.21 per month plus a painful £143 per month insurance - I had an accident last year and am building my NCB up again. I have had a quote of £624.34 for this year having moved house and changed car However my Focus is in a higher insurance group than I need and my commute is not as long as it was... Hmm. Maybe better to stick with it and just keep the insurance saving?

BrandNewStart

getmore4less wrote: »

Whats the beakdown of the current costs.

What are the breakdown of any replacements

If you can't swap without finance, that will probably eat up most of any saving.

Think you're right - a £5K car loan across 24 months is £224ish... might not bother then!

deboy

BrandNewStart wrote: »

Hi guys

I am looking to cut down my expenditure on motoring and to get out of debt as well. It's going OK so far, but I have been thinking of selling my car (Fors Focus Econetic) and getting something smaller. The Focus costs me £207 per month, and ideally I would like to halve that and also save money by going to a lower insurance group.

Can anyone recommend a suitable car? Ideally a hatchback that's cheap to run without being TOO embarrassingly mum-like! (I'm a 34-yr old bloke).

I have been thinking about just getting a cheap 2nd hand runaround for the next 6 months while I get myself in the black, but am concerned I might have unexpected bills etc.

I'd be very grateful to hear your thoughts, both on cars and on HOW to buy - Finance? Buy with a loan? Needless to say I don't have the cash lying around....!

Cheers

BNS

Have you ever looked into personal contract hire, I was in a similar position to you and found a company that offers new cars on finance called personal contract hire, works out really cheap and is fixed cost motoring. The name of the company i got my astra from was called strata vehicle solutions, they are really good, well they were with me anyway






John

thegirlintheattic

If you can cycle to work then you have little risk buying an old banger for under a grand and running it till it dies.

wba31

What insurance group is your Focus?

I am 27, driving since 19, had an accident just over 3 years ago, so now have 3 years no claims and am still paying over £1000 on a 54 plate diesel civic (group 6). I have got quotes for a 2009 accord diesel (2.2, group 10) and there is not much difference. and there aren't many cars with lower insurance groups, I'm not convinced my insurance will get much cheaper until I'm building up no claims, unless the current issues with the insurance world (we're paying for the uninsured and the ambulance chasers) are sorted out...

londonTiger

Get a mkiv golf TDI, can de 50mpg, can be had for £2400 ish, rare has diamonds though because people who have them don't want to let them go.

Parts will be slightly more expensive than a ford focus, so stuff like camblets and odd electrics will need attention to. mkiv golf is 8-12 years old depending on the reg, the ones that are 10+ will start to get electrical issues, mainly just contacts corroding and need looking into, but may have expensive lambda sensors that are coming close to their replacement age.

londonTiger

wba31 wrote: »

What insurance group is your Focus?

I am 27, driving since 19, had an accident just over 3 years ago, so now have 3 years no claims and am still paying over £1000 on a 54 plate diesel civic (group 6). I have got quotes for a 2009 accord diesel (2.2, group 10) and there is not much difference. and there aren't many cars with lower insurance groups, I'm not convinced my insurance will get much cheaper until I'm building up no claims, unless the current issues with the insurance world (we're paying for the uninsured and the ambulance chasers) are sorted out...

ouch.. I started driving 3 months ago, and I pay 1030 for 10 months 1.6 petrol golf. I too had an accident in a hire car that cost the insurance company £1031 (what a coincidence). It was very minor damage. How much did your damage cost the insurance company.

It seems mad that I have to declare an accident in a hire car, but I didn't want to take the chance so I did and told them it was a hire car, they told me hire car accidents need to be declared.

wba31

londonTiger wrote: »

ouch.. I started driving 3 months ago, and I pay 1030 for 10 months 1.6 petrol golf. I too had an accident in a hire car that cost the insurance company £1031 (what a coincidence). It was very minor damage. How much did your damage cost the insurance company.

It seems mad that I have to declare an accident in a hire car, but I didn't want to take the chance so I did and told them it was a hire car, they told me hire car accidents need to be declared.

They wrote my car off, so £3000 for that, plus £1000 for the other vehicle (i went into the back of him). I do have business cover on mine as I use my car for work, but taking that off only reduces it to £800. As I said in my post I am looking to get a new shape Accord around the turn of the year and the insurance isn't much difference... Im not sure if I'll just wait until my insurance is due for renewal to change, and hopefully Ill have an additional years no claims. But it doesn't matter if i change car early as I'm with NFU Mutual who do not have any admin fees, so I'll just pay the monthly difference on my policy cost...