Fuel Economy

AgentSmirnoff

waynedance wrote: »

He is looking to buy his 1st car, that my friend is a bike. Hope I have learn't you something.

Thankyou for this.

Also, I have a bike and I can't cycle 30 miles, much of which is uphill, carrying all my books and get to class for 9AM haha.

Ultrasonic

From a financial point of view you should do some sums to compare the savings of various fuel economy figures vs cheaper insurance. I suspect focusing on cheaper insurance will be your best bet.

In case you aren't familiar with it, this website is useful to give you an idea of realistic mpg figures: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/

Notmyrealname

MK2 Mondeo 1.8 or 1.8D.

Tobster86

Take the small engine / cost of insurance comparison with a pinch of salt. The initial outlay of insuring a young driver is generally far more than the cost between groups.

I would actually spend less than you're proposing to spend and go for an old German diesel; the old Audi A4 TDIs of the late 1990s are very reliable and economical, not to mention being generally a much nicer car than the horrible hatchbacks that young people think they have to buy. I'd recommend doing price comparisons online, I bet you'll be pleasantly suprised that it doesn't cost much more than a lower group car.

My old 1997 BMW 323i hasn't missed a beat since I bought it a year/12000 miles ago for £750 (admittedly cheap as it needed a power steering pump; £100 + £10 for a Haynes manual and two hours for me to fit). It does 30mpg.

I had a 1994 Audi 80 1.9TDI that did 22,000 miles on vegetable oil without missing a beat until some black ice put it beyond economical repair!

patman99

I ran a 1.7 Zetec Focus and averaged 45 mpg. Now I run an Octavia 1.9 TD and average 66mpg.
Remember, you'll need to get an insurance quote BEFORE committing to buying a car. You might be shocked at just how much insuring a car will eat into your budget.

What about a small van ?. Strangely, commercial vehicle insurance is much cheaper than private vehicle insurance (if you go for an Astra Van, there is even space in the back for a mattress for when you go courting).

Ultrasonic

patman99 wrote: »

Now I run an Octavia 1.9 TD and average 66mpg.

Is that based on the trip computer or the ipad app you mentioned here? If it's the latter I'm very impressed - you must tell us how you manage it. It's better than anyone that has reported to the Honest John Real MPG site has managed.

Edit: actually I now realise the Honest John data is just for the 2004 onwards Octavia, perhaps the older ones were more economical. If so that would be worth the OP bearing in mind.

Wh05apk

Given your budget, you are really looking at decent "bangers" within reason I would ignore fuel consumption, and find the car in best mechanical condition, a potential £200+ garage bill will wipe out any potential fuel savings for a good few months.

Foxy-Stoat_3

1000cc Yaris's are insurance group 2/3, I would start there or look at other lower group cars before choosing.

Skoda Octavia's are nearer group 9 and return very good MPG...I drove from Eastbourne to Blackpool and back again on 1 tank of diesel (640 miles @ 58 mpg). Maybe look at a Fabia diesel.