Cheap (sub £2k) car for motorway commute

real1314

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

If you are looking at doing 20k every year, you don't want a Fiesta, Punto sized car. They are too small and wear out quicker than a larger car.

http://www.talkford.com/index/

Bigger car = more weight = bigger suspension, brakes etc just to maintain the same characteristics as a lighter fiesta/corsa etc.

bigger vehicle = bigger engine to get the same performance, which if it's just one person is a waste of capacity (both power and volume).

Something like a 1.2-1.4 petrol should give just as good fuel economy as the diesel mondeo; no major faults to worry about (like dpf/flywheel etc) and cheaper fuel (only 5/6p a lite but that's 20-30p a gallon) :cool:

DarkFallout

I have been doing 20 000 miles for work in the last 2 years

I would not suggest doing them in small car

Family cars with turbodiesel engines are much more reliable for motorways and such mileage

I've done my last 20000 miles in Mondeo Mk III, anything similar will be a wiser choice than small cars

tbourner

Agreed about needing a bigger car. The noise and vibrations etc. of a small car becomes quite tiring after a while. Get something as comfortable and quiet as you can.

DarkFallout

the small cars neither have the economy, nor the comfort of bigger cars when it comes to motorway driving

skivenov

I'd agree on economy if you're talking petrols. When it comes to diesels, so long as they're running right, everything does pretty much the same, give or take 5mpg, in my experience.

DarkFallout

skivenov wrote: »

I'd agree on economy if you're talking petrols. When it comes to diesels, so long as they're running right, everything does pretty much the same, give or take 5mpg, in my experience.

many small cars do not have 6th gear and most of the family diesels have it ... the difference is much smaller compared to the petrol ones, but still exists ...

CKhalvashi

DarkFallout wrote: »

the small cars neither have the economy, nor the comfort of bigger cars when it comes to motorway driving

Small car with a big diesel.

Octavia/Fabia 1.9 immediately spring to mind.

Something like this is cheap to insure, cheap to run, and this one comes from the same garage our Skodas do, they're brilliant on aftercare, too. just run a quick quote using my details through; I'm looking about £800, with several high-risk areas.

CK

DarkFallout

CKhalvashi wrote: »

Small car with a big diesel.

Octavia/Fabia 1.9 immediately spring to mind.

Something like this is cheap to insure, cheap to run, and this one comes from the same garage our Skodas do, they're brilliant on aftercare, too. just run a quick quote using my details through; I'm looking about £800, with several high-risk areas.

CK

agree, though octavia is not so small ...

I really like the octavia, and many taxi drivers chose it as well, which speaks for itself

CKhalvashi

DarkFallout wrote: »

agree, though octavia is not so small ...

I really like the octavia, and many taxi drivers chose it as well, which speaks for itself

I own a taxi company, hence the suggestion.

Don't be put off by an owner drivers car, but I'd never buy an ex company car. We had a company car (and they're not treated that nicely) that had 1.6 million miles on it. It's in daily use by my niece doing 1000 a week, which proves how long they last if looked after properly. The only reason they wouldn't re-license it was because it was 12 years old last year.

CK

andygb

Octavia/Bora/Jetta/A4 diesel no competition.