Advice please

alwaysbrassic

Could I ask some advice please about my hubbies car?
He currently drives a very old car, which is bomb proof, how it's still running i don't know!
I want hubby to get a newer car, spending £2000/£3000. The reason I want this is that although his car is still running, I don't think it is very economical. DH does a 50 mile round trip for work, 6 days per week. It cost approx £9 per day. However, I recently went on a website which estimated the cost in a standard diesel as £6 per day. Over the month, that is quite a lot more.
DH is of the opinion we should keep running his car until its completely broken.
I think we are wasting money running an uneconomical car.
Who's right?

Ultrasonic

What are those £6 and £9 per day figures based on? In particular, does the £6 per day figure include depreciation of the value of a newer car?

What sort of fuel economy does your husband's current car actually get? And out of curiosity, what type of car is it?

I'm inclined to agree with your husband but everyone here would need need a bit more information to give a proper answer.

Ultrasonic

Oh, and if your husband's current car is very old, an entirely separate reason to consider a newer replacement is that it would likely be safer.

alwaysbrassic

£9 per day is what he currently spends on diesel for the 50 mile round trip.
I can't remember what the name of the website was that I got the info but I basically typed in the addresses for a route finder, and it gave an estimated cost based on an average sized diesel car.
My hubby is not sure what he gets to the gallon, he did used to get around 50 (he gets a good run to work) but he says it has dropped quite a lot.
The car is a 306. It has just passed its mot, but it does have a problem with the electrics. It needs to be reset every so often, otherwise it revs for no reason. An auto electrician told us it would be at least £300 to strip it to investigate. The reset makes it drive ok for a while.

alwaysbrassic

Sorry, didn't include depreciation in any figures.

marlot

cars in that price range vary from lovely to dogs.

if there is nothing wrong with the existing car, I'd be inclined to keep the money for a rainy day.

Ultrasonic

I'd suggest actually working out what fuel economy you're currently getting.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the website you used. Look at the achievable fuel economy for cars you can buy for £3k here, and then do some sums to compare with your current car.

The costs of running a car are significantly higher than the fuel costs though. Unexpected bills on a replacement car could easily wipe out any savings you expect on fuel economy. However, your husband's car is sounding a little less bomb-proof than you first suggested, which makes this more complicated...

mcfisco

The only way the new car would be more economical would be if you got it free.
It'd be something like 4 years before you'd recoup the cost of the new motor by only saving £3/day by swapping.
There's obviously other factors there but you need to add up all that you'll spend against any savings over time.

espresso

alwaysbrassic wrote: »

£9 per day is what he currently spends on diesel for the 50 mile round trip.
I can't remember what the name of the website was that I got the info but I basically typed in the addresses for a route finder, and it gave an estimated cost based on an average sized diesel car.
My hubby is not sure what he gets to the gallon, he did used to get around 50 (he gets a good run to work) but he says it has dropped quite a lot.
The car is a 306. It has just passed its mot, but it does have a problem with the electrics. It needs to be reset every so often, otherwise it revs for no reason. An auto electrician told us it would be at least £300 to strip it to investigate. The reset makes it drive ok for a while.

The 306 is currently returning only 35 MPG if paying a typical 137p per litre, which is much less than it should be.

It should be easy to diagnose why it is using so much fuel, could be as simple as a leak.

Richard53

Assuming the website you used is accurate, that's saving you £3 a day in fuel, or £15 a week, or nearly £700 a year. Against that, you have the depreciation on the newer car (the 306 can't depreciate much more than it has already) and the fact that any new-to-you car is a risk. It may be a peach or it may be a turkey. At least you know the 306. If it is generally reliable, it may be better to sink a bit of that money into getting it running properly and sort out any issues, and put the rest away for a rainy day.

StrongWork

One should spend £3000 to save an estimated £3 per day?