Advice on buying cheap run around car

-DeeDee-

Hi all, I was wondering could I have your advice and input on buying a cheap to run car.

I currently drive a Vauxhall Astra Design 1.6 Petrol 05 - average 35mpg

For the year
* Insurance £400
* Road Tax £176

The cars I am currently interested in will have to be 5door due to baby seat, £30 road tax for the year with good mpg and cheap to insure with a budget of £2000 nothing more then 105k milleage

Cars that have caught my eye

Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCI - £30 Road Tax - 60+MPG
Renault Megane 1.5 DCI £30 Road Tax - 60+ MPG
Peugeot 307 1.4 HDI £30 Road Tax - 60+MPG

Some say the Peugeot are not reliable and the Meganes have problems with electrics, not sure about the Fiesta. So what would you pick out of the three? and do you have any other cars in mind?

Nodding_Donkey

How many miles do you do a year?
What length journeys?

ilikewatch

-DeeDee- wrote: »

Hi all, I was wondering could I have your advice and input on buying a cheap to run car.

I currently drive a Vauxhall Astra Design 1.6 Petrol 05 - average 35mpg

For the year
* Insurance £400
* Road Tax £176

The cars I am currently interested in will have to be 5door due to baby seat, £30 road tax for the year with good mpg and cheap to insure with a budget of £2000 nothing more then 105k milleage

Cars that have caught my eye

Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCI - £30 Road Tax - 60+MPG
Renault Megane 1.5 DCI £30 Road Tax - 60+ MPG
Peugeot 307 1.4 HDI £30 Road Tax - 60+MPG

Some say the Peugeot are not reliable and the Meganes have problems with electrics, not sure about the Fiesta. So what would you pick out of the three? and do you have any other cars in mind?

Do you do the sort of driving which would make a diesel worthwhile? i.e. over 12K a year, mostly out of town on Aroads and M ways?

Why an upper limit of 105K? Especially with the sort of older diesels that you're looking at I would have thought that service history and frequent oil changes were the priority?

-DeeDee-

ilikewatch wrote: »

Do you do the sort of driving which would make a diesel worthwhile? i.e. over 12K a year, mostly out of town on Aroads and M ways?

Why an upper limit of 105K? Especially with the sort of older diesels that you're looking at I would have thought that service history and frequent oil changes were the priority?

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

How many miles do you do a year?
What length journeys?

I do between 7 - 10k a year with a bit of both long and short journeys, but more short journeys to be precise.

Eitherway I would be saving just under £200 alone on tax and insurance.

For these old diesel cars what would you say the most reasonable milleage would be for a car will full service history if a 105k is too low?

Nodding_Donkey

With that sort of use profile you need to make sure whatever diesel you get DOESN'T have a DPF (diesel particulate filter).

You may be better off with a small petrol engine.

jaydeeuk1

If its mostly short journeys, and around town where engine isn't up to temp for most of the journey, you will NOT be getting over 60mpg in any of those cars. In fact, in stop start short journeys, you won't be getting alot more than the 35 you get in your astra. Plus one big bill which is far more likely in one of them complicated diesels and it will end up costing you far more than the astra.

In fact, change to any car pretty much and it will be several years, if ever, before you break even.

forgotmyname

Yes you can get 60+MPG. But unless your journeys are clear runs with no traffic and few traffic lights then you probably wont get 60+MPG.

You will get approx 10 - 15MPG more than the Astra. If you think of it as that level is it worth spending more money in an attempt to save money?

Think about the repair bills on a modern diesel engine. Hundreds of pounds for the injectors and fuel pumps and do they have dual mass flywheels? They can add £250+ to the cost of a clutch.