Running costs for newish KA?

clippy_girl

Hi all,

I may soon need to get my first owned car. Previously I have leased cars but its possible they are not continuing the scheme so in the summer I will need to get my own so I am trying to get an idea of costs so i can start saving. Currently all I pay for is fuel.

I am considering buying my current car. i will either get first refusal at the list price at auction or will need to go and bid for it. its a 2012 zetec model with about 17k miles. it has obviously been fully serviced at the ford garage and will be have mot just before i hand it back. i think it was around £5000 on glass guide.

I have got insurance quotes at around £250pa and its £30pa tax. £55 mot plus £100 service which comes to £36.20 per month if i divide by 12. was thinking of putting away £100 to also cover tyres, bulbs, wipers, small repairs.

i guess my main question is roughly how long will it be before my car is likely to start having expensive problems and how long is my car likely to last me? I may only have it a few years anyway before getting a bigger one if i have kids etc anyway.

thanks

Tiexen

Its based on the Fiat 500 so mechanically will be much the same repair wise, at 3 years your out of warranty and will need its 1st MOT:

from Honest John:

83.1% pass rate

from 14,282 tests between August 2012 and July 2013

(7.1% better than other 2010 cars)

• 4.4% fail on Suspension (2 times worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 3.3% fail on Suspension arms (11 times worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 3.3% fail on Pins / bushes / ball joints (12 times worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.59% fail on Front suspension joints (8 times worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.25% fail on Macpherson strut (7 times worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.25% fail on Condition (7 times worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.15% fail on Shock absorbers (43% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.042% fail on Anti-roll bars (82% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.042% fail on Drive shafts (79% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.035% fail on Coil springs (83% better than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.028% fail on Location (2 times worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.0070% fail on Condition
  • 0.014% fail on Radius arms (4 times worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.014% fail on Pins / bushes / ball joints (4 times worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.014% fail on Wheel bearings (82% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.0070% fail on Fluid suspension
  • 0.0070% fail on Trailing arms
  • 0.0070% fail on Tie bars / rods
• 4.3% fail on Lamps, Reflectors and Electrical Equipment (49% better than other 2010 cars)
• 4.2% fail on Tyres (11% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 3.1% fail on Tread depth (26% worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 1.1% fail on Condition (53% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.049% fail on Valve stem (2 times worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.028% fail on Size / type (65% better than other 2010 cars)
• 3.8% fail on Brakes (52% worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 2.1% fail on Hub components (76% worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 2.0% fail on Brake pads (73% worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.20% fail on Brake discs (67% worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.028% fail on Brake calipers (85% worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.021% fail on Brake linings (48% worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.021% fail on Wheel cylinder (14 times worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.0070% fail on Brake drums
  • 1.7% fail on Brake performance (71% worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.88% fail on Rear wheels (2 times worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.76% fail on Front wheels (39% worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.19% fail on Parking brake performance (6.6% better than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.021% fail on Brake imbalance (170% worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.0070% fail on Parking brake operation
    • 0.0070% fail on Service brake performance
  • 0.13% fail on Restricted movement (160% worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.098% fail on Hydraulic systems (23% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.042% fail on Parking brake (79% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.028% fail on Mechanical components (180% worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.028% fail on ABS (51% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.021% fail on Locking devices (17 times worse than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.014% fail on Service brake control components (85% better than other 2010 cars)
• 3.3% fail on Driver's view of the road (16% better than other 2010 cars)
• 0.38% fail on Registration plates and VIN (30% better than other 2010 cars)
• 0.34% fail on Road Wheels (40% worse than other 2010 cars)
• 0.34% fail on Exhaust, Fuel and Emissions (2.6% worse than other 2010 cars)
• 0.20% fail on Steering (5.4% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.18% fail on Steering system (22% worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.17% fail on Ball joint (10 times worse than other 2010 cars)
    • 0.014% fail on Track rod end (82% better than other 2010 cars)
  • 0.0070% fail on Steering control
  • 0.0070% fail on Steering operation
• 0.20% fail on Seat Belts and Supplementary Restraint Systems (40% better than other 2010 cars)
• 0.098% fail on Body, Structure and General Items (52% better than other 2010 cars)

Read the Honest John Review

• Ford Ka 2008 Easy to drive and economical. Based on the Fiat 500 but handles much better. More room in rear than 500.
  

clippy_girl

Luckily anything that fails on first Mot will be repaired prior to auction so it won't cost me for that but I do obviously have to pay for all repairs after that so useful to know!

forgotmyname

£100 service will be an oil change and an inspection to find worn parts.. What will a proper service cost?

GoldenShadow

Ford have told me my 59 reg titanium will cost about £220-£250 for them to service it. I think £100 must be very, very basic service.

As long as you drive it well nothing ought to go wrong imminently. There are worse cars to fix than Fords. OH's brother can buy parts and fit them most of the time but his girlfriend has a mini and he can do !!!!!! all except take it to BMW when that goes wrong (which is quite often..!). My Seat was 8 years old and no major problems. Only got my 59 reg fiesta in December so obviously I'm not hugely worried about imminent issues. It's pretty uncommon for something horrifically expensive to occur just out of warranty. That's not to say it won't, mind. But I've seen a lot of new cars broken down on the side of the M25 etc.

fred246

The main stealers charge £125 for a minor service and £195 for a major service. Where do people get all these strange prices from? The minor service is an oil change and a few checks. The major service is the same plus an air filter and spark plug change. Most of the checks people should be doing for themselves anyway. There's nothing complicated about servicing a car. It's not rocket science.

Tiexen

GoldenShadow wrote: »

There are worse cars to fix than Fords.

Except the KA is mostly Fiat