Surprisingly cheap cars to run?

bigmaz

Hi guys

Not sure if this has been asked before, but just wondering, is there any second hand car options out there that look like they would cost a lot of money to run, but are surprisingly cheap to maintain? Just wondering, as I wouldn't want to dismiss any cars because I assume they are too expensive to run. E.g. nice BMW's, 4x4's etc.

Any experiences?

Thanks

jase1

Pretty much any car is cheap to maintain until it goes wrong, at which point even a Ford Focus can gouge your eyes out. So I wouldn't necessarily pay too much attention to any anecdotal evidence here.

In my view, generally it is the case that newer > older. Old cars are much more likely to break, it's the way of the world.

*~Zephyr~*

I've had my 56 plate VW Golf, 1.9 diesel for 8 years now and all it's cost me is tyres, a few bulbs and one set of brake pads.

It's the third VW I've had. Never bought new, always 18mths - 2yrs old when I buy them and none have cost me much to run.

I do get it serviced at least every 12 months tho, so there is that cost. But I've got a friend VW specialist garage (not a main dealer) local who don't charge the earth.

Herzlos

One in good condition.

As said, anything going wrong is expensive, and the fancier the marque, the more the parts & labour cost. Your best bets for cheap motoring are either common (Focus) or repmobile (Mondeo) as you should be able to get parts cheaper (OEM/Pattern/used).

bigmaz

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Yeah, just thinking about servicing costs, tyres, MPG etc.

Would like a nice looking car, but they normally cost more to run, even though you can buy them cheap. Suppose, thats maybe why they do not hold their value.

Also, heard there are certain BMW's that use Ford engines, so they are cheaper to fix when something go's wrong.

stator

Look for a car that shares all it's components with other popular cars.
eg Audi cars are made by VW and share most of their parts with other VW cars, eg Seat, Skoda.

jase1

I am not aware of any BMWs that use Ford engines. One or two of the smaller ones (1-series and Mini I believe) use a Peugeot 1.6 diesel which is also used in some Fords, which is probably what you've heard about.

Engines don't usually break in my experience (most are pretty much sealed for life, and need nothing more than cambelt changes). It's the electrical parts that end up emptying your wallet if they start to fail because they can be so difficult to diagnose.

Just buy what you like, having taken care to avoid anything with a reputation for electrical faults would be my advice.

tykesi

bigmaz wrote: »

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Yeah, just thinking about servicing costs, tyres, MPG etc.

Would like a nice looking car, but they normally cost more to run, even though you can buy them cheap. Suppose, thats maybe why they do not hold their value.

Also, heard there are certain BMW's that use Ford engines, so they are cheaper to fix when something go's wrong.

Exactly this. It's funny on my estate, there are three Range Rovers (2x P38 & 1 x L322), a BMW 740 and two VW Tuaregs (V6 & V10) all parked up on drives gathering dust. The neighbours who picked them up cheap don't understand that a car which cost £40-50k+ to buy new has £40-50k+ car running costs - shock horror :eek:

InsideInsurance

What are you considering in your maintenance bucket? Servicing? Fuel? Tax? Repairs?

For garage costs are you wanting to use franchised garages where labour will simply be more in higher marques or a non-franchised where if your car is a ford or rolls makes minimum difference? Similarly on parts, do you want branded or will generic do?

Herzlos

bigmaz wrote: »

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Yeah, just thinking about servicing costs, tyres, MPG etc.

Tyres is a good point. In the UK we have an obsession with 'sporty' low profile tyres on huge wheels, which is expensive. Look for something with smaller diameter alloys and tallish tyres, in a popular size. You'll get tyres for a 15" wheel a lot cheaper than 17/18".

There is a caveat though; some sizes (particularly on BMW) are somewhat non-standard, so more expensive.

Ignore mpg to an extent, and think about the total cost. You may not come out ahead if you spend hundreds more on a more efficient car, if you never save enough fuel to make the money back (my current car does 24mpg, but I barely use it).

colino

You have to look at all of the costs when pricing the running costs of a vehicle. If you are not a new driver and don't drive many miles, insurance and fuel become far less important than that of another user. Incidentally, I have a very nice Jag that would suit you to a T.