Highish mileage - old cars vs newer cost

scaredofdebt

I do a fairly high mileage of around 30k per annum, hopefully this will drop slightly over the coming year or two but it's still likely to be over 25k.

Money is tight, a large portion of my income goes on fuel and repairs etc. Due to this I have tended to buy elderly cars as I do not want to take a loan and pay interest and my belief has always been this is ultimately cheaper overall.

However, I am now thinking that it may be more cost-effective to buy a 2 year old car on finance as the repairs and fuel will be cheaper.

Here's some figures for my old cars:

2004 Mondeo, owned from Oct '09 to May '13 - over the period I owned the car it averaged out at £355 a month.
1997 Peugeot 306 owned from Jun '13 to Dec '13 - averaged cost is £356 a month!
2008 Mini Clubman diesel owned Jan '14 to Jan '15 - £332 a month - this was a newer car ie 6 years old.
2004 CMax owned from Jan '15 to date - this is my current car, cost so far is £363 a month but this will reduce as the car is running fine so far fingers crossed!

The above figures include depreciation, repairs, fuel and tax. I have ommited servicing, wear and tear items and insurance as they are likely to be fairly constant over different cars.

Compare that to a 2-3 year old Kia Rio - £285 a month over 3 years, including finance costs, interest etc.

I am making some assumptions that the new Rio will be covered by a manufacturers warranty for the bulk of the time I own it, but I realise they only cover up to 100k miles. The Rio will be cheaper on fuel than my previous cars and cost less in tax and repairs. In my experience diesel cars don't need major repairs before 150k or so.

What other cars are available that a cheap to run (and buy) that would have a decent warranty from the manufacturer?

How comprehensive are warranties?

My current car is OK and I will run that until it becomes uneconomic, but with MOT due soon that may not be far off!

Comments welcome!

dktreesea

Have you thought of buying a car at auction? We usually buy our cars this way. Don't be intimidated by the dealers. You can check out the value of your target cars for free via Glass car valuations:
http://www.glass.co.uk/valuations
So at auction you should be looking to pay at least 30% less than the Glass value.


We drive around 30k-40k miles per annum, have put 80,000 on the clock in the two and a half years we have owned our current car, and even with replacing the timing belt and turbo during that time, the total cost of the car is still less than the Glass valuation.


Our car costs around £240 a month to run. Most of that is diesel. It's a passat, 1.9 litre engine. No depreciation charges because it's still worth more than we paid for it. That cost allows for £1,000 a year repair bills which we don't always have to pay. Our car is 2006 so getting on for ten years old now.

bigjl

Buy 3yrs old with above average mileage but with full
History that has been owned by one of the big leasing companies.

Check the service book to see where it was used, avoid stuff that has been hammered round a big City, especially London.

If you are confident enough, or have friends to help, then buying at auction is a good idea with the money coming from a personal loan.

If you need to buy on HP then go to a Car Supermarket and buy as new as to can for as little as you can, stone chips are an indication of motorway miles.

A car that has done 80/100k on mostly A Roads and Motorways will drive pretty much like a new car apart from the odd interior squeak or rattle.

Though to be honest I bought a mk3 Mondeo with over 80k and it had no visible wear on the interior and drove like a new car, the same was also true for a V50 I bought at three years with over 100k.

Both lasted 3yrs without serious issues. The V50 interior fan did pack up but I sold it with the problem solved never did fix it, bought the part though it is still in the garage and I will keep it plotted up in case Inbuy a V50 again as it is a common fault.
Both cars did 100k plus in my hands.

jimjames

Bought our diesel Passat at 3 years old with 110k miles at 30% of the new price. We've now owned it over 5 years and no major issues so I think buying high miles and running it till it drops is a good plan

forgotmyname

I bought a Mondeo in 2009 for £2000 and spend under £1500 in repairs and servicing etc and sold it this year for £800. with 170k on the clock.

So only cost £45 a month..

BeenThroughItAll

forgotmyname wrote: »

I bought a Mondeo in 2009 for £2000 and spend under £1500 in repairs and servicing etc and sold it this year for £800. with 170k on the clock.

So only cost £45 a month..

That was my thoughts... If the OP's costs are as high as they say, it's not because the cars were older/higher mileage; it because they were crap examples (although their figures do include fuel which will be a big chunk of that).


Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2002, bought for £1995 in February this year. Total cost to me so far (excluding things I've done because I wanted to rather than needed to) has been £100 for two new wheel bearings and a set of front pads.

scaredofdebt

Just to clarify my costs include everything excluding insurance and wear and tear items, I do 30k a year so about £200 a month of my overall costs are fuel.

I thought my overall costs were very low considering the mileage and even repairs were not high considering the mileages done.

ie Mondeo comes out at 14p per mile (including fuel) which is pretty good. I didn't want to post a load of figures as that would probably be hard to decipher but I can post more detail if required.

My projection for a Rio would be around 11p a mile with fuel.

edit - I do around 30k per year so the Mondeo did 30k x 3,5 years or about 105k, Pug was around 16k miles etc.

bigjl

Don't forget that the Diesel Rio doesn't achieve anything like the fuel economy that Kia claim (1.1 diesel)

From a reliability point of view Hyundais, Kias and Daewoo/Chevrolet are more and more common in Africa (imported as used vehicles) and if a car proves unreliable or costly to maintain it quickly loses favour.

scaredofdebt

Thanks - I've assumed MPG figures 10% worse than those claimed by Kia, I would probably get one for a long test drive if possible before making a decision.

forgotmyname

My costs exclude fuel, because thats not going to change that much. Over 10,000 miles an extra 10mpg will only £150 (ish)

If the OP is doing 30k then a saving of £450 a year on fuel, but a newer car is likely to depreciate far more than £450 a year anyway.


Did you factor in the depreciation with the KIA to save that 3p per mile? Have you seen the parts prices? Dads got a KIA and a starter motor/alternator? (i forgot which one) for that is almost double what a Mondeo one would cost.

CAM sensor was £60+. gear linkage cables several hundred and you need to pay for them in advance and await deliver which was quoted as approx 4 - 6 weeks.

If your looking at a new one the parts prices wont be a problem until it gets to an age that they deem them as fair wear and tear but the wait for parts maybe a problem.

bigjl

forgotmyname wrote: »

My costs exclude fuel, because thats not going to change that much. Over 10,000 miles an extra 10mpg will only £150 (ish)

If the OP is doing 30k then a saving of £450 a year on fuel, but a newer car is likely to depreciate far more than £450 a year anyway.


Did you factor in the depreciation with the KIA to save that 3p per mile? Have you seen the parts prices? Dads got a KIA and a starter motor/alternator? (i forgot which one) for that is almost double what a Mondeo one would cost.

CAM sensor was £60+. gear linkage cables several hundred and you need to pay for them in advance and await deliver which was quoted as approx 4 - 6 weeks.

If your looking at a new one the parts prices wont be a problem until it gets to an age that they deem them as fair wear and tear but the wait for parts maybe a problem.

That is a fair point, Korean cars can have higher than expected spares costs, I noticed the same with the wife's Accent.

You will never really save money buying a new car, you might reduce your fuel budget, possibly your Insurance will drop. It will always lose lots of money though.

Though a new car is a nicer place to sit for long hours at the start and finish of each day which you can't quantify really.

The only true way to limit costs and change your car is to buy one from Auction at the right price, then sell it within a year or so before its value drops below what you initially paid for it.

Thankfully the availability of high miles ex lease cars at auction means it is easy to do so.

Alongside the advantage that most of these cars will be a decent size , Mondeo, Insignia for example. And specced decently.