Cheapest Car to run (fuel/tax wise) that costs a £1000

stator

Lupo 3L is extremely efficient but very rare because it's an import
This one is £1500
http://forums.clublupo.co.uk/index.php?/topic/104405-rare-2001-lupo-3l-12-tdi-manual-now-fixed/

System

At a grand purchase price fuel economy would be the last of my concerns. I'd be more worried about what expensive bill was just around the corner.

AnotherJoe

GQM wrote: »

So my trusty 2003 Ford Focus 1.8L Zetec Petrol needs replacing i have a budget of around £1000 and just want a car that is cheap to run regarding fuel costs/tax as this Focus is really quite expensive i want much more MPG for my money nowadays TBF so what is the best car i can buy for £1000 that fits the bill, any help appreciated THX.

If its trusty, why does it need replacing?

Almost certainly the ongoing costs for maintenance / repairs on a £1k car whose history and reason for sale you dont know, are likely to swamp a few p on petrol.

worried_jim

A nice little Honda Civic should see you all right. At under a £1k I would stick with Japanese and avoid French.

GunJack

AnotherJoe wrote: »

If its trusty, why does it need replacing?

Almost certainly the ongoing costs for maintenance / repairs on a £1k car whose history and reason for sale you dont know, are likely to swamp a few p on petrol.

not necessarily...I only got the Fusion in place of my trusty rover 45 1.4 purely on the running costs (fuel, tax and insurance), which for the same mileage works out at £613 LESS per year, of which £130 is tax, the rest is fuel... it can be done rather well on a budget, especially as the tax & insurance gains over a 1.8 focus could be £2-300 a year for starters

Stoke

Lupo SDI or TDI.

GQM

GunJack wrote: »

not necessarily...I only got the Fusion in place of my trusty rover 45 1.4 purely on the running costs (fuel, tax and insurance), which for the same mileage works out at £613 LESS per year, of which £130 is tax, the rest is fuel... it can be done rather well on a budget, especially as the tax & insurance gains over a 1.8 focus could be £2-300 a year for starters

Exactly pretty much how ive been looking at it.

verityboo

GQM wrote: »

Exactly pretty much how ive been looking at it.

But the only possibility of perhaps saving a couple of hundred quid a year assumes no large unexpected bills (especially if you have to pay a garage to carry out running repairs). Even if you find a well maintained car that is not a given.

From my experience a lot of sub £1k cars have been run with the minimum of expense (often it seems just doing the minimum to get through the MOT each year) and are being got rid of because the owner senses (or simply knows) something is beginning to fail which will be expensive

Stick you £1k limit into autotrader and ebay, and take your time to go through all the options looking for the best maintained car you can find which meets your requirements. With that budget it is time well spent

jimjames

Stoke wrote: »

Lupo SDI or TDI.

I'd suggest Golf/Bora PD TDI. Bulletproof engine if looked after so service history main criteria. You'll get 60mpg from it and within the price range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcT3KtTuSNA

scaredofdebt

I bought a 54 plate Ford Cmax 1.6 diesel for £1,300 a couple of years back, you can probably get one private for a grand.

It had 125k on it, I ran it for 2 and a half years putting another 65k on it before I got rid as it needed expensive repairs. No major bills up to that point.

Averaged over 60 MPG and tax was about £12 a month.

This might not be any good if you do less than about 15k miles or a lot of short journeys.

People say that engine is a ticking time bomb but it was fine in my experience.