18 Years Old, Long Commute

System

LTTRG2 wrote: »

This commute is really taking its toll on my tiny 1.4L 16 year old hatch, it also just gets 30MPG and is costing me an arm and a leg in fuel.

I am 18 and have been driving for close to 18 months now so am looking to get something a bit bigger. I have been looking at some of the newer (>2012) BMW 1 series diesels, as well as diesel (Primarily BlueMotion) Golfs, these are all around £7-8,000 in value and hover around 60MPG on average.

All that saving on fuel will be thrown away with the cost of the finance and depreciation of a newer car.

10,000 miles a year at 30MPG petrol = £1936 @ £1.279/l
10,000 miles a year at 60MPG diesel = £1000 @ £1.319/l (I doubt you'll get 60MPG if you're only getting 30MPG out of a 1.4L)

Difference = £936 a year.

Your approach to trying to save £936 a year is to spend £8,000 on a car which will depreciate at least £1000 a year and cost a lot more to insure, service and repair?

Well you're certainly not doing this to save money so don't kid yourself you are. Remember any finance you get you're going to be paying for up to 5 years and you'll have to pay it whether you have a job or not, whether you still live at home or get your own place and find you can't afford it with your £1300 a month income.

eamon

I think research is called for here and a little thinking outside the box as other posters have said.

Do the insurance quotes for marques that aren't ticking your current boxes e.g. Toyota Avensis. Loads for sale on Autotrader for less than 5k, most come loaded with everything and they just work. Sure they are dull to look at but looks aren't everything.

DD265

I had a similar problem. I got a '98 petrol Fiesta in 2012 which was fine on my <5 miles a day commute but I was having to fill it up twice a week when I started my 60 mile a day (in stop start motorway traffic to boot) commute in 2014. It was costing me £400 a month in fuel and having regular trips to the garage.

I got a brand new diesel Nissan Note on PCP - didn't actually save myself any money because PCP repayments are very costly when you do high mileage. But I was less worried about it breaking down and only filling up once a week. Plus it had bluetooth audio and that was just the best thing ever. I got rid of that last year, terminating the agreement early.

Bought a '05 Golf TDI, 1.9 last May, and promptly installed a Parrot Kit for my beloved bluetooth. The Golf does about 56-58mpg maybe (I stopped keeping track after a few weeks, and care more about how long I can go between visits to the fuel station), it's mechanically sound and the best bit is I own it outright. It was just over £3k last year, paid half in cash and the rest 0% on a credit card. My insurance has been pretty static for a few years now but I'm 30 so... The Golf is by far the better car; heavy and solid so it feels safe but it can still shift now that the reduced speed limits are gone - only I don't care about racing down the motorway any more and prefer to drive more economically.

In a way I'm glad I went the PCP route once - because I learned that I don't want to do it again. I'd keep the car you have until repairs mean it's not economical to run, and put aside what you can for a newer one or to move closer to work. Then if you have to finance one, an interest free credit card would be my preferred route personally.

forgotmyname

60 miles a day costing £400 a month in fuel = 18mpg?