How to work out what car to buy?

ness_w

Hi, I'm new to this board but might be here for a bit as I work out which car to buy! My husband has to drive a lot for his work and currently has a 5 year old Ford Ka which is doing his back in, and which I don't feel is a particualrly safe option for a lot of motorway driving. We were thinking about getting something like a Seat Ibiza Ecomotive or a VW polo Bluemotion 1 as they have to pay little or no road tax and claim to do an awful lot more miles to the gallon.

Does anyone know how we can calculate the annual running costs of cars, or does anyone have experience of driving or buying any of these newer 'green' cars?

We don't have a huge amount to spend, but would have about £5,000 to put down on a car and would look to be paying off the rest as quickly as possible using his mileage allowance. It seems that paying out for one of these cars, although newer than we are used to, might wprk out more cost effective than running something a little older that is less efficient.

Many thanks for any thoughts and advice, Ness.

harveybobbles

They will have low running costs, but so would a 4year old Mondeo/Vectra/Accord diesel - which will be more, more comfy for all of the motorway miles that hubby does. You'd get a decent one for the price of a brand new Polo Blumotion...

michaels

As above poster states, it is worth factoring in the costs of depreciation and the 'capital' tied up in the car as these are generally the biggest costs compared to taxation and fuel cost differences. Also I think you need to go at least a 'size' up to feel comfortable and safe on the motorway.

poe.tuesday

I have a 307 diesel, I do about 135 miles a day in it (mainly motorway) and it costs me about £15 per trip, if I was to slow down it would not cost me that much I know, it also needs servicing ever 12000 miles. The tax seems low on it. You should be able to pick one up with maybe 50000 miles on it for your price, I got one over a year ago, top of the range with about 40000 miles for 7K, it was 3 years old.

I really don't know much about cars but servicing it every 12000 miles is great in comparison to my older car that needs servicing every 6000, so look into this when you concider what car to get

harveybobbles

Years ago I used to hammer up and down the M40 in a Punto 1.2 16v. Whcih was ok the first few times. But after a while, I needed a longer wheel plan to soak up the motorway bumps easier! I'll never have a small car again!

ness_w

Thank you, some really interesting comments to think about already.

The green aspect of it is quite important to us - but I suppose running an old car is greener than a new one. Would running an older model of car with a diesel engine really be equally cost effective? As they get older I assumed cars get less efficient, also things start to go wrong and there's a cost there. It seems whenever either of our cars go to the garage it's a bill of hundreds of pounds.

The size of the car is important too, I suppose something the size of a polo would be tough to be in for several hours several times a week, also I worry about his safety in a really little thing - he's not bothered though!

Thanks, Ness.

JoeyEmma

Whatcar.com allows you to compare cars and work out the real cost over 3 years, taking into account depreciation servicing and other running costs.

harveybobbles

I'd always chose a decent size car over a small one. Regardless of running costs. Get a 54 plate Mondeo/Vectra diesel and get around late 40mpg or into the 50's if you're on the motorway a lot. Tho I'd be aiming for a Volvo S60 D5, Saab 93 or Acord. Not much more than a Mondeo/Vectra. Better standard spec too.

ness_w

So, if going for something a little bigger for comfort and safety, and a few years older for cost, and diesel for economy...what sort of models should we be looking at? This is entirely for work plus one trip to the rugby club each week - so we don't want to be spending all our money on it!

Thanks, Ness.

harveybobbles

54 plate Vectra 1.9cdti SXi are available at 5995 with circa 60-70,000 miles on. 54 plate Mondeo tdci Zetec's are similar price too. 5000 will buy you an 04 Vectra diesel, but it will be the older 2.0dti lump. Accords are more likely to be around the 7000 mark.

ness_w

Thanks a lot, Ness.