Bangernomics: Is this the cheapest possible motoring?

bargepole

18 months ago I went to Blackbushe Car Auction, and picked up a very tidy Rover 600 2.0 petrol, R reg, for just £450 with no MoT but a full service history. Not many traders were bidding, they all seem to think you can't get parts for Rovers, which is nonsense.

I had to get a couple of gaiters for the MoT, so that cost £100, and it's done 20,000 trouble-free miles since, sailing through the next MoT with no faults. For such a luxurious car, with aircon, electric everything, motorway cruising at [STRIKE]85mph[/STRIKE] 70mph, this is ludicrously cheap motoring.

Now I need to get an estate car for work, so I'm eyeing up an MG ZT-T, and I've already got a buyer for the Rover at £750!

alasota

I have to be honest - I'm x-motor manufacturer!

I worked for a German car manufacturer for about 6 years, and a British one before that for about 5 years. During that period I had pretty much every car in their range every 3-4 months, new. Great fun. All the modern stuff. Never even paid for fuel! Happy Dayz!

Deciding to do a career break, left with no car, but loads of 'knowledge', the direction I took was the banger route.

We all know that depreciation is the real killer with cars. You would not believe how much profit these manufacturers make from each new car (not the dealer I might add!) sold.

I parted £900 for a 1994 1.8GLX Mondeo Estate back in very early 2004. The key to finding a bargain is in your local press (buy it the day, nay, the morning it comes out). Local owners who have cared for their cars (this was a one-owner car with a full - YES FULL! dealer history on a 10 year old car (now thats where the dealers make their money!) and are reluctantly selling. I viewed it in the dark! Noticed a few body blemishes, struck a deal and collected it for cash the following day.

Over 50,000m later, one new spring £18 (thank you Slough Council for your very very dodgy speed humps), cam belt change (£180 local garage), servicing by me every 6 months or so and some other bits and pieces, I have probably spent about £600 over 4 years total on MOT's and maintenance!

This Mondeo has a reliable, pretty simple motor (I get about 38-42 MPG all the time) and a cavanous boot! The bodywork is tatty (2 friends have borrowed it and decided to crash into the same wall twice, each requiring a 'new' rear bumper (£20 off ebay)) but it does the job. Never broken down on me, and starts first time, every time!

The story, and my message, is buy local, do your own maintenance (ask a friend to show you - it really is simple and should cost you £20-£30 for the parts if you buy from a local Motor Factor), look for an MOT only garage (ie, does NOT do repairs, just MOT test - search the forum) and drive normally - not too slow and not too fast - cars DO need to be driven once in a while, you can get some very, very cheap motoring!

Shame is, I'm back in the real world soon and will hopefully be getting a 'shirt and tie' job again, requiring a better looking 'respectable' motor to turn up in. I already have my eye on my next 'respectable motor' (no proper clues, but it will be German!). If I lose more than £500 per year, I will be bitterly disappointed!

aimharl

I have a book called Bangernomics and my last car well actually a van was a citroen berlingo 1.8D had it 2yrs cost me £380 for MOTs and tyres sold it on ebay for £750 2 weeks ago with 161000 on. When I bought it off Ebay it had 122000 on and had just had a new clutch fitted. I did just general maintenace regular oil and filters and it was great people did think I was strange driving a van at work. I over the years have lost a fortune on cars
over the years. I now have a citroen zx that was sat on my brothers drive with 74000. Started 1st time cost 150 to get through MOT so looking forward to some v cheap motoring . I have learnt the car does not maketh the person. http://bangernomics.tripod.com/index.html

michaels

Fiat Stilo 52, bought 2 years ago from ebay for 2045, 39k. Now 65k, new power steering £200 (second hand part local garage fitted) and two £100 service plus MOT deals and 2 tyres £90 and just sold to local garage for £1500 - so cost over 2 years 26k miles 550 + 500 + 240 (cost of capital @6%) = 650 pa for a car that wasn't an old banger (even had a private plate when I bought it so people couldn't tell if it was 4yrs od or nearly new)

pianeet

bought an 04 plate tdi passat in 2006 for £6000 with 50,000 miles on clock(trade sale). just sold it 2years 4 months later with 90,000 on the clock for £4800 only major work was cambelt change £300 so £54 a month for what has been an ultra reliable motor .
i am at the moment trying to stop my mother in law buying a brand new honda jazz ,and to buy at least an ex demo but she still wants her first brand new car(she must be mad)

scrooze247

Buying new cars is like standing in the street and tearing up a GREAT BIG PILE OF £10 NOTES.

I purchased for £600 (a little over the odds) three years ago - off Ebay - a one owner K Reg Nissan Micra with 40k miles on the clock.My wife still has it.It returns 58mpg, gives her independence and always passes the MOT.So...no problem with that !

In April,after writing off our 4x4 in Spain (not our fault),I purchased off the Net a 1998 Citroen Xantia Estate with 9850 miles on the clock ! I paid £2600 for that (again over the odds) but it will last us for years. It still smells new inside !
Honestly !

So I am completely in agreement with this posting. I just do not understand why people willingly tear up £000,s of £10 notes in depreciation.

sarahemmm

aimharl wrote: »

I have a book called Bangernomics ...
. I have learnt the car does not maketh the person. http://bangernomics.tripod.com/index.html

Thanks for that excellent link:T - had no idea there was a book!

I do seem to have brought a number of people out of the woodwork - congrats to all you cheap motoring fans :beer:

innerdavid

I like bigger cars, and need one to tow my caravan. So I am now on my second Volvo 960 from ebay. This one was £500, has full leather, auto, "fully loaded" as the ads say. It is a 3 litre engine, and whilst not quite as economical as some of the cars on here, will do 30 mpg at a steady 70 mph (on the cruise control!).

It had 6 months MoT (and some tax), and what I ususally do, and did this time, is put it straight through another MoT test - two reasons. 1. If it fails badly (ie not economical to put right), it can be "disposed of" with the existing MoT. 2. I would rather work on the car to get it through it's MoT at this time of year rather than in Jan when the existing MoT runs out. (oh - and it passed with no faults)

I did look at two local motor auctions, but found that, certainly for the larger type cars I was looking for (Volvos, Discoverys etc.), prices were no cheaper than ebay (but about half what the vehicle would be priced at on a dealer's forecourt). What I did find was the auctions had distinctly different styles. If you have a look at the stock list (Usually on the website), check prices on ebay or the local paper, and then go and see what the vehicles fetch, you may be suprised. Also at one of the auctions you could go to the office, and ask about individual vehicles (make sure you have a lot number), including the reserve price.
I think the moral is, if you want to buy from an auction, go to a few beforehand to see how they work.

keithwjones

anewman wrote: »

I currently have a Skoda Favorit Estate 1994 and have had it just over a year, probably worth less than £100 realistically. Just about to have an MOT retest but only failed on rear bearing adjustment (my fault as I replaced the bearings myself) and a corroded brake pipe. MOT's always seem to bring up brake pipes so I am considering getting myself a flaring kit, handful of unions and a roll of pipe.

Tip from a garage - brush old engine oil on to the pipes, then they do not corrode.

Last mot a new young tester did car, he thought the pipes were leaking and called an experienced tester who new what I was doing. The pipes will stay good for years. Funnily enough garages do not do this on a routine service.

Keith

Davesnave

I've not been in the real banger end of the market since being in my 20's, longer ago than I care to admit, but I remember some £50 cars then that ran for years and never broke down.

Over the years I've always driven older, low mileage (well, when I bought them!) cars, well into in the sub-£1000 bracket. A Renault 12 we had still needed running-in, and a 20k miles Hillman Hunter's owner had an excellent reason for selling, being dead. The saddest one was a Volvo 240 with moss growing on it; like new, but left by an owner who had suffered a bereavement, the tow-bar untouched by the caravan he never bought. Bloomin' awful car to drive though! We sold it easily enough to an enthusiast.

Despite being mostly in this price range, I've only had one vehicle with much more than 50k on it, and that was an Audi, which had probably been clocked. Even that wasn't a bad car but, in about half a million miles of motoring, it was the only one that broke down, fortunately just outside the half mile from home rescue no-go zone !

My current Primera estate came in totally immaculate condition from one of those little 'middle men' dealers, as did the one before it. It is the only car I've paid more than £1200 for, but I could still sell it without much 'loss' because what qualifies as a banger near London is still a smart motor where I live. I shan't though, because once you have a good car, you may as well run it until it gets to the more expensive stage at around 90k miles, when some of the bigger bits can wear out.

Maybe £200 is a bit cheap- equivalent to some of my £50 cars from the past that I'd not feel very safe in today, but I'd be happy to go anywhere in my daughter's £450 Polo.