Bangernomics: Is this the cheapest possible motoring?

GoodOlAl

sarahemmm wrote: »

Well, he did fix the boot lock as well (I had it held shut with a bungee cord) and the MOT was £50.

Mind you, it will probably break severely now ...

AND

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:

You've brought me out of the woodwork to say the going rate for an MoT around here is £29.95; did you shop around?

Also, don't believe everything about German reliability.
Some 6 months before a continental driving holiday I part-exchanged my elderly Alfa that had proved 100% reliable for a much newer & reputedly famously reliable VW Passat with a FSH.
I should have been warned when after a month's trouble-free ownership the VW broke down time after time with a series of small defects that I told myself were worth repairing.
The last straw was during the holiday I'd bought the car for, in the Mt Blanc Tunnel between France & Italy ...
The AA shipped the dead car back to the dealer.
Wish I'd kept the Alfa, i would be a classic now, unlike any Passat.

Mikiboy

being a motorcyclist, I am not keen on paying a lot for a car.
In the last 10 years, I paid £2200 for an escort este which I hated as it was the non turbo diesel without power steering. I owned it 6 years and hardly spent anything on it apart from consumables and windscreens. My worst MOT was £130. I put on about 70k in that time. I wanted something more comfortable as i was doing a lot of Scottish runs, so I sold it for £425 with MOT and tax and nothing wrong with it.
I then paid £400 for a dieslel Granada which I love. 1st day out in it the water pump packed up. £80. 2 years down the line I replaced the whole exhast system which should have had a catalic convertor on it but wouldnt fit so that cost me £260. I have replaced tyres a couple of times. My most expensive MOT was about £90. I replaced the battery for £40 with a HD but it had been in the car years. I bust my leg so the car stood for 8 months in the garage. I fitted the new battery. 1st turn, it started without touching the accelorator.
MOT passed 1st time. That is a 1st for me ever in over 20 years of driving.
I have just had the arches done and am having the fuel tank replaced. I dont mind spending a bit on the car as I really like it and its been very good.
It had a full service history when I bought it, and I have it oil and filtered regulary.
My Mate has a 3 year old Gold DTI and his 1st MOT was over £330. he does spend money on it. Its £50 for the oil alone on that before you add labour and filter.
He spends more on his in a year, than me both doing similar mileages and his is more ecconomical, but mine is twice the size.
I hope to keep my Granny a few years yet!

daisy_digger

Just like to say that I and my other half have only ever had bangers and have been able to do a lot more with the money we have saved, holidays mainly.
At the moment I have an Astra Estate which I have had for 3 yrs, paid £500 with a full history, I have only had to spend on it this year and that was less than £100, it does good MPG and has never let me down yet ( fingers crossed) all power to the banger!

purplegrape

This sounds like a great idea, the only thing that puts me off is that whilst the car will obv have to pass an MOT so is 'safe' from that point of view, the main difference I notice between new cars and old is the brakes and braking distances - makes them feel unsafe for me. (Am basing my experience on a 1984 Polo, so perhaps a little unfair...)

Does anyone have any thoughts on this in terms of make, etc?

golddustmedia

Personally I try to go for no cost motoring!

I have a good look at what cars are popular and retain their value and rarely depreciate in value.

Then buy the best value one you can find.

For example a Passat TDi estate is always popular and barely changes in value at all.

I bought a 97 R reg one for £2200 with a new 12 month MOT. Drove it for 25,000 miles spending only normal wear and tear costs (a pair of tyres, couple of bulbs) then it passed it's MOT a year later first time.

Sadly my wife bashed it into a rock on dartmoor breaking the front bumper which I replaced with a similar (but not identical) colour one on ebay for £60.

However despite the higher mileage and different bumper I sold the car in less than a week for my original purchase price of £2200.

This is something I've repeated over and over for years and I've learnt a few lessons;

• Never buy a ford. They rust at 3 years old and lose their value quickly.
• Unpopular colours may be a good buy but can be hard to sell. Unless it's a sporty car avoid yellow and always avoid pink/purple/brown or vivid colours!
• Vauxhalls are often unreliable but it's really hit and miss. Had a 54 reg Meriva that had a new engine AND gearbox before it reached 8k miles!
• Reliable family cars, especially estates, are always in demand. An 8 year old Volvo estate makes a great deal.
• Nobody wants to buy a Rover anymore. As such if buying a car you intend to sell in the future avoid any company that isn't doing well. Anyone with sense avoided buying a new or high value Rover for a good 2 years before they folded. You could see it coming and their values plummeted when the news broke.

emmigrant-immigrant

I made a profit on my old banger. My sister gave me a 16 year old vauxhall Nova, I had a crash, and was given 350 pounds as a write off settlement, fixed it up with a bit of panel beating, then sold it 2 years later for 200 pounds. In that time I replaced the battery, brake pads exhaust (full system from kwik fit 30 pounds) and the head gasket went, but I stopped as soon as I saw the temp start to rise, let it cool down and topped fluids up. Luckily I knew the car really well by this point, so knew something was wrong as soon as the needle started moving and didn't damage the engine. Maintenance was a combo of me, fantastic father and garages when they worked out cheapest. It is definitely worth learning to do some maintenance yourself.

:j

sturose

adrianlowes wrote: »

I am seriously considering going down this line. My current car is a Kia Sedona as I have a mobile Disco business so it is handy for carrying equipment and I use it to go to work and back for my full time job. Problem is with the 2.9L engine it isn't very good on fuel for my commute. considering getting a small van for the Disco and a banger to go to work and back. The thing I would ask is how good do the insurance quotes come out on the bangers. Presumably you all only insure the 3rd party. I would have to start a new policy with 0% no claims as I would be using my existing no claims o the van.

I bought a renault estate for £300 with a towbar fitted, got a cheap trailer out of the local paper. No need for two seperate vehicles/insurance policies/maintainance costs etc.

pukkamum

wow i love this thread i was beginning to think my dh and i were the only people who buy old bangers, it really beggars belief that people who strugle with bills every month and who like my dh's best friend never has any money to go on days out, holidays etc are willing to shell out £300+ a month on 2 brand new cars!!! We bought our r reg mondeo for £700 two years ago it sailed through the first mot and last time had to have new tyre etc coming to around £180 so under a grand for a car for two years i know people who spend that on hp on brand new cars in six months!!!! When i was young only rich people had brand new cars they just weren't for the 'normal' people!! I was only commenting to my dh the other day how when we were young you would hear every winter the sound of ignitions turning over and over in the morn trying to get the car started!!! I miss that!!!!

flyingflea

I have a 1992 Peugeot 205 which cost me £100 when I passed my test. It does 50mpg round town (the way I drive it ) and last year cost me £150 to insure and I was 21! I service it each year myself which costs £25-£30 and all repairs are usually fairly cheap and simple to carry out (all mechanically based, no computer to reset!)

I'm currently looking for a new car but I'm struggling to find something which is as economical to run! I like the new shape mini coopers but don't like how they only do about 35mpg unless you get a diesel.

spoyser

One more way to potentially cut the cost of motoring is to get an old person (no offence) as a named driver on your insurance. I recently added my father-in-law (58) to my insurance and was pleasantly surprised when the cost went down!

Third-party insurance isn't necessarily a good thing either.

A number of years ago when I was in my early 20s I drove into a wall, the car had to be lifted out of the wall using lifting gear and then transported home on a car transporter costing me £250. The difference between 3rd party and fully comp was £60!!

The moral of this story: Make sure you check the actual cost of both before opting for the cheaper one as it might be false economy!!