Bangernomics: Is this the cheapest possible motoring?

juux

I'm firmly in the banger territory, running a '94 Mercedes 300TD (270,000 miles, 32mpg and about the biggest load area on the road) and a '94 Micra (72,000 miles, 45mpg and clean as a whistle). Great, cheap TCO motoring if you can handle running around in something slightly unfashionable.

The Merc in particular is a fantastic car, very relaxing to drive as it is so quiet and unfussed. The Micra is used for commuting and replaced a '95 diesel 106 which blew up (my fault!). If I wasn't doing about 10,000 motorway miles commuting every year I would definitely go for something big and thirsty as these, has already been said, are the real motoring bargains due to no-one wanting them. Big old French and Japanese cars are ridiculously cheap and yet perfectly reliable. Even surprisingly recent larger engined Mercs and BMWs are a pittance compared to their original sale price and can be picked up for under a grand and still come with things like full dealer service histories. If you're only doing 4-5,000 miles a year and are old and responsible enough for insurance costs not to be a concern, they are the only way to travel.

Getting good cars very cheap has become harder recently due to the rise in metal prices. I got £130 for the 106, and that was it being picked up and with a knackered engine. This has pushed prices upwards so that the days of plentiful decent cars under £500 has gone. There are still bargains to be had for around this mark though, the immaculate two-owner Micra was only £600 and feels like a new car.

Having said that, I did consider a brand new lease hire from Lings Cars as, although it would cost more, there is no doubt that a 2008 supermini is much safer than a 1994 one. The lack of risk in terms of maintenance and repair bills was also attractive.

TKPeters

I buy cars from the auctions, normally spending between £3-4000 & most need servicing (Oil & Filters) Tax & MOT.

I then keep the car for a year, give it another service, Tax & MOT again & then sell it for a nice profit (£1500 on a 52 plate Seat Leon TDi 130, after expenses including insurance) which basically means I've not paid for any running costs for a car in the last 6 years.

before_hollywood

spoyser wrote: »

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!!

my dad gets named on mine, he has his own car with my mum but borrows mine once or twice a month (used to drive my old car practically every day)
it rarely costs any more to put him on (he is 52) and often costs less, last time i worked it out, it cost £2.50 for a years fully comp named on my insurance, have been with the same insurers a few years now (can't get lower renewals) so he just stays on

i was an ex bangernomics driver, sold my car for £495 having bought it 2 years earlier for £470 and buying 2 new tyres (£40 the pair) and servicing it with motor factor parts every year. i now have a 6 year old fiat and am horrified it has lost 2 and a half grand in 4 years :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

anewman

Paul_Varjak wrote: »

Being disabled I don't want a vehicle that will break down, and older cars are simply not as safe as modern cars in an accident.

I imagine with the breakdown companies they'd come to you first? Well I know they go to lone women first anyway. Some old cars can be more reliable than new cars. IMO it depends largely on servicing and care the car receives.

I remember seeing a program on TV that showed new "safe" cars, while keeping you safe, present increased danger to other road users. In an accident with 2 old "unsafe" cars where previously both parties walk away unharmed, change one car to a new "safe" car and the people in the old car are more likely to be injured or killed, due to the rigidity of the "safe" car.

See http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ygYUYia9I

lincolnscot

Having spent fortunes on thousand pound cars, okay expected for Renault and the Serena had a hard life prior to my care.

Anyway I now have a mondeo M reg, with 128K bought for £300 in April, have spent £200 so far on brake pipes and gaskets, but car now has MOT and is running well, so much so that I now may change spark plugs!

This car is ultra reliable my friend has had one for several years and when our mechanic friend mentioned servicing my friend looked at him blankly, in truth he has never done anything to the car in all the time he has owned it - result no ownership costs.

I would recommend going for the unfashionable cars, the Serena was a bargain compared to the alternative Renault / Fords, but too expensive for this topic.

MiserlyMartin

I've often thought about running a stream of bangers, but whenever I think about changing my car I keep thinking about this:

1. I know my car. Its history and what has been replaced over the last 4 years and what is likely to need doing. If I bought a banger I would have no clue what would go wrong or need doing in the next year - it could be expensive.

2. Road tax on my car is £115 as its a band C 2001 car. This is likely to go down if they have their way with the new tax bands. But a banger after Gordon the Morons new tax banding is likely to cost you more than the car is worth just to tax the thing!

3. Current car does about 50 MPG on average it being a diesel. Older cars in general were not as fuel efficient. There are a few exceptions though. Peugeot 106 1.5 D's were very good so were Citroen AX's. But mine is a bigger car and it does 50 MPG. Diesel small cars -Yaris, Clios and 206's do about 60MPG apparently

Only pros I'd say is that you have pretty much zero depreciation running bangers.

Ginger_Nuts_2

jdavtz wrote: »

Something worth considering, which may or may not make a difference to your final calculations, is petrol costs:

Using £1.20/litre for petrol as a rough guide.
A old banger doing 40mpg (maybe optimistic) will cost 13.6p/mile in fuel.
A newer car (e.g. my Toyota Aygo, 3yrs old) does over 60mpg, but using 60mpg for easy maths costs 9.1p/mile.

Using the original poster's 20000 miles/year that's an extra £900/year in fuel costs.

A 3yo Aygo might be about £3000. Three £500 bangers to cover the three years would be £1500. Three years of fuel would be £8160 for the banger, but only £5460 for the 60mpg Aygo.

Total cost over 3 years:
Bangers: £9660
Aygo: £8460

And the newer car would be much less likely to have expensive repairs required, only costs £20/year in road tax, and is in lowest insurance group (1E), and is probably significantly safer if you end up in a crash.

Worth a thought, anyway!

Suppose your figures would be even more entertaining if you include cost of finance and depreciation. And reports are already appearing of transmission oil leaks, Water leaks into load area via extractor vent. Have also been water leaks into load area and rear via misfitted rear door and hatch seals or rear light seals, failing timing belt tensioners, which is a roller bearing device like the idler pulley, but with a reddish rubber/nylon damper. Gates cambelt kits include this part. Wise also to replace waterpump which it driven by the timing belt. Also seeing as the diesel does 68 mpg in controlled circumstances, your figures for working out how many miles to the gallon you are doing are way way outta belief. How many litres does your car take to fill to the neck, how many miles do you do and then refill to the neck again, this is really the only way you will get a true reading. :rotfl:

GhostHunter_3

Ginger_Nuts wrote: »

Suppose your figures would be even more entertaining if you include cost of finance and depreciation. And reports are already appearing of transmission oil leaks, Water leaks into load area via extractor vent. Have also been water leaks into load area and rear via misfitted rear door and hatch seals or rear light seals, failing timing belt tensioners, which is a roller bearing device like the idler pulley, but with a reddish rubber/nylon damper. Gates cambelt kits include this part. Wise also to replace waterpump which it driven by the timing belt. Also seeing as the diesel does 68 mpg in controlled circumstances, your figures for working out how many miles to the gallon you are doing are way way outta belief. How many litres does your car take to fill to the neck, how many miles do you do and then refill to the neck again, this is really the only way you will get a true reading. :rotfl:

Hello Ginger Nuts Welcome newbie to MSE.

:eek:

Paul_Varjak

anewman wrote: »

I imagine with the breakdown companies they'd come to you first?

I think that is true, yes

anewman wrote: »

Some old cars can be more reliable than new cars.

When I looked at the Which? reports a couple of years back I noted that newer Nissans and Volkswagens are less reliable than they used to be, wheras Fiat and Ford are becoming more reliable.

anewman wrote: »

I remember seeing a program on TV that showed new "safe" cars, while keeping you safe, present increased danger to other road users. In an accident with 2 old "unsafe" cars where previously both parties walk away unharmed, change one car to a new "safe" car and the people in the old car are more likely to be injured or killed, due to the rigidity of the "safe" car.

That is a very interesting and even more reason not to buy an old banger!

Look here for a test between a new and 9 year-old Renault Espace:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3l4YBf2tjag&feature=related

I am looking for a Supermini next time and the only Supermini (prior to 2005) that has a 5 star Euro NCAP safety rating is a Renault Modus.

Ginger_Nuts_2

GhostHunter wrote: »

Hello Ginger Nuts Welcome newbie to MSE.

:eek:

Thanks for the welcome, been reading and not contributing for a long time:D Just couldnt let those figures stand there:rotfl: