Student looking for cheap car to run?

TheJay

With the ever increasing cost of petrol, I have come to realise that I have a bit of a problem.

I currently own a Vauxhall Corsa made in 1999, which as I worked out does 25MPG. This seems to be extremely low althouogh my current costs seem to verify that this is the case.

As a result, I have decided to search around for a new car.

I have a few questions and a budget of around £1,000.

I am looking for either a Vauxhall or Peugeot (petrol, diesel or LPG etc), which will cost me less to fill up and will provide more MPG.

Firstly, I don't know whether to go for a petrol, diesel, lpg or other fuel taking car.

Secondly, I don't know where to find one that is within 10 years old that is extremely reliable for around £1,000. I'd be selling my current 1999 T reg 3 door Vauxhall Corsa for additional funds.

What choices should I make in order to save more money in the future?

Just to clarify I am looking for a small Vauxhall or Peugeot (possibly 206) around 1.2.

I don't need to know about insurance, Ive been driving for two years and surely a more economical car will be cheaper to insure anyhow.

Hope some of you can help, thank you!

Nicifer_noonoo

I'm not much help on this, but my one piece of advice would be to check the insurance BEFORE you decide on and buy a car. Most people are quoting me as much for my 1 litre 47MPG toyota yaris as they were for my first car, a 1.6 litre Vauxhall Tigra, and that's with 1 years no claims and a pass plus qualification!!!

TheJay

Thank you for this revelation! I will keep this in mind, but still require the information I requested.

Idiophreak

tbh I'd be surprised if you could get anything markedly more efficient than the corsa for that kind of money...perhaps it's a case of better the devil you know.

Have you looked at the way you drive and tried to up the MPG that way?

LandyAndy

If your Corsa is generally reliable I would be tempted to spend a little money on finding out why it is so thirsty. Do you do a lot of short trips? When was it last serviced? The sub £1000 market is full of dangers and you could well end up buying someone else's problems.

JimmyTheWig

How many miles do you do per year?

TheJay

Well to give you an idea, the car was made in 1999 and has done 52,000 miles. It has been owned by a stranger, my Mum and myself. It was kept on a drive a lot of the time by the first owner, my Mum used it to commute to work and I use it for the same purpose.

davetrousers

25 mog is pretty bad, what is your driving style?

I agree with Landandy, do some simple investigating as to why mpg is low.

Tyre pressures
Excessive weight (junk in boot)
Poorly maintained (when was it last serviced (oil change, air filter change, spark plugs etc.)
Fuel leak
Driving with choke on (though it's probably not even got one)

Short trips in busy traffic will return poor mpg

LandyAndy

oimi wrote: »

Well to give you an idea, the car was made in 1999 and has done 52,000 miles. It has been owned by a stranger, my Mum and myself. It was kept on a drive a lot of the time by the first owner, my Mum used it to commute to work and I use it for the same purpose.

How far is this journey and how long does it take you?

goldspanners

25 mpg from a corsa.something is wrong in this case.check all the usual things to help increase mpg,inflate tyres properly,get it serviced regularly,dont drive it like you stole it,keep the revs down,dont let the engine labour.
if its your driving style causing high fuel consumption on this car then it will be the same on all the others.

TheJay

Well, I used to use th car to go to work but I am at University now so really I only use it to go shopping every week. I don't have to sit in a lot of traffic and don't neglect my car. It gets a service every year, it was only serviced 2 months ago. Apart from going shopping 6 miles away, using the bypass to get there, I use the car to go home 35 miles away, requiring me to drive along country lanes. There is no excess weight on my car, the tyres are pumped up prety hard.

I calculated the amount of fuel used per gallon using a wesite that you input the amount you spent on fuel, how much you paid to fill the tank and then how many miles were done before the tank was nearly empty to work out MPG.

The car doesn't have a choke...