Student looking for cheap car to run?

MX5huggy

I think you need to do a bit more thinking or tell us a few more facts. To help you work out what is best. The biggest question is why are you only getting 25mpg from your current car which does not fall into the "gas guzzling 4X4 class". Cause there is no point changing car to solve a problem not caused by the car you have.

What is the model you have at the moment engine size? I presume it is petrol.

Are any these true:-

You only drive short distances less than 10 miles at a time even if you do this often it will have a negative impact on your MPG

You drive like you stole it! High revs all the time!

The car is not serviced and in poor state, so not running efficiently.

Have you truly worked out your MPG i.e. filled up set the milometer to 0 done a number of typical journeys filled up again and worked out the MPG?

How many miles a year are you doing? Because changing cars is expensive. Recouping costs is going to take quite a number of miles.

Insurance presume nothing! at least check what insurance group any car is in compared with your current wheels.

If you are fully comp then increasing the value of your car will increase your premium.

Tax, your current car is too old to be affected by the new road tax rules, check any car you are interested in for this or you may get a shock next year!
I am always inclined to keep a car better the devil you know! I.e. my 1996 Renault Clio 130k on the clock my MIL bought it new and it owes me nothing but I was still willing to spend £350 at MOT time on getting the brakes and other bits sorted because I know it will do another year.
Sorry if all that muddies the water.

LandyAndy

You don't need a website to measure fuel consumption.

Brim the tank. Note the mileage. Drive. Brim the tank again. Note how much fuel you put in. Note mileage. Divide mileage increase by quantity of fuel put in at second fill up.

This is the best way of measuring consumption.

I think a lot of your problem is short journeys on a cold engine.

Is the tank being siphoned?

LandyAndy

MX5huggy wrote: »

I am always inclined to keep a car better the devil you know! I.e. my 1996 Renault Clio 130k on the clock my MIL bought it new and it owes me nothing but I was still willing to spend £350 at MOT time on getting the brakes and other bits sorted because I know it will do another year.

I agree. My 1995 Pug 405 estate has done 207,000 miles and is well worth keeping going. It does 55+mpg:j . I shall keep it until something seriously expensive goes wrong.

TheJay

I updated my last post, check it out for the information you require.

goldspanners

oimi wrote: »

the tyres are pumped up prety hard.

the tyres may look and feel as if they are pumped up hard,but its the pressure you need to know,usually around 30 psi in each tyre,check them at the petrol station.

LandyAndy

Currently, doing mostly fairly gentle M-way and A road driving I get about 750 miles between fill ups. This is about 55 mpg.

A few years ago the only use the car got was for Mrs LA to drive the 5 miles to work each day in a journey that rarely exceeded 30 mph. She struggled to get 500 mles from a tankful which indicates she was getting around 37 mpg.

JimmyTheWig

Ok, shopping once a week = 12 mile round trip.
Going home (twice per term, maybe?) = 70 mile round trip

So over a year you drive 12 x 52 + 70 x 6 = 1044 miles.
Lets add on a bit more, as I'm sure there must be some other driving. Call it 1200 miles a year.

[This is ever so low. Irrelevant to this thread, but are you on / have you considered pay-as-you-go insurance?]

So 1200 miles at 25mpg is 48 gallons.
[Sanity check: Do you pay, on average, £5 a week for petrol?]
What if you bought a new car that could do 40mpg?
1200 miles at 40mpg is 30 gallons.

So if you did this swap you would save 18 gallons of petrol over the year. A gallon costs about £5, so you'd be saving £90 over a year.

Don't spend £1000 on a new car to save £90 a year. It's just not even worth thinking about.

MX5huggy

Jimmy, exactly the post I was thinking of, the only doubt is over if he is staying away at uni or driving there every day (or atleast the few days a year you go to uni if you are full time!)

TheJay

You cannot calculate what mileage I do in a year, on average I do 10,000 miles, now work out how I manage that!

goldspanners

oimi wrote: »

You cannot calculate what mileage I do in a year, on average I do 10,000 miles, now work out how I manage that!

i think they were only going by what you said,the type and distance of journey you do.
maybe you drive more than you said? or maybe someone steals your car and returns it just in time for you to use it? only you know.
advice can only be given on the facts that you issue.