Cheap Motoring

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My car is slowly dying and looks for opinions on what is the cheapest option of car ownership and running costs long-term?

My current car has proven to be amazing value, but am coming to that time when I am weighing up cost / benefit of continuing to maintain it.

So what options would you propose for the cheapest possible running costs over the next 10 years? The following requirements (as well as being cheap)

- Auto box
- Something that feels sturdy on a motorway, so no tin box hatchbacks à la Micra and something reasonably torquey.
- A good safety rating.

I’m thinking that maybe finding an old biddy locally that has a 5 to 10 year old German or Swedish car owned from new with low mileage, but that may be difficult to find…!
 
Yeah, an old 5 Series is what I'd be looking at - loadsa car for the money and solid with it.

Or maybe a SAAB 9-5 for something a bit different - the last estate version they did just before they went bust were fab, not sure how much they are now though (parts still readily available I believe).
 
Nawty said:
Or maybe a SAAB 9-5 for something a bit different - the last estate version they did just before they went bust were fab, not sure how much they are now though (parts still readily available I believe).
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May as well buy a Vauxhall then.
 
i was going to say a vauxhaul meriva or some s***bos like that.
 
Friend of mine has about 10 yo Mondeo with 2 litre diesel. Know him few years now and there was nothing wrong with it at all, I actually consider buying it off him.
 
srichards said:
Mend what you have? Devil you know if parts availability is ok and rot hasn't set in is often the cheapest long term prospect.
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Yeah, it probably is the way. It’s a 52 plate c220cdi, so parts should be available for a long time yet. But the list of things not working is growing ever longer, and the current fault is a PITA (intermittent battery drain...). Plus, the car is looking quite rough and I've had it 10 years, so have a slightly growing itch to get rid of it and replace with something where everything works and is cosmetically good.
The one plus is that after driving the same car for 10 years, you get to know every foible and oddity..!
 
I have had 2 diesel 2 litre Focus, both cheap to run in terms of repairs etc, couple of bearings and some brake discs, total mileage to date 170,000. Great on motorway and the current one is easy to drive all day in town, if a little thirsty (mid 40s in town, mid 50s on motorway). Easy to get serviced, cheap parts. Lovely and relaxed drive.
Matt
 
Mondeo estate! Got transit engine in! I've had two and both were sold with over 200,000 on clock and still life in them! Change oil and filter every 8-10 k and it kept going ! Or aV50 estate Volvo! Transit engine again! Lovely comfy car
 
Another vote for the mondeo diesel ,super workhorse and cheap as chips to buy ,run,repair ,at the moment I have a Volvo S60 2.4 auto ,bit heavy round town but give it the open road and it's a pocket rocket and averages 50 + mpg ,also a good tow car mind you both are .
 
Before considering these older cars consider if you have any interest in the environment. The cars being proposed are amongst the worst diesel polluters some even before basic DPF filters. You will be buying in to awfully harmful transport.
 
Mr Bump said:
Before considering these older cars consider if you have any interest in the environment. The cars being proposed are amongst the worst diesel polluters some even before basic DPF filters. You will be buying in to awfully harmful transport.
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Buy a bus pass then! Any car does that if you believe the government!!!
 
Mark twiglet said:
Buy a bus pass then! Any car does that if you believe the government!!!
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I disagree. I simply pointed out the vehicles being put forward were the dirtiest diesels of the age for particle pollution.
 
Diesel anything is an environmental disaster and should be avoided. The sooner they're banned for anything other than static applications or those with a ton of emissions control that actually works the better. The modern diesels are gross polluters as well. Manufacturers just cheat the tests. In real world testing they're still dirty filthy things that need to be removed from the road.
 
Mr Bump said:
I disagree. I simply pointed out the vehicles being put forward were the dirtiest diesels of the age for particle pollution.
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I agree that's true, but isn't the OP keeping a car for 10+years much better for the environment than scrapping these older vehicles and buying newer ones?
 
We can't ban all oil burners!!! Cars , tractors , trains , generators ,trucks , HGV's ! The country/ world would grind to a halt
 
TopBanana said:
I agree that's true, but isn't the OP keeping a car for 10+years much better for the environment than scrapping these older vehicles and buying newer ones?
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Maybe for his pocket and that may well be his only concern but not for the environment the pollution from older diesels is horrific.
 
srichards said:
Diesel anything is an environmental disaster and should be avoided. The sooner they're banned for anything other than static applications or those with a ton of emissions control that actually works the better. The modern diesels are gross polluters as well. Manufacturers just cheat the tests. In real world testing they're still dirty filthy things that need to be removed from the road.
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Only manufacturer found to have dine that is VAG. Everyone else has conformed to government tests and not had software to get the emissions to work properly, under test conditions only, All manufacturers are currently testing under real world conditions.
 
Skoda Octavia diesel IMO. Reliable, good for around town or long runs. Will average 50+MPG all the time. Cheap, readily available parts, comfortable, lower tax and insurance than a lot of other cars in the class. They have a massive boot.
 
It's all scandalous!
 
Mr Bump said:
I disagree. I simply pointed out the vehicles being put forward were the dirtiest diesels of the age for particle pollution.
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Not really. Usually car manufacturers are producing and selling cars to emissions legislation around a year or more in advance of levels coming into effect.
Nox Particulates
Euro 3 January 2000 0.50 0.05
Euro 4 January 2005 0.25 0.025
Euro 5a September 2009 0.180 0.005
Euro 5b September 2011 0.180 0.005
Euro 6 September 2014 0.080 0,005
So anything from 2007 really is fine, it is the multitude of earlier cars that have the unexceptable levels especially combined with the fact that they won't be as fuel efficient anyway.
 
nilagin said:
Not really. Usually car manufacturers are producing and selling cars to emissions legislation around a year or more in advance of levels coming into effect.
Nox Particulates
Euro 3 January 2000 0.50 0.05
Euro 4 January 2005 0.25 0.025
Euro 5a September 2009 0.180 0.005
Euro 5b September 2011 0.180 0.005
Euro 6 September 2014 0.080 0,005
So anything from 2007 really is fine, it is the multitude of earlier cars that have the unexceptable levels especially combined with the fact that they won't be as fuel efficient anyway.
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When we're DPF filters introduced then? I thought they were up to 2011 for some cars?
 
At this moment in time I need my diesel to cope with the weight of my caravan ,however in a few years time I think a hybrid petrol/electric will do the job better as electric developes
full torque from zero , however I don't think there's anything yet available to suit that niche in the market .it will come though the latest Toyota RAV4 variant is worth looking at in that respect but out of my price range
 
Mr Bump said:
When we're DPF filters introduced then? I thought they were up to 2011 for some cars?
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They became requisite to meet the 2009 emissions, however manufacturers were fitting them from 2007. They were also available as an option from around 2005 maybe earlier.
 
Mr Bump said:
Before considering these older cars consider if you have any interest in the environment. The cars being proposed are amongst the worst diesel polluters some even before basic DPF filters. You will be buying in to awfully harmful transport.
Click to expand...

What a load of liberal fruit cake! Someone is going to buy and run that older car one way or another. Before you demonise all used rolling stock and condemn everyone to permanent renter class status you should at least exercise some thought to consider the energy penalty and pollution producing and changing cars for everyone every 2-3 years. That is frankly totally wasteful and unsustainable, let alone unaffordable to many.

Almost all 10 yo cars have "basic" DPF filters, so I'm pretty confident that is what the OP is getting by the way.

Instead of ranting along against affordable personal transportation (that is basically all you are doing here day to day) perhaps do something more constructive and help develop solar technologies, more efficient electric motors or filter solutions for older cars? How about that Mr Environment?
 
the black fox said:
however in a few years time I think a hybrid petrol/electric will do the job better
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Great. It's not long left to wait till then and the world won't suddenly end tomorrow, will it? I'm all for better future but not screwing everyone over to get there!
 
Mr Bump said:
Maybe for his pocket and that may well be his only concern but not for the environment the pollution from older diesels is horrific.
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If you that much concern for the environment, i will happily accept subsidies from you that will allow me to get a 'clean' car!

If not, can we return to the subject at hand - the cheapest car to buy / run over an extended period?
 
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Rapscallion said:
If not, can we return to the subject at hand - the cheapest car to buy / run over an extended period?
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How big a car do you require. What sort of use will it be for. How many miles a week / month / year do drive. Will it be motorway' town or mixed driving. Is depreciation a factor in your budgeting?
 
nilagin said:
How big a car do you require. What sort of use will it be for. How many miles a week / month / year do drive. Will it be motorway' town or mixed driving. Is depreciation a factor in your budgeting?
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How big a car do you require. - not a large car, will just be for myself for committing, but don’t want a small car as in a micra type car, focus size will be the minimum i think i will be happy with.
What sort of use will it be for. to and from work only, plus running around. we have a galaxy as our family car.
How many miles a week / month / year do drive. approx 7k per year, so quite low really
Will it be motorway' town or mixed driving. regular driving is mixed , some city, some fast dual carriageway
Is depreciation a factor in your budgeting? absolutely, looking for cheapest motoring possible, depreciation is a massive factor. My current car has been amazing value. Depreciation has been around 500 per year over 10 years / 80,000 miles, and consumables and repairs have cost around 3 to 4k over that time (a good chunk of that being replacing the injectors and servicing the auto box last year). This has come to approx. 900 per year / 9 pence per mile running costs excluding fuel.
 
7k pa is in petrol car territory. Diesels are for high mileage.

What's the longest regular journey that you do?
 
srichards said:
7k pa is in petrol car territory. Diesels are for high mileage.

What's the longest regular journey that you do?
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Why necessarily? It could be longer countryside trips every few days, not necessarily daily short shopping runs.
 
Have you considered something like a 125PS 1.0 Ecoboost Focus. Make sure it is the 125ps version of the engine and not the 100ps version. Don't be put off by the small 1.0 engine capacity, it is quite a torquey engine with maximum torque coming in at 1400rpm and carries on through to around 4000rpm where it slowly starts to drop off. Not sure on depreciation as petrol engines have always depreciated more than diesel but the demonizing of anything diesel is likely to change that. Having said that a 2nd hand petrol car is going to be a bargain. With the mileage you do a diesel isn't going to be a necessity.
 
srichards said:
Diesel anything is an environmental disaster and should be avoided.
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At the risk of derailing things again, I looked into this recently. From what I could find, from an environmental POV there's not a lot in it - diesels may be slightly better than petrol. But diesel fumes kill people more than petrol fumes do. Your call.

Anyway, I swapped my diesel Skoda (great cars - the VrS is awesome but watch out for electrical problems) for a petrol Honda Civic. Hondas are generally pretty dull which makes them a very good buy if you're being sensible. My Civic estate is way more comfortable than the Skoda and has an even bigger boot and lots more toys. It's also a lot slower. Diesels are very frugal indeed.
 
Rapscallion said:
If you that much concern for the environment, i will happily accept subsidies from you that will allow me to get a 'clean' car!

If not, can we return to the subject at hand - the cheapest car to buy / run over an extended period?
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do you care at all for the environemnt tho?

do you?
 
neil_g said:
Do we have a to have the same preachy debate every time a car thread comes up?
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No but people on here just seem to take the same stance every time just reply with "you need a great big old dirty diesel" repeat and rinse
 
Diesel may stop being cheap motoring if councils levy extra parking charges or parking permit charges or just city entry fees on diesels so if you want cheap motoring then you have to take all that into account. Plus the newer diesels really can't cope with lots of short journeys and they clog up the DPF then cost a fortune to sort out.

A prius hybrid petrol would be a reasonable long term prospect. The old ones are cheap and seem to be able to cope with high mileages.
 
Rapscallion said:
So what options would you propose for the cheapest possible running costs over the next 10 years? The following requirements (as well as being cheap)

- Auto box
- Something that feels sturdy on a motorway, so no tin box hatchbacks à la Micra and something reasonably torquey.
- A good safety rating.

I’m thinking that maybe finding an old biddy locally that has a 5 to 10 year old German or Swedish car owned from new with low mileage, but that may be difficult to find…!
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8th Gen Honda Accord 2.4 EX, built in Japan and is pretty much as reliable a car as you can get. Hard to find though, especially in Tourer.

7th Gen 2.4 Executive is also still an excellent car and Japanese built, nice in saloon but the Tourer looks like a coffin.

Both come fully loaded and can be had at very good prices, especially the 7th Gen.

Honda diesels don't seem to be as reliable in my experience.
 
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