Cheap years driving to work?

Cheap years driving to work?

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InsanityPotion01

Original Poster:

20 posts

122 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
Hi guys

Just worked out how much I spend on fuel and tax for my MR2 per year (£2900 and my commute isn't even that far).

I've been looking at economical cars for once and the 320d stands out (£20 Road tax and "up to 80mpg"). I would save roughly £1900 which is a huge amount but I have heard it isn't the most exciting car to drive. The 320d is pretty much top of my price range and I haven't factored in the insurance, service costs etc as well.

I don't want to spend money I'm not going to get back. That's what attracted me to the mr2 in the first place because of it's low/non-existent depreciation and cheap insurance. What would you guys recommend? I want something fun that I can chuck around on private roads but has very low running costs and depreciation.

Thanks

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
InsanityPotion01 said:
Hi guys

Just worked out how much I spend on fuel and tax for my MR2 per year (£2900 and my commute isn't even that far).

I've been looking at economical cars for once and the 320d stands out (£20 Road tax and "up to 80mpg"). I would save roughly £1900 which is a huge amount but I have heard it isn't the most exciting car to drive. The 320d is pretty much top of my price range and I haven't factored in the insurance, service costs etc as well.

I don't want to spend money I'm not going to get back. That's what attracted me to the mr2 in the first place because of it's low/non-existent depreciation and cheap insurance. What would you guys recommend? I want something fun that I can chuck around on private roads but has very low running costs and depreciation.
I'd definitely start by not comparing real-world MPG with absolute-best-case-official-figures...

And then I'd make sure I included all the true costs of ownership - especially depreciation.

InsanityPotion01

Original Poster:

20 posts

122 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
I'd definitely start by not comparing real-world MPG with absolute-best-case-official-figures...

And then I'd make sure I included all the true costs of ownership - especially depreciation.
Even at 60mpg I'd be saving a fortune.
Any suggestions?

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
'Diesel' and 'short commute' are often incompatible.

jayemm89

4,002 posts

129 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
I think the reality is the only way you'll save much is by buying something "as cheap as" the MR2 but much less fun.

My Peugeot 207 Diesel van will get 40+ mpg even being thrashed, but that's because thrashing it is only 10% more throttle than driving the bugger normally.

A 320d with any sort of poke will probably wind up doing 30-ish mpg in spirited driving.

I don't suppose you can afford an Elise? They're quite economical, and fun, and appreciating in the case of early ones

KevinCamaroSS

11,553 posts

279 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
First question is 'Will you keep the MR2?'

If you do, anything you buy will likely increase your annual outlay, two insurance, two road tax, two MoTs etc, cost of money etc.

PaulGT3

375 posts

171 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
I had an MR2 and commuting doesn't get much cheaper really unless you do massive miles. Mid 30's mpg, reliable and near zero depreciation.

Spending loads of money on a new diesel BMW will do the opposite of save you money, if you want a new 3 series then fair enough but don't kid yourself that you are going to save any money.

samoht

5,633 posts

145 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
To help decide, share some more details:
- what sort of MR2? There's a world of difference between, say, an Mk2 Turbo with the boost wound up, overfuelling madly to stave off det and flaming on each upshift, vs a stock Mk3 with its meek, fuel-sipping 1.8
- what distance to work? what speeds?
- what MPG are you getting now?


WonkeyDonkey

2,333 posts

102 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
jayemm89 said:
I think the reality is the only way you'll save much is by buying something "as cheap as" the MR2 but much less fun.

My Peugeot 207 Diesel van will get 40+ mpg even being thrashed, but that's because thrashing it is only 10% more throttle than driving the bugger normally.

A 320d with any sort of poke will probably wind up doing 30-ish mpg in spirited driving.

I don't suppose you can afford an Elise? They're quite economical, and fun, and appreciating in the case of early ones
Yeah my S2 111S is currently giving me a easy 40mpg since moving house. Commute for me is a mile to the motorway, 10 miles on it then 2 miles off the other side. Granted they are not the best of motorway cruisers in terms of NVH levels, but for the fun they offer i don't think I could ever bare to sell mine.

It could probably push 45mpg if I sorted out the alternator and AC problem as I think they're both causing excess drag on the belts.

delta0

2,334 posts

105 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
At my last job I was car sharing with someone that had a 320d. Most of the journey was motorway and the rest was country roads. 40mpg is what he got.

DoubleD

22,154 posts

107 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
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How many miles do you drive a day? What sort of roads are you driving on?

battered

4,088 posts

146 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
If it's about cost per mile vs fun then the way to work it out is to set up a table. You could put it in a spreradsheet if you must but a piece of paper does the job.

The sums are, say you do 10k miles a year, with a few figures plucked from the air:
10k miles at (say) 33mpg, so 300 gallons at (say) a fiver, £1500.
Insurance £400
Tax £200
Servicing/MoT/Repairs £400
Depreciation £1000 a year

So a total of £3500 for 10k miles, 35p a mile.

Then do the same for your 320d (or whatever). Even if you take a third off your fuel costs (to 50mpg) you are still only saving £500 a year. Against this is probably heavier depreciation on a newer car.

People get exercised about fuel because it's the cost they see every week but in most cases it's less than half the total cost of running any car other than a banger. As a case in point my folks recently signed up to a lease 520d. It covers 6k miles a year at about £300 a month. £3600 a year. That's over 50p a mile before you fuel it, insure it, or anything else. "Oh, but we get 50 mpg". Big deal. That's a saving of 5p a mile to take off your total costs.

So do the sums, identify where your costs are coming from, and if you then want to chip at them, do so. As others have said, a second car is not much of a way to do this unless your daily driver only does 15mpg. My fun car, a Mazda MX5, costs me around £1000 a year plus fuel, all up, so it's cheap enough. However even if I do 5k miles in it (I won't) then those £1000 fixed costs won't go away.




rossub

4,400 posts

189 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
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Whenever I've moved to diesel from a performance car, I've taken such a hit on depreciation I'd have been better sticking with what I had.

ambuletz

10,690 posts

180 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
take your CBT (around £150).
get a 125cc bike (£2000 new)
£15 to tax a year
100mpg
bike fun.

lost in espace

6,136 posts

206 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
Lease a Nissan Leaf? www.speakev.com classifieds.

Gruber

6,313 posts

213 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
ambuletz said:
take your CBT (around £150).
get a 125cc bike (£2000 new)
£15 to tax a year
100mpg
bike fun.
This.

jayemm89

4,002 posts

129 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
I learned to ride on a Honda CG125. Was dull as dishwater even when I was a learner, but by Christ it was parsimonious when it came to filling up!

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
delta0 said:
At my last job I was car sharing with someone that had a 320d. Most of the journey was motorway and the rest was country roads. 40mpg is what he got.
Hmm, I know someone who commutes ~40 miles (probably 30 miles of motorway and 10 miles of B-roads) a day in one and averages about 70mpg. Although his is an ED, if that actually makes any difference.

ETA: I still wouldn't buy one to save money unless I was covering a serious distance though. Fuel is generally not the biggest cost of motoring, in my experience, and it would have to be a serious saving to make me drive a diesel rep-mobile.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 24th September 14:05

battered

4,088 posts

146 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
Gruber said:
ambuletz said:
take your CBT (around £150).
get a 125cc bike (£2000 new)
£15 to tax a year
100mpg
bike fun.
This.
If you can avoid the homicidal maniacs and blind idiots, yes. If you don't, then it's a spell of hospital food and some time off work.

Escy

3,906 posts

148 months

Saturday 24th September 2016
quotequote all
If it's a Mk3 Roadster, i'm not convinced getting a 320d will leave you much better off and certainly a far more boring drive. My MR2 is doing about 35mpg