What economical but fun car? (With low running costs)
Discussion
We're looking to change from the Z4M to a cheaper, more economical, but 'fun' car; in order to plough money into the mortgage.
We're ideally looking for something with:
- Less than 30,000 miles
- 50mpg on the motorway
- Low insurance costs
- Fun/Funky/Unique
- Depreciation (est.) of less than £1500 a year
I keep hankering after a classic Fiat 500, but in reality know it's not the right car with no garage!
So far we've looked at things like...
- Fiat 500
- Twingo 133
- 107 (if going very cheap)
Any suggestions for something a bit fun? I know 'What Car' threads are tedious, but we'd really appreciate the help!
We're ideally looking for something with:
- Less than 30,000 miles
- 50mpg on the motorway
- Low insurance costs
- Fun/Funky/Unique
- Depreciation (est.) of less than £1500 a year
I keep hankering after a classic Fiat 500, but in reality know it's not the right car with no garage!
So far we've looked at things like...
- Fiat 500
- Twingo 133
- 107 (if going very cheap)
Any suggestions for something a bit fun? I know 'What Car' threads are tedious, but we'd really appreciate the help!
Waugh-terfall said:
Phew. Well that's not as bad as I'd assumed. 
500 TwinAir? Possibly a bit new.
What do you mean? We still may end up with a £500 car yet, but we'll see... If we can find something cheap enough to run (inc. depreciation) then it's do-able.500 TwinAir? Possibly a bit new.
500 TwinAir is a bit too costly, yeah. Well, it'd not hit the depreciation figure we'd need.
redgriff500 said:
How many miles a year do you do ?
As I'd suggest something older that will depreciate less but achieve less mpg is likely a better solution.
Or look into LPG.
I ran an LPG'd Leon Cupra 180 bhp and the equivilent of 50mpg
Trouble is, we want a hassle-free car, which means something relatively new. We also want really low running costs in all aspects, including tyres, servicing, brakes, etc... We don't do many miles at all, but it would make sense if we're changing car anyway to get something more economical.As I'd suggest something older that will depreciate less but achieve less mpg is likely a better solution.
Or look into LPG.
I ran an LPG'd Leon Cupra 180 bhp and the equivilent of 50mpg
Pulse said:
That's a good suggestion! Can't ignore the looks though, when the Fiat 500 1.4 Sport and the Suzuki Swift Sport are available...
Yep but... the Panda has also got the added factor that there is only 2000 in the country, so unlike the 500s you won't see the Panda 100HP all the time. And IMHO the Panda looks miles better than the 500 and Swift.Pulse said:
redgriff500 said:
How many miles a year do you do ?
As I'd suggest something older that will depreciate less but achieve less mpg is likely a better solution.
Or look into LPG.
I ran an LPG'd Leon Cupra 180 bhp and the equivilent of 50mpg
Trouble is, we want a hassle-free car, which means something relatively new. We also want really low running costs in all aspects, including tyres, servicing, brakes, etc... We don't do many miles at all, but it would make sense if we're changing car anyway to get something more economical.As I'd suggest something older that will depreciate less but achieve less mpg is likely a better solution.
Or look into LPG.
I ran an LPG'd Leon Cupra 180 bhp and the equivilent of 50mpg
Providing you buy a decent make and find a good local garage.
Pulse said:
- Less than 30,000 miles
- 50mpg on the motorway
- Low insurance costs
- Fun/Funky/Unique
- Depreciation (est.) of less than £1500 a year
Bit of an acquired taste, and does not fit all your criteria perfectly -- but perhaps consider an Audi A2?- 50mpg on the motorway
- Low insurance costs
- Fun/Funky/Unique
- Depreciation (est.) of less than £1500 a year
- Less than 30k miles => should be some available, but I'd go by condition. They wear well...
- 50 mpg => no problem
- Insurance => no idea for UK. In Germany, as cheap as it gets.
- Fun factor => certainly an uncommon car, very very practical, fun to drive as well (for what it is)
- Depreciation => easily less (youngest cars are from 05...)
I like the torque vs. weight and 3 cyl. sound of the TDIs, but that might not make sense if you do not drive much. The 1.4 MPI should be trouble free, especially if you get a late one (think they did something to the oil control rings from 2004), the 1.6 FSI is pretty fun (almost warm hatch) but there's more to go wrong on it.
Kolbenkopp said:
Bit of an acquired taste, and does not fit all your criteria perfectly -- but perhaps consider an Audi A2?
- Less than 30k miles => should be some available, but I'd go by condition. They wear well...
- 50 mpg => no problem
- Insurance => no idea for UK. In Germany, as cheap as it gets.
- Fun factor => certainly an uncommon car, very very practical, fun to drive as well (for what it is)
- Depreciation => easily less (youngest cars are from 05...)
I like the torque vs. weight and 3 cyl. sound of the TDIs, but that might not make sense if you do not drive much. The 1.4 MPI should be trouble free, especially if you get a late one (think they did something to the oil control rings from 2004), the 1.6 FSI is pretty fun (almost warm hatch) but there's more to go wrong on it.
This.- Less than 30k miles => should be some available, but I'd go by condition. They wear well...
- 50 mpg => no problem
- Insurance => no idea for UK. In Germany, as cheap as it gets.
- Fun factor => certainly an uncommon car, very very practical, fun to drive as well (for what it is)
- Depreciation => easily less (youngest cars are from 05...)
I like the torque vs. weight and 3 cyl. sound of the TDIs, but that might not make sense if you do not drive much. The 1.4 MPI should be trouble free, especially if you get a late one (think they did something to the oil control rings from 2004), the 1.6 FSI is pretty fun (almost warm hatch) but there's more to go wrong on it.
If not, what about slumming it in the K11 Micra that I found in the "what car are you obsessing about today" thread a couple of pages back?
Under a monkey to buy. Cheap as chips to run and they are fun to drive.
'90s Nissan build quality too.
If you don't need 4 seats, maybe a Smart Roadster Brabus (or an 80bhp one upgraded to Brabus spec)
I was looking for something similar recently. I'll add the thread.
I think the gearbox seems to be the yay/nay point with people. Apparently you can get them remapped to change quicker.
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
I was looking for something similar recently. I'll add the thread.
I think the gearbox seems to be the yay/nay point with people. Apparently you can get them remapped to change quicker.
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
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