Car for my 200 mile round commute
Discussion
Hi all
As a long time lurker, I have finally registered so this is my first post.
I do a 200 mile round commute - M1, M25, M11. Crazy I know but its only temporary and the fuel / running costs are my only expense. I work from home one day a week and try and stay in a Travelodge when its cheap enough, to cut the travelling down, so I am usually doing the journey on average 3 times a week.
For 6 months, I have been doing it in a 1985 Toyota Supra. I kid you not. I have got used to it, but it still takes it out of me. Although the engine goes on and on, the body work's starting to dissolve and although getting about 30mpg is not bad for a 2.8 auto from the 80s, its costing me a packet - around £500ish /month
After doing loads of research I thought I'd get a second hand BMW 320d ED because its comfortable, safe, reliable and cheap to run (I test drove one and it was nice to drive). I was looking to spend about £15k on a 2-3 year old one with about 50k miles.
But I can't help but wonder if I should be spending so much on a car when I could pick up an older diesel that's fairly economical, and still be comfortable and safe. It would take me a long time for the £15k to pay for itself versus a cheaper car, even assuming a mileage of 20k-30k per year, and don't expect to be doing the commute for more than another 6-12 months. I've looked at Citroen C5, Toyota Avensis and various Volvos but haven't test driven any of them yet.
Leather seats would be nice, but not essential, bluetooth and an aux socket so I can plug in my S3 for playing Spotify would be pretty much a must because of the hours I spend driving. Oh, and performance isn't essential as after initially booting it whenever possible I have settled into cruising in overdrive at about 2500-3000 revs.
So...has anyone got any suggestions please?? Bear in mind what I'm coming from, so most cars would feel like luxury! Really grateful for your thoughts, thanks
As a long time lurker, I have finally registered so this is my first post.
I do a 200 mile round commute - M1, M25, M11. Crazy I know but its only temporary and the fuel / running costs are my only expense. I work from home one day a week and try and stay in a Travelodge when its cheap enough, to cut the travelling down, so I am usually doing the journey on average 3 times a week.
For 6 months, I have been doing it in a 1985 Toyota Supra. I kid you not. I have got used to it, but it still takes it out of me. Although the engine goes on and on, the body work's starting to dissolve and although getting about 30mpg is not bad for a 2.8 auto from the 80s, its costing me a packet - around £500ish /month
After doing loads of research I thought I'd get a second hand BMW 320d ED because its comfortable, safe, reliable and cheap to run (I test drove one and it was nice to drive). I was looking to spend about £15k on a 2-3 year old one with about 50k miles.
But I can't help but wonder if I should be spending so much on a car when I could pick up an older diesel that's fairly economical, and still be comfortable and safe. It would take me a long time for the £15k to pay for itself versus a cheaper car, even assuming a mileage of 20k-30k per year, and don't expect to be doing the commute for more than another 6-12 months. I've looked at Citroen C5, Toyota Avensis and various Volvos but haven't test driven any of them yet.
Leather seats would be nice, but not essential, bluetooth and an aux socket so I can plug in my S3 for playing Spotify would be pretty much a must because of the hours I spend driving. Oh, and performance isn't essential as after initially booting it whenever possible I have settled into cruising in overdrive at about 2500-3000 revs.
So...has anyone got any suggestions please?? Bear in mind what I'm coming from, so most cars would feel like luxury! Really grateful for your thoughts, thanks
davepoth said:
On the assumption you're going to sell it again afterwards, the BMW is probably the best if you can afford it - they depreciate well so it'll still be worth most of that afterwards if you find a low mileage one.
I wouldn't be spending 15k on a newish car to do those miles - because the depreciation over the ownership period will be huge. I'd advise instead getting somethign which already has high miles so there will be less incremental impact on value due to the additional miles the OP will do. So a 320d is a good shout still, but I'd be looking at leggy E46's rather than 50k E90s..Jimbo. said:
That's what, 4 hours a day, 3 days a week? Volvo S60 or S80 D5 manual, if just for the ergonomics!
This is your answer in the first reply! An S60 is like a comfy armchair, the D5 is a cracking lump that will eat your commute, deliver a decent turn of speed whilst being easy on the wallet. Avoid the auto 'Geartronics' as they can be troublesome when the miles get high.Also you'll be able to find one to suit any budget, you can pick them up for upwards of a grand now. The more you pay, the better the car gets. In your circumstances I certainly wouldn't chuck a load of money that you're going to rack the miles up on and devalue. I'd probably look to spend about £5k, should get you a tidy example without losing too much value.
Mk3 mondeo deisel. I picked mine up last year for 2k. It's a 2004 zetec with full history, has climate, cruise control, CD with AUX input. Bought it with 61k miles and have done another 11 in 8 months with no faults. It's a good steer but not sports car and has good mid range punt with out being particularly fast and is very comfy. Perfect for commuting whilst returning 45-50mpg average on v-power.
Ok it may not be the most desirable nuts its cheap and ticks the boxes.
Ok it may not be the most desirable nuts its cheap and ticks the boxes.
If it's only temporary then why 15k?
I know it doesn't fit your criteria, but 1k on this, it looks smart and will run forever, and pocket 14k or buy something for the weekend
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Edited for speeling
I know it doesn't fit your criteria, but 1k on this, it looks smart and will run forever, and pocket 14k or buy something for the weekend
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Edited for speeling
430T said:
Skoda Superb? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Blimey, that thing has one beefy shifter Thanks for all the responses so far, all of them have given me food for thought. You seem to have confirmed what I was thinking about not spending all that money on a car, and although I haven't decided to go the way of a Volvo yet, I know that'll cover the safety angle, even in an older one - seen some nasty accidents over the last year. I'm looking through your suggestions and autotrader and getting a sense of what I could get for what money. Please do keep the suggestions coming, I really appreciate them.
montytom said:
Why not buy a rover 75 or mg zt diesel?
Very well built comfy cars and the diesel engine should be perfect for what you need and you cant lose alot of money when the time comes to sell as they arnt that expensive in the first place
I was thinking about these too - same engine as an E46 320d IIRC, but you'll be able to buy a fully loaded one for buttons. You won't get phone integration, but you can buy a head unit to do that if you want. Very well built comfy cars and the diesel engine should be perfect for what you need and you cant lose alot of money when the time comes to sell as they arnt that expensive in the first place
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