Cheap to run car for £1500

[littlened]

Bit of history.

We bought a 2011 Astra about 15 month ago, it's our main car. We also had an MG TF, which we've still got.

When my wife was pregnant I decided to sell the TF and buy a bigger car so we both had a car which we could transport a child around in, however when it came to selling the TF I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

So now we've got the Astra, the TF and an 1.8t MG ZT.

The problem is we're spending a fortune on car tax.

Astra - £95 for the year
ZT - £280 for the year (I think)
TF - £150 for 6 month
TOTAL: almost £530 a year.

Insurance on the cars is;
Astra - £370
TF - £170 - Limited to 3k mile
ZT - £170 - Limited to 3k mile

I'm self employed, so I can claim 45p per mile, but because I only do about 3k a year, and the car costs me about 33p a mile in fuel, I'm left with around £220 a year which doesn't event cover the tax on the car, and certainly doesn't even start to cover it's maintenance.

So, I'm at a point where I'm thinking of getting rid of the ZT and just getting something that's small, cheap to insure and not too bad on fuel.

I'm open to some suggestions here. All I could say is I need to get a child and pushchair in it, and it must be suitable for a 33 year old man to drive, i.e. nothing that makes me look gay.

[Eski1991]

Diesel Volvo estate? Must be some that you can get on a modern classic policy, early 1990's model etc?

[littlened]

Eski1991 said:

Diesel Volvo estate? Must be some that you can get on a modern classic policy, early 1990's model etc?

Nar, no way the way would ever drive a volvo. Old mans car she would say.

I did consider an MG ZS 1.4, small, in budget, not too slow and a bit fun too, but I think I'd just feel wrong driving a car which at the minute seems to mainly be driven by youngens.

[dm46]

Honda accord type r, focus st170 or golf gti.

[Sir Fergie]

Would you be taking a massive hit if you were to sell the Astra.

If it was me - theres not a hope id be selling a ZT or the Rover 75 equivalent if one of the other cars in the yard was a 2011 Astra.

Could the Astra not be part exed for something nicer then an Astra???.

Sir Fergie

[SonicShadow]

K11 Micra. Super reliable, cheap to insure, economical, cheap to fix.

[Shifty Bloke]

Focus? Pretty cheap all rounder I'd say and so common not to care what you look like..

[littlened]

Sir Fergie said:

Would you be taking a massive hit if you were to sell the Astra.

If it was me - theres not a hope id be selling a ZT or the Rover 75 equivalent if one of the other cars in the yard was a 2011 Astra.

Could the Astra not be part exed for something nicer then an Astra???.

Sir Fergie

At the moment we'd lose out selling the Astra,

plus it's our main car, still have manufacturers warranty on it so we get some piece of mind. Also has the added bonus of being 5 door, SRi, 2.0 diesel with the VX line kit, air con and sat nav. So to replace it with something else similar would cost too much.

[james_gt3rs]

SonicShadow said:

K11 Micra. Super reliable, cheap to insure, economical, cheap to fix.

littlened said:

I'm open to some suggestions here. All I could say is I need to get a child and pushchair in it, and it must be suitable for a 33 year old man to drive, i.e. nothing that makes me look gay.

Good cars, but not quite suitable here

[Mr2Mike]

Eski1991 said:

Diesel Volvo estate? Must be some that you can get on a modern classic policy, early 1990's model etc?

Not sure that fits the "small" requirement.

I'd be looking at a Ford Focus with the 1.6 petrol engine.

If you prefer something from a VAG stable, then I'd avoid the Golf as they tend to be poor value, but Seat Leon, Seat Toledo, VW Bora etc. are good cars. For the small hatches look at Skoda Fabia, and if you can drop the "small" requirement and could use a massive boot then the Octavia is ideal (Golf platform, but somewhat larger car).

[DubZeus]

Honda Jazz?

[Eski1991]

SonicShadow said:

K11 Micra. Super reliable, cheap to insure, economical, cheap to fix.

Alternatively a diesel Micra. Apparently they can be tuned well good according to a certain PH member. Can destroy Imprezas. 86 BHP standard as well.

[littlened]

DubZeus said:

Honda Jazz?

Not a bad suggestion, all I can find in budget are high mileage though.

[scoobykev15]

I have just bought an 03 zs180 on ebay for £895. 10 months test, 4 months tax. cambelt done 8k ago. £350 cat back stainless exhaust, 2 new front tyres and 52k on the clock.what a bargain!there are some damn good cheap cars out there !

[littlened]

Just come across a Renault Scenic on autotrader, 2002 model, not small but would certainly be family friendly.

[littlened]

scoobykev15 said:

I have just bought an 03 zs180 on ebay for £895. 10 months test, 4 months tax. cambelt done 8k ago. £350 cat back stainless exhaust, 2 new front tyres and 52k on the clock.what a bargain!there are some damn good cheap cars out there !

Already had one, too expensive to run/tax.

One other thing I forgot to mention, I've got the ZT insured on a classic policy, which doesn't take any NCB into account. But if I get any other make of car, straight away the insurance jumps up to at least £500 because my no claims are on our main car and can't be taken into account on a second car.

[Truckosaurus]

If you are set on running 3 cars then I don't think you are going to be able to do it much cheaper than you currently are.

You might be able to swap the ZT for something with lower road tax but if you have to buy a couple of tyres for it in the first year then you've cancelled out the saving.

As I've said before, people will happily spend a fortune to save a few quid on road tax or to get a few extra mpg.

If you are happy that your current cars are reliable and you aren't inclined to offload the MGF (which is the obvious first money saving step), then stick with what you've got.

[ShaunTheSheep]

Does the maths definitely stack up for you? Back of the fag packet it doesn't work out:

1. Average shopping trolley road tax is around £150-ish, you're paying £280 on the zt.
2. Insurance will be so close it's not worth factoring in.
3. Fuel savings at 3k mile cap, even if you buy a 70mpg modern super mini, will be barely enough as pay the leccy bill for 2 months

At 3k miles p.a. there's not enough savings to warrant getting rid of a decent car like a zt for something economical (read: dull as a fart!).

Ditch the zt and the tf, go down to one car and a 2nd hand push bike? Will save almost £1.5k a year when you factor in fuel, repairs etc.

ETA: Bah i took too long typing, truckosaurus beat me to it

[littlened]

ShaunTheSheep said:

Does the maths definitely stack up for you? Back of the fag packet it doesn't work out:

1. Average shopping trolley road tax is around £150-ish, you're paying £280 on the zt.
2. Insurance will be so close it's not worth factoring in.
3. Fuel savings at 3k mile cap, even if you buy a 70mpg modern super mini, will be barely enough as pay the leccy bill for 2 months

At 3k miles p.a. there's not enough savings to warrant getting rid of a decent car like a zt for something economical (read: dull as a fart!).

Ditch the zt and the tf, go down to one car and a 2nd hand push bike? Will save almost £1.5k a year when you factor in fuel, repairs etc.

ETA: Bah i took too long typing, truckosaurus beat me to it

Your kind of right, I've knocked up a spreadsheet which works out the cost of 3k mile a year, insurance, £500 a year maintenance. Then using the mpg figures out the cost of 3k mile a year and how much I'd have left after claiming back 45p per mile, then it gives me a final cost per year.

Something like a 1.6vvt is £45 a year cheaper.

[awooga]

I think you're perhaps looking at the wrong figures. Ignore the tax to some degree and look at what you're losing in depreciation instead. It'll be a lot more than a few hundred quid in tax. Buy something reliable at the bottom end of the depreciation curve in good nick (mileage less important) like a honda accord, ford focus or similar and keep your fun car.