Cheap to run car for £1500

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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.

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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.

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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.

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DubZeus said:

Honda Jazz?

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

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

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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.

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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.

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confused_buyer said:

From someone who drives an Astra?!

To be fair, the astra doesn't look like an old mans car.

This is exactly the same as ours.

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amstrange1 said:

Is the MG really that bad? At £1.45/litre I make 33p/mile the equivalent to just under 20mpg, even my 350Z does better than that!

I'm getting around 150 mile to £50 at the minute. The biggest problem is its main journey is 1.5 mile, four times a day during the week.

It's not a bad car, and I have considered selling the TF, then getting the ZT remapped, alloys refurbished and generally make it into a car I want to look after.

I've considered selling both the MGs and getting one car wi a bit of power and that I can polish when I get time, that's also fun. A mk2 ZS 180 would fit the bill, but will it make me look like a boy racer? Probably.

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confused_buyer said:

No, but it is a generic rep fleet/hire car - and a good one at that - not one you'd buy for image. Maybe it is just me but the word "Astra" and I still think of someone in a trilby poodling around in a Belmont at 14mpg in 5th. Maybe not unlike the Volvo (and the V40 doesn't look much like a 740 GL either).

Back to the subject in hand - if you like the ZS/ZT perhaps a diesel version would be worth considering. They're a lot cheaper to run/tax than the petrol versions and generally more reliable too.

I would love an s40 t5, but even selling Both MGs I wouldn't have enough money. Cheapest are 3.5k