How to buy a cheapo car for 25K+ miles per year?

[mper]

Hi All


First post here. I did use the search and was surprised there's not a permanent thread of "Petrol vs Diesel"

Here's my situation: I don't have a lot of money and whatever car I buy next will have to be reliable and economic for for 25-30k miles per year. For these distances I guess that lease deals are not good, but I can get credit at 3.3%, so let's say £8000 will be around £200 per month over 4-5 years.

The current one is a Peugeot 207 1.4 HDI, which I purchased with 67K miles and has served me really well in the first year. Ever since it reached 100,000 miles I've had a few problems which required replacing the fuel lines and now I'm hoping that the "Anti-pollutant fault" it's displaying will not require a huge repair - I will know more from the mechanic next Tuesday.

Due to my job requirements and to living near Northampton far away from all my customers, I end up driving a lot on the A14, M6 and M42. My average speed between fuel ups is 44mph, and I keep to speed limits most of the time (really!) so you can see that I just cruise a lot. 60mpg is my average since I bought this car.

The Peugeot is likely to get worse with age, and I have a 4K miles trip scheduled for Christmas, so I'm really thinking of replacing it in time to have a better year of motoring with fewer pit stops.

I like the idea of going back to petrol, *IF* the mpg don't take a huge hit. It's just smoother and quieter, and I value that.

There's a few models that look like they could be an upgrade from where I am today. One time the 207 was in the garage, I drove a loan 208 1.2 (82bhp) for the same route I normally do, and my mpg was 55. Other than that, it was 10 years younger and much nicer, of course. On a different occasion, it was a Fiesta 1.0 turbo that felt like such a nicer, quieter experience.
The 208 also has 1.4 and 1.6 diesels which should be at least as good was what I have today, perhaps attracting higher insurance for the bigger engine.

Then there's the less obvious chose of the Suzuki Baleno 1.0 turbo. I haven't road tested it yet, but on paper it looks like it will be as economic as my car, but smoother and bigger.

So... what's the situation with the diesel vs petrol debate in mid-2017? Any thoughts on buying with next to no-miles every 90,000 miles I drive vs a 70,000 miles machine every year?


Thanks

[Gareth1974]

I think I'd be looking at something like an Astra, you can get a decent low mileage/quite new one for your budget. Perfectly decent cars.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[ChocolateFrog]

I've just seen a BMW i3 range extender. 2 years old with 17000 miles for £11500.

That's pretty catastrophic depreciation in its first 2 years.

[Evanivitch]

If you really want to avoid diesel, and want to leave this site, there are Prius' that can be had for that money and they'll be pretty solid cars for the miles. But PistonHeads...

ChocolateFrog said:

I've just seen a BMW i3 range extender. 2 years old with 17000 miles for £11500.

That's pretty catastrophic depreciation in its first 2 years.

There's a catch there somewhere.

[ChocolateFrog]

Evanivitch said:

If you really want to avoid diesel, and want to leave this site, there are Prius' that can be had for that money and they'll be pretty solid cars for the miles. But PistonHeads...

ChocolateFrog said:

I've just seen a BMW i3 range extender. 2 years old with 17000 miles for £11500.

That's pretty catastrophic depreciation in its first 2 years.

There's a catch there somewhere.

Possibly but there's a few around about the £14k mark so not an obvious scam.

[Evanivitch]

ChocolateFrog said:

Possibly but there's a few around about the £14k mark so not an obvious scam.

At 3 years old.and twice the miles! Maybe a desperate sell I guess.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say buy something with low miles that can take some big miles & for that I'd say get a Mercedes, you don't seem to need much room so I'd say a CLC is a good pick they're very reliable the engine & hardware is pretty much bulletproof, get one with low miles & you'll be able to add another 120k with ease.

Maintenance wise make sure the gearbox oil has been changed regular servicing will be between £150-350 parts are no more expensive than VAG items, they're a comfortable car built for taking miles.

With your mileage a diesel makes perfect sense but at the end of the day it's down to what you prefer, for example I wouldn't have bought a 1.4 anything to do 25-30k in for me it would have to be 2.0d mated to an auto box like one of these:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

The reason I'd pick the bigger engine is because it's under less stress which in most cases means better reliability & in some cases economy especially if you're doing (smaller engined cars tend to be short geared) motorway/A road work.

CLC 200/220

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

These cars can take big miles with a low bork factor which is their strength.

[Willy Nilly]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd say buy something with low miles that can take some big miles & for that I'd say get a Mercedes, you don't seem to need much room so I'd say a CLC is a good pick they're very reliable the engine & hardware is pretty much bulletproof, get one with low miles & you'll be able to add another 120k with ease.

Maintenance wise make sure the gearbox oil has been changed regular servicing will be between £150-350 parts are no more expensive than VAG items, they're a comfortable car built for taking miles.

With your mileage a diesel makes perfect sense but at the end of the day it's down to what you prefer, for example I wouldn't have bought a 1.4 anything to do 25-30k in for me it would have to be 2.0d mated to an auto box like one of these:
The reason I'd pick the bigger engine is because it's under less stress which in most cases means better reliability & in some cases economy especially if you're doing (smaller engined cars tend to be short geared) motorway/A road work.

The OP could do that in any modern car. You make a fair point on it being diesel territory and he would probably be better off with one.

I did just over 25,000 in a year in a Skoda Favorit back in the day and people were doing mega miles in Sierras and Cav's at the same time. My Jazz cost me £9,000 and only had 6400 miles on it. I would be quite happy to do the miles the OP is suggesting in it and run it well into 6 figures. The engines in little cars will be put through all of the same duty cycle tests as all of the other engines in the range, so durability is unlikely to be an issue. A physically bigger car is likely to be more comfortable, but it's only relative, because small cars like mine and it's competitors are so good now.

[ZX10R NIN]

I wasn't saying you can't use a small car but for me comfort is a big thing for me especially being 6'7 but I'm happy for the OP to choose something newer & smaller but I'd still pick an auto but that's just me.

Clio Dynamique

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Megane Dynamique

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Astra GTC (these are good VFM)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Ford Focus Titanium

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Mini Cooper Diesel

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[rallycross]

Thats a lot of miles get a big comfy diesel that can take huge mileages and buy one for less than £3k with high miles but a really good service history, find a good local small garage who will help with the inevitable problems along the way without fleecing you, look at things like Volvo S60 D5 model

[Willy Nilly]

ZX10R NIN said:

I wasn't saying you can't use a small car but for me comfort is a big thing for me especially being 6'7 but I'm happy for the OP to choose something newer & smaller but I'd still pick an auto but that's just me

Do seats go any further back in, say, a Mondeo than a Fiesta ? Obviously you have more room behind you in a larger car, but wondering if there is actually more room for you taller types than for us short arses?

Auto, probably defo, the only thing that worries me is the additional running costs because I generally keep my car until it's worn out and wouldn't want a troublesome autobox to kill an otherwise good car.

[ZX10R NIN]

For around half of your original budget there are still some good low mileage options:

CLK 220 (I know I'm bias)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

C Class

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Focus Titanium

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Volvo C30 SE

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Saab 9-3 Vector Sport

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Kia C'eed 3

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Volvo S60 D5 SE

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[mper]

Hi all


Thanks for your ideas so far.
Here's some extra info and some opinions of my own:

1) Peugeot 20x are common cars, it's not hard to find parts on short notice and any mechanic I've met has dealt with my issues quickly. I do not expect this to happen with any hybrid car. I hope one day to go straight to electric, skipping the hybrid generation.

2) Small diesel vs big diesel. My car is from 2008 and pays £30 tax per year. I like that.

3) I like manual gearboxes

[ZX10R NIN]

Willy Nilly said:

Do seats go any further back in, say, a Mondeo than a Fiesta ? Obviously you have more room behind you in a larger car, but wondering if there is actually more room for you taller types than for us short arses?

Auto, probably defo, the only thing that worries me is the additional running costs because I generally keep my car until it's worn out and wouldn't want a troublesome autobox to kill an otherwise good car.

Yes they do actually so I have more legroom in a CLK than I do a Focus & more in an E Class than I do a CLK, the boxes on Mercedes are pretty robust as long as the fluid & filters are changed every 40k.

[mper]

a-ha!

Mechanic found that one of the emissions sensors had a cable dislodged somehow. Put it in place, tested it on a short drive and seems to be OK.

I'll carry on postponing the big purchase until my Peugeot reaches 500,000 miles

[underphil]

Citroen DS3 1.2 Puretech?