Interesting £20 tax cars

[the-norseman]

Hi all,

Currently a 1 car household as I sold my SAAB V6 earlier in the year due to the £615 tax and the fact it had done about 1000 miles in a year.

We currently have a 2012 Volvo XC90 which is used for lugging around the 2 kids and 2 large dogs, I also have a Motorbike that I use to travel around myself. When I bought the bike, the plan was to resurrect my mums 2010 Smart Car CDi as a run around for the winter. This was my late fathers car, my sister was using it for her job as a community nurse but it started acting up, going into limp mode etc and it was then dumped at the end of the drive and she bought a newer 2018 Smart Car petrol.

The smart car however needs about £1700 worth of work doing to it just to get it MOT ready, they seem to go for about £2500 at the moment but still its a lot of money. It does have sentimental value.

My missus has started a new job a few days a week which means she needs to take the car now, so somedays I'm left with 1/2 kids at home and no car. The smart car is £20 tax.

So what interesting cars can be found for £20 and a budget of up to about £1700?

Found a few BMW 320D but at that price point they have engine lights on or terrible body work, anything else out there other than the usual Fiestas etc.

[Disco You]

I’d fix the smart if it were me.

[Shabaza]

least bork factor (bangernomics level fiscal borkage that is)
Toyota Aygo or Fiat Panda kinda cars.

[757]

Why £20 VED?

Get a car for <£1500, and pay a years tax, £200 VED or something - to make up the £1700 budget

Astra/Focus/Insignia/Vectra petrols - something cheap and sheddy, and something more family friendly.

320d's I presume they are the ED ones, nice cars, but borktastic if they go wrong - I run one, albeit the 318d ED £30 VED one.

Edited by 757 on Monday 28th November 14:16

[the-norseman]

757 said:

Why £20 VED?

Edited by 757 on Monday 28th November 14:16

I was looking for something that is going to cost roughly the same as repairing the smart in total.

[the-norseman]

Disco You said:

I’d fix the smart if it were me.

I keep swaying towards this, I know its not an "interesting" car really but its got heated leather, built in subwoofer (its a Pioneer "ICE edtion" car), Brabus wheels etc, quite a nice spec.

would do the missus perfectly to go to work and back, quite good mpg and low tax.

[ZX10R NIN]

Fix the smart I really loved mine I even had it mapped!!!!

[the-norseman]

ZX10R NIN said:

Fix the smart I really loved mine I even had it mapped!!!!

Dad had two.

Cant remember what year but I want to say 2003 53 cabriolet petrol which they loved, had it from brand new, eventually the gearbox started acting up so it was traded in for the 2010 CDI "ICE edtion" which had about 5-10k on it when they got it and it now has 63k on it.

If I do save it, I will be getting it mapped, think its only 45ps.

[georgeyboy12345]

If you can afford an extra tenner a year then these might be worth a look

Audi A2 1.4 TDI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211111...


Suzuki Swift 1.2 SZ3
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210261...


Fiat Panda 1.1 Eco Active
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211091...


Fiat 500 1.2 Sport
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211211...


Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.6 JTDM-2
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211111...


Renault Twingo 1.2 16V
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211241...

[the-norseman]

I had the 1.4TDi lump in my second car (SEAT Ibiza) and it mapped nicely up to 110ps.

[castex]

Audi A2 is very nice car.

[the-norseman]

I've decided to go with the Smart car, as I said it has sentimental value being my dads, it also has heated leather, inbuilt ICE, Brabus Wheels etc its a good spec one. At the moment on eBay equivalent are up for £3.5-4K, not looking to make profit off it, just get it back on the road and use it.

Probably get it mapped for a little extra poke.

[Hippea]

Toyota Aygo, tax is free for certain years

[tweenster]

Purchase price is a bit above your budget, but my daily is a 2016 Ford Focus ST3 diesel estate with £20 a year road tax. Fantastic car and does everything I want brilliantly!

[Macron]

tweenster said:

Purchase price is a bit above your budget, but my daily is a 2016 Ford Focus ST3 diesel estate with £20 a year road tax. Fantastic car and does everything I want brilliantly!

"A bit above your budget". Err, £1700 yes, not seventeen grand right? What else will you recommend the person whose budget buys amid range fridge freezer, a Bugatti?

And you posted that after the OP said they were keeping the Smart....

[Drabbesttunic]

the-norseman said:

I've decided to go with the Smart car, as I said it has sentimental value being my dads, it also has heated leather, inbuilt ICE, Brabus Wheels etc its a good spec one. At the moment on eBay equivalent are up for £3.5-4K, not looking to make profit off it, just get it back on the road and use it.

Probably get it mapped for a little extra poke.

I run a mk1 Focus and go through this all the time, whenever it needs a few quid spending I look at whats available and always end up repairing it

[757]

What needs doing for £1700 worth of repairs on a Smart car - Just out of interest?

[the-norseman]

757 said:

What needs doing for £1700 worth of repairs on a Smart car - Just out of interest?

EGR cooler and all the bits that go with it have gone causing some smoke, DPF sensors and then basically wishbones, springs, discs, pads, rear brake cylinders, handbrake shoes, break lines, bushes etc.

None of it had been replaced I dont think up until it being dumped at the bottom of the drive.

[the-norseman]

Dad's Smart CDI is back on the road, fresh MOT with 1 advisory for a wiper blade and to my surprise went to tax it and found out its actually £0 not £20.

Will run it for a few weeks then will see about getting it remapped, I've tuned all my other cars and only every used specialists but the "specialist" for this wants £350 for the ECU and £350 for the TCU (Gearbox) so I might just get the ECU done locally for now. Only around 20hp extra but quite a lot more torque.

[Mabozza]

the-norseman said:

Dad's Smart CDI is back on the road, fresh MOT with 1 advisory for a wiper blade and to my surprise went to tax it and found out its actually £0 not £20.

Will run it for a few weeks then will see about getting it remapped, I've tuned all my other cars and only every used specialists but the "specialist" for this wants £350 for the ECU and £350 for the TCU (Gearbox) so I might just get the ECU done locally for now. Only around 20hp extra but quite a lot more torque.

great to hear your dads car is back on the road, something I can relate to.