Short term(ish) car ideas to avoid depreciation

[andypowell]

Hi All,

So here's the scenario.

I need a car for about 18 months to do an 80 mile(round trip) commute in. Thats about 20k a year adding a few for fun.

Budget can be almost anything, but it needs to be economical and when 18 months is up, I need to sell it and avoid as much depreciation as possible.

Only preference is Id like a few creature comforts, 4/5 doors, diesel almost certainly, auto would be preferable too but not essential.

Open to all ideas, but its all about the maths!

Andy

[BritishRacinGrin]

3-4k spent on a 5/6 year old Mondeo, Passat, Jetta, Exeo, Toledo, Octavia etc etc should give you a 2-3k car in 18 months so just 1k depreciation, and any one of those cars should be pleasant enough to drive and capable of passing a few more MOTs before big bills start to surface.

[JamesD1]

either buy something nearly new, thats had the initial hit of depreciation. another option would be to buy a vehicle thats bottomed out in value.

i would normally always say buy something towards the end of its life but with 20k miles maybe not such a great idea but that doesn't stop you getting a nice car for cheap. for example my uncle sold his car for £400 that was 1 owner from new (him) fsh, 2 cambelts on 85k miles and a new clutch. cant help but think someones laughing

[SteBrown91]

Golf 1.9 PD130. You can get one with FSH and 150k+ on the clock for around 1500-1800 quid. If you service it and look after it it will still be worth almost the same in 18 months time

[andypowell]

Wondering how this would fair after another 30K?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Mega mpg and no tax would be good, but how much would it drop?

[mwstewart]

Mercedes CLK270 CDi

[Welshbeef]

E46 M3 - lots of fun and cheap ish to buy, buy a good one keep it well looked after and you should be a happy man.

[CYMR0]

andypowell said:

Wondering how this would fair after another 30K?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Mega mpg and no tax would be good, but how much would it drop?

Honestly I can see you losing £5k on that, especially if you trade it in.

In eighteen months to two years there won't be as much premium for the F20 shape 1 Series as they will be coming off fleets in droves and that might be a £10k retail car.

[Welshbeef]

E 60 M5
C5 RS6
S8 v10
E55 K AMG
SL 55 AMG
s2000
E46 M3
Lotus Carlton
Porsche 996 C2
Urraco Lambo

[iva cosworth]

Welshbeef said:

E 60 M5
C5 RS6
S8 v10
E55 K AMG
SL 55 AMG
s2000
E46 M3
Lotus Carlton
Porsche 996 C2
Urraco Lambo

WTF ?

Did you read the OPs requirements ?

Lotus Carlton for 20K a year commute ?

Welshbeef takes over where 300BHP left off.

[Welshbeef]

iva cosworth said:

WTF ?

Did you read the OPs requirements ?

Lotus Carlton for 20K a year commute ?

Welshbeef takes over where 300BHP left off.

These are all great cars all more than capable of of doing this 20k per year - plus you'd be driving a motoring icon.

[Qwert1e]

Errrrm , totally unrealistic.

IMO the only certain way to beat depreciation, which at the end of the day is a cash amount and not a percentage, is to buy a cheap car. Add to that the high annual mileage and you're just looking at cheap diesel saloons with a reasonable reliability score. Functional motoring rather than sexy motoring.

[DuraAce]

Welshbeef said:

E 60 M5
C5 RS6
S8 v10
E55 K AMG
SL 55 AMG
s2000
E46 M3
Lotus Carlton
Porsche 996 C2
Urraco Lambo

OP says needs to be economical. Comedy gold.

[DuraAce]

Welshbeef said:

E 60 M5
C5 RS6
S8 v10
E55 K AMG
SL 55 AMG
s2000
E46 M3
Lotus Carlton
Porsche 996 C2
Urraco Lambo

OP says needs to be economical. Comedy gold.

[iva cosworth]

Welshbeef said:

These are all great cars all more than capable of of doing this 20k per year - plus you'd be driving a motoring icon.

S2000....."4 or 5 doors".....nope

[Qwert1e]

andypowell said:

Budget can be almost anything,

Which, since real depreciation is a cash amount and not a percentage, is odd.

The significant factor is always "total annual cost".

[Welshbeef]

DuraAce said:

OP says needs to be economical. Comedy gold.

I'm going down the angle of much lower depreciation at the cost of higher fuel costs.

[DuraAce]

The first reply gives the answer IMO.

The maintenance costs in addition to the fuel, tax, insurance make the M5, RS6 et al a non starter if you are trying to keep costs under control.

[danp]

Welshbeef said:

I'm going down the angle of much lower depreciation at the cost of higher fuel costs.

Lower overall running costs than say a 3 grand diesel Mondeo (over 18months and 30k miles)...unlikely IMO.

[Welshbeef]

DuraAce said:

The first reply gives the answer IMO.

The maintenance costs in addition to the fuel, tax, insurance make the M5, RS6 et al a non starter if you are trying to keep costs under control.

But how can you put a price on owning and running a motoring icon