Which cheap banger for two years pain-free(ish) motoring?
Discussion
I think I may know the answer but after the success of my thread asking for vacuum losses when extending the hose on my Henry, I'm asking PH about every decision from now on!
Flatmate managed to write his car off last night, the payout, minus the excess and the rest of his annual premium (he just renewed) will leave him with several hundred to spend on a replacement, but not much more. Current car (2001 Smart) has been a nightmare reliabilitywise, and he's ended up in debt paying for repairs including gearbox, engine rebuild, all sorts.
The way forward here seems to be either-
1) In for a penny in for a pound, get a new Smart (he loves them) on PCP with a warranty etc. at circa £180 per month - BUT this means paying out on top of the £100 per month loan he's got for repairs on the old Smart, or-
2) Buy a banger for £700-£900, put the money he would have spent on PCP in the bank in a bid to save and clear his loan early, and pray that it doesn't go wrong. Then get a Smart on PCP.
Nightmare scenario would be to spend every last penny he's got on a banger, then end up spending £100-£150 per month keeping it going, but I think this is unlikely.
I've suggested option 2 is best, and my assumptions are that the following cars are least painful-
Flatmate managed to write his car off last night, the payout, minus the excess and the rest of his annual premium (he just renewed) will leave him with several hundred to spend on a replacement, but not much more. Current car (2001 Smart) has been a nightmare reliabilitywise, and he's ended up in debt paying for repairs including gearbox, engine rebuild, all sorts.
The way forward here seems to be either-
1) In for a penny in for a pound, get a new Smart (he loves them) on PCP with a warranty etc. at circa £180 per month - BUT this means paying out on top of the £100 per month loan he's got for repairs on the old Smart, or-
2) Buy a banger for £700-£900, put the money he would have spent on PCP in the bank in a bid to save and clear his loan early, and pray that it doesn't go wrong. Then get a Smart on PCP.
Nightmare scenario would be to spend every last penny he's got on a banger, then end up spending £100-£150 per month keeping it going, but I think this is unlikely.
I've suggested option 2 is best, and my assumptions are that the following cars are least painful-
- A MK6 Fiesta, probably quite ropey at that money but fundamentally tough and I think have a cam chain? Cheap to fix, no rust issues
- MK1 Focus - as per the Fiesta, albeit with a cam belt to worry about, maybe some rust if a bad example
- Micra - 03 onwards, tough, cam chain(?)
- A Yaris or Corolla - virtually indestructible, although may be belt driven which is an initial expense he could do without(?)
- 2001 onwards Civic... not sure but it's Japanese...
Regarding option 2, you need to consider the condition and repairs done to the banger he's looking to buy rather than specific models.
Restricting the search to specific models narrows the choice and introduces compromises that interferes with the idea of running a car at hopefully little expense.
Japanese. Nissan or Toyota.
Buy under the £700-£900 budget and use the change for contingency funds to cover potential repairs.
Trouble is buying an elderly banger is that they're unlikely to be in the £30 per annum road tax bracket. Buying a serviceable banger for a few hundred quid has some appeal but paying £200 a year for road tax means over two years you could be equaling the cost of the car. I'd be happier if road tax was scrapped entirely and put on the pump price of fuel.
Getting him to try something other than a Smart may be doing him a favour. He may realise there are other cars that drive better and help him get over his Smart addiction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlXqTgFEq24
Restricting the search to specific models narrows the choice and introduces compromises that interferes with the idea of running a car at hopefully little expense.
Japanese. Nissan or Toyota.
Buy under the £700-£900 budget and use the change for contingency funds to cover potential repairs.
Trouble is buying an elderly banger is that they're unlikely to be in the £30 per annum road tax bracket. Buying a serviceable banger for a few hundred quid has some appeal but paying £200 a year for road tax means over two years you could be equaling the cost of the car. I'd be happier if road tax was scrapped entirely and put on the pump price of fuel.
Getting him to try something other than a Smart may be doing him a favour. He may realise there are other cars that drive better and help him get over his Smart addiction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlXqTgFEq24
Edited by carinaman on Friday 11th August 15:02
I wouldn't worry too much about the cam belt on a £700 car. There's no point in buying a £700 car and then spending nearly as much again getting the cam belt replaced. There are plenty of other things which could fail and render the car only good for the scrap yard at that age. Far better to keep the £4-500 a cam belt change could cost as an emergency fund for another banger should the first one die (cam belt or otherwise).
It's worth having a look at the condition of the belt before buying the car, but if it doesn't look perished or damaged you may as well risk it.
He'll be best to stick with fairly common cars as spares will be much easier to find at the scrap yard. MK1 Focus is a good bet, the Astra of the same year less so. However I'd rather buy an Astra with fewer owners and more service history than a Focus that doesn't. Try to find a saloon of either rather than a hatch. They are less desirable, so possibly a bit cheaper, but have more often than not been owned by retired people so looked after. MK1 Octavia, Leon or Toledo are other options if they taxi drivers haven't bought a them all- these are from the era before VW started doing too much cost cutting. Don't buy a Golf or A3 though, the £700 will be £400 for the desirable badge and £300 for the car rather than £700 for a £700 car you'd get with the Seat or Skoda.
It's worth having a look at the condition of the belt before buying the car, but if it doesn't look perished or damaged you may as well risk it.
He'll be best to stick with fairly common cars as spares will be much easier to find at the scrap yard. MK1 Focus is a good bet, the Astra of the same year less so. However I'd rather buy an Astra with fewer owners and more service history than a Focus that doesn't. Try to find a saloon of either rather than a hatch. They are less desirable, so possibly a bit cheaper, but have more often than not been owned by retired people so looked after. MK1 Octavia, Leon or Toledo are other options if they taxi drivers haven't bought a them all- these are from the era before VW started doing too much cost cutting. Don't buy a Golf or A3 though, the £700 will be £400 for the desirable badge and £300 for the car rather than £700 for a £700 car you'd get with the Seat or Skoda.
Blue Oval84 said:
Current car (2001 Smart)
I've suggested option -
I have a MK6 Fiesta 1.4 it has no rust issues yet, a cambelt & £190 pa tax, not many bangers are in the £30 tax bracket.I've suggested option -
- A MK6 Fiesta, probably quite ropey at that money but fundamentally tough and I think have a cam chain? Cheap to fix, no rust issues
Edited by Richard-390a0 on Friday 11th August 15:30
Mondeo not an option? In the Fiesta / Focus market category, at this time of year (and especially after A level results day) you are competing with grandparents buying their beloved grandchild a car to go to university with. 99% of Mk3 Mondeos have the chain drive engine. Being massively unfashionable really pushes the price down on a car with a great chassis. Look around and you might find a 2.0 with leather and working aircon.
It aint exactly pretty, but I'm not sure it'd get through another MoT:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-Almera-1-4-GX-FUL...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-Almera-1-4-GX-FUL...
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