Is buying a sub £1000 car a good idea ? (Budget motoring)
Discussion
hi all i dont post a lot on here but i thought i should about this !
i currently drive a 2008 Saab 9-3 1.9Tid ( on 75k) and a 2003 Peugeot 206 1.1 (on 71k). When it comes to cars im a little bit of a worrier over costs of repairs etc (maybe paranoid) my saabs started to have a few niggles possible inlet manifold leaking and now on that mileage i need to think about clutch and dmf both relatively big bills. I love my saab but i dont like the thought of paying out daft money for repairs. ive bought this saab on low mileage compared to others i see but obviously still has all its common problems to potentially sort out, just feel like i fix one thing and something else goes wrong.
Also owning two cars (the 206 i was a project i bought and kept) seems to rub my next door neighbour up the wrong way (even though he doesnt own a car) and has stabbed my saabs tyres recently and i keep finding fresh dints and blemishes on it, im worried sick constantly about whats next and im too scared to park it anywhere other than outside my house...maybe pathetic il let you decide but it getting me down.
Im contemplating selling both cars and just buying something cheap and reliable that i dont care all that much about (under £1000) where if something goes wrong i can either, fix cheaply or sell on and buy something else, almost like bangernomics but doesnt have to be a banger, found v70's s40's,vectras,omegas,passats,is200 etc all under £1000 with fresh tests just as an example, i even found a 2003 mondeo diesel with 9 months mot for the price of a clutch and flywheel on my saab !
my commute is a 7 mile around trip so fuel doesnt bother me, but my only worry is every other weekend i drive 55 miles (one way) to my girlfriends family caravan for long weekends away or atleast once a week go for days out, which my saab does with ease but worried it maybe a little to much for a mega miler i bought for under a grand, breaking down isnt fun
Sorry if this is long winded i just want some more comments or stories from you guys who have done this whole budget motoring yourself ? any comments welcome !
i currently drive a 2008 Saab 9-3 1.9Tid ( on 75k) and a 2003 Peugeot 206 1.1 (on 71k). When it comes to cars im a little bit of a worrier over costs of repairs etc (maybe paranoid) my saabs started to have a few niggles possible inlet manifold leaking and now on that mileage i need to think about clutch and dmf both relatively big bills. I love my saab but i dont like the thought of paying out daft money for repairs. ive bought this saab on low mileage compared to others i see but obviously still has all its common problems to potentially sort out, just feel like i fix one thing and something else goes wrong.
Also owning two cars (the 206 i was a project i bought and kept) seems to rub my next door neighbour up the wrong way (even though he doesnt own a car) and has stabbed my saabs tyres recently and i keep finding fresh dints and blemishes on it, im worried sick constantly about whats next and im too scared to park it anywhere other than outside my house...maybe pathetic il let you decide but it getting me down.
Im contemplating selling both cars and just buying something cheap and reliable that i dont care all that much about (under £1000) where if something goes wrong i can either, fix cheaply or sell on and buy something else, almost like bangernomics but doesnt have to be a banger, found v70's s40's,vectras,omegas,passats,is200 etc all under £1000 with fresh tests just as an example, i even found a 2003 mondeo diesel with 9 months mot for the price of a clutch and flywheel on my saab !
my commute is a 7 mile around trip so fuel doesnt bother me, but my only worry is every other weekend i drive 55 miles (one way) to my girlfriends family caravan for long weekends away or atleast once a week go for days out, which my saab does with ease but worried it maybe a little to much for a mega miler i bought for under a grand, breaking down isnt fun
Sorry if this is long winded i just want some more comments or stories from you guys who have done this whole budget motoring yourself ? any comments welcome !
scrambler95 said:
my commute is a 7 mile around trip
Sorry for the selective quote but seriously? Seven miles? Get a bicycle or walk?As for the mythical reliable £1k car, obviously everything at this price is going to have some element of risk, so I'd say keep it simple. Something petrol, mass produced and cheap to begin with, rather than a massively depreciated turbo-diesel barge. Think Fiesta, Panda, Yaris, that sort of thing.
Or just keep the 206 you already have and sell the SAAB saving you time and money?
Bin off the 206 (dreadful cars!!!) remove the aggrivation from your neighbour and put the money to one side to cover any repairs on the Saab.
Also note clutches and dmf do not have a guaranteed life, my old Saab 93 diesel was on 170k with its original clutch an flywheel but I scrapped it after the fuel pump failed.
You need to relax, accept that cars can go wrong sometimes(that's what AA cover is for) and generally what you see on Internet forums about reliability is over exagerarated nonsense.
Also note clutches and dmf do not have a guaranteed life, my old Saab 93 diesel was on 170k with its original clutch an flywheel but I scrapped it after the fuel pump failed.
You need to relax, accept that cars can go wrong sometimes(that's what AA cover is for) and generally what you see on Internet forums about reliability is over exagerarated nonsense.
Does the Saab need a clutch and dmf or are you just thinking about it? You could get another 50k miles out of it and you worry is for nothing.
I have had two £1100 diesel focus over the past few years. The first was bought in a rush (lease going back) and had a slipping clutch, 16 months and 14k later the clutch was no worse and it had paid for itself.
The second was bought blind off eBay and was a bit of a bargain so I chucked another few hundred at it for a full service and I now know it’s good for a fair while hopefully.
Put £100/month away and run the Saab until something major goes then throw it away.
I have had two £1100 diesel focus over the past few years. The first was bought in a rush (lease going back) and had a slipping clutch, 16 months and 14k later the clutch was no worse and it had paid for itself.
The second was bought blind off eBay and was a bit of a bargain so I chucked another few hundred at it for a full service and I now know it’s good for a fair while hopefully.
Put £100/month away and run the Saab until something major goes then throw it away.
LimaDelta said:
scrambler95 said:
my commute is a 7 mile around trip
Sorry for the selective quote but seriously? Seven miles? Get a bicycle or walk?As for the cars, if you only want one and the Saab is throwing up some issues, I'd get rid of that and just smoke around in the 206. They might not be the best cars in the world, but it should provide you with cheap, basic motoring so long as you keep it maintained to a reasonable standard.
Edited by MrGTI6 on Saturday 27th July 15:26
MrGTI6 said:
LimaDelta said:
scrambler95 said:
my commute is a 7 mile around trip
Sorry for the selective quote but seriously? Seven miles? Get a bicycle or walk?OP, literally do whatever you want to do. Although not that helpful, it seems as if you just want to buy a shed, just to see how it goes.
Personally, I'd get a trusted mechanic to check the clutch on the Saab & see if it's really that bad. Even if it is, it still might be worth doing the clutch, as surely the value is still pretty good, if clutch is done?
If you're going to buy something cheap, check its MOT history to see if its been abused, and if its got a decent service history all the better.
I had a Golf TDI as a snotter that I bought for £800 - it was 12 years old and had 200K on the clock but the single owner had had it serviced every six months on the dot at a main dealer and the only time it had failed an MOT was on lamps. I drove it for 20K without any issue at all, and then sold it to a mate who's put another 12K on it with no issues either.
On the other hand, the previous one (also a Golf, petrol though) hadn't been as well looked after and threw a career-ending fault after four months of ownership ...
I had a Golf TDI as a snotter that I bought for £800 - it was 12 years old and had 200K on the clock but the single owner had had it serviced every six months on the dot at a main dealer and the only time it had failed an MOT was on lamps. I drove it for 20K without any issue at all, and then sold it to a mate who's put another 12K on it with no issues either.
On the other hand, the previous one (also a Golf, petrol though) hadn't been as well looked after and threw a career-ending fault after four months of ownership ...
I don't understand what the issue is. The saab is worth f
k all, the 206 is worth fk all (who even has a 206 'project'?), yet you're scared of it throwing up big bills and want to buy another stter so your neighbour doesn't damage it?
Sell one of your cars, put the fear of jebus into your neighbour for touching your property, and live happily ever after.
k all, the 206 is worth fk all (who even has a 206 'project'?), yet you're scared of it throwing up big bills and want to buy another stter so your neighbour doesn't damage it?Sell one of your cars, put the fear of jebus into your neighbour for touching your property, and live happily ever after.
LimaDelta said:
Sorry for the selective quote but seriously? Seven miles? Get a bicycle or walk?
As for the mythical reliable £1k car, obviously everything at this price is going to have some element of risk, so I'd say keep it simple. Something petrol, mass produced and cheap to begin with, rather than a massively depreciated turbo-diesel barge. Think Fiesta, Panda, Yaris, that sort of thing.
Or just keep the 206 you already have and sell the SAAB saving you time and money?
Yeah great fun cycling on a pissing down November morning.As for the mythical reliable £1k car, obviously everything at this price is going to have some element of risk, so I'd say keep it simple. Something petrol, mass produced and cheap to begin with, rather than a massively depreciated turbo-diesel barge. Think Fiesta, Panda, Yaris, that sort of thing.
Or just keep the 206 you already have and sell the SAAB saving you time and money?
Last sub £1k car I had was fantastic.
It was a Focus Elle, apparently that’s a top spec one. Full leather, electric mirrors, aircon, heated seats. Put some decent winter tyres on, and was great all year round.
It was a 2005 model, bought for £800, 2 years ago, with only 70k miles on, Owned by one family from new. I guess you have to drop on a looked after one. Cheap regass of the aircon, and odd bits of MOT fails and I did about 50k over 2 years, and recently sold it for £500.
Can’t fault that for cheap mothering. There is a lot of crap at that price, but a bit of perseverance, can find a ‘good un’. I am sure I got it on eBay.
It was a Focus Elle, apparently that’s a top spec one. Full leather, electric mirrors, aircon, heated seats. Put some decent winter tyres on, and was great all year round.
It was a 2005 model, bought for £800, 2 years ago, with only 70k miles on, Owned by one family from new. I guess you have to drop on a looked after one. Cheap regass of the aircon, and odd bits of MOT fails and I did about 50k over 2 years, and recently sold it for £500.
Can’t fault that for cheap mothering. There is a lot of crap at that price, but a bit of perseverance, can find a ‘good un’. I am sure I got it on eBay.
Trollied said:
MrGTI6 said:
LimaDelta said:
scrambler95 said:
my commute is a 7 mile around trip
Sorry for the selective quote but seriously? Seven miles? Get a bicycle or walk?OP, literally do whatever you want to do. Although not that helpful, it seems as if you just want to buy a shed, just to see how it goes.
Personally, I'd get a trusted mechanic to check the clutch on the Saab & see if it's really that bad. Even if it is, it still might be worth doing the clutch, as surely the value is still pretty good, if clutch is done?
ked and pollution is not getting any better. People moan about school runs but so many people won’t cycle for 15 minutes and take the car, despite the cost and damage to the car.I think it’s been said but sell the 206, keep the Saab.
Set aside the cost of leasing something (£1-200) each month. If the Saab costs you more than 50% of this in repairs and servicing in a year then replace it. If it doesn’t why bother, unless you want a new car.
In which case keep one of your cheap cars and buy something fun with the budget you have.
Set aside the cost of leasing something (£1-200) each month. If the Saab costs you more than 50% of this in repairs and servicing in a year then replace it. If it doesn’t why bother, unless you want a new car.
In which case keep one of your cheap cars and buy something fun with the budget you have.
As above, sell the Pug and use this money to offset the potential repairs to the Saab.
The cheapest car you have is the one you own.
Sub £1k cars are a lottery. I’ve owned some cracking sheds over the years, most notably an Audi A4 1.9tdi. It just kept going with minimal costs other than consumables. But I’ve also been bitten with sheds that have imploded weeks after purchase.
You seem to be after a unicorn - a cheap car that won’t cost you any money to run.
Bottom line is, if it has tits or wheels it’ll cost you money.
The cheapest car you have is the one you own.
Sub £1k cars are a lottery. I’ve owned some cracking sheds over the years, most notably an Audi A4 1.9tdi. It just kept going with minimal costs other than consumables. But I’ve also been bitten with sheds that have imploded weeks after purchase.
You seem to be after a unicorn - a cheap car that won’t cost you any money to run.
Bottom line is, if it has tits or wheels it’ll cost you money.
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