Whats the oldest car you would comfortably buy?
Discussion
123DWA said:
Comes down to the car really. I'd rather have a 2000 with sensible mileage and good history than a 2013 with high mileage and no history
+1.My g/f's daughter was looking for a car last year, and they had the view that it "must be newer than......" - as if, once cars reach a certain age they suddenly start falling apart. I found it completely bizarre.
Totally depends on the make and model and to a certain extent their starting condition.
I'd happily stick 12k/year on an early 2000's Mondeo for example...but I wouldn't on a same era Mercedes.
My current car is a 2008 and I have no concerns if I was to be doing 12k/year on it (I don't but I wouldn't be worried), but at a similar "relative" age the Mazda we had was seriously rusty.
That said my ownership strategy is to buy at about 4-6 years old. Past the lions share of depreciation, hit all the likely "early" unreliability and yet still has at least 1/2 of its minimum design life left. Figuring there that minimum design life is going to be about 10 years/120k.
I'd happily stick 12k/year on an early 2000's Mondeo for example...but I wouldn't on a same era Mercedes.
My current car is a 2008 and I have no concerns if I was to be doing 12k/year on it (I don't but I wouldn't be worried), but at a similar "relative" age the Mazda we had was seriously rusty.
That said my ownership strategy is to buy at about 4-6 years old. Past the lions share of depreciation, hit all the likely "early" unreliability and yet still has at least 1/2 of its minimum design life left. Figuring there that minimum design life is going to be about 10 years/120k.
I've found with 15 to 20 year old cars rubbers start perish causing leaks, or suspension bush problems regardless of how looked after the car is. Worst for me was a £5 bypass hose going causing engine to overheat (no warning, required new alloy head) . For this reason I'd generally look for no more than 10 years.
If I found a decent example of a car that I feel has been looked after properly I wouldn’t think too much about something up to around 30 years old. Older than that it would have to be a second car with another car as a fall back. Having some mechanical knowledge and know how makes older cars a lot less daunting and they are generally a lot easier to fix when they do throw a tantrum.
aka_kerrly said:
To be frank if you honestly believe that a car older than 2013 wouldn't be capable/reliable over a 1000 miles a month then you must have had some absolutely s
t cars combined with a st mechanic.
This! (Maybe a strong on the sentiment Aka) t cars combined with a st mechanic.
there are plenty of year 2000 cars that will do 1k a month with ease & be reliable too.Buy on condition not the reg.
I bought a 2008 Rav4 petrol as a runabout and a 'get to work' work car about 3 years ago. I now use it more than my BMW M4. Going to shops? Take the Rav, going to work? Take the Rav. It has never let me down, not needed a thing, and has went through 2 MOT's now without issue. Full leather, freezing aircon, sunroof, nice big boot, and was the facelift so still looks decent. I paid just under 3K for it, and it is now worth the exact same on WBAC.
My car is a 2006 Focus diesel with 190,000 miles on the clock.
My wife has a 2005 Audi TT which is her day to day car.
We also have a 22 year old Boxster and 4 motorbikes, the youngest of which is 34 years old.
It’s nowt to do with age and everything to do with care and proper maintenance.
My wife has a 2005 Audi TT which is her day to day car.
We also have a 22 year old Boxster and 4 motorbikes, the youngest of which is 34 years old.
It’s nowt to do with age and everything to do with care and proper maintenance.
If you get >15-25 yrs (depending on ability!) there's a lot of DIY you can do on a car. These days not so much.
I completely maintained my '80 Datsun Cherry and '89 Volvo 340 but could not go near my recent cars.
If buying an older car a proper inspection is worth it unless you're experienced enough to do it yourself. Stuff like subframe, shocks, struts, bushes all have model-specific corrosion/perishing risks that can effectively write an old car off, plus knowledge of any major stuff on the horizon like clutch, belts/chains etc.
The other issue if your attitude to the car. If you like the car you'll not mind spending money on upkeep. If it's just a tool then you'll resent spending 50% of its book value on a new clutch. The used car market is pretty efficient i.e. if a car is cheap it is for a reason
I completely maintained my '80 Datsun Cherry and '89 Volvo 340 but could not go near my recent cars.
If buying an older car a proper inspection is worth it unless you're experienced enough to do it yourself. Stuff like subframe, shocks, struts, bushes all have model-specific corrosion/perishing risks that can effectively write an old car off, plus knowledge of any major stuff on the horizon like clutch, belts/chains etc.
The other issue if your attitude to the car. If you like the car you'll not mind spending money on upkeep. If it's just a tool then you'll resent spending 50% of its book value on a new clutch. The used car market is pretty efficient i.e. if a car is cheap it is for a reason
Most of the cars I have are around the 2003 - 2008 era. Almost all do much more than 1,000 miles per month. In general, the newer the car, the less robust it is.
The pre DMF, pre DPR, pre piezo crystal injector diesel engines seem to be as tough as old boots, and are pretty economical as well.
Top marks to my S60 D5 Euro 3 that has clocked 91 mpg, and will do nearly 1100 miles on a £90 tank of diesel.
That's (nearly) my house to Zagreb on a tank (Is there a Clarkson-ism here somewhere?).
Would I worry about driving the S60 to Zagreb? No, I'd love to do it.
The pre DMF, pre DPR, pre piezo crystal injector diesel engines seem to be as tough as old boots, and are pretty economical as well.
Top marks to my S60 D5 Euro 3 that has clocked 91 mpg, and will do nearly 1100 miles on a £90 tank of diesel.
That's (nearly) my house to Zagreb on a tank (Is there a Clarkson-ism here somewhere?).
Would I worry about driving the S60 to Zagreb? No, I'd love to do it.
Mr Tidy said:
I read the header and realised my cars are on 55 and 56 plates.
But then I read the first post about 1,000 miles a month!
That sort of use may need something newer.
Why? Up until Covid I was doing 18k miles a year in my 2006 (56) Volvo V70 D5. Other than consumables it’s needed a turbo pipe and a fuel filter housing. Totally dependable, comfy, and buttons to run. Also depreciation proof as it’s hit pretty much rock bottom. If I could be arsed I’d work out the pence per mile, and I’d wager it’d be bloody good. But then I read the first post about 1,000 miles a month!
That sort of use may need something newer.
As cars age and pile on the miles they need more spent on wear and tear. Other than consumables like tyres and braked etc, older cars tend to need things like suspension bushes and the like but its hardly going to break the bank.
If I were doing 12k+ a year, I would look for something which is cheap to maintain in terms of servicing, tyres, brakes etc.
I would want something I could bang cheap ditchfinders on without worrying, something which returns 40-50mpg all day long, something which will happily smash along with a basic oil change each year that can be done by a local garage.
Its lovely to sit in a few year old BMW/Merc/Audi but when a major service is just shy of £500, tyres are £150 a corner, and its depreciating at a rate of knots due to 12k a year miles, it seems less of an attractive prospect.
If I were doing 12k+ a year, I would look for something which is cheap to maintain in terms of servicing, tyres, brakes etc.
I would want something I could bang cheap ditchfinders on without worrying, something which returns 40-50mpg all day long, something which will happily smash along with a basic oil change each year that can be done by a local garage.
Its lovely to sit in a few year old BMW/Merc/Audi but when a major service is just shy of £500, tyres are £150 a corner, and its depreciating at a rate of knots due to 12k a year miles, it seems less of an attractive prospect.
Edited by Wagonwheel555 on Tuesday 25th May 08:29
Age is just a number...find a car that's been properly maintained and continue to look after it and 12k a year won't be an issue.
I'd bet that a car from the 2000-2010 era will be better screwed together than it's new equivalent, I'm not sure I'd want a current gen car in 20yrs time that's for sure.
I'd bet that a car from the 2000-2010 era will be better screwed together than it's new equivalent, I'm not sure I'd want a current gen car in 20yrs time that's for sure.
I'd suggest there's a decent sweet spot of cars made between 2000-2010 that are reliable but not overly complicated, and (most importantly) you can find decent examples of.
If you can work out a niche like larger petrol engined cars that were only used for low mileages rather than the equivalent diesel rep-mobile that was pounding up and down the motorways for its first 3 or 4 years, then you can get an older car with plenty of life left in it.
12k miles a year is actually a good amount to be driving an older car as it would be used frequently and you can keep on top of any niggles. Whereas if you were just doing a couple of thousand a year on sunny summer weekends you get problems from the car just being sat there unused.
If you can work out a niche like larger petrol engined cars that were only used for low mileages rather than the equivalent diesel rep-mobile that was pounding up and down the motorways for its first 3 or 4 years, then you can get an older car with plenty of life left in it.
12k miles a year is actually a good amount to be driving an older car as it would be used frequently and you can keep on top of any niggles. Whereas if you were just doing a couple of thousand a year on sunny summer weekends you get problems from the car just being sat there unused.
TheRingDing said:
If you were going to be driving c12,000 annually, what would be the oldest car that you would comfortably buy? For me, I can't imagine I'd be dropping below 2013ish due to potential reliability issues, is that crazy?
Yes. Crazy. I bought a 2001 car in 2016 with 163k on the clock. It now has 233k on the clock.
Zero depreciation. Well £100 a year.
Some additional.costs due to age.
Radiator, wishbones. Exhaust, Coil packs, auxiliary belt tensioner, a crank sensor and a battery and general servicing.
I reckon £300 of repairs because of age and miles every year.
It's let me down once and that was my fault with brake disc replacement.
I'd happily use any car from the 1980s onwards as a daily driver.
It's petrol and a Vauxhall.
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