Minimum budget to suit needs for infrequent use car?
Discussion
Hi,
We're looking to get a car for occasional use and not sure how much we need to spend to get something comfortable and reliable.
Usage would be:
- Costco and Ikea trips
- Visiting family either 30 (more frequent) or 200 miles (less frequent) away
- Shuttling family to/from airport
- Possible road trips to north of UK
Our minimum requirements are:
- Fits 4 adults comfortably plus 2 large and 2 small suitcases (I think that means 400+L?)
- Automatic
- Reversing camera (and parking sensors)
Bonuses:
- Heated seats
- Driver assistance
Our initial budget was 10-15k and theres plenty of options:
- Toyota Corolla Touring Sports
- Skoda Octavia/Superb
- Audi A4 Avant
- BMW 3 series touring (mrs thinks rear legroom lacking)
- SEAT Leon, VW Passat, Volvo V series and so on
But when going down to say 5-10k or even <5k, I'm less sure of the options and whether the cost saving is worth having to deal with a likely older car with potentially more issues?
Setting a 5k budget on autotrader gives options like:
- Toyota Auris instead of Corolla
- 2006-2015 versions of the above cars instead of >2015
Thoughts on what is the right amount of money to spend for a reliable car?
We're looking to get a car for occasional use and not sure how much we need to spend to get something comfortable and reliable.
Usage would be:
- Costco and Ikea trips
- Visiting family either 30 (more frequent) or 200 miles (less frequent) away
- Shuttling family to/from airport
- Possible road trips to north of UK
Our minimum requirements are:
- Fits 4 adults comfortably plus 2 large and 2 small suitcases (I think that means 400+L?)
- Automatic
- Reversing camera (and parking sensors)
Bonuses:
- Heated seats
- Driver assistance
Our initial budget was 10-15k and theres plenty of options:
- Toyota Corolla Touring Sports
- Skoda Octavia/Superb
- Audi A4 Avant
- BMW 3 series touring (mrs thinks rear legroom lacking)
- SEAT Leon, VW Passat, Volvo V series and so on
But when going down to say 5-10k or even <5k, I'm less sure of the options and whether the cost saving is worth having to deal with a likely older car with potentially more issues?
Setting a 5k budget on autotrader gives options like:
- Toyota Auris instead of Corolla
- 2006-2015 versions of the above cars instead of >2015
Thoughts on what is the right amount of money to spend for a reliable car?
Once you're talking about 'out of warranty', all cars carry a risk of throwing you a significant bill.
Spending more on the car does not always directly lower the risk of big bills.
I did a road trip a long way north in Scotland in a £1000 Mondeo, it was great. But you'd probably need to budget £3k now.
That's the thing I remember about that car, apart from the heated screen. Something smaller might have been better for around town, but I don't want to do 500 miles in a day in a Fiesta.
Spending more on the car does not always directly lower the risk of big bills.
I did a road trip a long way north in Scotland in a £1000 Mondeo, it was great. But you'd probably need to budget £3k now.
That's the thing I remember about that car, apart from the heated screen. Something smaller might have been better for around town, but I don't want to do 500 miles in a day in a Fiesta.
How infrequent?
A friend uses SVRgo in NI which has cars all around Belfast that he can use and drop off in a legal parking space near his house when he's done. Works out very cheap for him as he needs a car maybe once a month, or few weeks in the summer but has no interest in maintenance or annual bills.
A friend uses SVRgo in NI which has cars all around Belfast that he can use and drop off in a legal parking space near his house when he's done. Works out very cheap for him as he needs a car maybe once a month, or few weeks in the summer but has no interest in maintenance or annual bills.
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