Cheap, low stress daily for town driving
Discussion
Hoping everyone can hit me with their best (and worst) shed suggestions ! 😂
I use my car for work and commute roughly around 50-79 miles a day with a mix of crappy surrey roads.
I think i have started to realise im a bit done with ‘driving’ - rather than opting for something helmsman-y and appreciating the gearchange, suspension steering etc i think that i now just need something that just gets the job done and forget about it after a days work. I no longer opt for weekend drives as by then i just want to be out the car.
So rather than spending my life worrying about wearing out the cars components and fixing them so it drives well or causing it damage driving around during the day- im coming around to the idea of owning a shed.
Id likely have to downgrade as you cant find cheap runarounds for a couple of hundred pounds anymore like you used to.
As im finding that driving no longer interests me it doesn’t have to be the most dynamic to drive as long as it doesnt throw a warning light or need servicing every 5 minutes but isnt completely gutless - or diesel. Also doesnt have to be that practical as its just me driving it. I have a few candidates that id probably…..tolerate, but interested to see what people suggest.
I use my car for work and commute roughly around 50-79 miles a day with a mix of crappy surrey roads.
I think i have started to realise im a bit done with ‘driving’ - rather than opting for something helmsman-y and appreciating the gearchange, suspension steering etc i think that i now just need something that just gets the job done and forget about it after a days work. I no longer opt for weekend drives as by then i just want to be out the car.
So rather than spending my life worrying about wearing out the cars components and fixing them so it drives well or causing it damage driving around during the day- im coming around to the idea of owning a shed.
Id likely have to downgrade as you cant find cheap runarounds for a couple of hundred pounds anymore like you used to.
As im finding that driving no longer interests me it doesn’t have to be the most dynamic to drive as long as it doesnt throw a warning light or need servicing every 5 minutes but isnt completely gutless - or diesel. Also doesnt have to be that practical as its just me driving it. I have a few candidates that id probably…..tolerate, but interested to see what people suggest.
As little as possible at this stage as Ive wasted enough money on cars over the years. If i sold mine id like to think i can get around 10k for it but wouldnt want to spend that much on something im not invested in.
Im guessing 4-5k can get you something not completely awful?
And unfortunately no charging as its on street parking only.
Im guessing 4-5k can get you something not completely awful?
And unfortunately no charging as its on street parking only.
Cheap X
Reliable X
Economical X
Something different? X
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609085...
Reliable X
Economical X
Something different? X
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609085...
Mammasaid said:
Cheap X
Reliable X
Economical X
Something different? X
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609085...
Very goo shout. I actually debated one of these but the performance was lacking a bit. As I am finding myself less concerned over this, in hindsight maybe I should have gone for this instead.Reliable X
Economical X
Something different? X
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609085...
I was thinking about this today on my way back from an MOT in my Hyundai i20,
We bought the car new in 2014 for 8k ish, and it's ridiculously cheap to run and reliable. It hardly does any mileage these days and just kept as a spare car doing 1-2k annually. Probably £300 p.a. in tax/ins/servicing It just starts stops and keeps running.
Unfortunately the paint is flaking off in large chunks, (no rust though because its galvanised) because of this it's worth sweet F.A. so it'll be kept for the foreseeable.
We bought the car new in 2014 for 8k ish, and it's ridiculously cheap to run and reliable. It hardly does any mileage these days and just kept as a spare car doing 1-2k annually. Probably £300 p.a. in tax/ins/servicing It just starts stops and keeps running.
Unfortunately the paint is flaking off in large chunks, (no rust though because its galvanised) because of this it's worth sweet F.A. so it'll be kept for the foreseeable.
I've always run a normal car for daily duties.
Maybe not a shed as some of them have cost more than shed money.
The cheapest, simplist, was the Seat Mii. 59bhp, £20 road tax. Ok if not in any hurry.
Now I've got back into fishing I needed a bit more space so got an Ibiza 1.2 estate, 2016, £35 Road tax, mid fifties to the gallon, 110bhp so fine on a longer journey. It also has no driver aids, not even stop start, and that's what I wanted, no bings, bongs, messages.
In the past I've had a Fabia 1.2 estate also, £20 road tax, 110bhp one.
Your budget of £5,000 should get you a decent example of any of those.
Maybe not a shed as some of them have cost more than shed money.
The cheapest, simplist, was the Seat Mii. 59bhp, £20 road tax. Ok if not in any hurry.
Now I've got back into fishing I needed a bit more space so got an Ibiza 1.2 estate, 2016, £35 Road tax, mid fifties to the gallon, 110bhp so fine on a longer journey. It also has no driver aids, not even stop start, and that's what I wanted, no bings, bongs, messages.
In the past I've had a Fabia 1.2 estate also, £20 road tax, 110bhp one.
Your budget of £5,000 should get you a decent example of any of those.
Edited by Trevor555 on Wednesday 23 September 14:23
Trevor555 said:
I've always run a normal car for daily duties.
Maybe not a shed as some of them have cost more than shed money.
The cheapest, simplist, was the Seat Mii. 59bhp, £20 road tax. Ok if not in any hurry.
Now I've got back into fishing I needed a bit more space so got an Ibiza 1.2 estate, 2016, £35 Road tax, mid fifties to the gallon, 110bhp so fine on a longer journey. It also has no driver aids, not even stop start, and that's what I wanted, no bings, bongs, messages.
In the past I've had a Fabia 1.2 estate also, £20 road tax, 110bhp one.
Your budget of £5,000 should get you a decent example of any of those.
And for crappy roads and comfort what you need is steel wheels with the tallest side walls in the universe.Maybe not a shed as some of them have cost more than shed money.
The cheapest, simplist, was the Seat Mii. 59bhp, £20 road tax. Ok if not in any hurry.
Now I've got back into fishing I needed a bit more space so got an Ibiza 1.2 estate, 2016, £35 Road tax, mid fifties to the gallon, 110bhp so fine on a longer journey. It also has no driver aids, not even stop start, and that's what I wanted, no bings, bongs, messages.
In the past I've had a Fabia 1.2 estate also, £20 road tax, 110bhp one.
Your budget of £5,000 should get you a decent example of any of those.
Edited by Trevor555 on Wednesday 23 September 14:23
Year ago my friend and I were attending a (BMW)MINI meet and both had problems with our cars. I managed to hire a MINI One and we both agreed it was the better car than the S versions we both had. Comfortable, complianr ride, no Sports Suspension Plus, 40mpg when ragged, kept up with all the other cars.
As ever, the answer could just be Mazda MX-5.
Plenty around with many having low miles and being weekend cars/2nd cars/garage queens, cheap to run, reliable and uncomplicated, easy to park, soft top or hard top variants, smaller wheeled versions available to soak up the potholes.
£5k will get you into one with lots of life left, and it'll still be fun to drive.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202608014...
or hardtop
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609196...
Plenty around with many having low miles and being weekend cars/2nd cars/garage queens, cheap to run, reliable and uncomplicated, easy to park, soft top or hard top variants, smaller wheeled versions available to soak up the potholes.
£5k will get you into one with lots of life left, and it'll still be fun to drive.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202608014...
or hardtop
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609196...
Trevor555 said:
I've always run a normal car for daily duties.
Maybe not a shed as some of them have cost more than shed money.
The cheapest, simplist, was the Seat Mii. 59bhp, £20 road tax. Ok if not in any hurry.
Now I've got back into fishing I needed a bit more space so got an Ibiza 1.2 estate, 2016, £35 Road tax, mid fifties to the gallon, 110bhp so fine on a longer journey. It also has no driver aids, not even stop start, and that's what I wanted, no bings, bongs, messages.
In the past I've had a Fabia 1.2 estate also, £20 road tax, 110bhp one.
Your budget of £5,000 should get you a decent example of any of those.
Loved my Ibiza estate, also 2016. Mine had the 150bhp 1.4 TSi with a 6-speed manual and had a decent amount of shove, £30 to tax and 50mpg plus on long jounreys. 100% reliable. I also loved that it was narrow (a cinch to park and thread through tight roads), but with more load space than most bigger, heavier family hatchbacks. Sometimes I regret moving it on.Maybe not a shed as some of them have cost more than shed money.
The cheapest, simplist, was the Seat Mii. 59bhp, £20 road tax. Ok if not in any hurry.
Now I've got back into fishing I needed a bit more space so got an Ibiza 1.2 estate, 2016, £35 Road tax, mid fifties to the gallon, 110bhp so fine on a longer journey. It also has no driver aids, not even stop start, and that's what I wanted, no bings, bongs, messages.
In the past I've had a Fabia 1.2 estate also, £20 road tax, 110bhp one.
Your budget of £5,000 should get you a decent example of any of those.
Edited by Trevor555 on Wednesday 23 September 14:23
I reckon an Ibiza estate (officially the 'ST') with the 1.2 or 1.4 TSi engine is a good shout.
Thank you for the recommendations. Some good ones here.
I think i may be a bit overly optimistic with the £5k budget however as i may have to look even lower than that.
Due to the amount of money i have put into my current car the BR-Z this year, i am now considering keeping hold of it. and relegating it to a fair weather car. It took me a long time to find and i dont think i would be happy selling it in its current state knowing theres things that still need addressing.
Nonetheless all i know is that driving it daily is really starting to make me resent it and driving in general as i know it is going to take more patience, time and money to get it how i want it which i am running out of.
So i think i possibly may need to lower my expectations and go for something super cheap albeit low maintenance/dull while i decide what to do with the other car.
I think i may be a bit overly optimistic with the £5k budget however as i may have to look even lower than that.
Due to the amount of money i have put into my current car the BR-Z this year, i am now considering keeping hold of it. and relegating it to a fair weather car. It took me a long time to find and i dont think i would be happy selling it in its current state knowing theres things that still need addressing.
Nonetheless all i know is that driving it daily is really starting to make me resent it and driving in general as i know it is going to take more patience, time and money to get it how i want it which i am running out of.
So i think i possibly may need to lower my expectations and go for something super cheap albeit low maintenance/dull while i decide what to do with the other car.
I have found Korean cars to be less rusty than Japanese cars.
This was my 2005 Kia, which I sold a few years back.
It was a car that you filled up, changed the oil and drove with the odd consumables replaced once a year for £30-£100.
A petrol Hyundai/Kia would be my choice if spending around £3k.
This was my 2005 Kia, which I sold a few years back.
It was a car that you filled up, changed the oil and drove with the odd consumables replaced once a year for £30-£100.
A petrol Hyundai/Kia would be my choice if spending around £3k.
AdamG_BRZ said:
Thank you for the recommendations. Some good ones here.
I think i may be a bit overly optimistic with the £5k budget however as i may have to look even lower than that.
Due to the amount of money i have put into my current car the BR-Z this year, i am now considering keeping hold of it. and relegating it to a fair weather car. It took me a long time to find and i dont think i would be happy selling it in its current state knowing theres things that still need addressing.
Nonetheless all i know is that driving it daily is really starting to make me resent it and driving in general as i know it is going to take more patience, time and money to get it how i want it which i am running out of.
So i think i possibly may need to lower my expectations and go for something super cheap albeit low maintenance/dull while i decide what to do with the other car.
In your position, I'd look for a Fiat Panda 4x4. I use my MiL's for batting about Hastings (sI think i may be a bit overly optimistic with the £5k budget however as i may have to look even lower than that.
Due to the amount of money i have put into my current car the BR-Z this year, i am now considering keeping hold of it. and relegating it to a fair weather car. It took me a long time to find and i dont think i would be happy selling it in its current state knowing theres things that still need addressing.
Nonetheless all i know is that driving it daily is really starting to make me resent it and driving in general as i know it is going to take more patience, time and money to get it how i want it which i am running out of.
So i think i possibly may need to lower my expectations and go for something super cheap albeit low maintenance/dull while i decide what to do with the other car.
t condition roads and crowded) and it's great fun. Twinair, it's OK on fuel and costs her buttons to run. That and your BRZ would make a great two car selection. AdamG_BRZ said:
Hoping everyone can hit me with their best (and worst) shed suggestions ! ?
I use my car for work and commute roughly around 50-79 miles a day with a mix of crappy surrey roads.
I think i have started to realise im a bit done with driving - rather than opting for something helmsman-y and appreciating the gearchange, suspension steering etc i think that i now just need something that just gets the job done and forget about it after a days work. I no longer opt for weekend drives as by then i just want to be out the car.
So rather than spending my life worrying about wearing out the cars components and fixing them so it drives well or causing it damage driving around during the day- im coming around to the idea of owning a shed.
Id likely have to downgrade as you cant find cheap runarounds for a couple of hundred pounds anymore like you used to.
As im finding that driving no longer interests me it doesn t have to be the most dynamic to drive as long as it doesnt throw a warning light or need servicing every 5 minutes but isnt completely gutless - or diesel. Also doesnt have to be that practical as its just me driving it. I have a few candidates that id probably ..tolerate, but interested to see what people suggest.
1.6T Astra GTC:I use my car for work and commute roughly around 50-79 miles a day with a mix of crappy surrey roads.
I think i have started to realise im a bit done with driving - rather than opting for something helmsman-y and appreciating the gearchange, suspension steering etc i think that i now just need something that just gets the job done and forget about it after a days work. I no longer opt for weekend drives as by then i just want to be out the car.
So rather than spending my life worrying about wearing out the cars components and fixing them so it drives well or causing it damage driving around during the day- im coming around to the idea of owning a shed.
Id likely have to downgrade as you cant find cheap runarounds for a couple of hundred pounds anymore like you used to.
As im finding that driving no longer interests me it doesn t have to be the most dynamic to drive as long as it doesnt throw a warning light or need servicing every 5 minutes but isnt completely gutless - or diesel. Also doesnt have to be that practical as its just me driving it. I have a few candidates that id probably ..tolerate, but interested to see what people suggest.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202608315...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202607244...
208 GTI:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609216...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511047...
500 Abarth:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609166...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202608104...
VXR, not as cheap to run as the above but a bloody good car for the money:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609095...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202609206...
You can also get the GTC in 1.4T auto:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202607023...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604261...
Edited by ZX10R NIN on Thursday 24th September 21:59
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