The hunt is on for a winter hack

[jonnyboy]

Just a small point, you need to think of the total running cost over the period you have the car.

Worrying about 33mpg vs 25mpg on your mileage is unnecessary - work out what that difference will actually cost you in cold hard cash. If the difference is £500 yet you pay £1k for the poorer-economied car you have a £3k petrol budget......The depreciation will not be as severe on the banger either giving you part of that budget for repairs etc.

Money spent is money spent is money spent. It's just spent on different things as part of the whole.....

 

[b11ocx]

Just a small point, you need to think of the total running cost over the period you have the car.

Worrying about 33mpg vs 25mpg on your mileage is unnecessary - work out what that difference will actually cost you in cold hard cash. If the difference is £500 yet you pay £1k for the poorer-economied car you have a £3k petrol budget......The depreciation will not be as severe on the banger either giving you part of that budget for repairs etc.

Money spent is money spent is money spent. It's just spent on different things as part of the whole.....

That is far too sensible for a forum

It is however very true.

 

[Howard]

, drive though a large puddle in a petrol, see what happens, .

People standing by the side of the road get wet ? that's what happens when i do it .....

 

[Bellow]

Unless glowplugs are shot, Diesels are much more reliable in winter, drive though a large puddle in a petrol, see what happens, petrol cars much more complex electrical systems.

The battery has to be spot on, as has the starter motor just to get it to start - and that's assuming the fuel system is up to snuff and compression is where it needs to be. All for £500?

Starting a petrol is p!ss easy compared to that. A fresh set of ignition leads for sweetie money and they will run underwater. I've started one covered in snow (the engine, not just the car) and watched the snow melt over it as it warmed - without it missing a beat - on old school Kettering points system too.

Are snowmobiles Diesel powered?

 

[Charles Morgan]

People standing by the side of the road get wet ? that's what happens when i do it .....

You weren't driving the 430 bus along the Old Brompton Road west past Christies at lunchtime last Friday were you? I was the one on the kerb right by the very large puddle you didn't bother to dodge...

 

[Howard]

Not me old bean ....

 

[Sp!ke]

Worrying about 33mpg vs 25mpg on your mileage is unnecessary - work out what that difference will actually cost you in cold hard cash. If the difference is £500 yet you pay £1k for the poorer-economied car you have a £3k petrol budget......The depreciation will not be as severe on the banger either giving you part of that budget for repairs etc.

This is exactly why I was condeming the idea of the two depreciation free and road tax free cars (the landy and beetle) as the money saved from lack of depreciation and zero road tax was insignificant to the amount of extra fuel I'd need to spend over and above some reasonably modern but much more efficient car.

My fuel spend will likely outweigh the cost of the vehicle multiple times over. I'm doing £500 per month on petrol currently in the SL so even if I got a brand new Smart car on a PCP deal for £99 per month, the savings I'd make on fuel use would pay for the lease, the extra insurance cost and all the other associated costs and I'd still be better off than continuing to drive the SL to work.

Would a £500 pound banger increase my savings much further than the Smart car theory or would the difference be so marginal that I'm better off having the luxury of a new car under warranty?

 

[Bellow]

If smart is on your radar...
How about one with a blown engine or turbo? Even done professionally, an engine rebuild is £800, and a turbo £500. Doing it yourself is loads cheaper - even the engine rebuild can be done with the engine in situ - and you add a pile of value to the car for subsequent resale.
Get lucky with the right age of car and VED is circa £30, and for town/city use their agility and ease of parking is unrivaled. Also come with a lot of kit not usually found on small cars from that period.

 

[joe1984]

I'm not sure thats the sort of attention I want. Besides, the shells on those things are made of bits of newspaper and glue.

More dangerous than a motorcycle.

Common misconception that, the shell is steel and the body panels are duroplast.

Done better in crash tests than some 80s and 90s hatches

Still, depends if you don't mind the attention!

 

[joe1984]

You too! mine may be ready for next winter though.. I believe the heaters are crap though.. got my eye on a Sirokko petrol fired heater at the moment!!

Have you just bought the blue one from Glasgow? Seen it on the IFA yahoo forum

 

[jaymanek]

personally I would buy a W202... You can pick up a cheap example for £600-800, ive just sold a couple with 12 months MOT.

Ok so not going to give max MPG but will be reliable and almost no initial outlay.

 

[st4]

We had a similar thread to this one a while back from Sp!ke.

IIRC he did not like the Smart car but enjoyed the feeling for the same money a Volvo S60 gave him.

Sp!ke. If you can afford a loan of £5k you can get a nice big Sweedish tank with leather seats, heated etc.

Make it a derv and you are above 30mpg

 

[clk270]

Living in west London I'm not sure you should be so bothered about snow. There are loads of cheap older exc cars around. Saab 9-3, Volvo S60 etc. Fine if you find a good one but parts are expensive and fuel/insurance will make you wonder if it's worth it.
We have a fiat panda 1.2 as a third car. Costs peanuts to run at 44mpg, is reasonable comfy and with one on board is pretty nippy around town. A bit lacking in overtaking ability but it doesn't pretend to be.
Car supermarkets will get you a nearly new 1.2 dynamic Eco for under 5k. Use though winter and sell on privately to a learner driver for 4.5k . Goes great in the snow and with 155/80r13 tyres any replacements are £40 or less!.
You may find one with 5 year warranty too.

Why bother with 10yr old dross needing expensive repairs?

 

[kwakdonut]

Peugeot 406? I had one last year before the E I now have. 2 litre petrol good for 38mpg. Comfy and quiet. Cost me £700 and was pretty much flawless during the snow!

 

[Setanta]

I will be advertising my LS400 for sale shortly. reliable, comfortable, safe, economical considering the engine and the residuals are great since you cannot kill the things and they run forever. I would recommend an LS400 (and money where my mouth is since I have had four of them!)

 

[Spinal]

What's wrong with a W202 with a 1.8l engine?

Mine did 43-44mpg on the motorway down to Morocco last year, and you can pick one up quite cheap nowadays... especially if you get one with a real gearbox and none of that automatic cr*p....

M.

 

[James1976]

I've just gone for a new smart car as a run around in london for winter etc - grand down and just over a hundred notes a month, runs on thin air and has climate, bluetooth and sat nav as standard! Can't go wrong really - and saves putting lots of miles on the SL - somehow I don't think I'll be using it for runs up north though - anyone ever driven one on a motorway?? Also saves that damn expensive bodywork from disintegrating through winter salt if this winter's anything like the last...

Was tempted by an older banger, but considering the cost of a smart at a grand or so a year, and the fact that a banger would cost that, break down and likely cost a fortune in repairs to run etc it just doesn't make sense for me....And I HATE unreliable rattly old cans - unless they're an Alfa of course

 

[Spinal]

anyone ever driven one on a motorway??

Actually, yes! Drove a rented one from Rome to Naples and back (and up the Vesuvio vulcano)...

Not bad at all on the motorway, though IIRC I was having trouble pushing it over 120kmph.... felt a little light...

M.

 

[keysl]

Pick yourself up a Chrysler Voyager - LPG converted or diesel for £1500. Dirt cheap motoring and great for clearing out old rubbish to the tip over the winter. Then jump back into the SL in April.

 

[Tiff]

Have you just bought the blue one from Glasgow? Seen it on the IFA yahoo forum

Yup, thats me!