Car for lots of miles needed £12K - £18K ??

Roadrunner_668

Roadrunner_668

Roadrunner_668

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I have posted way too much today but I really like this place !

I have already put up a post about making a new computer but I also need a new car, I drive 25 thousand to 50 thousand a year commuting from Porstlade to Borehamwood plus social driving on top !

I have a 2005 Astra diesel with 352 thousand miles at the moment which has one wheel in the scrap-yard !

I will likely keep whatever car I get until it dies ! So I don't mind spending a good amount on something which will make my commuting more pleasant but I want something reliable too !

I would want something like a 5 series or an a6 but im not sure if piling miles on something like that will cause headaches ! if i get one on 50 thousand after four years it might be on 200,000 and I'd want to keep it a long while after that !

Perhaps Id be better off spending less money on something a bit less high brow like an accord executive or mondeo something and leave some money in the bank ?? I could increase my new computer budget if I do that ha ha

any advice welcomed thankyou !

also theres a possibility ill be working from home a lot more which is why that mileage range is so broad ! i dont know what is happening just yet !
 
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OP I'm not really sure if it would be a good idea to pile so many miles on a modern BMW! Issues aside you would be turning an £18K car into a £0 car in a few years, thats... Well, ouch.

Might it not be a better idea to move house? :p

Or maybe just drive a load of £3K cars into the ground one after the other and sell them for £1000 when you're done? I don't know...

I can't figure out how to tag fox... :p
 
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I did think about that thats why i kept this astra so long because its worthless anyway and it hasnt broken horribly yet !

im off for the night anyway i hope you all dont find my question as alarming as acme though maybe he finds it alarming for a reason !

bye for now !
 
You are effectively going to destroy the value in any car you buy if you keep it for more than a couple of years as you know, so I'd personally focus on relative value, comfort and then reliability which might lead you away from Audi/BMW unless you're happy to either pay for a warranty of accept a throw of the dice.

I'd be inclined to look at a well specced superb or maybe something like the new v60 (though I think you'd potentially need to stretch the budget a bit)
 
While your Astra diesel does have a lot of miles you haven't said how many miles you do yearly. That Astra is 15 years old. Assuming relatively average miles each year that's still only 13-14k, not a massive amount really and the difference between 40MPG that most modern petrol engines will do and 55-65MPG a modern, decently sized Diesel engine will do will be a few pounds a week if that. What is your actual annual mileage?
 
A Superb would be a good shout I recon, but I'd say an older 1.9TDI equipped one because it is more likely to gracefully accept the moon miles you plan on piling into it... Your 12 - 18K budget would be out the window though, I'm talking £3K~


MissChief said:
While your Astra diesel does have a lot of miles you haven't said how many miles you do yearly. That Astra is 15 years old. Assuming relatively average miles each year that's still only 13-14k, not a massive amount really and the difference between 40MPG that most modern petrol engines will do and 55-65MPG a modern, decently sized Diesel engine will do will be a few pounds a week if that. What is your actual annual mileage?
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He said 25 to 50 thousand a year, and in another thread he said he got the Astra 5 years ago on 200,000 miles. Thats 30,000 a year on average.

Borehamwood to Portslade is a 180 mile round trip. If we assume he does it every working day of the year thats 47,000 miles without accounting for any social miles. That could easily be 55,000 miles a year! Or if he travels to work 50% of the time and WFH the rest of the time thats 23,500 miles which could easily be 30,000 miles with social on top.
 
Do you get an allowance for the mileage you're covering? If you're expected to be driving 25-50k miles a year you must be getting compensated in one way or another (enhanced salary perhaps). Based on my typical running costs of a diesel over the last 2 years, I'd put your annual fuel bill at around £3,000-£6,000.

So my point being, unless you're compensated for your mileage, you might be better looking for a different job.
 
I assume he must get compensated for the mileage, or the job pays really well, one of the two. If he's been doing this for the last 5 years then it must work for him! :p

Although sod driving 180 miles a day! There is no way I could do that... In this WFH age we are entering I would definitely try and push for being able to work from home full time aside from the occasional visit to the office perhaps.

OP, Maybe you should keep the Astra for a bit longer (assuming it isnt about to die) or get a less expensive replacement, until you know exactly what the future holds for you in terms of mileage?
 
Acme said:
A Superb would be a good shout I recon, but I'd say an older 1.9TDI equipped one because it is more likely to gracefully accept the moon miles you plan on piling into it... Your 12 - 18K budget would be out the window though, I'm talking £3K~




He said 25 to 50 thousand a year, and in another thread he said he got the Astra 5 years ago on 200,000 miles. Thats 30,000 a year on average.

Borehamwood to Portslade is a 180 mile round trip. If we assume he does it every working day of the year thats 47,000 miles without accounting for any social miles. That could easily be 55,000 miles a year! Or if he travels to work 50% of the time and WFH the rest of the time thats 23,500 miles which could easily be 30,000 miles with social on top.
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Ahh so he did. My apologies. a 1.9 TDI Superb would be a good shout. Volvo's are apparently very comfortable too. Jag XF/XJ? VW Phaeton TDI?
 
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Also you haven't said if you want a certain level of performance or just comfort and economy?

And personally I would want an auto for your mileage, but what do you want auto or manual? Or not fussed?
 
Acme said:
I think a Phaeton, despite being a VW, will probably lose more value with huge mileage than an A6 or a 5 series. People are usually scared of high mileage luxury cars. The Phaeton is an A8 / 7 series / S class kind of car for a lower price.

Late 1.9TDI Superb https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008021996496?fuel-type=Diesel&model=SUPERB&radius=1500&make=SKODA&minimum-badge-engine-size=1.9&advertising-location=at_cars&year-to=2020&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.9&postcode=bn150he&sort=price-asc&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&page=2

Accord Exec like you said https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009234106869?onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&model=ACCORD&radius=1500&make=HONDA&advertising-location=at_cars&keywords=ex&postcode=bn150he&sort=price-asc&fuel-type=Diesel&page=3
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To be fair, OP has already said that whatever they get will be run into the ground. Therefore, the £18k investment, or whatever, is already written off. The depreciation doesn't matter. At this point, it is then about comfort and reliability (something your unlikely to achieve buying a £3k motor for doing up to 50k per year). I'd guess cost of parts too.

Lexus IS/GS Hybrid might do well here. Generally considered to be quite reliable. Nice places to sit, ULEZ compliant, decent economy (at least on paper). I like a Phaeton. Wouldn't know how reliable they are with that sort of mileage though. You'd want something with a chain driven engine though I'd imagine. Wouldn't want to do a timing belt every year.
 
Model 3, Kona electric, MG5, 62Kwh leaf. If your doing 25,000 a year with a commute of ~ 90 miles I'd say you need an EV assuming you can charge at home, even if you can't I'd check your local infrastructure on Zap map the savings on maintenance alone will pay for any extra cost never mind the massive reduction in your fuel bill! MG5 is nearest your budget but if you can charge near work a 40Kwh leaf might work too.
 
As above, the one-way commute is doable on a Model 3 SR+, return on a LR if you can't charge at work. Will be above your budget but if you can charge at work, home or both you'll save a fortune on fuel. There's a Supercharge just off the M25 at Heathrow and one is planned for Brigthon this year if ever needed in an emergency.
 
oh boy thats a lot of messages ha

ok so my mileage is accounted for in my pay thats fine !

not really after a prius i wanted something a bit more comfy and high brow than that but who knows maybe they are better than i think

lexus hybrid is interesting idea i hadnt thought of that !

I dont really know if an ev is a good idea for these miles ? also i dont think ive seen any on higher miles ! are they out there ?

auto would be nice yes for all the time im stuck in traffic my calves will love me for it im sure ...

and i will have a look at the e class and s90 sorry if i missed anything !

getting a car that has already got lots of miles is an interesting idea but surely things will wear out in my ownership ? i know someone mentioned cars can get to a million miles in the thread but not sure how realistic that is ha ha

days of 100 thou being the end of a car are long long gone !

okay i need to think i could just fix the niggles with the astra and keep using it as a tool to commute in and get a second car for social driving and a bit of fun

which turns the whole idea on its head

but the astra isnt that bad it is an elite so it has heated leather thats quite comfy and a good audio system i put in , cruise control, the air conditioning works , etc !

it just needs a few bits and its obviously worth nothing now ! it needs two bearings on the front cos they make horrid noises

it smokes a bit which my friend says is the turbo but he said it will probably still be ok for a little bit

apart from that its fine already has a recent clutch and flywheel and the timing belt is overdue on mileage but it was only done 2 years ago ha ha
 
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Wheel bearings might be cheap, cambelt you should really do but I guess with your mileage you might be able to leave it a little longer if its doing lots of long trips with the engine at the same RPM for ages...

I dont know if its an interference engine or not though, which is the difference between needing to get recovered home and pay to have a new belt put on if it snaps (inconvenient) or the engine grenading itself if it snaps (more inconvenient :p )

Turbo again you need to find out how much your friend would be happy to replace it for!

If it can all be done for a few hundred quid then why not see if you can get it to 450,000 miles. :D

If its going to cost a bomb maybe worth dumping it and getting in something else cheap for commuting and then having a toy as well?

Maybe get a £3K~ automatic comfy diesel, and a toy? :)
 
he says we can do the turbo and bearings on my drive at home if i provide a large pepperoni pizza and a crate of beers ... ha ha

i got the belt wrong too its got another 40k until its due on mileage but he said he would be tempted to leave it a bit longer cos he looked at it when he did my service the other week and said it looks new still

looks like i might have to start toy shopping instead ... new thread ? ha ha
 
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