Calculating cost of changing cars to save money each each?

[ShiWarrior]

Need to know if it is worth me changing car or keep the current car longer

Background,

Saving money monthly towards a house, so i want to keep monthly costs down

Current car is costing me approx 1K in fuel a year and tax is £235 a year

Current car -
Ford Focus 1.8 2009


would changing to a newer car for example :

Leon 1.2 TSI
Focus 1.0 Ecoboost


be a lot better on fuel economy ?
Tax is £30 i think, so £200 saving in tax along each year

approx 6K miles a year im doing


---- Keeping like for like with reliability --

Any advice / help much appreciated
thanks all

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

There is no way that a newer car will make you better off overall since the depreciation of it overshadows the reduction in running costs several times over.

The MK2 focus is a brilliant car and the 1.8 litre engine is simple (petrol, no turbo).

For 6k miles per year you'd be mad to swap your Focus unless it really is on death's door.

Save for your house in other ways. Shop at Primark for clothes, have a sim only contract, cancel Sky etc. .

 

[Cleisthenes]

You'd have to fork out what, like 6k to get into a Focus Ecoboost? I may be way off the mark on that as haven't looked but if you're dropping thousands on something to save you money it's going to take a lonnnng time for you to start being back in the black

 

[Scrutinize]

If you are waiting to buy a house and require a mortgage, suggest keeping monthly payments at £0.

People are often surprised at how much even a small finance payment can effect borrowing with some lenders.

Cost of changing factoring in purchase price / deposit / PM payments is rarely anything other than adverse to a baseline, where you own the current car outright.

 

[ShiWarrior]

You'd have to fork out what, like 6k to get into a Focus Ecoboost? I may be way off the mark on that as haven't looked but if you're dropping thousands on something to save you money it's going to take a lonnnng time for you to start being back in the black

im thinking 3K for mine, 5K for an ecoboost

so 2K difference to claw back

 

[paradigm]

If you are waiting to buy a house and require a mortgage, suggest keeping monthly payments at £0.

People are often surprised at how much even a small finance payment can effect borrowing with some lenders.

Cost of changing factoring in purchase price / deposit / PM payments is rarely anything other than adverse to a baseline, where you own the current car outright.

I think the key here is "some" lenders. Affordability is key, so spending monthly on a car won't necessarily impact any affordability calculations depending on how much the payments are vs income, plus how much you are borrowing on your mortgage vs annual income.

No issues here getting the best deals out there for my mortgage deals whilst also having relatively large monthly payments on the car.

 

[Scrutinize]

I think the key here is "some" lenders. Affordability is key, so spending monthly on a car won't necessarily impact any affordability calculations depending on how much the payments are vs income, plus how much you are borrowing on your mortgage vs annual income.

Depends on a whole load of factors of which we have little info.

£250pm when your annual income is £60k plus barely registers, but if annual income is £25k-30k then it's usually a notable reduction on at least that applicant.

But if the OP is feeling the running costs of an 09 1.8 focus I presume 'in the round' money isn't in abundance.

 

[Havana_UK]

so 2K difference to claw back

Well, there's your answer.

You'll still be spending money on fuel. Maybe you'll save £200 a year on fuel, and the £200 a year on tax too. In 5 years you'll be just breaking even.

 

[ShiWarrior]

thats the sort of answer i needed

if thats the case, i may as well keep my current a few more years then

thanks

 

[robinbanks]

6k a year? What are you doing in it? Driving to work? Seems rather low mileage.

For that mileage get a moped or motor bike

 

[BUDFORCE]

The other thing you have to factor in is reliability.

If you current car is proving reliable, chances are it'll probably stay that way in general.

If you have a new car, you don't know that.

 

[Joe T]

Sounds like a spreadsheet is in order.

 

[ShiWarrior]

Sounds like a spreadsheet is in order.

All I wanted to know if I'd save money if I changed car to a slightly newer one which is more economical , I already know how much I spend each month on fuel as I keep the receipt and put it into my budget planner

 

[Joe T]

All I wanted to know if I'd save money if I changed car to a slightly newer one which is more economical , I already know how much I spend each month on fuel as I keep the receipt and put it into my budget planner

Sounds perfect for a quick calculation in a spreadsheet.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Most people just can't be bothered to really think through the total cost of ownership, which includes fuel, road tax, insurance, servicing, repairs and depreciation. Typically, depreciation and fuel are the most expensive elements, but buying a complex car that then suffers from turbo failure can more than make up for fuel savings.

As an example. Our primary family car is a 330i. That initially sounds it'll cost a fortune to run, particularly as we average 25mpg over mixed driving and more like 20mpg whilst in town.
However, whilst fuel consumption is pretty crap, making up for it:
- It's depreciated just £5k in 7 years, so is averaging around £700/year
- It was first registered on the 1st Jan 2006, i.e. before the road tax date of March 2006, post which cars of similar emissions have to pay £200/year more in road tax
- It's a fairly big, unstressed N52 engine, which are noted for being more reliable than the newer, and slightly more powerful BMW engines. In reality, the only items that have failed in 7 years are a couple of bulbs, the alternator and starter motor. So around £1k, or £150/year in repairs.
- It's now pretty old, so pointless taking it to BMW for servicing. We have a decent indy, who at the last service charged us £100
- We only do 5k/year mileage
- Tyres are not cheap, but the cars not really driven hard. On our 2nd full set now, at circa £500 for a full set of 4 Continental Sport contacts

Put the above together, add insurance and our average total cost of ownership/year has averaged under £3k/annum all in.
How many people do you see signing up for £300/month PCP deals on some pretty mundane cars and that's before fuel and insurance.
Sure, they have less potential risk, but whilst our BMW is now ancient, still has Sat Nav, loads of toys, very comfortable sports seats and a lovely smooth petrol 6, not some London taxi diesel.

 

[bimbleuk]

I did a quick calc using the ZapMap journey costs and an EV could potentially save ~£64 per month compared to the 2009 1.6 Duratec I selected from the list. It is £45 per month compared to a 1.0 Ecoboost.

That was 3.9p (home charging) per mile for my i3 compared to 16.5p per mile for the ICE car using a national average £ 1.30 for petrol. Zero VED (tax) cost too.

This was just to indicate one extreme way to save on monthly fuel costs though not recommended for everyone of course.

Anyway you could use the tool for comparing costs between ICE models you just have to compare to an EV each time. Cars all assumed owned outright and in my case no battery rental which affects the cheaper cars such as the Zoe and fewer Leafs.

https://www.zap-map.com/tools/journey-cost-calculator/

 

[Haggisman]

I did a quick calc using the ZapMap journey costs and an EV could potentially save ~£64 per month compared to the 2009 1.6 Duratec I selected from the list. It is £45 per month compared to a 1.0 Ecoboost.

That was 3.9p (home charging) per mile for my i3 compared to 16.5p per mile for the ICE car using a national average £ 1.30 for petrol. Zero VED (tax) cost too.

Damn, 3.9p/mile? Either the i3 is really inefficient or your electricity is expensive!

My Zoe is ~1.4p/mile, works out at about £200/year doing ~14k (well, probably more like £250 taking into account the odd public charge)

Was going to suggest electric, but obviously depends on charger availability (assuming no home charger since your renting) and whether you can find one without a lease (which would wipe out any savings!)

 

[Randomface74]

Your 34mpg is good for that car in the real world, so I don't think there's much scope for lowering the running costs of that car.
Depreciation is the main cost of car ownership, continuing to run your older car is the way to go as long as there are no pricey repairs.
If you get a house with a driveway, consider going electric.
Always remember the best way to save is to earn more, move jobs for more money if you can.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

All I wanted to know if I'd save money if I changed car to a slightly newer one which is more economical , I already know how much I spend each month on fuel as I keep the receipt and put it into my budget planner

buying a newer car is never cheaper unless your current car is extremely unreliable and falling apart everywhere and expensive to fix.

spending £10K to save £200 a year on road tax would be like me spending £5K on a tv to save £50 a year in electricity over a plasma.

cars are depreciating assets.

 

[ShiWarrior]

buying a newer car is never cheaper unless your current car is extremely unreliable and falling apart everywhere and expensive to fix.

spending £10K to save £200 a year on road tax would be like me spending £5K on a tv to save £50 a year in electricity over a plasma.

cars are depreciating assets.

i never said 10K, max spend is around 5K