Time for something sensible?

IC3 · 22 Sep 2019 at 16:30

I am looking at replacing my current workhorse Honda Accord 1.8 Sport 2002 with something, smaller, cheaper and more economical. There's nothing wrong with it, apart from high tax, bad fuel economy and insurance which costs more than my policy on the S15 did... I think, the guy before me got rid of it for the exact same reasons.

The car will mainly be used for city driving with an occasional trip somewhere further, probably around 4-6k a year is my average.

My only requirements are:
-Air Con
-Cruise Control
-40+ MPG
-Under £30 tax
-Fit an MTB bike in the back (Could get a rack/mount instead, so not a biggie)
-Automatic gearbox would be a bonus, although that's not necessary.

Budget? Would £3-4k be sufficient? I can up the budget, if necessary.

Dis86 · 22 Sep 2019 at 16:48

Why under £30 tax? What a completely inane requirement!

Rroff · 22 Sep 2019 at 16:50

VW Touran can be done at ~£30 tax for a year (depending on model) - my dad keeps ribbing me as he pays a year what I do a month in tax :S not sure what those that would be inside your budget would be like though.

Or do you mean less than £30 a month tax?

Drumroll · 22 Sep 2019 at 17:42

For quite some time now, tax for everything is 140 or more.
The newest/lowest mileage would be city cars, and auto, I would only suggest the ones with torque converter, such as Picanto And i10. Problem is, most of the city cars aren't feature-rich, unless oddly specified. Going super mini would improve the feature's list. Auto you could go Mazda 2, or manual Mazda 2, Kia Rio, Peugeot 208 and Corsa are very capable options. Some features, like adaptive cruise control, which is out of your budget, are better left alone, depending on the car. Expensive repair/recalibration costs.

IC3 · 22 Sep 2019 at 17:57

Dis86 said:
Why under £30 tax? What a completely inane requirement!

Might scrap that requirement, I had a look around and that does limit my choice of cars.

[TW]Fox · 23 Sep 2019 at 07:01

Michael Marini said:
For quite some time now, tax for everything is 140 or more

This isn't true at all. It applies to cars registered after March 2017 which won't be within the budget of the OP anyway.

Nasher · 23 Sep 2019 at 08:05

Pre-2017 Lexus CT200h?

Might have to up the budged for one without well over 100k miles though

But 0 tax and high mpg.

-westy- · 23 Sep 2019 at 08:08

How is a 1.8 Honda Accord not "sensible"? :confused:

To be clear, are you spending £3-4k to save a little each year on tax? Have you worked out how long it would take to break even with the fuel and tax savings?

Drumroll · 23 Sep 2019 at 09:08

-westy- said:
How is a 1.8 Honda Accord not "sensible"?

To be clear, are you spending £3-4k to save a little each year on tax? Have you worked out how long it would take to break even with the fuel and tax savings?

This.

Drumroll · 23 Sep 2019 at 09:10

[TW]Fox said:
This isn't true at all. It applies to cars registered after March 2017 which won't be within the budget of the OP anyway.

Over 2 years, I insist in say quite some time. Will be some city car at that budget, not many, but may be.

Uncle_Gravy · 23 Sep 2019 at 10:34

Weirdly enough i'm looking at a similar situation as the op, just looking to cut the cost of my commute (I don't believe in public transport before that gets suggested) Difference is I have a 2009 2.4l Honda Accord

Just had an office move that after working out (man maths) has put an extra £1500 a year of fuel onto my spendings.

Be interested to see what people actually suggest, kinda toying the idea of some type of VW group car with the 1.4 tsi engine, least it'll have some type of pulling power whilst being quite frugal on the ol fuel

[TW]Fox · 23 Sep 2019 at 12:04

Michael Marini said:
Over 2 years, I insist in say quite some time. Will be some city car at that budget, not many, but may be.

He's got 3k he isn't looking at 2 year old cars.

Drumroll · 23 Sep 2019 at 14:09

[TW]Fox said:
He's got 3k he isn't looking at 2 year old cars.

He said 3 to 4k. There's Vauxhall viva 67 plate for less than 4k.
Back to the suggestions, the dilemma is going for an older diesel, mainly because of the mpg, but there's a chance that either a new DPF 1k+ or the cleaning by Ceramex 300+/- if the mileage is approaching 100k miles. Also the chance of some cowboy deleted the DPF and fitted back before selling. Any sign of tampering with the DPF is an automatic M.O.T. fail. A newer car tends to be more reliable, and spending extra 20 or 30 pounds on petrol doesn't looks so bad when you consider the potential costs of maintenance of a older/higher mileage car.

Psycho Sonny · 24 Sep 2019 at 12:52

Toyota Auris or a Prius

BIGWEB · 24 Sep 2019 at 14:28

If you want to have a reliable box which gets you from A to B and is cheap to run and in plentiful supply just buy a Focus or Mondeo. There will be loads of clever options given to this question but if you are not hugely bothered about cars and want something you can find in plentiful supply within a few miles from where you live then Fords just make sense