Do you have to rethink due to our silly motoring costs??

Slime101

Slime101

Slime101

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Im looking for a new car, the top 2 cars on my list are a Discovery 3 and an RS4 Avant....

The problem with both of these is the obscene running costs due to fuel prices and road tax, buying the car is perfectly possible (second hand) and insurance isnt an issue because im 28 and have no claims since i was 18 with a clean license and ive been quoted £500 FC for the RS4.

BUT, and its a big but i do big miles and because of this am having to seriously rethink getting the cars i want to drive for some nasty eco-snot box or somthing mildly boring which returns good economy and doesnt cost the earth to tax each year.

So, have you guys found yourself affected by the rising costs of motoring, has it ment you've had to pass on what you want just to keep costs acceptable???
 
No, i've never been affected by Tax/Fuel costs, only thing which limits me is the cost of initial purchase, and in my situation, if I can afford a performance car, I can surely afford the extra tax and fuel. For me I see it as an all in one package.
 
The Disco 3 is going to be a lot easier to run than the RS4, it's not so much the fuel that will kill you as keeping it running with repairs etc etc. They are NOT cheap to run.

Sounds like a Disco 3 TD is the best choice?
 
Disco's are notoriously expensive in tyres, brakes, suspension etc. Cant see it being worse than an RS4 - totally different animal but equally expensive.
 
Running a car is very cheap in this country and as such, no i dont.

Its purely the repairs which are the factor in a car purchase for me (For example as much as i would love a CL600 Bi-Turbo, and will possibly get one one day as a weekender, i doubt i would want to keep up with relentless repairs on it as a daily). This would be the same in any country, if not worse elsewhere as we have extremely cheap parts and supplies here and a mild climate.

In terms of our "silly" motoring costs, what are they?

Tax - Very cheap here
Insurance - Very cheap here
Compulsory roadworthiness test - Very cheap and easy to pass
Fuel - expensed

There is nothing else?
 
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A disco 3 costing the same to run as an RS4, hmm not in this reality.

I think you need to rethink your top 2 car choices, neither seem correct for you.
 
Slime101 said:
Disco's are notoriously expensive in tyres, brakes, suspension etc. Cant see it being worse than an RS4 - totally different animal but equally expensive.
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Oh I very much can, the RS4's are bigtime expensive. The Disco is a sensible purcahase by comparison.
 
Firestar_3x said:
A disco 3 costing the same to run as an RS4, hmm not in this reality.

I think you need to rethink your top 2 car choices, neither seem correct for you.
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What makes you think they arent similar to run cost wise??

Why do you say they arent right for me, both are practical and fun in their own way, and i want them both!
 
I find that the ever increasing cost of motoring and the increase in traffic law enforcement is draining my enthusiasm for it. When it comes to change I think I'm going to buy something that will reliably and comfortably waft me to work and back at a reasonable cost. It's only been a couple of years since I did it but spending a large chunk of my salary on a nice car has lost it's appeal.

I'm even beginning to rethink whether or not I should keep my motorbike. The roads are constantly filling up with idiots and motorbiking is beginning to lose it's enjoyment too.

I want a TVR and a Ducati for weekends and an S class for going to work and back but that's just never going to happen. There are other things in life that give me more enjoyment for less money now. If motoring was cheaper this may not be the case but that's how it rolls at the minute.

EDIT: As Jez points out, we do get it fairly easy as far as cost goes compared to teh rest of Europe.
 
Slime101 said:
What makes you think they arent similar to run cost wise??
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Why would they be - both are considerably different cars. The mechanical reliability and repair and servicing side of the RS4 is its downfall as Housey will be happy to testify. The Disco, whilst it has the potential to generate big bills, is less likely to.

Both cars have very expensive tyres but the RS4 will shred through them. Fuel economy in the RS4 is worse than useless as well.

The Disco is a relatively normal car in comparison.
 
I drove to Glasgow and back yesterday, short notice and needed to get there and back. I put £180 worth of fuel in the car for a 580 mile trip, though got to Bristol this morning on the left overs....but another £68 in the tank on the way back.
 
Jez said:
Running a car is very cheap in this country and as such, no i dont.

Its purely the repairs which are the factor in a car purchase for me (For example as much as i would love a CL600 Bi-Turbo, and will possibly get one one day as a weekender, i doubt i would want to keep up with relentless repairs on it as a daily). This would be the same in any country, if not worse elsewhere as we have extremely cheap parts and supplies here and a mild climate.

In terms of our "silly" motoring costs, what are they?

Tax - Very cheap here
Insurance - Very cheap here
Compulsory roadworthiness test - Very cheap and easy to pass
Fuel - expensed

There is nothing else?
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Same for me Jez, I pay for my own fuel but I do very few miles these days, my insurance, tax, and repair costs are minimal, I don't even pay for garage repairs or servicing.

Motoring in the UK is very reasonable in my opinion.
 
Slime101 said:
Why do you say they arent right for me, both are practical and fun in their own way, and i want them both!
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But what you want and whats logical to run are two very different things, i'm going to say if you need to ask about the costs then the RS4 simply isn't for you, i too want lots of cars, i can afford to buy a few of them but i know doing 70 miles a day cost wise it simply isn't for me.

Furthermore, your car selection is very odd, one is an out and out missile of a car, the other is a good 4x4, which leads me to think you don't actually know what you want. We see this time and time again, i want a 1.2 corsa or an Audi S3, erm ok then.

Slime101 said:
What makes you think they arent similar to run cost wise??
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The RS4 takes 255/35 R19 tyres go look up the price for 4 of those, then go look at the MPG vs a TDI Disco 3 then go and look at the service costs.

FYI an RS4 tyre is around £190 a corner, a disco tyre is £140.
 
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[TW]Fox;15452772 said:
Both cars have very expensive tyres but the RS4 will shred through them. Fuel economy in the RS4 is worse than useless as well.
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While I concur on the fuel consumption I find the tyre wear on the RS is actually very good compared to my Porsche and M's.
 
Lopéz said:
Same for me Jez, I pay for my own fuel but I do very few miles these days, my insurance, tax, and repair costs are minimal, I don't even pay for garage repairs or servicing.

Motoring in the UK is very reasonable in my opinion.
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I would say if this was a forum based in anywhere else but the USA - ie Ireland, Europe, Australia, etc etc, the sort of cars we own at the ages we own them would be very different. Car ownership in this country is very cheap, the fixed costs are reasonably low.

I am in the lucky position of having a 4 mile home>office drive and a once or twice a month drive to the Midlands and back and other than that, thats it. This means my variable costs are quite low and I can justify running cars with high variable running costs.

Whereas if we lived anywhere else, the fixed costs (ie car purchase, insurance, taxation) would be prohibitively expensive.
 
Lopéz said:
Same for me Jez, I pay for my own fuel but I do very few miles these days, my insurance, tax, and repair costs are minimal, I don't even pay for garage repairs or servicing.

Motoring in the UK is very reasonable in my opinion.
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Added to that our toll free (excellent) road system. We really do not have ANYTHING to complain about here.:)

OP: Try and get an insurance quote, a used purchase price, and a roadtax quote for something like an S600, CL600, RR Sport, or well, anything in Ireland, or indeed anywhere in europe pretty much.

Fox said in IRC, pretty much the only other country in the world in which we would all be driving around in huge BMW's and Merc's etc under the same circumstances is the USA. He's right.
 
I have a (very old) V8 Defender and a Toyota Supra. It used to cost me 50 quid just to tow the boat to go water skiing, but last summer I moved to within 300 yards of the beach and started working from home. Now I hardly ever need to buy petrol for either of them. Just a shame the boat still uses so much, but at least it doesn't need road tax or an MOT
 
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