Running costs

Peerzy · 17 Nov 2009 at 10:59

BigglesPiP said:
Totally depends on age there.

Stuff like the 5/630i will be quite average on costs, then one day, on schedule, the entire coolant system will turn to dust.

The Civic will probably age more gracefully than a lot of the list, same with the C350 maybe?

A few of these could land you with a massive bill any time they feel like.

I'm not going to put them in any order.

The age of them would all be the same, 3 years~.

I was thinking the Civic Type R would be the cheapest to run, possibly along with the Mondeo 2.5T. Which then made me think would the Focus ST and S2000 be equally as cheap?

TomO said:
why are we not taking into account depreciation?
on probably most cars there it will the single biggest cost?

as said above - 8cyl, 6cyl, 4 cyl will give you a rough idea.

I agree the depreciation on some of these cars will be massive. However it was simply a discussion about running costs. How much money you would need to put aside to comftably run each of these cars. You'll only feel the pain of the depreciation when you come to sell it, not suddenly half way through your ownership like tyres, servicing etc...

I agree going by cyl count gives a rough guide but isn't it likely that an S3 or S2000 would cost more to run than the V8 Mustang?

Dolph · 17 Nov 2009 at 11:03

Peerzy said:
I agree the depreciation on some of these cars will be massive. However it was simply a discussion about running costs. How much money you would need to put aside to comftably run each of these cars. You'll only feel the pain of the depreciation when you come to sell it, not suddenly half way through your ownership like tyres, servicing etc...

I agree going by cyl count gives a rough guide but isn't it likely that an S3 or S2000 would cost more to run than the V8 Mustang?

Perhaps in the US, but not in the UK, the prodigious thirst of the V8 combined with relative scarcity of parts and so on will mean running the stang isn't cheap, and the insurance won't be either.

Sin_Chase · 17 Nov 2009 at 11:04

If something goes wrong, or is not maintained the S2000 could drop a £3k bill on your lap. That's not cheap.

Conversely if nothing goes wrong day to day, fuel and servicing is very reasonable. Too many variables to get a solid list out of that lot I think.

As for a S2000 versus a V8 Mustang, I think I would want more of a rainy day fund with the Stang than I would my S2000.

Peerzy · 17 Nov 2009 at 11:16

Dolph said:
Perhaps in the US, but not in the UK, the prodigious thirst of the V8 combined with relative scarcity of parts and so on will mean running the stang isn't cheap, and the insurance won't be either.

Completely the opposite to what others have said. Low tuned V8 means things hardly ever go wrong, hardly any electrics to worry about and parts are generally cheap to get.

Sin_Chase said:
If something goes wrong, or is not maintained the S2000 could drop a £3k bill on your lap. That's not cheap.

Conversely if nothing goes wrong day to day, fuel and servicing is very reasonable. Too many variables to get a solid list out of that lot I think.

As for a S2000 versus a V8 Mustang, I think I would want more of a rainy day fund with the Stang than I would my S2000.

Righty well here is my list and see if people can point out where they think I'm wrong.

Boxster S
Jag XF
RX-8
350Z
Monaro
VXR8
Z4
S3
630i
530i
330i
130i
Mustang
SLK
C350
S2000
Elise
6MPS
3MPS
Civic Type R
Astra VXR
Megane
Focus ST
Cupra
Mondeo

Dolph · 17 Nov 2009 at 11:25

Peerzy said:
Completely the opposite to what others have said. Low tuned V8 means things hardly ever go wrong, hardly any electrics to worry about and parts are generally cheap to get.

17mpg combined is where the real costs come in though, certainly compared with cars like the S3, with my own real world figure of 27mpg combined show significant savings there. (at a rough calculation on average miles over 3 years, you're looking at £4000 difference in fuel costs alone). Fuel consumption is one of the largest costs over a period of ownership unless you have to do major work, which is unlikely on any 3 year old car.

Parts and service are also harder to come by than most UK cars, which all the others are. They are easy compared to many imports.

Righty well here is my list and see if people can point out where they think I'm wrong.

Boxster S
Jag XF
RX-8
350Z
Monaro
VXR8
Z4
S3
630i
530i
330i
130i
Mustang
SLK
C350
S2000
Elise
6MPS
3MPS
Civic Type R
Astra VXR
Megane
Focus ST
Cupra
Mondeo

The mustang is too low, the focus ST is too low (fuel consumption is crap), the VXR8/Monaro should be above the RX-8/350z due to the fuel consumption again. The mondeo is also too low.

Booner! · 17 Nov 2009 at 12:09

350z is too high, cheaper to service than the bmw's

eidolon · 17 Nov 2009 at 13:38

Fox's gearknob thread gave me the idea of searching for a new knob (fnarr fnarr)

I found one I liked, it seems to have the appropriate amount of Porsche tax applied

http://www.carnewal-europe.com/cpx_p97019.htm

Amost £500 for a gearknob? Who buys these things?

[TW]Fox · 17 Nov 2009 at 14:20

Booner! said:
350z is too high, cheaper to service than the bmw's

Until you need discs and pads :eek:

Booner! · 17 Nov 2009 at 14:46

I paid ~£630 for grooved Ultimax discs and EBC red stuff pads on all corners including fitting. Don't think thats expensive really considering they are better than stock by a long way.

Peerzy · 17 Nov 2009 at 14:50

I've updated the list now, how does this seem;

Code:

Boxster S
Jag XF
Monaro
VXR8
350Z
RX-8
Z4
S3
630i
530i
330i
130i
Mustang
SLK
C350
S2000
Elise
Focus ST
6MPS
3MPS
Mondeo 
Astra VXR
Civic Type R
Megane
Cupra

With the 350Z, I've also heard about crazy disc, pad and servicing costs. Plus the a big V6, RWD, 2 seater is not gonna be cheap on insurance.

Moved the RX-8 down a bit but still very high. Focus ST now higher along with Mondeo. Swapped Type R and Astra about. Mondeo up a few, still not sure if it would cost more than an Astra, Civic, Megane or Leon though.

Booner! · 17 Nov 2009 at 14:53

Peerzy said:
I've updated the list now, how does this seem;

Code:

Boxster S Jag XF Monaro VXR8 350Z RX-8 Z4 S3 630i 530i 330i 130i Mustang SLK C350 S2000 Elise Focus ST 6MPS 3MPS Mondeo Astra VXR Civic Type R Megane Cupra

With the 350Z, I've also heard about crazy disc, pad and servicing costs. Plus the a big V6, RWD, 2 seater is not gonna be cheap on insurance.

Moved the RX-8 down a bit but still very high. Focus ST now higher along with Mondeo. Swapped Type R and Astra about. Mondeo up a few, still not sure if it would cost more than an Astra, Civic, Megane or Leon though.

Well I have owned mine for the best part of a year and I disagree with all of that info.

As I said, £630 for full disc and pads (uprated) including fitting. The biggest service (P3) was £320, all other services are around £150-250...

Insurance was £900 cheaper than an S2000, £1000 cheaper than an M3 and comes in at £1150 for renewal at 21years old and 3 years ncb. This is fantastic for a 300bhp RWD sports car at my age and it includes my modifications.

So don't believe the hearsay, however petrol is pretty shocking at 23mpg average

Although, my cousin has an RX8 and spent a fortune on running with terrible fuel and oil consumption. The only reason I will swap my car is for significant problems or because of a bonus/payrise so that I can get something better

Hope that helps!

Peerzy · 17 Nov 2009 at 14:59

Interesting.

How much was the insurance for you at 20 with 2 years ncb?

MikeHiow · 17 Nov 2009 at 15:02

Elise needs to be much lower, its probably one of the cheapest cars there

I also don't see why the Focus ST is so much higher than the Astra VXR.

Booner! · 17 Nov 2009 at 15:02

I only insured fully comp it from 21 years old. I did get a quote and it was about £1700 ish iirc

Peerzy · 17 Nov 2009 at 15:04

MikeHiow said:
Elise needs to be much lower, its probably one of the cheapest cars there

I also don't see why the Focus ST is so much higher than the Astra VXR.

I'm so suprised about the Elise. I knew it had a small engine and was quick due to being lightweight but I assumed insurance and repair costs would seriously cost a lot.

What engine does the Astra VXR have? Assumng they are roughly the same for tax, insurance and repairs I've heard the ST engine sucks mega hard for the MPGz. Although the Mondeo would be even worse being heavier and that's only just above the Astra.

Peerzy · 17 Nov 2009 at 15:05

Booner! said:
I only insured fully comp it from 21 years old. I did get a quote and it was about £1700 ish iirc

Still not *too* bad. Insurance for me is cheaper on a Boxster S (£1400) than it is on an S2000 (£1500) :eek:

Booner! · 17 Nov 2009 at 15:09

I like the S2000, but yeah insurance puts me off a bit as that's money that could be spent on more car or modifying (better geo setup etc).

I am just trying to figure out whether or not I could afford to maintain and run a BMW Z4M or E46 M3 cab, but need to see what next months review brings me as I have the ever looming jump to the housing ladder approaching

MikeHiow · 17 Nov 2009 at 15:14

Peerzy said:
I'm so suprised about the Elise. I knew it had a small engine and was quick due to being lightweight but I assumed insurance and repair costs would seriously cost a lot.

Insurance on an Elise was cheaper for me than my Corsa VXR. Repair costs are no higher than any other car, IMO.

Peerzy said:
What engine does the Astra VXR have? Assumng they are roughly the same for tax, insurance and repairs I've heard the ST engine sucks mega hard for the MPGz. Although the Mondeo would be even worse being heavier and that's only just above the Astra.

Z20LEH/R IIRC, 2.0 Turbo. I can't see them being much better than the ST, they generally average around 26MPG from what I've seen/heard. The SO's brother achieved similar figures from his ST.

Peerzy · 17 Nov 2009 at 15:19

MikeHiow said:
Insurance on an Elise was cheaper for me than my Corsa VXR. Repair costs are no higher than any other car, IMO.

So apart from a high initial purchase price (no research done here) the Elise is a very cheap car to run?

Just looking at PistonHeads they're not even *that* expensive £18k for an 07 plate and hold their value amazingly £11k for a 2001 model.

MikeHiow said:
Z20LEH/R IIRC, 2.0 Turbo. I can't see them being much better than the ST, they generally average around 26MPG from what I've seen/heard. The SO's brother achieved similar figures from his ST.

I'd probably say all of the 'hot hatches' are pretty close anyway. There can't be much in it between the Leon and Focus, but the difference between the Focus and an SLK or a 530i would be big.

[TW]Fox · 17 Nov 2009 at 16:08

MikeHiow said:
Insurance on an Elise was cheaper for me than my Corsa VXR. Repair costs are no higher than any other car, IMO.

Repair costs are astronomical - the bodywork is a single peice clamshell which if properly damaged requires complete replacement at huge cost, writing the car off more often than not.