The concept of the "work hack"
- Thread starter lordrobs
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Drive the Octavia until it doesnt drive anymore.
Just because you are 'only' going to work doesnt mean you want to do it in a pile of crap. Infact when I was doing 90 miles a day back and forth to the office the only thing that kept it bearable was the fact I was able to do it in a nice car.
Just because you are 'only' going to work doesnt mean you want to do it in a pile of crap. Infact when I was doing 90 miles a day back and forth to the office the only thing that kept it bearable was the fact I was able to do it in a nice car.
Thanks for all of your input 
Unfortunately I'm the sort of person who needs to consider everything from the sublime to the ridiculous before making a decision and while I was expecting to be able to quickly tick off the peanuts to run city car in some ways I feel the need to investigate it a bit further hence this thread.
I think Malc has it spot on. Without going in to specifics I was in the situation where by I was quite comfortable financially and our modest lifestyle means that we can do what we want without having to think about the cost while still putting a few quid away in the bank. That has been changed for me with the addition of an extra 12000 miles of commuting. Just taking fuel and ignoring other costs that scale up with mileage for now that is an extra £2150 in fuel alone... we are going to notice that, on the savings statements if not our quality of lifestyle. Finding another job more locally isn't really an option for many reasons that I won't go in to right now.
Don't get me wrong, a C1/107/Aygo would feel like a downgrade that much is certain but I would see a significant saving. I know we laugh about people making car decisions based on things like road tax etc. but £200 saved on road tax, another £200 saved on insurance and the fuel saving (£1k to £1.2k by my guestimates). IF I can save myself £1.5k in all over my current car then that goes a long way to softening the blow that has been imposed on my finances.
Fox, you make a good point about me running the current car until it dies but it will continue to have higher running costs during that time and it probably won't go bang in a major way. It is far more likely to nab a few hundred here and there, never enough to warrant scrapping it but adding up all the while.
Anyway, I'm simply mulling over options at the moment so thanks again for the input so far
Unfortunately I'm the sort of person who needs to consider everything from the sublime to the ridiculous before making a decision and while I was expecting to be able to quickly tick off the peanuts to run city car in some ways I feel the need to investigate it a bit further hence this thread.
I think Malc has it spot on. Without going in to specifics I was in the situation where by I was quite comfortable financially and our modest lifestyle means that we can do what we want without having to think about the cost while still putting a few quid away in the bank. That has been changed for me with the addition of an extra 12000 miles of commuting. Just taking fuel and ignoring other costs that scale up with mileage for now that is an extra £2150 in fuel alone... we are going to notice that, on the savings statements if not our quality of lifestyle. Finding another job more locally isn't really an option for many reasons that I won't go in to right now.
Don't get me wrong, a C1/107/Aygo would feel like a downgrade that much is certain but I would see a significant saving. I know we laugh about people making car decisions based on things like road tax etc. but £200 saved on road tax, another £200 saved on insurance and the fuel saving (£1k to £1.2k by my guestimates). IF I can save myself £1.5k in all over my current car then that goes a long way to softening the blow that has been imposed on my finances.
Fox, you make a good point about me running the current car until it dies but it will continue to have higher running costs during that time and it probably won't go bang in a major way. It is far more likely to nab a few hundred here and there, never enough to warrant scrapping it but adding up all the while.
Anyway, I'm simply mulling over options at the moment so thanks again for the input so far
Caporegime
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I'm confused, an Octavia is a good car to do 60 miles a day in, it's not like your normal car is an Elise or something.
I do 50 miles a day in my 1.8T without issue.
I do 50 miles a day in my 1.8T without issue.
In short, to save money.
As I say, it isn't really a case of want as I would see it as a downgrade but what I am considering is whether it could be an acceptable move for me in the longer (or at least medium) term.
Firestar, there is nothing wrong with the car for doing the mileage. Really this comes down to me trying to mitigate a financial impact that has been imposed on me (my increased commute) by the means of a cheap to run car.
A depreciation disaster of a diesel rep mobile is another option that I am considering and seems to be more along the lines of what I would initially have thought of going for. My problem with this is how much I will save over my current car and whether it will be worth the swap or not.
That would see me saving a bit on fuel but keeping the rest of my costs about the same.
A depreciation disaster of a diesel rep mobile is another option that I am considering and seems to be more along the lines of what I would initially have thought of going for. My problem with this is how much I will save over my current car and whether it will be worth the swap or not.
That would see me saving a bit on fuel but keeping the rest of my costs about the same.
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Caporegime
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Based on 15,000 miles per year i'd save something like 1k switching to a diesel of the same size, problem in you've spent money buying the car, which is an unknown, it's going to cost more to run and maintain.
Net effect is you end up saving about £250 a year or something, from the quick look i had it's simply not worth it.
The figures look even worse if you run a second car.
Net effect is you end up saving about £250 a year or something, from the quick look i had it's simply not worth it.
The figures look even worse if you run a second car.
I'm not sure I get where you are coming from but it has been a long day
I agree that (from what I've read on the internetz at least) that a diesel over say 5 years is likely to throw more "HOW MUCH?!" level bills than a petrol.
TBH this is all the kind of thinking that has got me looking at dead simple 3 cylinder petrols that do 60mpg. I'd be rather cheesed off to swap to an equivalent diesel only to save £250 a year because an injector went up the fritz or the turbo went bang but that is the risk you take.
Bar a major catastrophe like the engine or gearbox going pop I can't see how I won't be four figures better off at least with a simple petrol city car.
I agree on the second car idea, no matter what I do I can't get those figures to stack up
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I agree on the second car idea, no matter what I do I can't get those figures to stack up
Then you're looking at the wrong second hand cars. You've said you don't care about performance but you need to decide about the total cost exercise. If you want the cheapest possible motoring, then a Citroen C1 isn't the solution. Some crap old small diesel like an AX diesel or 106 1.5D or even the 1l Daihatsu Charade diesel would be the way to go. Of course you aren't going to look at them, but the C1 is effectively the exact same idea, but you're paying over 4k to sit in a tin can.
If I was you, I'd start looking at pre-commonrail diesels as they'll be relatively comfortable and still have cruise etc. Octavia TDI could be an option? I'll throw a W124 300D into the mix too as the engines are fantastic and the cars are incredibly well built.
Soldato
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I do 100 miles a day and if I had to do it in a C1, I think I would go insane.
My Mum has a C3, and that's bad enough.
Edit: I wanted a cheap to run diesel with lots of toys, and picked up my 75 for peanuts. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I do mega miles (run 2 businesses) and it eats them up - 180k down now.
My Mum has a C3, and that's bad enough.
Edit: I wanted a cheap to run diesel with lots of toys, and picked up my 75 for peanuts. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I do mega miles (run 2 businesses) and it eats them up - 180k down now.
OP, I couldn't make out from your post whether or not selling the Octavia was part of the plans?
If it is, then I reckon the C1 is a decent proposition. A friend used to work for Toyota, and the Aygo was surprisingly good. It was pretty comfy, kept up with traffic well, felt spacious in the front, and it DID do 60mpg in the real world.
You'll use only two thirds of the petrol in the C1 - roughly £1400 for the year, compared to over £2000 for the year in the Octavia (assuming 40mpg). Tyres are very cheap, and road tax is cheap - £30.
Assuming you offset £1500 of the £4000 purchase price of the C1 with the sale of the Octavia, it will only take 2 or 2 1/2 years to pay for itself. If you decide to use some savings or other money that "won't be missed" for the purchase, then you'll have extra money in your pockets every month, right from the word go.
If it is, then I reckon the C1 is a decent proposition. A friend used to work for Toyota, and the Aygo was surprisingly good. It was pretty comfy, kept up with traffic well, felt spacious in the front, and it DID do 60mpg in the real world.
You'll use only two thirds of the petrol in the C1 - roughly £1400 for the year, compared to over £2000 for the year in the Octavia (assuming 40mpg). Tyres are very cheap, and road tax is cheap - £30.
Assuming you offset £1500 of the £4000 purchase price of the C1 with the sale of the Octavia, it will only take 2 or 2 1/2 years to pay for itself. If you decide to use some savings or other money that "won't be missed" for the purchase, then you'll have extra money in your pockets every month, right from the word go.
Soldato
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Only 2 years for it to pay for itself? Hmm.
Caporegime
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You would have to be well into S&M to want to do over 12k a year in an Aygo at motorway speeds.
If you're saving:
- £700-£800 a year on fuel,
- £200 a year on road tax,
- £100 on a set of tyres,
- Smaller, but cumulative savings on smaller consumables such as brake pads etc...
It won't take long to reclaim the £2500 difference between the sale price of the Octavia vs. the purchase price of the C1.
Soldato
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I think misunderstood what I meant. Not denying that it will pay for itself. I just don't think driving a C1 for 2 years to break even is worth it.
Ahh, indeed - I had misunderstood!
C1s are OK...! In fact, the Aygo I drove was fun in a "momentum preservation" sense - I'd be quite happy to spend 2 years in one
But then, I do 35,000 miles a year in a clapped out old 1.4 Civic with a broken heater... :/
Soldato
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Ahh, indeed - I had misunderstood!
C1s are OK...! In fact, the Aygo I drove was fun in a "momentum preservation" sense - I'd be quite happy to spend 2 years in one
But then, I do 35,000 miles a year in a clapped out old 1.4 Civic with a broken heater... :/
The reason these cars exist is for them to be cheap run arounds. If the OP can deal with a C1 day to day then fair enough and probably is a good decision for him to make.
But for me personally I'd keep the older, comfier car and run that for my daily needs.
Thanks again, as I say I'm at the random thoughts stage at the moment. Other random thoughts include a modern petrol supermini with decent economy and the toys I have become accustomed to (cruise, climate etc.), a mid/large size depreciation disaster of a diesel (Mondeo, Vectra, C5 etc.) and finally, as Fox suggested, running my current car until something big enough breaks that I can happily send it on its way to being cubed at the scrappy.
Timbob, your figures are slightly off as my car only averages 35mpg and requires SUL (only a marginal difference of 4ppl) but your logic is sound and what I have been running through at the moment. Just to put a little bit of context to the car itself, I normally get a C2 from the garage and that is a horrid thing, would never consider one of those but the C1/Aygo/107 do basic transport and they do it well... the question is do I want basic transport
It is one of those things where I'm sure I could put up with a C1 (etc.) until my circumstances change... in the same way that I could live off Tesco value baked beans on Tesco value bread. The question is am I sacrificing too much for the sake of saving a few quid. If I was to keep my current car I won't be stretched financially but some of the slack will be taken up.
At the moment our current compromise is one of convenience in that I run the Punto half the time for my commute and my car for the other half. This seems alright but even in this scenario after ending up doing three days on the trot in the Punto (double wammy of work miles on top yesterday so I covered just shy of 100 miles) the Octavia felt like a bit of a treat today. I think this alone should be setting my alarm bells ringing on a billy basic car as the Punto is pretty well kitted out.
All food for thought and there are many questions I need to ask myself but I guess that is why I raised this thread now while there is no actual need to be looking for something else.
Forgot to say that the 60 odd mile commute will only have about 8 miles of NSL dual carriage way. The rest will be A/B roads with limits varying from 30 to 60 along them.
Timbob, your figures are slightly off as my car only averages 35mpg and requires SUL (only a marginal difference of 4ppl) but your logic is sound and what I have been running through at the moment. Just to put a little bit of context to the car itself, I normally get a C2 from the garage and that is a horrid thing, would never consider one of those but the C1/Aygo/107 do basic transport and they do it well... the question is do I want basic transport
It is one of those things where I'm sure I could put up with a C1 (etc.) until my circumstances change... in the same way that I could live off Tesco value baked beans on Tesco value bread. The question is am I sacrificing too much for the sake of saving a few quid. If I was to keep my current car I won't be stretched financially but some of the slack will be taken up.
At the moment our current compromise is one of convenience in that I run the Punto half the time for my commute and my car for the other half. This seems alright but even in this scenario after ending up doing three days on the trot in the Punto (double wammy of work miles on top yesterday so I covered just shy of 100 miles) the Octavia felt like a bit of a treat today. I think this alone should be setting my alarm bells ringing on a billy basic car as the Punto is pretty well kitted out.
All food for thought and there are many questions I need to ask myself but I guess that is why I raised this thread now while there is no actual need to be looking for something else.
Forgot to say that the 60 odd mile commute will only have about 8 miles of NSL dual carriage way. The rest will be A/B roads with limits varying from 30 to 60 along them.
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