Reply With QuoteI ran a 1.0 citigo for 3 yrs and ~18k miles. I struggled to get it below an indicated 45mpg, it was usually 50mpg+
On long runs it would be high 60s.
Looking for a cheap run about
Looking at selling our trusty astra estate and getting a more economical car. Had a quick search and was wondering what these little £0/£30 tax cars are like as in fuel economy and robustness, such as the C1s, UPs etc. I know there little engines but does having to thrash them about really give good MPG? Any suggestions or experience would be great.
Not too bothered about space as we have a transporter for lugging things around
Needs more than 2 seats
Driving wise is short distances of about 7 miles a few times a day.
I ran a 1.0 citigo for 3 yrs and ~18k miles. I struggled to get it below an indicated 45mpg, it was usually 50mpg+
On long runs it would be high 60s.
Yaris hybrid?
One of the kids has an old model Aygo. It’s a great little car and always does around 60mpg. Two doors are a bit of a pain so a four door is probably more practical.
The other daughter had a fiesta 1l ecoboost and that was superb; a little bigger but felt like a proper car and was just as economical.
Nice sounding figures. Were getting around 30/35 with the astra so would be a good saving.Originally Posted by -Ally-
Thanks. Fiestas are great cars. Had one years ago and never let me down.
I should mention money is tight lately so our budget is low. Probably going to be looking around 2010 models.
We’ve had several different generation c1’s and a 108. The C1, Aygo and 108 are basically the same car and I can’t fault them. I always leased mine for c. £100 a month and enjoyed the no hassle motoring.
Not more than a few hundred TBH if you're doing so few miles. Personally I'd stick with the Astra whilst it's running ok.
I really like the UP FSTI little more horse power.
Last edited by Dandandanman; 26th February 2018 at 00:54.
Agree with this
It'll likely cost more changing even after tax, insurance and maintenance taken into account
I would say the same. Its a false economy.
This is why I've kept the astra so long but it's now on 140000, got a few niggles which are all easy fixes but that money could go to a newer less mileage cheaper to run car. Then again the astra is a good car and I'd still need to fix the problems to sell it unless I part ex.
We bought a VW Up as a second car/runabout last year. As we wanted air con and Bluetooth we opted for the Move Up model. It’s a great little car and we end up fighting as to who is going to drive, it’s so much fun!
Only the 60bhp model so it’s notat all fast but is just what we need. Half the price of our Golf but much more than half the car.
We were very lucky to be shopping for it whilst local dealer was offering 2k of list price so we snapped it up.
Fast enough round town and for local trips, we get c.50mpg.
What is your budget? I presume your Astra is bought and paid for, what is the value of it come sale time compared to your budget for a new car?
Personally I’d worry about taking on someone else’s 8 year old hack, with the Astra you know it’s history and what needs doing, if money’s tight why risk someone else’s car with unknown history and possible faults?
I was in a similar situation, needing something cheap after having been bankrupt by a fault CLS. I opted for a Citroen C4 Cactus. It's cheap, bulletproof and surprisingly well spec'd.
£20 tax, genuine 45mpg on mixed driving, sat nav, diamond cut alloys, reversing camera, tyre pressure sensors, bluetooth telephony and music - not much more to want for. Amazingly comfortable too.
It's much more spacious than the C1 ilk and just as economical. They depreciate poorly, but that's part of the charm, keeping long term. I purchased a 1 year old one, with sub 10k on the clock for just shy of £10k.
But the OP said money is tight. 10K is a large chunk of cash at any time let alone when money is tight.
Changing car is almost always the more expensive option unless you're going from something like a mid level saloon down to a city hatchback or something of a commensurate downgrade. It's very important to consider the total ownership cost too, your Astra is probably at the bottom of its depreciation curve, something newer won't be and you will be paying for that in the long run.
My 2 pence on town hatches though - generally a decent chunk better MPG than bigger cars, especially for short distances. These cars do not do amazingly on long M-way runs as they're not geared for it, short town trips are ideal because the small engines get up to temperature more easily and therefore suffer less wear and will be able to give closer to optimum fuel economy for more of the time. In my personal experience I have found anything with a sub 1.2 litre (sub 75bhp~) unenjoyable to drive above 60mph when acceleration quickly falls away due to drag.
I'm thinking around 2 to 4k but obviously would like to be near the 2. The astra is probably worth about £800. It's got all new suspension with good tyres and I've always done regular oil changes.
Taking all comments into account I reckon an early Aygo 1.0 5 door would be the way to go. A mate is now on his third, he always buys on PCP and chops it in after three years for the same again! I wish I could be like that with cars, but for him its just cheap, reliable transport so he cannot think of anything better than an Aygo; sounds a lot like your criteria too.
I can't fathom a good reason to repeatedly chop in such a base level car for the same model again on again and stay on the finance treadmill forever. Each to their own though, his cash.
Depends on how much he is paying a suppose although im someone that would much rather own the car. What ever i get i will be looking to keep for atleast 5 years which i normally do. With that in mind i would save around £1,250 just in tax. Cant seem to work out how much i can save in petrol for a year?
At the moment i put £30 a week in which gets me around 200 miles. A litre is £1.20 divide that into 30 and thats 25. divide that by 4.5 (A gallon) and thats 5.5. Divide that into 200 and thats 36 MPG.
How do you work out how much i would save doing the same miles if the new car say does 50 MPG?
At the moment you are doing 200 miles a week, so 10000 a year.
At 36mpg, that's 278 gallons per year.
At 50 mpg, that's 200 gallons per year.
Saving 78 gallons.
78 gallons is 78 x 4.5 litres = 351 litres, so at your stated price of £1-20 per litre, annual saving of approx £420.
Foggy
NiceSo £3350 saving in 5 years on fuel and tax. Not bad and would of thought tyres, parts, services etc should be cheaper also than my Astra.
I have no interest in owning a car, I would rather 'rent' some reliable transport, I like to know the car is always under warranty and wont need an MOT
I'm on my second C1, the first one was bought new and traded-in at just short of 100,000 miles against the second one which had 16,000 on the clock. I've just topped 90,000 now on this one and no problems at all with either of them.
I go backward and forward on the M3 and A303 every day, about seventy-five miles a day, and mostly fill-up once a week.
The second one is a three-door but the first was a five and I'd definitely recommend getting a five-door if possible, they're much easier for passengers.
What he said
Get a C1
They were £60 a month on lease last year !!!
I'm just in the process of selling my wife's 2012 Mini clubman. Fantastic car, does 55MPG easily and is in mint condition with only 43k. £6750.
Nice though out of my price range.
And as petrol gets more expensive, the savings increase!
Edit : and if you go electric the fuel savings will be much greater!
Last edited by Dave+63; 27th February 2018 at 22:00.
True but the initial outlay is ££££££
We run a 2004 1.2 Panda. It's lovely to drive (not dissimilar to a 1275 Sprite (I'm another owner) light and it's all about momentum) and even driven with brio it returns 45mpg. Ours is £130 tax one but I think if you get one a bit newer you'll get a £30 tax one. It's got no rust and everything still works. Go for the Eleganza model and you'll get aircon, a decent stereo and electric mirrors. Oh and you'll struggle to spend much more than £1500.
You’re spending over £1500 a year in petrol. Five years and that’s £7500 towards the cost of the car.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...01801313265101
Sorted!
I just had a Fiat Panda hire car in Geneva to drive into the French Alps for a short Ski trip. I was mightily impressed by this little car and even more impressed when returning it full again it cost me just €10 in fuel for some long journeys. A cracking little car and what I wouldn’t give to have a Panda 4x4 now snow has hit the U.K.
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As some others have said, the cheapest good option is probably to continue with the astra.
Sales ad’s in here often don’t end well......
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I would really like to try an EC but just not sure at the moment, especially second hand market. The one you quoted costs about £3 to fully charge with real usage being around 60 miles. So about ten quid to fuel a week with a battery lease charge of £77 a month so around £20 a week. Total £30 a week. Thats what im paying for the astra.
I do like the look of the new shape pandas. I need to get to some garages for a close look.
The way i see it is in 5 years time i will save £4000 in tax/fuel and at the end of it still have a decent car i hope. If i carry on with the Astra, in 5 years time ill be left with a car with lots of miles and probably a few things to fix along the way.
Unless you pay a decent amount, are a knowledgeable mechanic or buy from family or trusted friend, any new car is always an unknown quantity and may turn out no better than the Astra.
Just to update thread i ended up getting this as a run around. A Seat Mii from the VW group. Must say there great fun to drive and averaging 56mpg with mostly short town journeys which im well happy with. Got it for £3.5k with 22k on the clock.
Anyone else have one of these? Are the navigation/entertainment units worth getting for it?
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