"Smart" cars.

I like the idea of these tiny "smart cars" because of their fuel economy. The purchase price is so high though that by the time you've amortized the cost of purchase any fuel economies made over a standard type of cheap runabout are hard to find, and their spares aren't cheap.

On the other hand a ten-year old Fiesta/Nova hatchback with it's reasonable fuel consumption, cheap insurance and cheap spares seems to me a lot smarter.

I can see the smart-cars being a worthwhile buy but only when they are a few years old.

Robs.

Reply to
Robs
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All depends what you want. Some people want the peace of mind that comes with a new car under warranty, and also with a new car you get the chance to properly look after it from day one. Having said that if you haven't a clue how to properly look after a car then that really won't make much difference. Also, going for a 10-year-old Fiesta/Nova you'll be buying something that rusts and is a heap of shit, though there are plenty of sub-£1k cars (and sub-£500 cars) that won't come under this description.

Also, consider the fact that Smart cars hold their value extremely well (as a result of cheap running costs), so they won't be too cheap a few years old. The real bargains at 3 years old are the bigger cars, which depreciate like a stone, but that's because they often have more expensive running costs. The ones that don't (in general, diesels) hold their value much better, especially the more premium brands - e.g. try buying a low mileage (i.e. less than 50k) 3 year old diesel Audi for anything remotely resembling "cheap" as far as 3-year-old car prices go. This is why so many people buy them new, and why so few genuine low mileage examples exist - because people buy them because they can and do last a long time, and run them to high mileages.

But yes, the banger argument is a very worthwhile one - save your money for more useful things in life than a plate that says "I just bought a new or newish car". But for heaven's sake buy something decent, and not a shitbox mk3 fiesta or nova.

Peter

-- "Diamonds are what I really need - think I'll rob a store, escape the law, and live in Italy. Lately, my luck has been so bad, you know the roulette wheel, it's a crooked deal, I'm losing all I had."

Reply to
AstraVanMan

Grrrr **cover's 10yr old fiesta's sensitive ears**

Just as an aside, what 10yr old cars would you recommend? I'm guessing VWs would be a good investment. Actually, I made that up, because one just drove past me.

Reply to
Rob1

Rob1 ( snipped-for-privacy@invalid.invalid) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Pay the price of a 5yo car, get a 10yo VW...

Reply to
Adrian

Ford Mondeo, Audi 80, Golf.

Reply to
Doki

Depends on your insurance costs :-) High mileage 10 year old A6/100s are dirt cheap to buy but the insurance would be crippling if you where 17.

Reply to
DuncanWood

It really is scary how many new cars are being produced, even though there are already far more than enough perfectly decent cars around. I try and put it into perspective by thinking things like 'well I could buy myself that 350z that I like so much, OR I could take a whole year off work'. So I'm off travelling Europe next year, I know what I'd rather be doing. people are getting so f***ed over by the advertising machine, they end up breaking themselves putting in long long hours for years on end to buy badges and status symbols. Why a ten year old car is considered dead just because it's blown a head gasket, needs a new clutch or whatever, I don't know.

Reply to
jeremy

I'm running around in a vauxhall carlton right now. Not sexy but if it breaks down you can go out and buy another one.

Reply to
adder

Exactly why I run a 15 year old VW polo, bought for £150 for the daily trek to work. Returns low 30's round town, has never broken down, and parts are dirt cheap. Also no-one wants to nick it, I don't care if it picks up another scratch from some Dorris in the supermarket carpark etc etc. I just can't see the point in running a newer car costing thousands as it will never work out cheaper to run in the long run, even if it was twice as efficient as the Polo....

Alan.

Reply to
Alan

Well Robs, you just missed out on our old one

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Itdidn't make the reserve price of £3000 so we let the highest bidder have itfor his bid of £2850. That was one superb little car for the money - we gotit with less than 2000 miles on the clock for £6000 and kept it for 4 yearsand had no trouble whatsoever with it. The only trouble was that sometimes, they could be 'too small'. My missus got so fed up of trucks and other cars pulling out on her, cutting her up and generally just not wanting to be behind something so small, that she decided to sell and has now got a Mitsubishi Carisma 1.8 GDI Equippe in it's place.

Mogweed.

Reply to
Mogweed

Mondeo is one that often comes up. An early Mk1 Mondeo can easily be picked up for around £500 or less, with not too many miles and a FSH. The 1.8 petrol is the pick of the bunch - reasonable economy (should average

30-35mpg in mixed driving), decent enough performance, nothing goes wrong with them. Plenty of other good cars, just get something that doesn't tend to rust - Mondeos are a frequently suggested £500 car, and there's a good reason for it.

Peter

-- "Diamonds are what I really need - think I'll rob a store, escape the law, and live in Italy. Lately, my luck has been so bad, you know the roulette wheel, it's a crooked deal, I'm losing all I had."

Reply to
AstraVanMan

The message from jeremy contains these words:

It's 'cos they're too cheap.

Reply to
Guy King

Exactly why the missus bought a Mondeo...

1.8 GLX mk1 (but on a 97 plate), paid a little too much for it but it was low mileage FSH and good paintwork.

It replaced a 14 year old Sierra that was literally rusting away and had the usual DOHC head problems. One point about people wanting newer cars, is that they are seen to be safer - whether they actually are or not in practice I wouldn't know, but the neighbour's daughter recently walked away from a head on in a 3 year old Citroen that would likely have been a fatal in an old Fiesta or Micra...

Lee

Reply to
Lee

Old Mondeos can die, 2 people at work just lost theirs just as they thought they were going to go on forever. One was the clutch. Huge job on Mondeos (subframe off, realignment) & megacost, so not worth fixing. The other was a cam belt breaking 30,000 miles after it had been changed, new engine required was the verdict so not worth fixing. Once a car is 10yrs old it gets difficult to justify spending serious money on it so the car gets scrapped if anything serious goes wrong.

Reply to
SteveB

Smart cars look horrible to my eyes.

Reply to
neutron

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