MONDEO 2.0TDCi ZETEC (6-SPEED, 130bhp) Opinions Please!

Nope. Bangernomics.

Once it gets down to a certain point anything that runs reliably and passes an MOT is worth a fixed (and fairly stable)amount.

It's been around the £300 mark IME for about 20 years, but the cars you could get for that much have improved dramatically...

" "

Not only is that a bloody stupid way of doing your calcuclations, it's also a completely false statement, as the depreciation is variable depending on the miles you do.

You've also failed to take into account servicing or any other consumables apart from tyres. Brakes, filters, oil, suspension bushes etc., all cost money and time. Even if you do the work yourself, you need to take into account your hourly rate when doing it to get a true representation.

Humbug!

Heh, you're beginning to sound like a statistician.

Depreciation is pretty harsh on a new or nearly new Mondeo, admitedly, and I think Conor's kidding himself if he's ignoring it completely.

However, once you've decided to own a car, servicing, tyres and brakes and the like are reasonably constant for most cars. MPG is probably the biggest factor in how much a car costs to run as depreciation can be made optional by choosing what you want to or are prepared to drive.

I know it's not the same for everyone, but I actually quite like doing some of my own servicing and repairs. Cars for me are a passtime rather than a tool. I don't try to repair my fridge myself for a laugh.

I don't want to try to fathom how much my car tinkering time is worth and the difference between that and paying someone else, just the same as I don't want to work out the 'true' cost of bungee jumping or waterskiing I realise that this will probably change when I get old.

I factored in £200 for servicing / parts in my original calculations but forgot to put that in (I pay £30 for my MOTs, so that leaves £170 for bits and bobs). Upping it to £500 / year at 10000 miles on a 55mpg diesel puts up to just under 20p. And it's important to consider with your "hourly rate" that it's not what you get paid - it's what you get paid after the Govt have taken their cut, so until you're on the far side of £80k, your time is probably cheaper than that of your local £30 / hour garage. OTOH if you're on £80k and working a hundred hour week, your free time is probably worth considerably more to you than what you're paid at work...

FWIW, parts can be incredibly cheap as long. Track rod ends are £3 a piece, a full set of front brakes shouldn't cost more than £70 for anything ordinary etc. I try and avoid buying things that have thousands of bushes or are known for having very difficult tasks if possible.

Maybe Steve and our other resident statto should get together and produce ginger sports bike riding (but mpg calculating) babies.

IMO it's between 500 and 1000 quid a year on something that's not a banger.

Everyone knows that fridges never break. We binned our last one because it was 30 years old...

Hmmmm, I kind of see what you're saying about enjoying working on cars - but it's only enjoyable when it's not your daily transport.

I enjoy working on the 75, but only because I know that, should I f*ck it up or get bored, or it starts raining, I'm not under any pressure to fix it for Monday morning.

When I've been forced to do jobs under time pressure, I'd hated every minute of it - usually because they always need doing in less than ideal weather conditions.

I suppose it all comes down to what you consider a passtime and what you consider a working tool.

If it's a working tool, I'll stump up the 25 quid per hour to ensure the job is done properly and on time.....

Where in HELL are you finding mechanics that:

Charge £25 per hour Do the job properly Do the job on time?

The thing that has made running cars hell for me is that I can't find mechanics that honestly and truthfully do the latter two, let alone charge so little (in relative terms; used to be £15 an hour in the 90s, now they're up to £30+VAT).

I do the work myself not because I'm great at it, or because I've some overriding passion for being under a s**te old car, but because nearly every time my car goes to a garage it comes back worse.

The only exceptions to this have been the main dealer for Toyota (who charge more than £25/hour) locally, and the Mazda dealer because nothing suitably daft has gone wrong on the RX8.

One thing I do to mitigate this is take the money I'd spent on labour and buy genuine parts - example would be the Delica exhaust, for which pattern parts are £100ish (plus shipping, plus brackets and hangers) - the genuine article is £160, but has welded-on hangers and is perfectly aligned, to the extent that natural impatience led a 10:30pm "check of the WD40 on the old system's bolts" becoming a midnight "Oh look, I fitted the new one!".

And unlike every sports or pattern exhaust I've tried to fit, I only swore once (Had to lift the Delica's back end a few inches to clear the axle, and the jack had failed so I had to do it by lying on my back and pushing the spare wheel up) and needed no gunk or paste - it doesn't blow and looks perfect.

If I do the work, I know I've done it correctly because I research and double check everything. It takes me four times as long. I really need to get into the timing belt frame of mind, as that would save me much heartache (and I'd always do the tensioners, water pumps and so forth).

RichardK

Actually, it's £25+VAT. So, £27.50 / hour.

We had a place in the village where we lived near St. Albans, and have one in the next village here.

He's done all the work on all our cars since moving here - recommended by a neighbour. The only thing that has had him a bit confused so far is the TSpark system on the 75. Everything else has been done on time and properly.

Mind you, the big test will be doing the rear brakes on the 75, 'cos they're a pig to do. But if he's ever worked on older Jaguars, he won't have any problems with it.

Wow - VAT's only 10% in Wales, is it?

Heh. Good point.

He charges £27.50 / hour..... so f*ck knows how he works it out.

My last bloke did that, too.

Serious point - late shape Carlton. 2 litre, pre-cat - 1989 or earlier. Great auto boxes, manuals are pretty good too, but the long throw gets a bit annoying after a while. Good on fuel too. Obviously the big thing is rust. Find a rare solid well kept one and you're laughing. Obviously a lot older than you're after, but find a goodun and you won't be disappointed.

Only if you do starship mileage. The amount mentioned in the post wouldn't make any difference.

Actually, I've taken into account absolutely everything except depreciation including having the servicing done at main dealers.

sting =A31.039,

p, but you won't

I'm not. Every year it'll be worth less than I paid for it but that's a=20 fact for pretty much every car anyone will buy.

--=20 Conor

I'm not prejudiced. I hate everyone equally.

I'd never think about it, once you've bought it I count the money as gone - anything I get back would be a bonus. I don't buy a PC thinking "What will these parts be worth in a year...". When i come to upgrade, anything I get for the old bits on eBay is a bonus to go towards the new bits.

I'm not. Every year it'll be worth less than I paid for it but that's a fact for pretty much every car anyone will buy.

Yes; but the impression you gave was that you were burying your head in the sand.

The longer one keeps the car and the more miles you cover, the less of an impact that depreciation has. What's the value difference between a 10 year old Mondeo with 150K rather than with 50K? Then put into the context of having bought it at a year old with 3K on it.

Have you ever bought a PC worth the same as a Clio V6, not re-used any of the parts and thrown them all in the bin a year later?

I see where you're coming from, but did you really buy the Clio without planning to sell it? I had a plan when I bought the MX-5, and it certainly wasn't to write off what I spent on it.

Well I knew I'd sell it one day yea, but as I have no plan for how long that will be I can't count on it been worth anything heh. I do see what you're saying though - but as I'm unlikely to need a commuter hack any time soon I didn't plan for been able to see it in X months, get X back and buy a Passat :-)

Nothing.

Again, not much difference between a 1 year old car with 3K on and a=20 year old car with 10k on.

--=20 Conor

I'm not prejudiced. I hate everyone equally.

Well, depends on whether "40 miles per day to travel just for work" is the distance the OP lives from work, or the return trip. If the return trip, then that's only 50 quid/week. And it's all relative anyway - house prices/rent could be a lot higher closer to work, existing home could be a lot more convenient for other things - kids' school, other half's job, etc etc etc....