Most economical way to keep a car on the road

milmo

Myself and a few friends have been debating this issue.

What is the most cost effective way of owning a car?

(a) Buy new and change every year?
(b) Buy new and change every three years?
(c) Buy second hand car that's three years old?
(d) Buy a car with 100k on the clock and drive it into the ground approx 200K-250K accepting maintenance costs?
(e) Something else??

What do ye all think???

Thanks

Milmo

BostonB

I would depend on the car. But I would say having an old car and keeping it going would be the most economical. You avoid depreciation which is likely IMO to be more than the repair costs of an old car.

jimmycrackcorm

A new car and keep it for ten years

Esel

An old (10+ years old) car, of a reliable make (probably Japanese) which has had a small number pf previous owners (preferably only one), and has been responsibly driven and well maintained over its life. Can be bought for small money, and maintained for the same. Learn basic maintenance. Don't be a 'year snob'. Don't be afraid to go up a bit in engine size either - the extra yearly costs will not be that great, and the comfort/safety increase should compensate.

Balfa

Buying new definitely costs a lot more than buying second hand. Depreciation is huge in the first year.

Buying a 5 year old car from a garage isn't a bad idea, especially if it's still under warranty. If you want to buy privately, it's always going to be a bigger risk - you either get a lemon or a peach - but if you know your stuff and stick with reliable brands, you'll probably save a lot more in depreciation than you lose in maintenance by buying older cars.
If you're too chicken to play that game, consider looking for an "extended warranty" (read "insurance") from a garage-bought 5-year-old. That's what I did on my car. I bought a 60,000 mile '99 Mazda in early '05. It hasn't really needed the extended warranty I bought with it, but the peace of mind was good. It's over 90,000 now and still humming away.

My wife's '02 Accent was bought in early '04. In early '06, the automatic transmission needed replacing, which was taken care of by Hyundai's magnificent warranty. She got it from a dealership, but even if that had been a private sale, the warranty transfers and covers the drivetrain to 100,000 miles.


Although it's designed for the North American market, you might find http://www.edmunds.com/apps/cto/intro.do interesting. At least you can compare cars against older versions of themselves, even if you won't find any Peugeots or Seats in the list.

DublinWriter

Bangernomics is the cheapest way:
http://bangernomics.tripod.com/intro.htm

peasant

With a second hand car your calculation stands and falls with what you buy and at what price.

Some s/h cars (especially "premium" marques) are still ludicrously expensive after 3- 5 years ...but keep them another 3 years they will only command a marginal mark-up in comparison to any other 7- 8 year old "banger" ...if they happen to have a big engine, they'll be worth even less.

Imo the cheapest way to run a car is to buy a medium segment car (1.3 - 1.5 liter) at 3 - 4 years old with low mileage, full service history and at a good price. Keep the mileage low (if you can), keep the service record up and after another 2-3 years it will still be worth money.

Just make sure that you buy something that at 6-8 years old would still have a market. For that it would either have to be a good beginners car, or a "sensible" second car.