What cheap car is also cheap to run?

Printer

Hi all

I have about 1500 to spend and wondering what you would recommend. Im not that pushed about what make it is or how it looks, what really matters to me is the price of running it.

I would mainly be using the car to drive to work and just general use. I travel a fair bit with work in my car. So it doesnt need to be a big car for family or anything, hatchback is fine.

So can you recommend any cars under 1500 that are:
1. Cheap to insurance
2. Cheap to run (good MPG)
3. Cheap to tax

I know with only 1500 to spend I cant get anything after 2008 so I guess making tax and insurance cheap it will have to be a small diesel engine?

Its the MPG I am really interested in. Which small hatchbacks (2000-2004) have decent MPG?

YBTurbo

Ford Fiesta 1.25 Zetec....

40MPG
One of the cheapest hatches to insure (According to my insurer anyway)
€310 for a year to tax.
Piss easy mechanics, so cheap to maintain.
Shouldn't lose money.


Here is one, bargain and see what you can get it for. http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2663595

///End thread.

colm_mcm

You can't have it all, if such a car existed everyone would want one and they'd be out of your budget.


How many miles are we talking per year?

Amtmann

Hyundai Accent 1.3 - dead reliable, quite nippy, even if plain and boring.

166man

At this budget reliability is more important than a few extra MPG to be honest and so I'm going to suggest a 00' Nissan Micra with a 1.0l engine.

Cheap to buy, reliable,cheap tax and should be all right MPG out of it too.

colm_mcm

Micra mpg at speeds of over 50mph is horrendous. Also not very safe if doing a lot of driving

George Dalton

If I were you I would buy a Ford Focus 1.8TDDI. You should be able to get a reasonable one if you can stretch your budget a bit closer to the 2k mark.

dgt

Seicento 899 :pac:

60mpg onwards, can park into trolley bays or put it in your pocket, holds the weekly shop, seats 4 adults somewhat comfortably (yes I've did that :eek:) most usually have sunroofs and elec windows, €172 tax, cheap to buy, cheap to maintain (no special tools needed, some of these have a timing chain!) and I found driving one of these puts a silly grin on your face as you squeeze between 2 cars and that nasty Land Cruiser behind hasn't a hope quite an indestructible little yoke too and if you're strong enough, show off by lifting the back half clean off the ground

I wish I still had mine

I'd love to recommend a mk1 Bravo but sadly virtually every one you see for sale has been abused and will be a pile of rubbish but if you find a good one they'll go forever

Printer

Thanks for the quick replies guys... what if I pushed the budget up to 2000?

Printer

What about:

Seat Ibiza?
Toyota Carolla?
Toyota Yaris?
Hyundai Accent?
Opel Astra?

Which has best reliability and MPG?

bazz26

Fiat Panda 1.1, cheap to buy, cheap to run and fun to drive.

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201132203862296

dgt

Printer wrote: »

What about:

Seat Ibiza?
Toyota Carolla?
Toyota Yaris?
Hyundai Accent?
Opel Astra?

Which has best reliability and MPG?

I'd pick the Corolla, mightn't have the best mpg out of those cars but its the best pick on the list

barura

Seat Ibiza is the same as the VW polo except a different face. Get the 999cc engine, quite pokey and can go for up to 200k without anything serious like a rebuild. It can cruise at 120km/h no problem as well.

Gets 45+MPG doing 100km/h

Can seat 5 adults no problem.

Feels like a bigger car than it is.

Has a boot

Cheap to tax.

I'd recommend it highly! Like Dgt says though, a good example is hard to come by... But I know he has one of the best examples of the Polo, since I used to own it. :P

hunter164

I had a 2000 Seat Ibiza and loved it. She was reliable as hell and great on the petrol even at motorway speeds, which I was doing every day.

But I then got an 02 Ibiza and I hate it, not half as good on petrol and doesn't feel as steady at motorway speeds as the older did.

The_Honeybadger

Don't know if you are totally set on a hatch, but I had a Mitsubishi Lancer 1.3 Petrol and found it very reliable and ok on MPG, in fact it was never in the garage except for normal maintenance. There are usually a few of them knocking around on Donedeal for reasonable money like this one, not the most thrilling drive in the world but better than a fiesta or micra. Any car for that price will be a risk though.

dgt

Sadly there are Lancer 1.3s like this too

x in the city

Tremelo wrote: »

Hyundai Accent 1.3 - dead reliable, quite nippy, even if plain and boring.

a 1.25 zetec is like a aston martin vantage compared to the accent, probably one of the worst cars ever made.

adamski8

colm_mcm wrote: »

You can't have it all, if such a car existed everyone would want one and they'd be out of your budget.

not really if for example it only had two seats, little power, no air con etc etc not everyone is happy with cheap! ie its not a bad question to ask.

mowhawk

[QUOTE=

I'd love to recommend a mk1 Bravo but sadly virtually every one you see for sale has been abused and will be a pile of rubbish but if you find a good one they'll go forever [/QUOTE]

So only the ones that have not been abused will go on forever. :rolleyes:

You could say that about just about anything.

jill_valentine

adamski8 wrote: »

not really if for example it only had two seats, little power, no air con etc etc not everyone is happy with cheap! ie its not a bad question to ask.

Exactly.

For instance, car wise, I'd be happy with a seat stapled onto an engine with four approximately adjacent wheels; so long as it was mine and moved forward when I wanted it to.

There's always a trade off, sure, but if somebody's asking for a cheap car that's cheap to run, I'd suggest that they're looking to make it in terms of comfort or engine muscle.

Printer

Hey guys

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like a 999c Ibiza might be way to go then, around year 2000?

I currently own a Mazda Bongo converted campervan which is incredibly cheap to insure and tax but very heavy on diesel. I reckon I am only getting 22-25MPG so it kills me when I am driving it in and out of town on small trips.

I am trying to weigh up whether it is worth buying a second cheap car that is cheap to run that will be much more efficient. I think having a second car will also drop my insurance by about 200-300euro on the Bongo... so.... still not sure.

I was driving my mothers Micra as a daily car, its the 2009 1.4 diesel, horrible to look at but actually very nippy and fuel efficient.

She has had 2 accidents in last 3 years so now she had to switch to an insurance company that will only let her drive it so she could get insurance, that is now why I am on the look out.

I heard that if I have a vehicle that I own which I have fully comp insurance on, I can drive another car that is not mine but where the owner has fully comp. Is this right?

dgt

mowhawk wrote: »

So only the ones that have not been abused will go on forever. :rolleyes:

You could say that about just about anything.

Theyll all go forever just not as well as a well minded example

x in the city

x in the city wrote: »

a 1.25 zetec is like a aston martin vantage compared to the accent, probably one of the worst cars ever made.

Wouldn't agree, you've driven both I take it?

The old Accents are 86bhp and do 60 in 12.8 seconds, top speed of 108mph and are a tad larger than the fiesta, on 175 70 13 tyres as opposed to the standard 155 80 13 the handling is improved significantly.

The 1.25 Zetec Fiesta has a gem of an engine. Hits 60 a 2nd faster than the Accent but has 10 bhp less and when carrying passengers struggles. The Accent also has a higher top speed. The fiesta does handle better though but the Accent is a comfier car.

The main reason the 1.25 is so well regarded is because the 1.3 Fiesta was such a woeful piece of sh1t.

The Accent has mechanics akin to the 90s Toyota standards, hardly the worst car ever made.

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

The Accent has mechanics akin to the 90s Toyota standards, hardly the worst car ever made.

Have to agree.

The Accent is simple basic motoring. Image is poor but if you look after them they are a good car. The handling isn't great in my opinion but is perfectly fine for day to day driving.

I had one as a garage car for a few weeks after crashing my own car and I turned my nose up at it when offered it at a bargain price. I was very sorry I didn't take it affterwards

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2642581

Increase the budget a bit

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2625186

BostonB

Printer wrote: »

...
Its the MPG I am really interested in. Which small hatchbacks (2000-2004) have decent MPG?

What mileage are you doing?

bbsrs

Audi A4 1.9 tdi '96 to '00 , cheap to insure , spacious , economical , safe , cheap parts and not much ever goes wrong with them , tax is 600 ish per year , insurance 320 i bought my '96 3 years ago for 1500 and it been great, owes me nothing.

alfa beta

My old man has an 03 diesel punto. I think the engine is a 1.2 litre multijet.

Anytime I drive it I'm amazed at just how pokey it is - and 60 mpg is easily attainable.

I know fiat have a pretty poor rep for reliability etc - but he's had no probs with this and imo it would certainly be a contender for cheap to buy and cheap to run.

GTDolanator

corsa b diesel,either 1.7 or 1.5 cheap to buy cheap to insure and the engine is bulletproof and is cheap to fix when it does goes wrong

Idbatterim

fiesta, yaris, almera?

Printer

Printer wrote: »

Hey guys

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like a 999c Ibiza might be way to go then, around year 2000?

I currently own a Mazda Bongo converted campervan which is incredibly cheap to insure and tax but very heavy on diesel. I reckon I am only getting 22-25MPG so it kills me when I am driving it in and out of town on small trips.

I am trying to weigh up whether it is worth buying a second cheap car that is cheap to run that will be much more efficient. I think having a second car will also drop my insurance by about 200-300euro on the Bongo... so.... still not sure.

I was driving my mothers Micra as a daily car, its the 2009 1.4 diesel, horrible to look at but actually very nippy and fuel efficient.

She has had 2 accidents in last 3 years so now she had to switch to an insurance company that will only let her drive it so she could get insurance, that is now why I am on the look out.

I heard that if I have a vehicle that I own which I have fully comp insurance on, I can drive another car that is not mine but where the owner has fully comp. Is this right?

Thanks guys, any responses to the above?

In terms of you're suggestions for Audi 1.9 and other models 1.4 etc. Does this not defeat the purpose as tax an insurance will be much higher than buying a 1.0 litre?

Mileage:
I do about 15,000-20,000 miles per year.

I could go to about 2,000EUR as a budget but don't think I can go above that.

bazz26

I would not fancy doing 15k - 20k miles per year in a small car. You are seriously compromising comfort for economy. I'd rather do 20k miles a year a comfy 10/11 year old Peugeot 406 HDi and suck up the extra tax than be stuck in a gutless 1.0 Ibiza.

At the end of the day running a car costs money.

Doing those miles a cheap diesel will rate you more than enough to cover the tax.

barura

bazz26 wrote: »

I would not fancy doing 15k - 20k miles per year in a small car. You are seriously compromising comfort for economy. I'd rather do 20k miles a year a comfy 10/11 year old Peugeot 406 HDi and suck up the extra tax than be stuck in a gutless 1.0 Ibiza.

At the end of the day running a car costs money.

I'm sorry, I have to argue that. An ibiza with the 999cc engine will do 45mpg easily on the motorway, 172eur a year to tax and cheap to insure. It's a quite comfy car and would suit for long distances no problem, especially if money is a factor, which it is in this case.

johnos1984

barura wrote: »

It's a quite comfy car and would suit for long distances no problem, especially if money is a factor, which it is in this case.

You've never driven a HDI 406 over a long distance.

There is no comparison

barura

There is regards the price. But I would recommend an ibiza/polo as a stopgap solution while a decent 406 is sourced.

You'd get a decent 406 for €2000 without looking too hard in fairness.

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

You'd get a decent 406 for €2000 without looking too hard in fairness.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2668973

ok a little over the price but looks well

Tax and test too

Printer

Cheers guys.

It all comes down to money. I just won't be able to buy anything for more than 2000 as I will have to add another 1000 at least for tax and insurance.

Maybe my quoted mileage is a bit higher than I thought, I would say its probably more like the lower side of that, so 13-15k miles per year.

Any answers to my questions about the insurance?

barone

3 pages and nobody mentioned the toyota starlet :eek:

one of the best little cars ever made, cheap to run,buy,take care of, be it 1ltr,1.3, will go on and on ,legends of cars

Sonz

YBTurbo wrote: »

Ford Fiesta 1.25 Zetec....

40MPG
One of the cheapest hatches to insure (According to my insurer anyway)
€310 for a year to tax.
Piss easy mechanics, so cheap to maintain.
Shouldn't lose money.


Here is one, bargain and see what you can get it for. http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2663595

///End thread.

I second this! I got the Ford Fiesta 01 about 3 months as my first car, tis a great little car, so cheap to run, Insurance was extra cheap for the year.

Notch000

colm_mcm wrote: »

Micra mpg at speeds of over 50mph is horrendous. Also not very safe if doing a lot of driving

this is complete BS, i have a micra & recently clocked it at 40.5 mpg, athlone to dublin at 120KM/HR

Granted it is pretty lousy to drive over 60mph, you need to turn the radio up as you speed increases.......

But if you do want an incrediable cheap car to buy and run. thats a reliable no nonsence car, then a 1.0 K11, micra is about as good as it gets. As for saftey i cant comment, I have not been involved in any crashes so for, neither has any of the other 8 previous owners of my micra since 1996, im sure there all still alive & well

Blue Punto

cheap ,good mpg,reliable

Fabia 1.9SDI or Polo 1.9SDI


Fits all your requirments and you could pick one up for 1000-1500 with test

BostonB

Blue Punto wrote: »

cheap ,good mpg,reliable

Fabia 1.9SDI or Polo 1.9SDI


Fits all your requirments and you could pick one up for 1000-1500 with test

Tax and insurance may be a problem on the bigger engine pre 08.

BostonB

BostonB wrote: »

Tax and insurance may be a problem on the bigger engine pre 08.

I can't see insurance being an issue on a 1.9 nasp diesel of the OP has any sort of a clean driving history. The fuel savings would cover the €500 ish /annum motor tax I would imagine doing 13,000 miles/year.

BostonB

Printer wrote: »

...
Any answers to my questions about the insurance?

What ever has the smallest engine and least attractive car, and the least stolen.

That said if I was going decent mileage on a big roads, I'd be opting for the bigger car if i could. Though the cheapest would probably be a Japanese 1 litre, for total costs.

Personally I've not found K11 Micra's to be that great at fuel economy, not bad but not brilliant. They are about as aero dynamic as a barn door, which gets worse the faster you go. Around the city they are great though, and are very reliable.

Most cars are least efficient at high speeds like 120km/h its a drop of 20% less efficient than at 90Km/h.

BostonB

RoverJames wrote: »

I can't see insurance being an issue on a 1.9 nasp diesel of the OP has any sort of a clean driving history. The fuel savings would cover the €500 ish /annum motor tax I would imagine doing 13,000 miles/year.

It all adds up. Insurance, tax, servicing when you've a 2k budget.

Mycroft H

Having seen the situation from both sides of the coin

I drove a ep91 starlet 1.3 on motorways and while it was economical enough and had enough power at 100kph it was damned noisy and not the most comfortable for 3+ hours driving. That was its only fault to be fair. Great car otherwise.


Switched to driving a Hdi Xantia there several months ago. Completely different. Sheer comfort over the bumps and on the motorway (even better then the 406 after driving in both). Could not go back to driving the starlet. Economy wise, it will return 50+mpg all day at motorway speeds. Worth paying the extra tax

BostonB

BostonB wrote: »

It all adds up. Insurance, tax, servicing when you've a 2k budget.

True, the insurance won't be an issue so that's that one knocked on the head. A 1.9 diesel will be very reasonable to service and as I have said the fuel economy will cover the tax.

BostonB

RoverJames wrote: »

True, the insurance won't be an issue so that's that one knocked on the head. A 1.9 diesel will be very reasonable to service and as I have said the fuel economy will cover the tax.

Classic strawman argument nice. What the OP will pay in insurance? I might as well assume they'll pay 300 insurance and 172 tax on 1L.

Theres no doubt the diesel and a bigger car is better for long journeys, but only if you are doing the mileage to justify it, and assuming the diesel car you buy for 1500 will need the same or less maintenance than the petrol one you buy for the same money. I'm guessing that the diesel will have a lot more mileage, which then brings in the general condition of the rest of the car, shocks, discs, clutch, timing belts, etc if its high miler. Any saving might be lost if something expensive needs replacing.

BostonB

BostonB wrote: »

Classic strawman argument nice. What the OP will pay in insurance? I might as well assume they'll pay 300 insurance and 172 tax on 1L.

Theres no doubt the diesel and a bigger car is better for long journeys, but only if you are doing the mileage to justify it, and assuming the diesel car you buy for 1500 will need the same or less maintenance than the petrol one you buy for the same money. I'm guessing that the diesel will have a lot more mileage, which then brings in the general condition of the rest of the car, shocks, discs, clutch, timing belts, etc if its high miler. Any saving might be lost if something expensive needs replacing.

No need to get your knickers in a twist.

If you genuinely think a nasp 1.9 Vag will pose an insurance issue for anyone that's fair enough.

I'm not suggesting the OP goes out and buys a heap if sh1t diesel needing a timing belt, discs and a clutch.

Fair enough if you think a super mini is a better proposition but there is no need to be throwing around "classic strawman" comments, especially if you follow it up with "I'm guessing"

barura

Why is everyone at each others throats here? Not only in this thread, but others too, I've noticed. Why can't we all just get along?

From reading this thread, the best car for the OP to get is a Ford Seciento with a 1.9 Vag Diesel, non turbo, in petrol which will be cheap to insure but high in tax.

Okay, maybe I'm ripping the piss, but come on, if you're arguing something at least do it with some sense.

Most cars that have been mentioned in this thread a good example comes up every so often, roughly once a month for each one mentioned from my reckoning and they all have there pros and cons. The most sensible advice for the OP, I think, to get a car that is as clean as possible and leave money to the side for repairs, not go all in and hope that nothing goes wrong.