260 km commute

frozenfrozen

hello never thought I'd have a need for it but anyway

Bunratty to connemara monday to friday + the odd weekend

Currently spending 32 euro a day on petrol and back of a napkin maths makes that 640 euro per month on petrol if 5 days a week for a month... but I've only been doing it for 2 weeks and never actually plan to spend 640 per month on petrol, I'd rather pitch a tent outside work. I'm not that teacher with the mini...

Have never owned a diesel but I am fairly certain this is well into diesel mileage..

I'm not vat registered so can't reclaim the vat on diesel but there will still be the better mpg and cheaper price per litre

Not sure how long term I'll be doing this big mileage but have absolutely no plans to move closer to work as it's in the middle of nowhere


any ideas what I should be looking at to keep total cost of ownership low?

will be buying as soon as I find something that makes sense moneywise.

Not sure what the budget would be for the car all I care about is total cost of ownership, could be 500 euro or XX,000 whichever would be cheaper after all things considered.. no idea where to start looking


there's 3 phase power there so if someone could sneakily install an electric car charger...:cool:

thanks.. and this time I think I'll actually end up buying a car based on the advice

Mooooo

Second hand tesla? Think they are down to 40 to 50k. Thread in the ev forum. Savings on diesel would go a way to paying for it

CIP4

Above everything you need reliability as doing that kind of commute everyday is difficult enough without sitting on the side of the road broke down that will get old real quick.

At the same time buying a brand new car would be a huge hit in depreciation your commute is 60-70k km a year after 3 years you will have made it a high mileage essentially worthless car. If it was me I’d probably strike a balance and get something 2-3 years old fresh with low mileage and drive it until it is unreliable probably 3-4 years.

On top of this you want comfort a few toys decent power and good fuel economy.

bazz26

It might be cheaper to get local accommodation during the week, maybe AirBnB? Is that an option?

bazz26

Alternatively maybe a Mk1 Octavia like this:



https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/08-skoda-octavia-1-9-tdi-cheap-tax/17665437

Very reliable old school 1.9 TDi (non BXE version) that will return good fuel economy. Cheap tax and should have plenty of life left in it once it's serviced regularly. Depreciation is already been hit by the previous owners so putting more big mileage on it won't kill you on resale values.

biko

A Leaf has a range of aprox 170km on a single charge so is an option.
Ioniq even more range.

frozenfrozen

Mooooo wrote: »

Second hand tesla? Think they are down to 40 to 50k. Thread in the ev forum. Savings on diesel would go a way to paying for it

messing about the EV, I mean it would be absolutely great if I could get a charger up there but I'm in no position to ask for them to install one just for me! Also even at 50k, there's no fookin way that would save me money!

CIP4 wrote: »

Above everything you need reliability as doing that kind of commute everyday is difficult enough without sitting on the side of the road broke down that will get old real quick.

At the same time buying a brand new car would be a huge hit in depreciation your commute is 60-70k km a year after 3 years you will have made it a high mileage essentially worthless car. If it was me I’d probably strike a balance and get something 2-3 years old fresh with low mileage and drive it until it is unreliable probably 3-4 years.

On top of this you want comfort a few toys decent power and good fuel economy.

would be nice to have something relatively new like that for those reasons exactly but even going down a few years it would still be a fair amount of money per month on the car

if I take a newish car doing 55mpg on diesel that gives around a cost of around 330 per month, so really I haven't got much left to pay for a car without ending up in the same position as just keeping driving the current car(which is unsustainable anyway I know). Unless I got something with low depreciation that was still diesel so after a year or two the monthly cost would come flying down.

Even with 600 euro being a lot per month there is also the other 180ish euro per month insurance I pay.. which I suppose would come down slightly with a newer car.

Can't see myself doing this level of driving for very long but at the same time it'll probably be at least a year anyway so either I'll be running a car into the ground or I could keep it for 4 years and 3 of those years could be back at my hilariously low yearly amount.. so it could average out to be a normal number

bazz26 wrote: »

It might be cheaper to get local accommodation during the week, maybe AirBnB? Is that an option?

everyone in person I've asked for advice has said this and people at work too but essentially i'd have no life outside of work due to it being in the middle of nowhere so it wouldn't really be sustainable long term (then again is 60,000km p/a sustainable)... I could do a night in a b&b to break up the commute but couldn't do monday to friday up there

bazz26 wrote: »

Alternatively maybe a Mk1 Octavia like this:


https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/08-skoda-octavia-1-9-tdi-cheap-tax/17665437

Very reliable old school 1.9 TDi (non BXE version) that will return good fuel economy. Cheap tax and should have plenty of life left in it once it's serviced regularly. Depreciation is already been hit by the previous owners so putting more big mileage on it won't kill you on resale values.

that or something very like it would probably be the answer, worst case scenario I would only lose a grand on it in a year if I packed in the long commute.. except the grim nature of spending 66 hours per month in it. but saving 300 euro a month or whatever in fuel within the year it would have paid for itself..

biko wrote: »

A Leaf has a range of aprox 170km on a single charge so is an option.
Ioniq even more range.

I was only messing about the electric car bit in the post, there's no electric car chargers there but if there's some kind of free way to get them to install a charger up there I could get something electric it would be absolutely perfect

commited

Something like that Octavia is the way to go - comfortable, great MPG, cheap parts, very simple and is pretty much disposable at that price

thierry14

Get a new job or move to nearest big town

Forget the car

ba_barabus

Right given there's no budget it's hard to give an accurate suggestion. However I'm covering similar mileage. I've a 131 Avensis d4d with a high spec. It's more bland than vanilla but it's seriously comfortable, cheap enough to run and so far hasn't given a moment's bother. Couldn't recommend it enough.

Fluence is a cheaper option, less refined but does it all for a good bit less money.

You'll want something bigger than an Octavia tbh for ride comfort. A few weeks of that driving and you'll know about tiredness if you're in the wrong car. Avensis, Laguna, Mondeo, Pisshat etc are all built for this type of work. Also get cruise control.

frozenfrozen

thierry14 wrote: »

Get a new job or move to nearest big town

Forget the car

this is shoite far away work to keep my foot in the door that'll mean I continue to get other work which pays well and will hopefully be a decent career. No other work like this other than moving to dublin and I wouldn't be able to get the same job there and I wouldn't be able to keep doing my other work if I moved away from the west. I'm not doing it for no reason..

ba_barabus wrote: »

Right given there's no budget it's hard to give an accurate suggestion. However I'm covering similar mileage. I've a 131 Avensis d4d with a high spec. It's more bland than vanilla but it's seriously comfortable, cheap enough to run and so far hasn't given a moment's bother. Couldn't recommend it enough.

Fluence is a cheaper option, less refined but does it all for a good bit less money.

You'll want something bigger than an Octavia tbh for ride comfort. A few weeks of that driving and you'll know about tiredness if you're in the wrong car. Avensis, Laguna, Mondeo, Pisshat etc are all built for this type of work. Also get cruise control.

yeah sorry I've no budget but really my I have no idea what it should be but I'm not in a position to keep paying ~800 per month on it (petrol cost + insurance) so I guess the budget is <600 per month with lower numbers being way better

I've driven a luna avensis and liked it xenons would be nice for the connemara part of the drive home. I have been doing the drive in an A6 and haven't been too bad for comfort (which you'd expect..) I was doing a commute to kildare and naas for a while last year and used to be crippled coming out of my little skoda fabia so know the pains of the wrong car for big miles, would the octavia really be that bad?

cruise control would be nice

ba_barabus

Seats in the Octavia are my biggest bug bear. They're cheaper and seats seem to be one of the things that get cost cut. I'd genuinely think a decent spec Golf would be a better bet.

I had a 151 Jetta and found it comfortable.

I know the Golf/Jetta/Fluence are from a similar class but I do think they're better finished off than the Octavia in the right areas.

perrier

I've been doing a 275 km commute 3/4 days a week for the last 12 years. Depreciation is a major problem because of the mileage so for the last 3 years I've been driving a 2004 VW Passat tdi Highline. Diesel was the only option for me and the car has a high spec and is a comfortable place to be for a few hrs. The car has been bulletproof and cost €3000 in 2015 but mileage is now 450000km so it's only worth keeping. We have 4 charging points in work but they are always full.

Some things I've found essential on these type of commutes are, really good seats, good driving position and decent lights. These sound obvious but only become apparent after several hours in the car, several days a week.

ba_barabus

perrier wrote: »

Some things I've found essential on these type of commutes are, really good seats, good driving position and decent lights. These sound obvious but only become apparent after several hours in the car, several days a week.

Yes to all. Lights on the B6 Pisshat were rubbish though.

Auto box can help comfort also. Big bottle holders are a help as well.

Lantus

Yes you can save a lot with a better car.

I do 500km a week in a petrol and it costs me about 38 a week or 160 a month rounding up. So 1250km a week would cost me 400eu.

A modern diesel should net me a reasonable saving on that. I'd hope I'd do it for 300 a week.

As I have to do this journey anyway the difference in fuel is money I can invest in a better car. I'd look at a new zero interest PCP with as high a deposit as possible with a view to buying out as there is no other option or a 2 to 3 year old similar deal on a well spec long distance cruiser.

A superb would be a good choice.

If this is a temp arrangement it shouldn't affect me long term.

frozenfrozen

OK so I've done a lot of looking and some questionable maths has started creeping in and I've been looking at volvo V40s and golf GTDs, and of course pisshats, avensis, jetta, octavia, mondeo and anything else on donedeal

I am going to ring or email an accountanty fella tomorrow and ask what way it will work with my tax, since I am buying the car just for this commute and I am a sole trader. At the moment it's very hard to know what I can or can't afford when I don't even know what will be left out of my day rate after tax so the last thing I want is to end up working and spending all my profit on a car to drive to work.

Hopefully he will be able to give me a number that I should aim to spend per month/year on the car and I'll then be able to say ok that could be a 12k car that would depreciate to 9k after a year / 30k miles etc. etc. At the moment I'm just totally guessing.

There can be a bit of messy maths anyway as at the weekends I have to do a long drive too sometimes for other work, either to Galway, Cork, and sometimes Tipperary or Dublin so there'll be the saving those days too on fuel in the new car. So I needed another car anyway before this long commute came up..

I like the idea of a V40 2 litre 60 odd mpg 200 tax and they seem to be fairly well specced across the board with xenons, lane keeping assist and radar cruise on a good few of them. But a good bit more expensive.. guy at work got a 2014 v60 with good spec for 12k +vrt though. And I have no idea if they're even nice to drive for long distances?


just keeping my head in the sand about insurance so far too, I have an insurance policy at the moment for a car that isn't running and it's up in May.. hopefully I'd be able to change to a newer car for not much money since they are apparently so much safer.

so after tomorrow I'll hopefully have a proper number I can have as a budget for either depreciation over a year or something

Soilse

200km/day 5days a week stay over if nothing to do there go for a walk you will have no life anyways my vw diesel was highest mileage car in garage 2yrs ago and still going expect to be best pals with your mechanic and as long as you service you new car when it's due you'll have no problems

Mooooo

You should be able to put the diesel as an expense anyway so at least it will be paid pre tax

Bigus

LPG On the A6 ? Or A golf diesel carvan ? I'd definitely look at staying at least one or 2 nights a week ,if only to save money and maybe take up a new hobby or study something.

jingojonson

Hi there

Lots of value to be had in fresh 1 - 2 yr olds. Octavias are great but they hold
their value too well to be a good deal second hand. Try a Seat leon - same mechanicals but a lot chaper and they're a fairly nice cruiser.

Here's one

https://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/seat/leon/used-2016-161-seat-leon-st-1-6tdi-105-tipperary-fpa-4029816402270266197

I'd say you could pick that up for 15500 or 16000

kermitpwee

Corolla d4d can be had at cheap money

frozenfrozen

Soilse wrote: »

200km/day 5days a week stay over if nothing to do there go for a walk you will have no life anyways my vw diesel was highest mileage car in garage 2yrs ago and still going expect to be best pals with your mechanic and as long as you service you new car when it's due you'll have no problems

I know what you mean about no life either way but maybe if I stayed up there 1 day a week or something to break up the week. couldn't do the full week up there i'd go mad

Mooooo wrote: »

You should be able to put the diesel as an expense anyway so at least it will be paid pre tax

any chance i would be able to put a bit of wear and tear / depreciation from all the driving down as an expense too?

Bigus wrote: »

LPG On the A6 ? Or A golf diesel carvan ? I'd definitely look at staying at least one or 2 nights a week ,if only to save money and maybe take up a new hobby or study something.

very good thinking out of the box but the a6 is my mothers so I need a replacement anyway, the 2 previous cars I was driving on my own policy have exploded/ been scrapped. I was looking for a replacement car recently anyway but this job came as a bit of a surprise

jingojonson wrote: »

Hi there

Lots of value to be had in fresh 1 - 2 yr olds. Octavias are great but they hold
their value too well to be a good deal second hand. Try a Seat leon - same mechanicals but a lot chaper and they're a fairly nice cruiser.

Here's one

https://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/seat/leon/used-2016-161-seat-leon-st-1-6tdi-105-tipperary-fpa-4029816402270266197

I'd say you could pick that up for 15500 or 16000

I think after a year or 2 the deprecation would really add up but it would be nice to be in something that new though

kermitpwee wrote: »

Corolla d4d can be had at cheap money

yeah would be good and cheap alright same kind of thing as the octavia posted earlier but I wonder would I be crippled after all the driving

audiavantawx

Get a a6 Audi or a highline passat with the awx or avf engine 01/05
Will pick one up for buttons now
Get one with as much as a service history as you can

A full tank of diesel will do for 1000 to 1300 kms depending on driving style

I personally dont ever spend over 2000 on a car

Mooooo

The way I work it is 2/3 of car maintenance and diesel is a farm expense 1/3 Is private. You can put it down whatever way you want but must be able to justify it if there is an audit. Accountant would be worth chatting to. might be able to write off capital cost over a few Years, could before if a private vehicle but it was capped at 20k I think, no cap on commercial

Tindog76

I live in Kildare and work in Limerick and drove there for over 2 years, being 288kms round trip a day. During this time I did manage to get to work from home (on average once every two weeks and now I do once a week from home). I now drive once or twice a week and get a bus (which I have a tax saver annual ticket for) the other days. I also got a fuel card too, which saves at the pump most of the time too.

I went through 3 different cars before settling down with the car I currently have. When I first started working in Limerick I got an 10 reg econetic fiesta, 1.6tdci - it was a nice car but too light for motorway driving - I was getting about 53/54 mpg in real world terms. So, next up was my wife's 09 reg Focus Style. Again it was a 1.6tdci, and I clocked up some 20k miles before it needed changing - I was getting about 50/51 mpg in real world terms. I then got an 11 reg Vauxhall Insignia. This was better equipped for the driving but after 60k miles in just over 2 years I started to have some issues and the car was at a stage where it required a good bit of work doing to it (e.g dpf issues, engine mgt light coming on) . (because of the miles I was doing I was servicing every 10k miles and my cars never wanted for anything).

In the end I traded in the Insignia and got a 151 Honda Civic. It is also 1.6dtec and I am sorry that I never thought of looking at one before. I love it. But I will say that you have a few things to consider, namely:
1. Get a car relative to your height. No point driving something that you are uncomfortable in /with.
2. Buy a diesel, at least you can claim back on it as you are a self employed and you are definitely driving the mileage to warrant it.
3. Your accountant should be able to help you factor in your car costs too.
4. If you currently have limited resources now, it may be worth looking at the bangeromics forum for some advice on a limited budget car to at least see you through for a while. It could work well until you get some more money set aside for something newer.. Just a suggestion, you will know your own situation best to make that call.

Best of luck and be safe on the roads. You will see lots of looney toons on the road these days too, don't be one of them.. You should know what route is best and have alternatives should issues arise and build in a buffer of time for the journey. This will help you better foster relationships with those people you are working with too.

frozenfrozen

Tindog76 wrote: »

I live in Kildare and work in Limerick and drove there for over 2 years, being 288kms round trip a day. During this time I did manage to get to work from home (on average once every two weeks and now I do once a week from home). I now drive once or twice a week and get a bus (which I have a tax saver annual ticket for) the other days. I also got a fuel card too, which saves at the pump most of the time too.

I went through 3 different cars before settling down with the car I currently have. When I first started working in Limerick I got an 10 reg econetic fiesta, 1.6tdci - it was a nice car but too light for motorway driving - I was getting about 53/54 mpg in real world terms. So, next up was my wife's 09 reg Focus Style. Again it was a 1.6tdci, and I clocked up some 20k miles before it needed changing - I was getting about 50/51 mpg in real world terms. I then got an 11 reg Vauxhall Insignia. This was better equipped for the driving but after 60k miles in just over 2 years I started to have some issues and the car was at a stage where it required a good bit of work doing to it (e.g dpf issues, engine mgt light coming on) . (because of the miles I was doing I was servicing every 10k miles and my cars never wanted for anything).

In the end I traded in the Insignia and got a 151 Honda Civic. It is also 1.6dtec and I am sorry that I never thought of looking at one before. I love it. But I will say that you have a few things to consider, namely:
1. Get a car relative to your height. No point driving something that you are uncomfortable in /with.
2. Buy a diesel, at least you can claim back on it as you are a self employed and you are definitely driving the mileage to warrant it.
3. Your accountant should be able to help you factor in your car costs too.
4. If you currently have limited resources now, it may be worth looking at the bangeromics forum for some advice on a limited budget car to at least see you through for a while. It could work well until you get some more money set aside for something newer.. Just a suggestion, you will know your own situation best to make that call.

Best of luck and be safe on the roads. You will see lots of looney toons on the road these days too, don't be one of them.. You should know what route is best and have alternatives should issues arise and build in a buffer of time for the journey. This will help you better foster relationships with those people you are working with too.

thanks very much for that. I think the accountant chat will really shed light on the whole thing. I was looking at a petrol civic before this job came up so will have to have a look at the diesel version.

I am average height so will fit nearly anything in that regard but definitely something to keep in mind.
I have a bit of money put away luckily so don't necessarily need to go bangernomics which I might not get insurance easily on compared to something a bit up in the years

I know nothing about dpf dmf egr diesel troubles so must read up on it to see the story. I presume these would be caused by previous owners doing short trips and my long trips would be good use of any of the diesels listed in the thread so far. I'd rarely be doing a trip less than an hour drive

U_Fig

Not massively knowledgeable on this but I was looking for a car for a good while and I like to do my research , I was looking at a mark9 (2012+) civic 1.6 iDtec , I've driven a few and where as I didn't particularly like the drive (I think it was mainly due to the fact it was diesel, I ended up in a seat Leon TSI petrol) I'd deffo consider one , great MPG decent power that feels more because of the torque , a nice place to be although With a touch of the marmite factor both inside and out , high basic spec and Honda reliability, and cheaper than many of the rivals second hand. Seems like an option that should be considered.

dubrov

I wouldn't be so sure you can claim anything relating to the commute. It sounds like it will be your regular place of work.

You should really consider a B&B for the nights you are not doing anything. The commute will wear you down and you won't have much energy left after that commute to do anything anyway.

frozenfrozen

dubrov wrote: »

I wouldn't be so sure you can claim anything relating to the commute. It sounds like it will be your regular place of work.

You should really consider a B&B for the nights you are not doing anything. The commute will wear you down and you won't have much energy left after that commute to do anything anyway.

hope that's not the case can you explain more, I am a sole trader not an employee so I won't be claiming mileage rates etc I'm imagining it'll be a percentage of the costs (relating to how many miles are for work vs leisure) being counted as a cost of doing business and that can be taken off my income for tax. But I really am not sure on this

it might sound further than it is, it's 1 hour 40 mins depending on traffic, plenty of people spending that length of time in a car commuting to dublin, just I'll be on a motorway for a good portion of it so really racking up the miles. I am not against the idea of breaking up the week with 1 day in a b&b or something like that.

Marcusm

frozenfrozen wrote: »

hope that's not the case can you explain more, I am a sole trader not an employee so I won't be claiming mileage rates etc I'm imagining it'll be a percentage of the costs (relating to how many miles are for work vs leisure) being counted as a cost of doing business and that can be taken off my income for tax. But I really am not sure on this

it might sound further than it is, it's 1 hour 40 mins depending on traffic, plenty of people spending that length of time in a car commuting to dublin, just I'll be on a motorway for a good portion of it so really racking up the miles. I am not against the idea of breaking up the week with 1 day in a b&b or something like that.

When you say sole trader, what do you mean, a contractor? If this is the sole engagement and you don’t have another fixed place of business, no tools to transport etc, then you probably won’t be entitled to any relief for travelling to work irrespective of how far it is. This is different to travelling from your current place of work to a temporary site etc. Sounds like you have a fixed term whole time contract and on that basis the commuting costs won’t be tax deductible.

Casati

With that type of mileage you’ll suffer massive depreciation on something new or risk big bills and breakdowns with something old and cheap

As your a sole trader I’d recommend looking at the option of renting cars and putting the rental and thus the fuel down as a business expense - ie ask you accountant to confirm that’s okay.

Renting cars is generally v cheap except at the real busy summer weeks and Christmas and you’ll always be a new diesel which should return maybe 5 l per 100km if you take it handy. No insurance, tax, servicing or depreciation to worry about - just one bill you can probably expense

dubrov

frozenfrozen wrote: »

hope that's not the case can you explain more, I am a sole trader not an employee so I won't be claiming mileage rates etc I'm imagining it'll be a percentage of the costs (relating to how many miles are for work vs leisure) being counted as a cost of doing business and that can be taken off my income for tax. But I really am not sure on this

it might sound further than it is, it's 1 hour 40 mins depending on traffic, plenty of people spending that length of time in a car commuting to dublin, just I'll be on a motorway for a good portion of it so really racking up the miles. I am not against the idea of breaking up the week with 1 day in a b&b or something like that.

I guess 1hr40 is doable depending on your finish time. I'd say 5:30 or ealier would make it work. It will be more expensive to commute though when you factor in fuel and depreciation costs vs rental.

In relation to expenses, I think the key phrase is "travel to a place that is not their normal place of work".
https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/employee-expenses/travel-and-subsistence/business-journeys.aspx

I think this is probably open to interpretation by revenue but I'd guess that anywhere you travel to ore than 50% of your work time would be classified as your regular place of work. You can still expense travel to other sites, you just wouldn't be able to claim the commute.

frozenfrozen

Heading to bed now and won't have a chance to look at this till tomorrow evening but that page looks like it's for employees I won't be an employee. I'll have to look at renting but Im 22 so probably won't be able to rent


Not sure where I stand with the whole thing if I can't have any relief for travelling seems the opposite of everything I've heard so far

dubrov

I don't think it matters of you are self employed.

I really depends on the nature of the work. Working on a building site might qualify as not your normal place of work. . It might be worth asking some work colleagues to see what they are doing

Mooooo

Your accountant will or should know either way

Shefwedfan

If you want something that is cheap and will run on fumes then a Toyota Corrolla 1.4 diesel. My parents had one, the thing ran on fumes. Not the greatest looking thing but was extremely economical. They are solid as a rock as well in terms of engine

ba_barabus

Shefwedfan wrote: »

If you want something that is cheap and will run on fumes then a Toyota Corrolla 1.4 diesel. My parents had one, the thing ran on fumes. Not the greatest looking thing but was extremely economical. They are solid as a rock as well in terms of engine

They wouldn't be comfortable if covering that kind of mileage.

The Davestator

Buy a caravan and park it up close to work!

Shefwedfan

ba_barabus wrote: »

They wouldn't be comfortable if covering that kind of mileage.

I didnt say it was comfortable, I said it was cheap

if you want comfort someone has already mentioned the A6, lovely car and great at high mileage

Lantus

Shefwedfan wrote:

if you want comfort someone has already mentioned the A6, lovely car and great at high mileage

I'd second that. Drove one across the UK and it was amazing, if quite awkward to get in and out of as it's so low.

frozenfrozen

I'm currently doing the drive in a c6 A6 it's lovely but it's a 2.4 petrol so the cost is high. Managed to do 7.3 up and 7.1L/100km on the drive home today so that's about 25 euro in petrol -- not too bad but that's doing ~100km max on the motorway. Would be nice to do 120km/h in a diesel and still get 50+ mpg

So a very quick call that I was supposed to follow up with an email but I will do it tomorrow with the accountant man.. the gist is I can put 25% of a car purchase against my tax, it has to be below co2 band C / 155g co2 and I am to keep all receipts at all related to anything to do with the car and a proportion of it can be taken off my tax. if I sell it after eg 3 years with lots of miles and it has depreciated there's an allowance per year to get that loss off the tax I would owe, I don't really get this bit yet.

basically it works out that I'll still be paying a lot and it's just the very pointy end is being shaved off by lowering my tax bill, which could just as easily be done by buying equipment etc... so instead of having a big tax bill I'll have a humongous motoring expense

I got a quote for a new car leasing which seems pretty fairly priced but it's over a 3 year term which I am hopefully not going to be doing this huge commute for that long. The accountant didn't mention leasing at all so it may not suit me but I'll mention it to him.

Someone at work was telling me to go down the route of a van, everyone else agrees I should just get something with 4 wheels after I threw my bike down the road at the end of last week

I'm still not really any closer to knowing exactly what I should spend, there doesn't seem to be any magic thing where all the costs can disappear as an expense (not that I was expecting that) but I just think it might be a case of buying something I kinda like for 8-9k and selling it for 3k in 3 years or something? Just pulling those numbers out of the air but that's what the whole thing seems like. If I'm losing around 150 per month on depreciation, 300 on fuel, 100 for servicing/tyres/SHTF, 1500 p/a insurance, that's near enough to what I'd be spending at the moment on just petrol for the A6..

Might be a bit naive to think I'd be able to sell a car with an extra load of miles on it but if I only do the huge miles for a year it would even out after 3 years or whatever and it could still be a bit sellable. And if I kept the long commute up then that's for future me to worry about..

accountant man also said about borrowing half the money as the interest on the loan can be a bit of an expense but this was from the angle that I could put the balance of the money somewhere it would also gain interest.. so something an accountant would do that I probably won't be arsed doing

BillyBobBS

Don't know what car to advice on but jesus reading some of these commute stories makes me realize how lucky i am.

frozenfrozen

Thoughts on this? https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/skoda-octavia-1-9-tdi-laurin-amp-klement-high-spec/17946511


Came across this kind of thing too https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201712011735928 seems like it would be around 13k after vrt. But since it already has 90k miles after a couple years it would be nearly worthless, and 4/5k per year is a lot on depreciation..
xenons, cruise, heated seats, dimming rear view and side mirrors, auto, seems like all the creature comforts you'd want for long driving. I have had dimming rear and side mirrors and it is a very nice feature. But it's a lot of money to lose each month on depreciation

Most things I look at just don't work out after doing a bit of quick maths, so maybe an already totally depreciated L&K octavia with nearly 300k miles is the answer.


I took on your advice and I've sorted out a place to stay a night or two during the week. It's 2 miles away from work..

commited

Do the L&Ks come with cruise control? That'd be my only must have for a commute like that as well as the most comfortable seats I can find.

To be honest, I note a lot of people recommend auto's for people doing long commutes but to be honest I find a manual grand on long journeys, it's short commutes at peak times that really warrant an auto!

Considering the mileage you'll be doing you can probably justify bigger tax:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s60-2002-diesel-2-4-l/17978741
Possibly not the best example but it's hard to beat an S60 D5 for a comfy, insulated economical commute.

CIP4

Both cars are very different. The Octavia fair enough next to no depreciation capable of doing decent MPG. But let’s face it it’s a model that was designed in the 90s so is getting on big time high mileage not saying it wouldn’t do the same again. But tbh it will be a big step back from your a6 and not something you would want to spend a hell of a lot of hours in each week.

Passat looks nice and very well specced. It would be a nice car to commute in that is what they were designed for still fairly modern. It’s costing 13k let’s say you keep it 5 years at 9 years old would be worth 3k. 2k a year in depreciation is next to nothing and to me would be well worth it to be in a much nicer car. To me it just wouldn’t be worth it to save the couple of bob in depreciation, get a decent car around that price bracket that has the worst of its depreciating done but is still fresh. Just my opinion though. Also tax and insurance will be a lot less on the Passat.

nice_guy80

2.0L mondeo. 2010 - 2011
would get you 750 miles to a tank
comfortable to drive
cheap enough tax €280

frozenfrozen

commited wrote: »

Do the L&Ks come with cruise control? That'd be my only must have for a commute like that as well as the most comfortable seats I can find.

To be honest, I note a lot of people recommend auto's for people doing long commutes but to be honest I find a manual grand on long journeys, it's short commutes at peak times that really warrant an auto!

Considering the mileage you'll be doing you can probably justify bigger tax:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s60-2002-diesel-2-4-l/17978741
Possibly not the best example but it's hard to beat an S60 D5 for a comfy, insulated economical commute.

I think the insurance would stop this idea, would be a nice place to do motorway miles though you are right there. I wonder does the octavia have cruise, it wouldn't be a deal breaker but it would be really nice to have.

CIP4 wrote: »

Both cars are very different. The Octavia fair enough next to no depreciation capable of doing decent MPG. But let’s face it it’s a model that was designed in the 90s so is getting on big time high mileage not saying it wouldn’t do the same again. But tbh it will be a big step back from your a6 and not something you would want to spend a hell of a lot of hours in each week.

Passat looks nice and very well specced. It would be a nice car to commute in that is what they were designed for still fairly modern. It’s costing 13k let’s say you keep it 5 years at 9 years old would be worth 3k. 2k a year in depreciation is next to nothing and to me would be well worth it to be in a much nicer car. To me it just wouldn’t be worth it to save the couple of bob in depreciation, get a decent car around that price bracket that has the worst of its depreciating done but is still fresh. Just my opinion though. Also tax and insurance will be a lot less on the Passat.

You make a lot of sense. 5 years is a long time for me to be thinking ahead but would I be able to count on getting that long out of the likes of that passat, relatively trouble free while doing so many miles? I can't see myself doing such huge commutes in 5 years time so it could be a year or two of high miles and end up actually not being too madly high in 5 years time if I was to hold onto it.
If the octavia didn't get through the next NCT I could cut my losses, but a costly repair on a more expensive car I'd have to just pay out or lose a good chunk of money.

The high spec would be nice and it would no doubt be less tiring to drive than the octavia but just at the risk of it costing 5k per year if I have to move it on sooner than 5 years. Funnily the passat doesn't look to be too amazing on fuel, reports on fuelly saying 5.5-7L/100km, that's no fuggin good, sure it's a bit cheaper than the a6 but compare that to the likes of a volvo V40s I was looking at, they go from 4 to 6L/100, big enough difference per month at my mileages to pay attention to. And a few other things I've come across have been claiming 75 odd mpg so >4L.. that would free up a lot of money per month for depreciation and saving a bit of the difference

I wonder if high mileage in a dsg is a bad idea too. Not sure if they are soft or not but I'd probably be better off in a manual.. but then imagine trying to find a manual car with lots of extras that make it comfy

Swings and roundabouts really. On the one hand if I looked at it on a longer scale a more expensive car would average down to being a negligible difference

but on the other hand it's a lot more money than the 500 euro which would probably buy that octavia, which is only out in clonmel so I could have it at the weekend. I wouldn't even get over and back to buy the passat for that money!

I wonder should I just buy the octavia and drive it till I get sick of it or it explodes?

nice_guy80 wrote: »

2.0L mondeo. 2010 - 2011
would get you 750 miles to a tank
comfortable to drive
cheap enough tax €280

they are comfortable and good spec in titanium but they are strong enough money around 10k and in a couple years of my use it would be 10 years old and 200k miles so expensive enough per year if I didn't hold onto it longer term

---

is it worth me even considering any kind of hybrid with the bit of galway traffic and the few odd short journeys I'd do where a diesel would be not warmed up at all. Or would the long journeys 3-4 times per week totally cancel it out.
The likes of a lexus ct200 (which is basically a prius underneath?) seems to get very high motorway mpg and good town mpg. All reviews say horribly uncomfortable but would anything along those lines suit me at all?



Thanks for all the help so far to everyone I think I'm fairly close to actually getting something now anyway

frozenfrozen

commited wrote: »

Do the L&Ks come with cruise control? That'd be my only must have for a commute like that as well as the most comfortable seats I can find.

To be honest, I note a lot of people recommend auto's for people doing long commutes but to be honest I find a manual grand on long journeys, it's short commutes at peak times that really warrant an auto!

Considering the mileage you'll be doing you can probably justify bigger tax:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s60-2002-diesel-2-4-l/17978741
Possibly not the best example but it's hard to beat an S60 D5 for a comfy, insulated economical commute.

I think the insurance would stop this idea, would be a nice place to do motorway miles though you are right there. I wonder does the octavia have cruise, it wouldn't be a deal breaker but it would be really nice to have.

CIP4 wrote: »

Both cars are very different. The Octavia fair enough next to no depreciation capable of doing decent MPG. But let’s face it it’s a model that was designed in the 90s so is getting on big time high mileage not saying it wouldn’t do the same again. But tbh it will be a big step back from your a6 and not something you would want to spend a hell of a lot of hours in each week.

Passat looks nice and very well specced. It would be a nice car to commute in that is what they were designed for still fairly modern. It’s costing 13k let’s say you keep it 5 years at 9 years old would be worth 3k. 2k a year in depreciation is next to nothing and to me would be well worth it to be in a much nicer car. To me it just wouldn’t be worth it to save the couple of bob in depreciation, get a decent car around that price bracket that has the worst of its depreciating done but is still fresh. Just my opinion though. Also tax and insurance will be a lot less on the Passat.

You make a lot of sense. 5 years is a long time for me to be thinking ahead but would I be able to count on getting that long out of the likes of that passat, relatively trouble free while doing so many miles? I can't see myself doing such huge commutes in 5 years time so it could be a year or two of high miles and end up actually not being too madly high in 5 years time if I was to hold onto it.
If the octavia didn't get through the next NCT I could cut my losses, but a costly repair on a more expensive car I'd have to just pay out or lose a good chunk of money.

The high spec would be nice and it would no doubt be less tiring to drive than the octavia but just at the risk of it costing 5k per year if I have to move it on sooner than 5 years. Funnily the passat doesn't look to be too amazing on fuel, reports on fuelly saying 5.5-7L/100km, that's no fuggin good, sure it's a bit cheaper than the a6 but compare that to the likes of a volvo V40s I was looking at, they go from 4 to 6L/100, big enough difference per month at my mileages to pay attention to. And a few other things I've come across have been claiming 75 odd mpg so >4L.. that would free up a lot of money per month for depreciation and saving a bit of the difference

I wonder if high mileage in a dsg is a bad idea too. Not sure if they are soft or not but I'd probably be better off in a manual.. but then imagine trying to find a manual car with lots of extras that make it comfy

Swings and roundabouts really. On the one hand if I looked at it on a longer scale a more expensive car would average down to being a negligible difference

but on the other hand it's a lot more money than the 500 euro which would probably buy that octavia, which is only out in clonmel so I could have it at the weekend. I wouldn't even get over and back to buy the passat for that money!

I wonder should I just buy the octavia and drive it till I get sick of it or it explodes?

nice_guy80 wrote: »

2.0L mondeo. 2010 - 2011
would get you 750 miles to a tank
comfortable to drive
cheap enough tax €280

they are comfortable and good spec in titanium but they are strong enough money around 10k and in a couple years of my use it would be 10 years old and 200k miles so expensive enough per year if I didn't hold onto it longer term

---

is it worth me even considering any kind of hybrid with the bit of galway traffic and the few odd short journeys I'd do where a diesel would be not warmed up at all. Or would the long journeys 3-4 times per week totally cancel it out.
The likes of a lexus ct200 (which is basically a prius underneath?) seems to get very high motorway mpg and good town mpg. All reviews say horribly uncomfortable but would anything along those lines suit me at all?



Thanks for all the help so far to everyone I think I'm fairly close to actually getting something now anyway

Tindog76

Fair play to you on getting a place to stay a few days a week. It will help you.

I would tend to agree with Commited's comments about an automatic car too. I think cruise control would be of more benefit to you. That is what I didn't have previously until I got the Insignia and it is a must.

On the Octavia, I would refrain. Great car and some spec too, but the mileage would suggest that it has had a long hard life.

A family member has a similar issue to you too. They're looking at the following cars around the €5k/6k mark. A6/ Mercedes C220/E220/ BMW 520, all diesel variants. Car years from 2003- 2007/2008. They are particularly focusing on good service history, valid NCTs, mileage and general feel of the car (ie. comfort) and how it test drives, and automatic, which I personally disagree with, but tis them driving it, not me.

They're putting 30k+ miles on the car and getting a car around that price range will be fairly worthless in 2/3 years time.

Just some extra thoughts on what you're thinking of looking for.

JJJJNR

get the most powerful car you can afford, diesel is the only way to go, a saloon, not a hatchback as road noise is loud enough and its a huge issue, get excellent tyres and a second set (of wheels) for winter, and keep them in very good condition. Avoid 18in wheels if you can, 16/17s the best.

commited

Some other suggestions:
Mk4.5 Mondeo:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201801303250106
Becoming the taxi mans favourite, plenty out there that are doing mega mileages and parts don't get much cheaper!

Exeo:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201711020899160
Basically a previous gen A4 but with the more up to date CR engine and loads of spec.

M47 engined 320d and 520d, 2007 and earlier, are worth a shout too.

Also, on insurance I wouldn't make any assumptions, my 3.0 BMW is one of the cheapest cars I've had quotes on.