Advice on most host effective car for mileage

amacca

I've recently discovered I may need to do a fair bit of mileage next year and I'm looking for advice on what the most cost effective second hand/used options at the moment might be? (in terms of fuel costs, maintenance and purchase price)

At least 10-15k miles/perhaps more for work alone and will be used as a run around on occasion.

I drive a near 4 litre diesel jeep at the moment and can't quite stomach the thought of the cost at the pumps and the increased wear and tear/maintenance + I need it for towing and don't want it potentially out of commission when I need it for its real job.

What are the options would people think? I'd like as small a budget as possible (5k) as this will probably be short term (3/4 yrs max I'd say) ...

If it can't be done in the current market at that price (im aware I could be asking for way too much) what might make sense in terms of resale for a higher budget when I decide to shift it on?

I do care about looks of car but I'm aware budget conscious can't be choosers so just want the most cost effective options regardless if they are not lookers .......I'm OK with older cars that don't have too much complexity in terms of electronics etc...just bog standard is grand, don't care about mod cons etc....would value reliability and ease of repair over most of that stuff but as low a running cost as possible without it being an ultra compact like a smart car or something.....

I was thinking an old kia hatchback a toyota yaris, a golf maybe......would something like a leaf be an option...could it bring you 100/200km to a destination and then back next morning reliably.....would ensuring you could charge it overnight be a variable pain in the hole....should I consider a hybrid maybe?

drunkmonkey

100km a day 5 days a week is 26k a year, are you getting reimbursed for this milage, can you claim it against anything. An electric would easily do those kind of miles, As you proably need a 4x4 and most of the elctrics can't really tow anything major, would something like a Rv4 prime do the job it's got a 2.5ton towning capacity and should cover 80% of your 100km journey. Your gone way over a 5k budget but you'd have a cheap to run car that would do it all and can sell the jeep, it should have a good resale value so you might not lose a huge amount when you've everything worked out. 26k a year in a yaris wouldn't be pleasent.

ericfartman

Skoda Octavia elegance version are good for the money your looking to spend.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/skoda-octavia-2011/31204686

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2012-skoda-octavia-low-kms-new-nct/31184120

1874

If thats 10-15k miles and not km's and it's for work, I'd say that could be a reason to get a diesel, if it was only 10-15k miles and personal use only I'd go for a petrol, although the mileage is kind of borderline imo, will you be doing lots of stop starting or a few long runs?

It depends on the usage, but I'd be thinking a BEV wouldn't be as suited for work use, dependant on public charging working & available, if use is frequent short runs a Hybrid may be better or at least equal to a diesel in terms of overall cost and maybe even efficiency, as a diesel wouldn't necessariy return good mileage if you aren't cruising distances on a motorway and getting the engine heated up and a good run regularily.

Will you be able to claim back VAT on fuel? On that point I see quite a few hybrid Prius plus as Taxis, Im not sure how they recover the costs, but it must be a viable option if Taxi drivers are using them, ie regarding the fact the vehicles are petrol engined hybrids.

I haven't been looking at cars lately or for a while, so I'm not sure what's what in terms of prices or availabilitthat suits your use, so while a Yaris (or similar sized vehicle) may suit the job type/mileage/use if you dont have to bring much in the way of gear or samples around with you, I would suggest choosing a car that suits what you need to do as much as the starting price, factor in the ongoing costs. A small car may suit, or perhaps a mediums sized car with more space, features, comfort & safety.

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119137063#Comment_119137063

Will be able to claim mileage but won't be able to claim depreciation on the vehicle.....wasn't planning on getting a 4x4 as the one I have works well on that front (it's just it has 28 mpg and I need it to be able to do the towing when called upon and dont want too much cost associated with maintenance/wear and tear due to the mileage - think its a long term keeper tbh....rarely driven anything as comfy and as capable even if it is tempremental but im working through the niggles one by one) ..... it has 3.5 T tow capacity and is at its ease doing the work I need it to, ive had experience with other jeeps (2.8 pajero, x5, trooper....the 2.5t capacity wouldn't cut it....

Take the point about the yaris I suppose I suppose some of us need to be rescued from our ability to talk ourselves into things that might not be the best ideas I suppose

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119137110#Comment_119137110

Mileage but vat on fuel unlikely, long runs (100km +) once or twice a week on average....motorways involved as often as possible......................something with a range of approx 300 - 350kms in electric you could trust might work but my understanding is cold weather reduces capacity and battery will have degraded as its a second hand so probably not a runner as much as I like the idea of not spending on fuel.

Can be flexible on size....won't have passengers or a huge amount of equipment to transport with me....I'd prefer not have a small car but could put up with it if it was the best option

road_high

Skoda superb

Savetheplanet

Renault Megane estate is a solid car, I had 2 diesels and couldn't fault them.

Ash.J.Williams

My insignia owes me nothing, 340k on the clock and never spent a cent other than servicing /brakes etc

Whatwicklow

Saab 93 ttid fast efficient and cheap

JCN12

I would recommend looking in the direction of an older Toyota, Skoda or even Vauxhall (as they tend to be at the lower end of the price spectrum - more €€ for maintenance).