long daily mileage car - what to get next

[happyAvocado]

I drive to work every day doing 55-60 miles each way, so yearly mileage comes to about 32000 miles, mostly on motorway or A roads. On top of that I do perhaps another 8-10K of the usual family driving to classes taking kids there

I am seriously considering changing job as it looks like I am paying almost 20-25% of my salary for commuting :(

But if you had to choose economical car to cope with this long mileage and you had a choice of buying a car (new or second hand) what would you go for?

I am currently driving Vauxhal Vectra 1.9 diesel. It has 84K on the clock, 06 reg. Had to pay 1.5K for replacing clutch & service & a new tyre &MOT. I am not sure if this car will last more than another 3 years with mileage I am doing now.

When I am calculating cost without cost of replacing the car it comes to £400/month in fuel & service/replacement of parts.

So wise car owners - waht would you do (apart from changing job which is at the back of my mind, and I love this job, no stress & possibility of a promotion).

Skoda Octavia Greenline averages 60 mpg according to:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/RealMpg/Results?manufacturer=skoda

Going from 47mpg to 65mpg, I make the savings to be between £3.77 and £4.33 per day (based on 110 to 120 miles per day), or £1157.11 over 32K miles. That's based on £1.35 a litre for diesel (being the cheapest I've seen it round here recently).

Tell you what, pick up a pre-2000 Merc C220 for about £800 - old enough to be cheap and before the reliability issues, but still with all the fancy toys and comforts for long journeys. That Honest John Real MPG database suggests between 41 and 44mpg. The money you save will more than offset the fuel costs and any potential work - Hell, you could get a full engine and gearbox rebuild and still pay less than what you would for a 3-year old car, and the main mechanicals would be brand new.

WMittens - I like your thinking :)

(trotting off to view ancient Mercs on Autotrader... )

At 40k miles per year, I'd be buying something pretty new otherwise those bills for maintenance and repairs will be coming thick and fast. I'm all for economical motoring, but doing that mileage in a car 12 years old + is just asking for trouble.

At 40k miles per year, I'd be buying something pretty new otherwise those bills for maintenance and repairs will be coming thick and fast.

Why?

Million mile Mondeo

Older engines are less complex so less to go wrong (and easier to fix), it's easier to diagnose problems as there are much fewer sealed electronic black boxes (main dealer charging £75 to find out what's wrong by plugging in a laptop and still not being able to fix the problem, anyone?) and don't require main dealer servicing so you can use cheaper (and in many ways more reliable) independent garages/mechanics. Also there will be more vehicles and parts in breakers' yards because some people are convinced (for no logical reason) that a car instantly stops working as soon as it reaches 100K miles, so cheap parts are plentiful.

And at £800, if it breaks just buy another, and get £40 off a scrappy to tow it away.

I bought a Kia Rio last year, paid £7,000 for it and it's an 09 reg. I drive around 500 - 600 miles a week, and this has cut my fuel costs by half. It's a 1.5 diesel and I get around 55mpg out of it on my usual A road commute, more if I'm doing motorway driving.

WMittens all of the major components in a car will have a limited lifespan, so after 10+ years and 100k miles you will get major bills. As OP discoverd, the clutch will go. Then the suspension will need renewing, cambelt, brakes. If it's an old Merc, parts are expensive and the car will be uneconomical to repair. Plus all the hassle of dealing with a problem car on a long distance commute.

I've owned plenty of high mileage cars (including a 300k mile Saab and a 170k Alfa) so certainly don't discriminate against decent bangers. But I wouldn't want to rely on one for that kind of commute.

OP - how about Hyundai. They have a 5 years unlimited mileage warranty. Their i20 can do 90mpg allegedly

www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/283150/hyundai_i20_blue.html

No, parts may go, you may get major bills. You can get major bills on cars just out of their 3 year warranty, you can have major disruption with a brand new vehicle if it's forever going back for work.

Brake pads, discs and fluids are service items, as are cambelts on some models - depending on mileage and diligence of the previous owner(s) these may have already been done; calipers should be no problem but can easily be cleaned up and seals replaced.

Uneconomical compared to what? If you've got £10K in the bank that would otherwise have been splashed on a new car, how much refreshing does that get you on a car?

I too do a big daily mileage & have an Audi a3, 2l diesel. It copes well, gets regular yearly service despite its 20,000 a year mileage. Only cost has been tyres but not too bad. My mum has a BMW1 series diesel & seriously thought about this as my next car but she only got 18,000 out of her 2 back tyres!! Plus 2 new run flats cost her £300 to replace which has def put me off that car!! So now I'm looking at golf or polo blue motions.