Hi folks,
SWMBO and myself have made a monumental decision,that due to continual increases in the cost of living and us having one particularly expensive hobby,that we must cut our motoring costs drastically.
She has a Focus 1.6 zetec auto/03 regd/11,000 miles/exceptional condition.
I run a Avensis 1.8 Auto/05 regd/43,000 miles/good condition.
The Focus is only used to take my wife to work,about 3 miles each way,and shopping.We can easily get round this and frankly is a waste.
I use the Avensis to do a daily trip to work,about 40 miles a day total,but about 200 motorway miles every weekend between March to November.It averages about 35mpg.
The plan is to sell or trade in both cars and get one that is a lot cheaper to run,preferably on the proceeds only or maybe plus a bit as we need to see some savings straight away.
I have some ideas,but would appreciate any suggestions at all?
Cheers...Phil
|
...The plan is to sell or trade in both cars and get one that is a lot cheaper to run...
Trading in two cars for one is not often cost effective because the dealer needs to make a profit on both.
My initial thoughts are to pick one of the existing cars as a 'keeper', and sell the other one.
|
|
So you will get 10k for your cars if you trade them in, 11k if you sell them privately.
|
....So you will get 10k for your cars if you trade them in...
Would it be that much?
I've not done any research, but the Focus can only be £2K to £3K and what, about £5K for the Toyota?
|
3k trade in for the focus, 7 for the avensis.
maybe.
Trouble is to see savings in fuel they are gonna have to dump the auto idea. Or go for a DSG box, and I wouldn't have one of those second hand.
|
>> Trouble is to see savings in fuel they are gonna have to dump the auto
>> idea. Or go for a DSG box, and I wouldn't have one of those second
>> hand.
>>
Are used DSG boxes really that bad? They seem the only way of having your cake (auto) and eating it (reduced consumption), while retaining a satisfcatory drive.
|
..., 7 for the avensis...
Quick check shows several 06 auto Avensises on autorader for well under £6K
The OP's is an 05.
|
Yes,if sold private I would think about £2.5K for the Focus,and about £4.5K for the Avensis.
Phil.
|
According to the glasses guide....
Focus £2100
Avensis £4000
both trade in values.
|
Thanks all,
Just to be a bit clearer,both vehicles are now not suitable,particularly fuel wise as they both do max 35mpg overall,but of late the Avensis is down to 27mpg and that is no longer acceptable.
I am thinking along the lines of Focus TDCI manual,maybe,or something similiar?
Cheers....Phil.
|
>>I am thinking along the lines of Focus TDCI manual,maybe,or something similiar?
>>
SWMBO is also happy to go manual?
My assumption to date was you were requiring another auto :-)
So back to the drawing board.
|
>> SWMBO is also happy to go manual?
>> My assumption to date was you were requiring another auto :-)
>> So back to the drawing board.
If you wanted a manual the Avensis 1.8 does 40+ mpg. You won't get much cheaper for something that's a motorway muncher, it's insurance group 8, cheap to service - I can't believe your mpg has gone down to 27mpg, the auto must be hugely inefficient unless it's faulty.
|
Hi,
Good point Henry.SWMBO is prepared to do without a car at this moment in time!
She only drives autos,I prefer them but needs dictate!
We basically need something that is comfortable,up to motorway travel,but very economical,both fuel and general running costs.
Possible downsize to Yaris?,or Focus as I said before?
|
>> We basically need something that is comfortable,up to motorway travel,but very economical,both fuel and general
>> running costs.
>> Possible downsize to Yaris?,or Focus as I said before?
The Yaris is an excellent, hugely reliable cheap to run car (as Madf will testify). The mk1 is prone to crosswinds on the motorway, the mk2 is better in that respect.
|
A manual version of anything with the VAG 1.9 TDI 100/105 engine must be the choice here.
Octavia, Superb, Golf, Passat, Leon, Toledo, etc..........take your pick.
Don't forget to consider your insurance costs also.
|
Corax,
The Avensis auto is good on a long run,40+ maybe,but in traffic normally about 33mpg.With the recent weather etc,in traffic,27mpg.As said this is now not on for us.I could do with something that will do at least another 15mpg,lower insurance and tax.
I have had a newish Yaris on loan,and it was fine on the motorway(the 1300).Not sure what the real life mpg would be though?
|
>> Corax,
>> The Avensis auto is good on a long run,40+ maybe,but in traffic normally about 33mpg.With
Assume your new car will do 60mpg ovearall.
How much does that save you on fuel per week, per month, per year?
What if the new car does no better than 45mpg overall?
How much does that save you? Will the savings be worthwhile?
|
On the mileage figures, moving from an average 35mpg car to an optimistic 55 mpg car you'll save about a thousand a year. Then perhaps a hundred or so on insurance, maybe the same on tax?
£1200 a year, £100 a month if you push it, and only if your cost to change is zero.
Edit - John H had the same point to make I see.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Fri 7 Jan 11 at 22:07
|
Those are the kind of savings I am looking for actually,to offset some other costs we have.
We dont have large incomes,so that would be usefull.
|
|
Well certainly if I could do things to my lifestyle to save £100 a month I'd be looking at it seriously too.
|
>> Those are the kind of savings I am looking for actually,to offset some other costs
>> we have.
>> We dont have large incomes,so that would be usefull.
>>
£1000 a year, if you really can save that much on fuel, is £3 a day.
Assuming you don't waste money on cigs, alcohol, eating out, etc., then shopping at Aldi, Lidl, or Netto should do it.
Last edited by: John H on Fri 7 Jan 11 at 22:22
|
Not
>> sure what the real life mpg would be though?
A petrol 1.3 would be around 45-50mpg.
Last edited by: corax on Fri 7 Jan 11 at 22:17
|
I'd advertise them both privately, see which one sells first, then keep the other one. No dealer margins creeping in to your mathematics, or buying another used car with an unknown history and potential faults...
I'm in a similar situation to you - although no urgent need for cash. Gonna advertise both of mine privately and see what happens.
|
Hi Nick,
I would do as you suggest,except there are complications.As I said before both cars are pretty thirsty,about the same actually.With the price of petrol now,neither are suitable.Also,if it came to keeping the Focus,I cannot drive it any distance as the seats do not agree with me!...Shame because its a great car otherwise IMHO.
So,as it stands,they both have to go. They will be excellent buys for somebody,but me thinks they will not be easy to sell at the minute.I know I will get clobbered if I trade them in,but it would be easier.
If I had the bottle I would buy a Aygo,purely for the silly running costs,but that could be a step too far.
Anyway,thanks everyone for your contributions.I will let you know the outcome,for better or worse!...Great forum,bye the way.I have been around for a long time but do not post as much as I should.
Phil.
|
...If I had the bottle I would buy a Aygo,purely for the silly running costs,but that could be a step too far...
If you are considering a supermini, you could do worse than a diesel Panda.
Goes and handles well, quite roomy, and the diesel gives it what I call 'motorwayability' - enough grunt not to get in anyone's way.
|
Nowt wrong with an Aygo. We downsized from something much thirstier and bigger than your Avensis to an Aygo and don't regret it, other than the occasional nostalgic twinge. It's pretty small but you get used to it. Useless if you ever do actually want to carry a grandfather clock of course, but very acceptable in all other ways, especially running costs.
And yes, we have saved a fortune.
|
Hi Crankcase,
Please tell me more?..Do you do any motorway miles in it?What is the real world mpg?
Thanks....Phil
|
Yes, Phil, lots of motorway miles. No problem up to reasonable speeds - ie 70 ish, although we pootle at 65 ish mostly, because we prefer it rather than the car can't do it.
Overtakes you plan a bit is all, no big deal. You learn to take it all calmly which is no bad thing. Longest run - Scotland and back twice for holidays, 300 miles each way. No issues.
Averaging 57 mpg, including commuting, best ever was 62. Tax is £20. Main dealer service - one was £112, the big one £130.
Boot is supertiny so shopping only really but will seat 4 adults (not 5) easily. Four doors. Only two of us mostly so suitcases on the back seat.
Downsized from 4 litre 25mpg beast just coming up for three years ago, kept spreadsheet of savings. Just over 6k so far.
So, lots of compromises, not many toys although aircon, leather seats, CD, aux socket for MP3 and electric front windows all there. But if you want to save money, might be worth a look.
|
|
Panda diesel is a nice idea. If your gonna downsize, may aswell go all the way and max out your opportunity to save.
|
Also,if it came to
>> keeping the Focus,I cannot drive it any distance as the seats do not agree with
>> me!...Shame because its a great car otherwise IMHO.
The seats in the zetec seem to disagree with a lot of people - it sounds like Ford really got their sums wrong here - and yet no complaints from people with the ghia version, that seems to be the one to go for, I think L'escargot has one.
|
Sorry but you don't buy a new car to save money.
When the weather improves the economy of both cars will get better. All cars have seen a dramatic increase in fuel consumption this winter, diesels included. As soon as you trade in your car(s) you have wasted over £2,000.
Sell one, keep the other. Depreciation is you biggest yet hidden cost. Fuel use is irrelevant based upon your stated usage. Only consider fuel consumption if you are changing cars for any other reason (i.e. need a larger car, or lease coming to an end etc).
|
Espada is right - you won't save much if anything if you need a reliable car. For what you'd get for the two cars, anything you buy will probably have a higher mileage than your Focus and thus be more of a gamble.
A cheaper option might be to see if you can find some Focus Ghia seats (e.g. from a breaker's yard), fit them and see if you can drive the Focus in comfort. Then flog the Toyota.
This may not be what you want to hear but it really is worth doing your sums carefully, costing out several alternatives.
|
Hi Avant,
Thanks for that.I will look very carefully at all the options before I do anything.Do you know,or does anyone else know if the Focus Ghia seats would be a direct replacement if I could find some?
Cheers...Phil.
|
>>Do you know,or does anyone else know if the Focus Ghia seats would be a direct replacement if I could find some?
>>
Some just sold on Ebay so looks hopeful re finding a replacement.
Of course you will need a test drive of a Focus with leather seats and that might be the " hardest" part to achieve.
tinyurl.com/2ahr8q5
£425
|
>> Sorry but you don't buy a new car to save money.
>>
>> When the weather improves the economy of both cars will get better. All cars have
>> seen a dramatic increase in fuel consumption this winter, diesels included. As soon as you
>> trade in your car(s) you have wasted over £2,000.
>>
>> Sell one, keep the other. Depreciation is you biggest yet hidden cost. Fuel use is
>> irrelevant based upon your stated usage. Only consider fuel consumption if you are changing cars
>> for any other reason (i.e. need a larger car, or lease coming to an end
>> etc).
>>
>>
Spot on. I'd keep the Focus. If an 03 plate car has covered 11,000 miles fuel costs are a small part of total cost of ownership.
|
How easy is it to transplant seats into a modern car? I imagine the runners are compatible between different models of Focus, but with seat heaters, belt tensioners and side airbags there seems to be a lot of potential for things to go wrong - maybe dangerously so.
I've wondered about replacing the driver's seat of my Volvo, which is suffering cosmetically, but not structurally, after 115,000 miles, but even if could find a suitable seat, the complexity puts me off. Has anyone here achieved a successful transplant?
|
Can't imagine that it would be a big problem if the ignition was off and the battery disconnected. A competent garage could do it and the ECU could be easily adjusted if a fault light lit up.
|
|
You'd need to be careful of the seatbelt pre-tensioners as well, as these use pyrotechnics.
|
Given than some car interiors are stripped by thieves (presumably to install in other cars) and others are stripped by garages as part of insurance repairs etc, I would have thought (again) that it was fairly easily done, although requiring some care and time to do it properly.
I suspect the only problem would be if the replacement seats had airbags and the originals did not in which case some reprogramming via the OBD was required. Otherwise just be careful if the seatbelt receivers are attached to the seats rather than on a cable attached to the floorpan - as spamcan has implied.
|
I did this to my BMW years ago when I found the standard seat was giving me back ache on a long journey. I sourced a sport seat from a coupe and fitted it to my touring. This has much better support and has a pull out section at the front for more support to the legs. It would be more convenient if your replacement seat was the same spec as the original, but I couldn't be bothered to wait for one to turn up.
The seat went in easily - mated up to the runners as per the original, but as the coupe seat was from an older car it had a mechanical seat belt tensioning system. I had to disconnect the lead from the original seat that contained the more modern explosive device tensioner system and as this is linked to the airbags the dash light came on. I got round it by unbolting the seatbelt receiver from the original seat, reattaching the lead and hiding it under the replacement seat. The ECU was then reset by a specialist to turn the light off - but it thinks the seat is still there because the business end (seatbelt receiver) is still under the replacement seat.
|
Toyota Avensis - Decision made...well nearly! - Iffy
