djrm Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hi everyone! I am considering getting a second car for daily use as last week alone I put about £100 in petrol into the Z and it's only going to get worse! I have been looking at the new Alfa Romeo Mito and the Peugeot 207. The Mito is a stunning looking little car and the 207 has a great "Just add fuel" leasing offer on at the moment. I am test driving both on Thursday, just wanted people's opinions really! Anyone on here have any experience with either of these? Anyone recommend any other little cars that might be good? Thanks! Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Buy a £500 shed and run that instead. Far cheaper than buying a new car, even over lease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrm Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Yeah but reliability is an issue for me. I need a reliable car that isn't going to surprise me with a massive bill at some point... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK350Z Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Yeah but reliability is an issue for me. I need a reliable car that isn't going to surprise me with a massive bill at some point... So you are looking at Peugots and Alfas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 And you're considering an Alfa and a Pug??!! Only kidding, I know what you mean. Thing is, even an older car is going to cost you much less to run than one of the two you mentioned, and what you save you keep as a slush fund in case something does go wrong. Worst comes to the worst you bin it and get a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK350Z Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Snap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrm Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Haha that was actually going to be my next question... I've heard that Alfas have a bit of a reputation for breaking down, is this true? We have a Peugeot Bipper work van and it has been very solid and reliable so there's no issue with them for me. And I know you're right about the shed idea, that it will be the cheapest option... I just really like the Mito... haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrm Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 So what would we say the best sheds are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Ford or Vauxhall really. A mk1 Mondeo will last forever, same as an old Astra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveparkin Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 My better half has a 207 SW 1.4VTi, and I have to be honest I really quite like it. Its chuckable, and being the SW has huge capacity for a small (if you can really call a 207 small) car. It is, however, seriously underpowered given the weight of the SW - I would buy the 1.6 if I had the choice. The 1.4 and 1.6 VTi engines are actually the BMW Prince engine out of the latest Mini. I would say, though, I don't think its really built to last. I went wrong last year, when the engine coolant temperature sensor failed, but was easy to DIY diagnose and fix even though the MIL light didn't come on, 'cos the temperature gauge said it was hot when it was cold and it wouldn't cold start. It has a tremendous thirst for oil, and at £12 per litre the cost really adds up, plus you have to keep an eye on the level regularly. The air con makes some trerrible racket from behind the dash, but when asked to investigate, the dealer's response is 'aircon tested and works fine' - not very helpful. The Peugeot dealers are pretty poor in my experience, and it costs more to service than the Zed! Hope this helps to confuse you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveparkin Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Ford or Vauxhall really. A mk1 Mondeo will RUST forever, same as an old Astra. Edited to reflect my previous experiences Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrm Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thanks for the info Dave! Are they really more expensive than a Z to service?! This is 1 reason why I would like to get a new car as servicing + MOT are included for the 1st 3 years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmarky Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I bought my Astra shed for £300 with the thought that if it breaks down ill just scrap it and buy another. 3 1/2 years on and its still running, passed every MOT first time, id love to know how much money its saved me in that time. There are some cracking bargains around, good luck in ya search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveparkin Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 In truth, there's not much in it, but as an example, a full Peugeot dealer 40,000 mile service on the 207 was about £400, including plugs and a brake fluid change. In fairness, I think there are cheaper options for older cars out of warranty, but if you take them they tell you storys about using 'non-genuine parts, but supplied through Peugeot' whatever that means, and they don't use the right oil, which I believe is very important in that engine. The plugs are platinum and need doing every 40k. On the Zed, I paid about £200 for a P1 and less than £350 for a P3 at a Nissan dealer (actually the same company as the Pug dealer locally, but the Nissan side offer much better service). If I recall correctly the plugs on the Zed are about £150 extra, but the interval is longer on them. Peugeot state 2 year/20,000 mile intervals, but they also reccommend an interim oil service, which is over £100. Its a bit of a cheek really - most people can probably see that really means 1 year/10,000 miles if they were honest about it! Honestly, though, I still really like the 207, even though I wasn't expecting to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bockaaarck Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 A big +1 on the shed route in the circumstances I think. Looking at getting myself an Astra / Mondeo / Accord in the next few weeks. Mainly because I was previously commuting by train and I'd rather not put miles on the Zed just going to work. Think my budget will be around the £1K mark, should get a reasonable 10 year old runner for that kind of money and if it last's 2 - 3 years that'll do me fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John tarantula Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I paid £900 for a 70K 1999 Corsa 2 (?) years ago - spent no money on it apart from vague services and MOT and still going strong. If anything major goes wrong with it then off to the scrappy it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeroy Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I think I'd look at Focus's (Focii?) or something a bit different like a SAAB, which should be reliable enough but cheap. I also secretly quite fancy a go in a Panda 100hp, and would definitely consider a Suzuki Swift Sport. I ran a MKIV Golf GT TDi 150 for a couple of years and it was impressive, loads of diesel power/torque and they remap well too. You could also look at Seats of the same vintage with the PD 130/150 engine? HTH..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightRacer Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 If you are looking at new or nearly new shedding then have you considered something like a Focus? We have just bought a 2011 Focus 1.6 diesel so still 2 years left on the warranty and while it ranks among the most unexciting cars I have ever driven it does its job brilliantly. loads of room inside Good fuel economy (mid 40's round town, up to 70 on a run) plenty of toys (sat nav, bluetooth, alloys, sports suspension, heated front screen etc etc) super cheap on road tax (£30 per year) Also looks pretty nice (Zetec & Sport packages) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 1993-1997 series Toyota Corolla. Despite the age you will see more of these than any other car from that era still going strong. My son has one, I have one, my daughter's sister-in-law has one - all 3 are 19 years old or more and no garage can find anything wrong with them. You still have to pay between £600-£800 for a decent one though. The underneath of all of ours are better than the 350Z and all 3 live outside. Boring but true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrm Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Neil - Thanks for that, I know Toyota's are pretty bulletproof. What about Yaris's? Found this... http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3608072.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Neil - Thanks for that, I know Toyota's are pretty bulletproof. What about Yaris's? Found this... http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3608072.htm Believe it or not, 2 of those in the family as well (brother-in-law and niece - albeit they are both 1.3s). Bulletproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I agree with the shed option. But, you will have to very carefully check out all the figures to see if you will really save money. I drew up a spreadsheet factoring in all the costs of me running my zed over 12 months and using it as a daily work commuting vehicle covering about 24,000 miles a year. The zed was costing me £900 a month in total, with half of that being purely on fuel. Ive been fortunate enough to be able to use my missus`s old car which is a Peugeot 307 Hdi over the last few weeks, so lets take that as an example of a shed... It does 52mpg average over a tank of fuel, which is exactly double what I get out of the zed. So, looking at the fuel alone i`d save about £225 a month. Looking at sold prices on ebay, it would cost about £1500 for someone to buy a similar car. Depreciation at that level of value is a lot lower than the zed, so over the first 12 months, your looking at about £500 depreciation, insurance coming in at £500, road tax £150, mot £30, tyres £200, servicing around £100. So 12 month running costs are around £1500. So not incl any "hidden" problems, the car would effectively pay for itself (for me) over the first 7 months. Meaning over the remaining 5 months of the year id save just over a grand. Which may sound a lot, but if the shed has some unforceen problem like a new clutch needed, or cambelt, then it soon starts looking like not such a good idea, as your`d end up saving very little. Of course, if you start looking at a more expensive shed, or a brand new 2nd car, then the depreciation and running costs will be higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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