When cars cost too much to run

Certain costs – fuel, insurance, depreciation – can be estimated pretty well before you commit to a car (but look at road tests / Honest John for fuel consumption, not the published figures). What you will find less easy are repair/replacement costs if things go wrong. These can make a big hole in your budget. Turbo failures, injectors, alternator, replacing Xenon bulbs, may hit you, particularly if, like me, you keep you car into 6 figure mileage. My alternator is water cooled and costs £400 parts (repaired locally last time for £200), my turbo failed, my gearbox failed at 90k, but I philosophically regard this as a trade off against low depreciation in a car a like and hopefully will now motor on for a lot more miles. However, worth looking at these costs when considering a car. My Son’s BMW windscreen costs £1000 – not necessarily replaced on insurance with a genuine BMW screen – so if it matters you’ll have to stump up the cost.
Also worth checking whether you have a local independent garage for your make to service your car – mine is ex-dealer people who charge 60% of the main dealer labour cost – a substantial saving.

For me, the top priority is to avoid buying models or makes with a very poor reputation for reliability. For many years I have listened to Fiat and Renault owners’ tales of woe. I try to avoid buying a new model, preferring to wait until the major problems have been overcome. Before buying, I try to find out about common problems with a model and how much they would cost to fix.

There is a lot to be said for buying popular models because they are often sold at competitive prices and spares are usually readily available.

My tips to save money are to minimise car use by combining journeys, and not to replace a car unless there is a compelling reason for doing so.

You probably bought the Studebaker for reasons other than fuel economy and with such a car, this shouldn’t really be an issue. Your use of it is. A “sensible” second car, to supplement the classic Studebaker, is a pre-requisite of ownership. My elderly Volvo averaged 28 to the gallon and, while it ran well, I put up with that, because a replacement was a costly alternative. When it finally became unreliable, I bought my first diesel, and this was principally to improve fuel economy. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have considered diesel as an option. Times change.

The only expense I’ve really considered has been fuel economy – But have been caught out several times – Had Austin Martin DB – the cost of insurance was prohibited (couldn’t afford to renew) Had a Mazda from new that cost an arm and a leg to replace worn out fittings within four years – Had a Mini Cooper S that was unreliable. The best was a Nissan that I had 20 years and only went wrong once at 20 years old and decided to replace it with an Hyundai..

Have a Mercedes 300D. Some time ago needed a replacement for a blown rear light….was driving past a main dealer so stopped and went in . Told cost was £49!!!!! Left and went to my usual service people in NW6…..cost nil + free cup of coffee!! Family run firm,excellent mechanics (as opposed to fitters) and customer service as it should be.

I bought a pre-registered Saab 9-3 1.9TDI in March 2006 for £20,000. Effectively a new car with 5 miles on the clock and it has now done 64000 miles. I have in my calculations of running costs, depreciated this to zero value. Including running costs, standard services, tyres, MoTs, insurance, depreciation and unexpected repairs the average cost of the car over its life has been about 65p/mile. Not sure if that’s good or bad but the unexpected repairs have included: (a) alternator and battery (£550); (b) inlet manifold, swirl actuator and EGR valve (£1,880); (c) dual mass flywheel and clutch (£1,650); (d) steering column integrated module and replacement keys (£670); (e) steering rack (£1,500); and (f) a drive belt pulley (£150). Total = £6,400. Dual mass flywheels are a known issue with manual diesels but overall the above list is a bit longer than I was expecting over the period I have owned the car. That said, it is comfortable and very good when running well. Only the alternator failure left me stranded and needing a recovery truck.

Purchased a new Toyota RAV4 D4D in 2002, in warranty I had a new waterpump and cambelt,
a replacement gearbox and new modified brakes. After the warranty I had the duel mass fiywheel and clutch replaced £2000 with no help from Toyota GB now I have had the second set of suction valves replaced in total £950 and no help from Toyota GB.
The Toyota dealership is very good and have serviced the vehicle since new but Toyota GB are a total disgrace and have total disreguard for the failings of poor quality parts fitted to the RAV4.
The customer service at Toyota GB is none exisitant, beware of the myth that Toyota are a reliable make and produce quality vehicles!

We bought a Fiat Punto Evo Sporting in 2010 as it had lot of standard kit and boasted a 1.4 Turbo Multi-Air system, which claimed Fiat gave it great economy together with the low-down grunt of a supercharged engine using a turbo. All very clever and indeed it pulled from a very un-turbo like 1200 rpm all the way to the red line. The down-side to this is that it is impossible to obtain the mpg claimed by Fiat and averages 28-32 mpg on mixed cycle driving which is poor for a 1.4 litre engine. The only way of getting close to claimed mpg figures is to drive on a flat motorway at 55mph!

Purchased a Seat Altea,5 door 1.6 petrol what a super car.Took the car to Paris, now the realization begins used nearly half a tank going from Enfield to the channel tunnel, the car had something about stopping at petrol stations, it cost a fortune in fuel.I put this down to the fact in order to maintain a constant 70 mph I was always driving at 4000 rpm, you are now drinking fuel big time, gearing all wrong in my opinion
Car now due a service, still under warranty, took the car to the local seat dealer it was the cars second annual service, a whopping £390, the car had not even covered 10,000 miles 2 years old.
Part X for a Nissan Qashqai

I fell in love with the new (at that time) Mercedes-Benz A class back in 1998, it was the most unreliable car I’ve had since a Ginetta G15 kit car. On top of that the M-B servicing charges were appalling. I realise since that the company went through a bad time with build quality but that experience has put me off prestige cars for good. The Toyota Corolla which replaced it was comfortably the most reliable car I’ve ever had, if not the most exciting! I just need to find out how good my VW Polo 1.2 TSI is, it drives brilliantly.

Regret buying a Mitsibushi Grandis due to disaster dealers service and from the Head Office and due to very high running costs. Petrol tank seem to disappear very quickly probably only 200 miles from a tank costing around £70. Road tax is well over £200 (and i was lucky that my car registration date was just a few days different from another similar car who are paying around £400). Insurance is not cheap either – around £600. Forgot about the depreciation that’s bad as well. But the worst part is Car Parts cost. Had to replace Exhaust and that cost around £400. Really really regretting buying a Mitsibushi car due to the reasons mentioned above.

Don’t be fooled by the engine size!!

I recently got rid of my 2.0l Vauxhall Insignia for a 1.4l Corsa – BIG mistake.

Fuel consumption on the 1.4l is worse than the Insignia and I see “my” Insignia every day as I sold it to a colleague – choked!!