How to buy an inexpensive used car, cheap to run and cheap to insure
Today I bought a new car. Given the current economic climate and credit crunch times, I'm not sure how sensible a decision this is - but at least the car insurance, as well as the vehicle, was cheap!
It's not a brand new car - it's a second-hand one, a Ford Fiesta. Thought it might be useful to share my thinking about how I came to splash out hundreds of pounds on a new motor. You might pick up a few tips.
I started looking around for a new car maybe a year ago. Can you believe that? That seems like a very long time before actually deciding to make a purchase. Well, there's a reason or two for that timeframe.
My old car, a Rover, got past its MOT last year ok, but I decided to check in the online Parkers used car guide how much it might be worth these days. I always think it's worth checking the price occasionally and then working out how much money might be required to upgrade.
It was almost horrifying to notice how the Rover had depreciated so hugely. I knew I was mostly running the car into the ground - but still, to realise its age and then see such a low value made me start thinking about whether to buy a new car or not. It was possible perhaps that my family could get by with just one car.
I wrestled with that issue for quite awhile. Cycling to work saves petrol, and to move from a two-car household to just one vehicle would also save insurance, tax and maintenance costs. However, as time went on I started to realise the freedom cars give citizens.
This was probably the major deciding factor - paying for a car is like paying for more freedom of movement in my daily life. Balancing that with another key consideration - damaging the environment with pollution - I still decided to opt for a replacement car.
It seems a car is a useful, if not essential, part of modern life. Travelling to shops, travelling to work and travelling to visit friends - it tends to be much more convenient, and cheaper, than public transport.
Because the Rover was still a good runner and motor insurance was cheap, there was nothing to lose money-wise by running the car for a further year, until the next MOT. It was a good gamble - the Rover ran smoothly for the last 12 months, yet it lost little value because it was already not worth very much.
So I was able to run my old car for a year at very little cost. As this year's MOT came closer, I began asking friends and colleagues if they were aware of cars for sale. A couple of options appeared, a Vauxhall Astra and Peugeot 106. The first was good quality, but in the end I decided it was too expensive. The other, while cheap, was too old and tatty.
Then, out of the blue, my brother-in-law contacted me and said a mate was selling a 52-plate Ford Fiesta, complete with air conditioning, sporty dials and CD player, and just 20,000 miles on the clock.
With a low cash price, I knew this was a good deal and bought the car within a week. It was worth the wait - cheap to insure, I now own a good value, excellent quality runaround that is likely to provide a few years of relatively inexpensive motoring. Job done.