small car and big van

[baconbarm]

Im basically looking to save some money, but not sure if the numbers stack up.

I drive a lwb high top van for work and spend between £250 to £350 a month on diesel.

This is the only vehicle I have, so i use it for everything.

I was thinking about the possibilities of buying a small car for running around in and pricing jobs up etc- it would also be handy for day to day use such as taking the kids school.

But is it possible to own two vehicles and actually save money? Can it be done based on my fuel costs in the van- probably 90% of my driving could be done in a small car

 

[Fazerruss]

How about smaller car and a box trailer instead of the van?

 

[baconbarm]

How about smaller car and a box trailer instead of the van?

Losing the van isn't an option really, its loaded up with a couple of gennys, welding gear, jackhammers and all the usual powertools that need to be kept secure.

I only got thinking about it the other day when my sister needed a lift to and from the hospital, she had a minor operation which meant she wasn't allowed to drive, so I had use of her car which was a small Suzuki, not sure but I think it was called an Alto? Anyway, she doesn't pay road tax and can go to the moon and back for 20 quids worth of petrol according to her.

 

[Charlie390]

It should be simple enough to work out, taking your example a Suzuki Alto should do roughly 50mpg in a mixture of driving, I don't know what your van would do mpg wise but say 25mpg?

So at best, if you did all your travelling for a month in the car you'd spend £170 a month on fuel instead of £350 saving £180. Obviously you would still be using the van and not all the car so you would never actually save this much. Then you have to take away other costs like servicing and insurance and the initial purchase cost.

So you might end up saving money but it would take a while to pay off.

 

[Arash]

Get an insurance quote first, its the most expensive bit of motoring for some of us!

 

[skotl]

Have a look at the Fiat 500s, too. Some of them are zero road-tax and claim to do 50-70MPG.
I would have said VW but their figures need to be taken with a pinch of salt, now!

As said, calculate how many miles you spend each month where you need the fully laden van, then calculate how many miles you do where it's just you or you and one or two passengers.
You do need to figure in the depreciation of the new car, too - it's all money down the drain unless you can show that the entire monthly/annual cost of the new motor is less than the cost of the van's diesel.

 

[Dee J]

Lots of small old cheap cars around. 600 pounds should get you an old Nissan Micra. Cheap to run, last forever and probably get cheap insurance too. After hauling around big cars and vans, something small, light and easy to park can be a revelation.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I use a Smart as my everyday car (I've got Disco, Mahindra & Marlin as well) but the "family" Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDi which wife uses is actually more economical.

 

[julianthegypsy]

If you can find a small car running on lpg, then you're looking at 45 odd mpg at 55p per litre. I have an old Vectra 1.8, does 30 to the gallon, but at that price for fuel it works out at more like 60mpg AND I can get piles of steel in it too. Since you have a big van you wouldn't need to do that so you could get a tiny car and end up at an equivalent 100mpg...

 

[Mr Fro]

Lots of small old cheap cars around. 600 pounds should get you an old Nissan Micra. Cheap to run, last forever and probably get cheap insurance too. After hauling around big cars and vans, something small, light and easy to park can be a revelation.

Read my mind! How low are you prepared to go? I had a 91 reg micra that I used as a runaround/commuter when I was in to cars with stupid sized engines. It looked awful but kept on going. After a few years I sold it for what I paid for it so essentially it was free. Saved me a good wad in fuel, insurance was about £100 and I didn't bother with maintenance. :-)

 

[Robotstar5]

Lots of small old cheap cars around. 600 pounds should get you an old Nissan Micra. Cheap to run, last forever and probably get cheap insurance too.

There was a Y plate one for sale by me recently for £240 - bargain

 

[Kent]

Remember the biggest cost that is overlooked is depreciation of the asset
A new car should loose 30% just leaving the showroom - that's a lotta derv

Pain in the behind though doing the school run and such in a big van
Is it viable to the buisness to have a clean little funky car all lettered up for advertising and a run about at least that way you could run it through the buisness but remember company car tax in that

 

[Kent]

I don't think depreciation is a major concern on a 250 quid car...

Of course, you're unlikely to get free ved on an old banger, and that ~150 a year is a big reason to spend ~9k on a new car (then lose 3k in the first year...)

 

[Kent]

No but the op said he was spending that on diesel not he wanted to spend that on a car

Btw we bought a 1300 micra 17 years ago new sold it to a mate 3 yrs later his daughter is still running it today.
I doubt you could get the same use out of the current micra

 

[Kent]

He didn't say new car either in my defence (and I wasn't the first to mention a sub £500 car).

But anyway, who would buy a new car to save money when the finance costs alone would outweigh any fuel savings?

Well that was my point. We have an old scooby in the fleet it drinks petrol and eats tires done 170k owned it from new and it has never let us down. It's also seriously fun and faster along our hills and lanes than anything
So who cares it will only cost us suspension bushes which it has always taken delight in destroying

 

[Kent]

This is true and why we keep it
I want to keep it forever but use it as a spare / winter car and will be forced into a biddy car ( actually I quite like the new uncle fester)
You see our eldest won't get allowed on the scooby or the pickup as a learner and she is 17 next July
I did calculate we would spend 200 less a month on fuel though and of course the car will come to us new under full warranty. Scooby bits are mega bucks now

 

[dunk]

i had same problem as you, the van was the work, shopping, visit tom dick harry, go out for functions etc etc transport, pain in the butt when parking, multifloor car parks could`nt get in them (van too high), some car parks no vans allowed in, then theres the tax man, how many miles do you do for personal use,
i brought a picasso, 2.0 diesel, 2001 model, no dpf, standard clutch not one of these overpriced dmf rubbish, 50 -55mpg knocking about £145 tax a year full ins under £200, parts are cheap, easy to fix, plus take seats out and she becomes a small van, very roomy,enough gadgets to play with inside, dont touch the petrol ones or the 1.6 diesel ones, stay under the year 2002 model, can pick one up around £300 - £500, although i`ve noticed the prices rising slowly for these early diesel ones, mine has 235,000 on it and starts first time never misses a beat, oh, and the driving position i like as its slightly upright like the van, plenty of room for the kids