I thought you said you were looking at cheap car?! I bought a second car a few years ago because for various reasons one car wasn't enough at the time - I picked up a straight, honest Fiesta for £500. Had it through two MOTs with minimal work (one year it was a light bulb, other year about £100 worth of bushes) before I sold it for £450. I mean, it was hot in summer because the A/C didn't work, but you can use your bike then. It never once let us down, that little Fester.
Fair point. To be honest, I haven't bought a really
really cheap car before. The thought of a £500 car makes me worry about hidden maintenance costs down the road. Capital outlay isn't my biggest problem, after I eventually sell it on, it will have only cost me the running costs and depreciation.
Having said that, I've experienced new cars with technical problems, so I'm under no illusion buying nearly new is any protection. Both my last two cars had electrical faults develop within warranty timeframes, but I didn't pay for those... so no biggy.
I'd be prepared to sell the car after a year or two if my circumstance changed. I was looking at <3 year old cars with <30k mileage, knowing full well won't be running it into the ground, putting no more than 2k on the clock over the winter. Depreciation shouldn't be a big problem based on the numbers I was running.
Out of interest, what year and how many miles did she have on her when you bought her?
Thirsty bugger but because I use it so infrequently it doesn't cost me much or impact the environment much. Annoys me greatly my VED tax is so much (because of engine size). But I hardly use it. Really should be done on mileage.
