Options for a motorway cruiser

[ultralaser]

About 18 months ago I bought a cheap run around, a mark IV Civic and for pottering around it is generally excellent for that and reliable, but on long motorway journeys it's neither efficient or comfortable. So I'm considering leasing or buying a second car for the longer journeys which I'm having to suffer for at least 2 years. I'd consider selling my Civic (roughly £6k) and buy for around £28K, and for leasing I'd have upto £320 PCM.

For reference the Civic is getting 34MPG (and I'd like closer to 50), I'm doing about 18K miles a year.

Anyone got any thoughts? If the best option is to keep with the Civic that's fine too. Just want something efficient and comfortable, less bothered about performance on motorway runs to be honest.

 

[Quartz]

Is this a commute? If so, are charging points for EVs available at each end?

 

[ultralaser]

Is this a commute? If so, are charging points for EVs available at each end?

So it's not a commute no, just more like visiting regional offices, on most journeys I don't have the ability to use charging points.

 

[fastwunz]

So you don’t need any particular type of
Vehicle like an estate for instance?

For £320 a month I would look at a skoda or VW - Octavias or Passsats something like that

 

[NVP]

Swapping to lease for economy is a bad reason. Buy a comfy luxo barge like a second hand superb or similar

 

[crinkleshoes]

Doesn't help with the comfort factor, which could easily be a worthwhile reason to change.

But if you're looking to lose your current, proven reliable vehicle for an economy saving in the form of fuel savings.

18k miles per year isn't insignificant, nor is it all that high.

Going for the up to £28k purchase, I assume would be mostly financed on HP or PCP. Lease of course is a cost for a service, but you're left with no value at the end.

I'm a bit tired, so forgive me if my maths aren't perfect, but consider these figures as the economy saving may not be what you had hoped when the additional lease / finance / higher depreciation rate for a higher value car are taken into account.

Let's start with your Civic... worth £6k now, 2 years and 36k miles down the line, let's guesstimate it'll be worth £3k at the end of it.
36k miles at 34mpg at current rates of approx £6 per gallon of petrol, (36,000/34)*£6 ~= £6,350

So total cost to you (not including servicing and consumables)... approx £9,350


Let's look at your lease choice, assuming you use all your budget to give you the most comfortable car available.

Usually you put down 3, 6 or 9 months for your initial rental.

So you'd have (6+23)*£320 = £9,280
36k miles at 50mpg at £6.50 per gallon of diesel, (36,000/50)*£6.50 ~= £4680

So total cost to you... approx £14k
and you can see the difference in fuel saving by itself over 2 years is just a shade under £70/month.


If you were to purchase, even on a good interest rate & were smart in picking a decent car at a reasonable point in it's depreciation curve and one where the value doesn't fall off a cliff with miles... you'd be hard pressed to improve upon the leasing cost.

The additional £2.5k/year cost to you for a more fuel economical vehicle, doesn't sound like the saving you were after.



Your best option to improve your overall economy & get into a more comfy seat for the longer trips... would be to chop in the Civic and find something diesel and reliable around a similar price or maybe only a little bit more... rather than going for a much more expensive vehicle or a lease.

The only logic to getting a lease or purchase something of higher value would be if you simply fancy a newer car.

 

[Scania]

520d. Your (max) budget easily puts you behind the wheel of an approved used G30.

To be honest though you could spend half that and still be in a very nicely specced F10.


The motorways are full of 520d’s for a very good reason.

 

[mjt]

As long as it has an auto 'box and active cruise control, whatever fits in your budget!

 

[monkey_boy]

This volvo lease has an auto box and adaptive cruise. Bit of a ball ache changing after 18 months but there always seem to be deals about if you're not fussy about exact make and model.
https://www.nationalvehiclesolution...-Momentum-4dr-Geartronic-Personal-Lease/57357

 

[Musty Pie]

Doesn't help with the comfort factor, which could easily be a worthwhile reason to change.

But if you're looking to lose your current, proven reliable vehicle for an economy saving in the form of fuel savings.

18k miles per year isn't insignificant, nor is it all that high.

Going for the up to £28k purchase, I assume would be mostly financed on HP or PCP. Lease of course is a cost for a service, but you're left with no value at the end.

I'm a bit tired, so forgive me if my maths aren't perfect, but consider these figures as the economy saving may not be what you had hoped when the additional lease / finance / higher depreciation rate for a higher value car are taken into account.

Let's start with your Civic... worth £6k now, 2 years and 36k miles down the line, let's guesstimate it'll be worth £3k at the end of it.
36k miles at 34mpg at current rates of approx £6 per gallon of petrol, (36,000/34)*£6 ~= £6,350

So total cost to you (not including servicing and consumables)... approx £9,350


Let's look at your lease choice, assuming you use all your budget to give you the most comfortable car available.

Usually you put down 3, 6 or 9 months for your initial rental.

So you'd have (6+23)*£320 = £9,280
36k miles at 50mpg at £6.50 per gallon of diesel, (36,000/50)*£6.50 ~= £4680

So total cost to you... approx £14k
and you can see the difference in fuel saving by itself over 2 years is just a shade under £70/month.


If you were to purchase, even on a good interest rate & were smart in picking a decent car at a reasonable point in it's depreciation curve and one where the value doesn't fall off a cliff with miles... you'd be hard pressed to improve upon the leasing cost.

The additional £2.5k/year cost to you for a more fuel economical vehicle, doesn't sound like the saving you were after.



Your best option to improve your overall economy & get into a more comfy seat for the longer trips... would be to chop in the Civic and find something diesel and reliable around a similar price or maybe only a little bit more... rather than going for a much more expensive vehicle or a lease.

The only logic to getting a lease or purchase something of higher value would be if you simply fancy a newer car.

This man seems to speak a lot of sense!

 

[-westy-]

This man seems to speak a lot of sense!

Agreed. Spending £28k (£22k after selling the Civic for £6k) to save 16mpg doesn't make sense at all.

Buy something worth roughly the same, only then will you see actual savings.

 

[monkey_boy]

I think it's clear that the OP fancies a change and wants economy to be a consideration. Perhaps some suggestions that combine both might be useful? Doesn't always have to be a choice between a 4l V8 and bangernomics.

 

[ultralaser]

Appreciate all the comments, was just wondering if I can could get a more comfortable ride with better fuel economy without spending the earth. I'll probably just buy a little polo for a run around and maybe a 520d for the motorways.

 

[-westy-]

Appreciate all the comments, was just wondering if I can could get a more comfortable ride with better fuel economy without spending the earth. I'll probably just buy a little polo for a run around and maybe a 520d for the motorways.

Why would you need 2 cars? For example, what’s wrong with just having a 520d for everything?