There’s a stark choice. Either join the queue, be at the mercy of timetables and share your ride with lots of other people or do Bangernomics – the science of buying and running an old car for next to nothing.
And you can find good cars for the price of a bus season ticket. True, this isn’t the time for going out and buying a used car, but it’s the perfect time to plot and research your next purchase so you can pounce as soon as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
We’ll show you how to pick a motor that’ll be safe, practical and reliable – no matter your meagre budget, circumstances or requirements. We’ll also prove that it’s possible to have fun – because if buying a banger doesn’t involve having a laugh, you’re doing something wrong.
Minibus for the price of a bus pass
We randomly chose a First National ticket that, for £625, will get you in and around Ipswich for a whole year and allow you as far afield as the Nacton Crossroads, wherever that is. But just imagine you want to take your extended family of seven elsewhere.
2008 Renault Grand Espace 2.0 DCI Dynamique, 187,000 miles, £625: These big French ’buses are so stylish and good at swallowing people. The cheaper ones have covered loads of miles so you need to be jolly careful because they are a bit flimsy. The diesel engine is great, though, and will deliver 35mpg-plus.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Can I interest you in Supaguard? GAP insurance? PPE?
James, I get the idea of your Bangernomics but just curious as to why each time the Bangernomics subject gets a mention and especially in this case where you can buy a car which was once very expensive for the price of a bus pass, why do persist on showing pictures of the car when it was new or is fresh out the museum? If you can buy an S Class for under £1000 show the picture of said car rather than the prestine vehicle it once was.
A quick look on Autotrader at this very moment shows only three S classes under £1000, each one looking like it's bound for the scrapyard. You open the door to find ripped, filthy well used and abused leather and a steering wheel where quite frankly I'd stand less chance picking up an infection from touching a Covid19 sufferer. As for the carpets, they look like they're embedded with 15 years worth of nasal mucus.
We all know car salesmen make great profit by flogging extended warranties, paint protection, GAP etc I'm just thinking that when it comes to Bangernomics, they might find profit by selling PPE?
Shows how much better looking
Shows how much better looking cars were two decades ago than today's offerings - I refer to the Jag XJ, Audi TT & A8, Mercedes S class & SLK, BMW 7 series, the two Saabs & the Volvo.
Of these marques only Volvo manages to continue the tradition of design excellence.
Terios, TT, Multipla
IMO Terios's are a bit prone to rust while Audi TT's can be prone to turbo failure. Mark 1 Multipla's are so left field that they could become future classics through rarity.
TT's
Nah, they have no history of turbo failure any more than any other 20 year old car, see plenty of 200k miles plus examples. The coil packs mentioned are £25 a each and can be bought whenever one fails, might add £25 a year to your running costs.
4x you are the gift that keeps on giving...
the autocar poster equivalent of perpetual motion, except you have no use whatsoever. For your benefit, no requirement to acknowledge, I add the link that will put an end, at least on this topic, to your uninformed, dangerous, ridiculous propensity to disseminate words that have no meaning due to your lack of intellect, or ability to do some basic checks.
Go to the honestjohn website and look up the review for this car...you are a moron of the highest quality, your parents will be so proud they planted you and watched you grow from a puny seed into the stunted twig you have become.
Apart from your perpetual ignorance, you believe buying a coil pack, £25, really?...prove it...and just leaving it somewhere nearby the engine will be the fix?...do you know how to remove the faulty pack and install the new one?...NO...so, labour charges on top then. Fool.