Uncle Tone may have been here

[BLK 1T]

Morning All
I dont post much (working on the basis of if you dont have anything intelligent to say, shut the f%$k up) but I thought I might throw this out for your consideration.

The tonner lease finishes in a couple weeks so the time has come to decide whats next. Probably 80% of the time its just me driving around with the tray empty, given that I do around 900kms per week at 17.5ltr/100kms this equates to a significant fuel spend.
Option 1. Trade the tonner on an SS ute and bugger the fuel, maybe not so smart.
Option 2. Trade the tonner on an Egas falcon or diesel ute - yuk.
Option 3. Keep the tonner and buy a small car sharing the use as need arises.

So exploring Option 3 for the moment Ive done a spreadsheet of the small cars available based on the following criteria.
Pick the cheapest small car from the manufacturers website - manual inc A/C. 3 door prefered over 5 door as they are generally cheaper. If there is a sports option it goes on the list as well providing it has a larger engine / turbo. Record the kw/nm/$ figures for all cars. Then sort the list by kw/ton to get an idea which might perform better (still need to be competitive on the road).
Obviously the shape of the power/torque curves is unknown and gear ratios play a part but the idea is to get down to a manageable test drive list.
A couple of stray cars wandered into the list - gives a comparison.
Let me know your thoughts - good/bad/ugly I dont mind.

Phil

[NickS]

:bravo:

Nicely done Phil ... I like the Lotus (:nuts:). I have done this sort of thing a few times now, gone all sensible and logical and decided to buy a small hatch to drive daily. I eventually come to my senses and decided against it ... I think the $ per Killer-Wasps column says it all, $10 for the SS Ute, 3 or 4 times that for everything else.

I think you need to be careful to consider that you will be driving this day in / day out for several years ... is it possible that you could buy a hatch and get sick of it in a month or 2 and change your mind ? That's the exact reason why I have never done it, I just know that I would get sick of driving something like that VERY quickly and change my mind.

Having said all that ... the Peugot 207 GTi is about the only one on that list (besides the Lotus and the SS) that grabs my attention.

Keep us posted on what you decide ... good luck.

:cheers:

[BLK 1T]

Had a similar thought Nick - one solution may be to try and pick one up with say 25k on the clock and lease it over 2yrs. After that re-evaluate with the buzzbox and the tonner as trades. I reckon top 2 are Fiesta XR4 (with tape over the blue oval) and Polo GTi, Pug is just too dear for what you get.
No comment on the thread title?
Phil

[BLK 1T]

New copy of table with corrected $/kw figures - check the Lotus

Phil

[35R]

What would be more expensive in the long run...

Keep the tonner + run a small car too

Or

Trade the tonner on a new VE Ute (run a single car)

Considering insurance + rego + maintenance for two cars vs one etc.

I guess it depends on how much equity you have in the trade too.

[Scotty]

go the Ve ute.....

[BLK 1T]

OK
Here's the financing calculation.
Assumptions - fuel remains $1.70/ltr, doubt it, the higher it goes better the numbers on the buzzbox.
Trade ins - Tonner $18k probably optimistic. VS Ute is a spare we have and can be replaced by the kept tonner.
Finance figures from Excel loan calculator as Corporate Hire Purchase with zero balloon payment.

Phil

[NickS]

If the figures are accurate (they look alright to me ...) I'd pay the $1,600 pa over the next 4 years in a heartbeat.

:yep:

It has to be your choice obviously, but if you can swing the extra $130 pm comfortably I reckon the VE Ute would be a hell of a lot nicer place to be than a 4 cyl buzzbox ... especially @ 40,000 kms pa.

[VXGTS]

I was in a similar situation a few years ago. Not wanting the GTS to get the daily grind duties i looked around for a few options on what to get as a daily so the GTS can rest happily in the garage. I mean my main weekly commuting is driving to the train station and leaving a car there all day my daily couldnt be too flash, nor expensive (got a house deposit to save for).

I first went by the means of a $500 85 Rolla. That got sold rather quickly, as at the end of the day im still a car enthusiast and a FWD carby bucket wont excite anyone. Then i got a Nissan Pintara TRX 2.4L that also suffered the same fate, still wasnt perky enough. I then found a VN Calais to roll around in. Picked it up cheap with a year rego... perfect... until the paint was peeling so bad i had more primer on the roof that actual paint. Enter the Vn SS. I picked it up for a steal, its not perfect, in fact it needs a front end respray but it does its job prefectly! It had low K's runs great, put the calais interior in it so its comfy, and it has a bit of poke.

I guess at the end of that get what you know you'll enjoy, cos its easy to get bored of a 4 banger once you've got V8 blood!

[Muncha]

Get a VE ss ute and put a real lean tune in it. :p

[BLK 1T]

I absolutely agree $30/week is not significant.
Ive chucked the same table in below with fuel @ $2.50/ltr. I reckon we will pay this within 12-24 months.
The other small factor is the tonner is far superior to a ute for load carrying, 2400 x 1800 tray thats easy to load from any side and is happy with higher weights.
Phil

[Chowny]

If your after something small go the VW Golf GTI, ive been eyeing one of these off for the last few weeks as a new shopping trolley :)

[BLK 1T]

Gday Paul
I had already shortlisted the Polo Gti - dont need anything bigger. Have you made any enquiries about servicing etc on the VW? I am concerned that parts may cost an arm and 2 legs and take 6 weeks to procure.

Phil

[drewbytes]

I'm surprised you don't have the Hyundai i30 in your list. Good little car and the diesel is remarkably fuel efficient.

[Delft Maloo]

im actually looking at some small turbo diesels atm, fiat punto, vw golf-polo, hyundai i30, peugot 207-307 plus a few others. In most of the european makes they have a couple of different tdi power levels and most of them have a fair bit more torque and the same kw's as the petrol versions.
It doesn't show it in the acceleration figures but once you get the td's off the mark you will nearly allways smoke the petrol version's even if they have more kw's and they will return even better fuel economy.Most of the late model small car turbo diesels return economy figures in the 4.5-5.5l/100 combined and some in the 3's on the highway and usually no worse than 5.5-6 around town. i think the fiat punto td was 3.8l/100 highway and about 4.8l/100 city.
Go a TD and love the torque and boost.

[cosmo vyss]

The hyundai i30 would be a good daily hack, also the volkswagon td, the one the is supercharged and turbo charged would be a good run about.

Hard to go passed the VE though.

JB

[OPPYLOCK]

You have missed one small but very significant factor in your calculations. The Fun Factor.
Most of the hot hatch brigade are defined by their character not their statistics. I would think some test drives are in order.

[BLK 1T]

OK Quick update but no decision yet.
Driven three of the cars over past week.
Ford Fiesta XR4, VW Polo diesel, Fiat Punto Turbo petrol. All have some redeeming features and all I have reservations about.
Ford - would seem to be a safe choice, goes OK, looks OK, price ATM $26,700 drive away. Can I hande being seen driving a F#$d after bagging them for 40yrs?
VW - Went OK, exterior and interior extremely bland (German style I guess). Driveaway $24,200. Cheaper to buy, cheaper for fuel. Cant seem to get hold of Polo GTi to test so far.
Fiat - Really nice to drive, good power, nice interior and exterior. Downside unknown resale value, unknown build quality and parts cost (similar to VW?). Driveaway $25,990.

Food for thought
Phil

[Delft Maloo]

go a euro turbo diesel;)

[SSUte01]

How about putting the Tonner on either liquid or vapour injection LPG setup, for about $1000 pa over 4 years after rebate, I estimate that if the ratio of LPG/Petrol stays similar that you would save approximately $4000-5000pa (maybe more maybe less it depends) on fuel costs and therefore saved enough over four years to keep the Tonner and buy a 1yo or demonstrator TD Hatch just for kicks or better yet a project car :D

That way you get to drive a V8 all the time

Have you considered second hand cars of the genre you are talking about or does that not work with the finance??

[FatBoy]

I'm thinking of going turbo diesel myself. Having a decent sized boat to drag around a D40 dual cab Navara makes a lot of sense...

Then a VT / VX track car for my LSx fix... :bow: