A Polo count-down
I am a 48-year-old single mother of 4 and have just qualified as a nurse. I have got a job as a community staff nurse, which involves a lot of travelling. My present car is a 2000X Polo (bought 2nd hand from a dealer in Kent for about £5,000 two years ago on HP) and I can only drive automatic cars, which limits my choice (I only have an automatic licence). Any car trader can see me coming miles away with a large ‘rip-me-off ‘sign as I do not know anything about cars and have got ripped off many times in the past. I am asking if you could recommend whether I should trade my present car in and get something else as my Polo although it is very good. It is heavy on petrol and I spend on average £20 - £30 a week on fuel. Brand new cars do not excite me as I am not worried about the aesthetics of the vehicle or how good it looks, just the reliability and the economy of it. I am still paying off my Polo and will not have loads to spend so I am not necessarily looking for a brand new car. I could put £1,000 down if I sell a family heirloom, or should I trade in my car? My children can work towards buying their own old banger between them so I do not have to accommodate for them necessarily. Can you recommend anything to me?
Asked on 19 December 2009 by
Answered by
Honest John
If the Polo is running okay I don't think you will be able to reduce your
fuel bills significantly with a newer automatic in the price range you are talking about, except, perhaps with a Toyota Yaris 1.3 4-speed automatic. That should do well over 40mpg on runs. But because they are highly regarded, they tend to be quite dear used and that is a recipe for another rip-off. You might save £5 - £10 a week on fuel, but that's only £260 - £320 a year, which is peanuts compared to the cost of financing a newer car.
fuel bills significantly with a newer automatic in the price range you are talking about, except, perhaps with a Toyota Yaris 1.3 4-speed automatic. That should do well over 40mpg on runs. But because they are highly regarded, they tend to be quite dear used and that is a recipe for another rip-off. You might save £5 - £10 a week on fuel, but that's only £260 - £320 a year, which is peanuts compared to the cost of financing a newer car.
Tags:
fuel economy
owning
Real MPG enables you to register the fuel economy you are actually getting against your make and model of car, its engine and type of transmission.
Every time you enter an average consumption figure against your car, the overall average automatically adjusts to reflect it.
Similar questions
I have a Jaguar XE, nearly two years old, which averages around 39mpg on the computer set for long periods. 2000 miles ago I decided to check real mpg by checking fill-ups against mileage and was surprised...
I have an Hyundai Ioniq, which I've run exclusively on Shell fuels for the 5000 miles that I've had it. I was getting 60-62 mpg on the regular stuff, then put a tank of the V-Power in and got 64 mpg. I...
Related models
.jpg?width=115&height=75&rmode=crop)
Facelifted Polo III, still with an upmarket image. Better than pre-facelift and all now have power steering.
.jpg)
