Would You Let The Cost Of Taxing A Car Put You Off Buying It?

[Rich_p 23]

I'm currently looking round for new cars as I will have had my civic 10 years next week and I feel it's time for a change.

 

I don't want a BMW/Audi/Merc/French and I don't really want a diesel either.

 

 

Choosing cars is proving tricky. I have a budget of only about £6k. It needs to be a hatchback, fairly modern, fairly quick but have low miles.

 

I quite like golf GTi's but for that money they have lots of mileage. Focus ST's are ok but I'm not such a big fan of the wheels and bodykit. Also For lowish miles I'm looking at £7.5K plus.

 

I liked old octavia VRS's but they are too old and the new ones are not for me.

 

I like early leon Cupras but they are getting on a bit and I don't like the later shape ones.

 

I have discovered Mazda 3 MPS - They are quite rapid at 260 odd bhp and sub 6 seconds 0-60. (2.3 turbo)

They fit the bill in terms of being quite understated looks wise too. I can get a car with under 35k on the clock for less than 6 thousand.

 

My issue with them is the tax band they fall into. £475 a year or £260 for 6 months!

 

If I keep the car for 5 years it's a fair amount to spend on tax for a car that will only do between 5 & 7k miles a year.

 

Would this cost plus potential high depreciation put you off what is probably a very good car?

 

 

[Tesstuff 222]

If you own it for 5 years I would see it as an £8000 car with free road tax, if it is a car you like enough.

 

We can justify car expense very easily as we have the Y chromosome

[dcc 855]

why not have a look at the mazda 6 mps, or a vectra vxr.

 

If you like the car, the running costs shouldn't really be too considerably weighted.

 

I have a softspot for those 3 mps's though!

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Unfortunately if you are set on something that new with decent amount of poke then they all will be expensive to tax.

[Rich_p 23]

Mazda 6 MPS - It will be the same issue with tax unless I get an early one. I didn't want anything that big though.

 

Vauxhall is a no, I just don't like them!

[Rich_p 23]

Unfortunately if you are set on something that new with decent amount of poke then they all will be expensive to tax.

 

I know, it's just a shame this is such a high band. An ST or Golf gti are a couple of hundred quid cheaper.

[notamondayfan 44]

The tax is basically £40 a month, could you make cut backs else where to justify it? Some people pay £40 for a mobile phone, so in comparison car tax is pretty cheap.

 

Have you also looked at new cars? This article http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2397110/New-car-vs-old-Whats-cheaper.html says new cars can be cheaper in the long run than used ones, especially if you are offered free insurance, servicing, economy, warrenty and tax for 3 years.

 

Dean

[Rich_p 23]

I quite easily waste that a month on stuff I don't need! It's not a case of affording it, more is it worth doing.

 

I hadn't considered new cars. Just briefly looked at leased cars but could only get a low spec car unless I wanted to pay a few hundred quid a month.

[clen666 2]

When I saw the thread title I was going to post about the Mazda 3 mps as I've just been looking at them myself, turns out I don't need to!

 

I do like the look of those cars, haven't driven one yet, same boat as you - tax putting me off slightly

[notamondayfan 44]

I'd also look into insurance costs vs a golf gti or Focus ST. It's only a hunch, but perhaps insuring a Mazda will be cheaper than a GTI or ST, simply due to the fact it doesn't have the badge, and yobbish stigma attached to it?

[Rich_p 23]

The insurance doesn't seem too bad, it's only a couple of groups higher than my civic.

 

I've find a nice, low miles example and had a chat over the phone with the owner. He seems very genuine and the car sounds spot on.

 

My only issue is that he has only had the car for 3 months and is now not using it. He said he now does motorway miles so has purchased a diesel.

 

To be fair he was on the motorway on his hands free when we spoke so he may well be telling the truth.

 

Slightly scary buying private as I've only ever bought cars from garages apart from a £450 205 gti!

[Rich_p 23]

Well I very nearly bought one at the weekend. It had been stage 1 mapped by BBR so was between 280 & 290bhp which a much smoother torque curve than a standard one I drove later in the day.

 

A missing service record (just the one) and the engine management light coming on during the test drive (which did go out and stay off once we got back) made me cautious so I wanted to think about it overnight. The guy did seem very genuine and honest and had the car checked and re mot'd in the afternoon after we left.

 

When I called to say I was interested and wanted to put a deposit down someone was already on their way down from up north with cash to buy it and the seller wanted to be fair to them.

 

It only had 28k on the clock and was a good 1500-2k cheaper than cars of similar or more mileage from garages.

 

I either missed out on a real bargain or avoided a potential lemon. I guess I'll never know but am slightly gutted.