Henrik

iTrader: (5)

After some advice regarding commuting...

Wife currently drives an 03 Smart Passion to work.. it's got 6000 miles on it at the moment and we do on average a total of 350-400 miles week (Bought it used two months ago).

We also have a WRX (03) that keeps sitting in the garage (well, it's actually got 9000 miles on the clock).

The problem is that my wife doesn't really like driving the Smart to work (as in she has a fit atleast once a week about it), so in order to keep my sanity and house peace I need to do something about the situation

Would it make sense economically to get rid of the Smart and drive the scooby to work instead? Obvious down side being that the MPG on the scooby is about 25, and the smart averaging about 47 (Still a lot less than the salesman said...).

I'm not actually overly worried about the fuel costs though, but how much of a depreciation hit would the subaru take if it had say 50000 miles on it after three years, as opposed to 20000?

Not really in a position to chop the smart in for something new either.

On the positive side, the Smart is a brilliant car in the city and I totally love it, but it's not really an A-road cruiser, I must admit.


What do you guys think we should do?

Brendan Hughes

Or swap for a s/h 1.0 Nissan Micra or similar old / reliable / frugal mini?

Sorry to say your depreciation on the WRX will happen regardless, and I doubt the mileage will make TOO much difference (of course some).

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

Yeah I think you might be right regarding depreciation

Maybe we should chop both cars in for a Micra 1.0 and an Evo3

Martin J Stirling

Have to disagree here. On performance cars, mileage plays a huge influence on the asking price and hence depreciation. Obviously buyers of this type of car know that, by its very nature, the car will have been driven hard, and so look for as low mileage as possible to minimise the wear and tear suffered. I'd say after 3 years a WRX with 20K miles on will be worth at least 30% more than one with 50k on. Plus the fact that high mileage cars are an absolute dog to sell, so most ppl end up trading in and losing even more money.

I for example would never consider a performance car with much over 20K on the clock, purely for peace of mind.

I'd say the best option would be to buy a cheap diesel runaround which can take the mileage and is economical at the same time. Or, keep the Smart!

Mart.

fivepint

Get rid of the wife...

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the advice guys... It now seems that she doesn't want to get rid of the smart any longer (and i'm not allowed down the evo route, boohoo)

Oh well, until her next whim, I'm fine then

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

Que the next windy day when she's blown about on the A41