Double check the contract, before signing.

Some of them leave you to pay a lump sum at the end, which would mean you end up paying more for the car than if you bought it outright (or you can trade it in against a new model).

Many leasing firms are legit and above board, but there are some cowboys out there, looking to trap the unwary.

My 2L petrol VW Passat (1991) used to average just over 50mpg. You do change out of first gear, don't you?

I was tossing up between a Toyota Verso and a Golf Plus BlueMotion last time round. The Toyota is nice, but I'm beginning to wish I had gone for the Golf...

Blimey! And I was fretting about getting 400 miles from a 30-litre fill-up!

*puts shopping for more economical car on hold*

Wait, there's more than one gear?!

Why did no one say anything?

60 MPG =

What are you driving, HK?

Nah, just cancel the idea altogether.

I get 340 miles out of a tank if I just drive to & from the office (6 miles each way) but I've got a fairly heavy right foot.
If I'm doing long stints then I can get 500+ miles out of a tank.
I did manage 600 miles from 1 tank a couple of times but that was all motorway driving (London to Cardiff to Norwich & back to London)

That Yaris is way off base for a Jap car. You should be looking at a minimum of late 30s. For reference, my Skoda averages 35mpg at home. With mostly B-roads and some town driving. Here, my brand new Clio 1.2 gets ragged to pieces by me because it's so slow, but that still gets 42mpg (measured, not indicated) with mostly town and B-road equivalents.

That said, as others have said, it's easy to get despondent when you get big bills, but you may find that once they're done, you'll be alright again for a bit. Fact is, owning a car is expensive. You can kid yourself and say that you'll get a "cheaper" car, but ultimately, you pay for it somewhere. Purchase price, tax, insurance, parts etc - it's very rare to get a genuinely cheap car.

If/when I end up returning to the UK, I could save a fair bit of money on fuel bills and road tax by changing car, but I spend virtually nothing on maintenance and do quite a few miles. So it's all swings and roundabouts.

So, buy yourself a Camaro. It'll make you smile every time you drive it. I find it hard to begrudge it the money I spend.

I really want a hearse as my next car anyone know if you can hire one for sh*ts and giggles?

Ah yes, lots of giggles. Until you offer your gran a lift in it, and then your mother will kick the sh*t out of you.

L'Atomo di Forza (The Mighty Atom), an ironical name for my Fiat Seicento Sporting 1.1.

If I have a helium-filled right foot, and change gear at the right time, I can average about 45mpg. I'm currently doing a three-tank average count, so I'll be able to give more accurate figures in a week or so.

As discussed in a thread I began last year, I'm after something with a bit more room in it, probably a diseasel, and capable of 60+mpg on the extra-urban run I'm doing now. I currently have my eyes on used Skodas, which is nice.

1.1litre? that must be extremely painful to drive put your foot flat to the floor and nothing happans unfortunately been there and bought the tshirt

Ive modified my car a little bit, wonder if anyone knows what has been changed to it

Actually, no. It's painful on motorway journeys, but if you're on a windy road, you can get 70mph in third and really get the thing zipping along. I can cruise at 85 on a motorway, and still have a little left to get out of trouble if needed.

The only reason I don't do all that at the moment is it costs money to fill it up. Pootling along at 55-60 behind a lorry is much quieter, too.

That seems pretty heavy for a 1.1, I get 45mpg out of my 1.9 diesel just running about to and from work etc..


Yeah the Skodas are decent machines - I was going to get a used Octavia, but the taxi drivers around Doncaster sucked them all up the second they hit the market. Still, can't complain too much; I love my Passat.

Exactly. It's not really meant as a frugal machine. It's meant for fun, and I think it's been tuned to eek out as much performance from the engine as they can manage.

Still it's better than the old 2l Carlton automatic it replaced. 30mpg if you were lucky, and nearly £100 to fill the tank.