Bangernomics
Petrolheads, Not sure if anyone else does this, but every car I buy, I track the full cost of ownership.
When I bought my £20k - 2003 Arnage early last year, my idea was to see if I could run it daily and as cheaply as a new Mondeo and if anyone is interested in the cost of ownership results see chart
10000 mls per Annum
Porsche 911 993 zero
07 Mondeo £3500
Benz CL500 £4500
06 Mondeo £6800
BMW 3-series £8400
03 Bentley Arnage £8500
New Range Rover £16700
New S-Class £18600
Due to Covid, I didn't do my normal miles, but I have adjusted the results to align the miles to 10k per annum - its fairly accurate and hopefully quite interesting when you do the comparison with a couple of new cars over the same mileage.
So:- what do we read into this ?
The 97 Porsche 911 993 did cost me zero to own, as all the running costs were offset by its growth in value - as it was a weekend car, I didn't do monster miles but it was very satisfying to own a free classic Porsche.
The used Bentley can be run as cheaply as a new modern car due to low depreciation, maybe not as cheap as new a Mondeo, but certainly as cheaply as a mid spec 3 series.
You have to buy well and not experience any major issues or it skews the results (I did the research, got a warranty and was lucky).
It’s mostly fuel costs, so if your are doing lower miles it works out significantly cheaper per annum.
So there are alternatives to the obvious new car choices - Classic cars can avoid depreciation that happens even while you sleep, but can also give you an unpleasant surprise. I would advise putting some money to one side each month to smooth out the peaky costs.
But what is the Bangernomics Mondeo in there for, I hear almost nobody ask ?
Well I use all sorts of false logic to justify my car excesses, but one of my most logical arguments is justifying it by running a cheap car to put miles on, to release cash for your weekend toy.
If you are happy to re-direct your capital from a new BM or Benz, into a Classic car and a cheap run-about, you may be pleasantly surprised.
If someone was to buy a Classic Porsche and an older Mondeo, for instance, its cheap motoring when the full cost of acquisition including equity in the car is considered. This will be due to low depreciation on the Banger or zero depreciation/even appreciation on the Classic toy.
I plucked the Bangernomics Mondeo here out of the classifieds as an example. I would be happy tootling around during the week in this, if it allowed me to have something exotic for weekends away.
16k miles, top of the range and only £5 1/2k, not really a banger, but a real banger with high miles would cost you more in repairs and painful breakdowns.
So we categorise Bangers as low mileage, low ownership, cherished cars that have just taken virtually all of their depreciation (remember the tyres may need swapping on old low mileage cars - dont tust the tread depth and factor in a Battery.).
I just found a great car on Auto Trader:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102179161777
And yes - James Bond had one in Casino Royale, before he won the DB5 playing cards.
I am going to add a Bangernomics page to the website and each week, I will pluck a couple of bargains bangers out of the classifieds - I am sorely tempted by the Mondeo and if I am honest with myself (mostly I am not) my Bentley is not the kind of car that you can do everything in - like going to the tip and parking in tight spaces in multi-storey car parks.
So Bangernomics is an important facilitator of Classic weekend toys and therefore an important permanent new feature of the website.
Thats all folks
Cheers
Pete
