There is NO cheap to run car anymore..However how can I keep the running cost of a car to a minimum?

Cars today last longer, have less items that need servicing, have longer lasting fluids, tighter engine tolerances and superior overall build quality. Go look at a slightly Toyota and be amazed.

It depends on what you need the car for and what you are prepared to do yourself. I have 2 cars, one is an almost 10year old car i bought 2 years ago for £1500, this is a car i intend to keep, it has low mileage, gets 55mpg on petrol, is great to drive and very reliable (its a Perodua Kelisa, which is a Daihatsu). My second car, which i got when I got a job (as my fiancee uses the first one to get to her job) is a banger, a £340 Citroen AX with 100k on the clock, almost no rust (as its galvanised) and electric windows being about as sophistacted as the electrics get. Its not very safe, but it returns upto 50mpg, will remain worth what i paid for it as long as its still going. It needs some work doing to it, but its work I intend to do myself and shouldnt cost a huge amount for parts. This is where bangers become a false economy, if you get everything done at a garage I am sure you will quickly pay out more than the value of the car. If my car needs something major replacing at its next MOT, then i will probably scrap it, get £150 for the car, stereo is pretty decent and came with the car, so is probs worth another £20-30 if i dont want to keep it, and it also had 4 months tax ive now used, so ive only lost £130~ for 9 months use, not bad. With bangers it knowing when to say no to repairs and start again, but as the depreciation is virtually nothing, and can still be high on newer cars, far more than basic repairs on older ones. However, you lose out on safety primarily, my citroen is a death trap, it was considered flimsy at the time, no airbags, pretensioners, crumple zones etc. You also lose out on fuel economy on many cars, I got the AX cos its economical, but like for like, older cars can be quite a bit more thirsty, which if you do a reasonable mileage will soon wipe out other savings I think the best age to buy a car is about 3 or 4 years, then it has lost most of its money, so if you need to change in a year, you wont notice a huge change, which you will with a 1 year old car. Provided you get a lowish mileage well looked after car that will stay popular, and your Corsa diesel is spot on-it small, popular model, and economical, then you wont lose too much. my parents bought a 53 reg Citroen C3 1.4 HDi in spring 08 for £3500+trade in a MOT failed large petrol Fiat, its now worth £2500-3000 4 years later! (altho, there are still dealers selling car which are the same age and mileage as our car now for what we paid!). There hasnt been much go wrong with it and it gets very good fuel consumption. We are slightly surprised as its a 9yr old french car, we would have expected the electrics to be doing whatever it feels like by now. Well looked after cars should last 15yrs and 100k miles without much problem, if you buy something smallish a few yrs old for £3-4k you should get good mpg, a few years mostly trouble free motoring, and still sell it for £1k to a young driver. for extra peace of mind you could buy a secondhand kia through their approved used scheme and get a full 7yr warranty from when you buy it.