Dead_E23 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 You've got to love the optimism of these Americans - apparently, driving shite can make us into millionaires: see Why I drive a 13 year old car, which links to Dave Ramsey says Drive Free, Retire Rich! So - can anybody here attribute their vast wealth to smoking around in juddery old tat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pogweasel Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I don't know about 'vast wealth', but I'm sure it helps Certainly when I used to get a mileage allowance it helped grease the wheels as only a quarter of it was 'eaten up' by the car.I'm currently trying to blag a really well paid contract, which whilst not making me rockstar rich would certainly allow me to be mortgage free in a few years... but it would involve going back to 20k+++ annual driving.... Mrs P caught me browsing brand-new pcp family chod yesterday and asked if I had gone mad. Bless, I think she's got me sussed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandamonium Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 When I was a mobile baker I used to get 9.25 ph plus 25p per mile travelling expenses. I was then living by myself and running a Metro (sorry pog) which got about 40mpg and cost me £70 to buy! I was rolling in it! Unfortunately Greggs stopped the 'instore bakers' and I was put back in the factory on min wage and no travelling expenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pogweasel Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Better than a poke in the eye, though the Metro would be unbearable. Used to get about £30 an hour on the tube at night (though bear in mind you only work 5 hours ), then 40p a mile which as I was 'home based' meant 100 miles a day. A week of that and it's quids in, the Focus would use a tank of deezle a week (Mrs_P would have it daytimes.... so about 600 - 650 miles a tank).Unfortunately you (and more importantly your 'beloved') get used to that, so when you don't have these little perks, it bloody hurts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pillock Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I know my ma, who used to be a district nurse, used to get an unholy amount of pence per mile. It was paying off driving a bog standard 1.4 Escorts and Astras, when the first TDs became available in mainstream family motors she got a Mk3 Astra, and the extra economy plus the fact the government hadn't yet hiked diesel prices up made it ludicrously good value. Well over half her allowance was pure profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandamonium Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 The Metro WAS unbearable. I too now share your hatred of them. It was noisy, drafty and cut out at anything above 60mph. On the plus side though, ............... nope nothing. I got rid soon after and went back to my Hyundai! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.welfare Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I used to have a car allowance and succumbed to a leased car in my previous job, which was nice but heavily taxed. My current job has no car allowance - so I get 40p/mile - and run either of the two Pugs (wholly dependent on which one has the most fuel in it on any given day, really). Most of the mileage I do for work are long runs on M-ways and A-roads (Bath, Bradford etc) so I can reckon on 50mpg.Both cars have required some fairly hefty expenditure relative to their purchase prices to make wholly reliable, but then half of what I spent came back to me as a tax rebate last year as Mr HMRC had been taxing me on my company car for the first five months of my "new" job, plus the mileage rate profit means I have probably come back even at this point in time, as I've probably done 4-5,000 business miles over the last 15 months. I could have bought an eight year old Bora, Toledo or Octavia TDI or similar for what I have shelled out in total on either 405, but then where would the fun be in that? Plus the potential to shell out bigger amounts due to greater mechanical complexity, of course.I hope this year to be in financial clover as all the big jobs (cambelts, brakes, radiators, shocks etc) have been done on them, so it should just be maybe a couple of tyres on top of the usual servicing, which will leave the money that my colleagues would spend on their car loans/leases in my back pocket, for more important things in life. Certainly I have no issue with driving two 15-year old cars, as they are in good condition and regularly cleaned, and can (occassionally) attract favourable comment of the "don't see many left like that" variety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Split_Pin Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I used to get 40p a mile driving around doing 'collections' for a fairly dishounourable, (but purveyor of 'shit' motors at intergalactic interest rates) finance company in my 1.8 Astra. However, as I didnt actually cover a great deal of miles, and just tooled around the less salubrious 'schemes' locally, I ended up being out of pocket in the end. Silly bloke.Needless to say I left to company shortly after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashmicro Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 I used to schlepp around Northern Ireland fixing computer networks fo a quid a mile in my Rover 620Sli, which, appropriately enough, cost me £620.A reliable old bus which was pretty bulletproof and easy to look after.I got more than a year out of it and £500 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinast Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I use my 214 for work, almost like a van to be honest. It has advantages over a van, it's not a target by tool theives, it returns almost 50mpg on a run, tax is cheap, its comfortable to drive and no van I know has leather seats and apart from tyres and driveshafts I've not had to spend much on it over the past year. Plus it was given to me for gratis, so my current tax return showing that the government owes me a nice bundle of cash is almost entirely down to it. Thanks Mr Brown! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 no van I know has leather seatsThen I introduce you to the Connect Sportvan Admittedly not remotely shite for about another 18.7 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.welfare Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I dunno, it looks pretty shite to me - like Postman Pat's van by Rippspeed VW Transporter Sportline if you want a fast van but more understated, perhaps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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