Budget car — what is it?
The car is budget in its essence: it is cheap, inexpensively maintained and kept for a penny. The European classification ranks 4 classes as economical cars: A, B, C, D.
Class A — small cars for driving around the city, often — inexpensive. Simply managed, cheaply repaired.
Class B — standard cars, popular with most motorists. Their length ranges from 3.7 to 4.2 meters. In service and maintenance, they require about the same as a small car. Their motor is a little more powerful, the interior is more spacious.
Class C — cars with a length of about 4.5 meters with a large interior and a roomy trunk. Often — station wagons and minivans. The cost of owning machines of this class is slightly higher than that of B.
Class D — solid cars at an affordable cost. They are even more spacious, longer than the C-class, stuffed with various gadgets and electronics. Servicing such a car is not affordable for everyone. But keeping a car a class higher, type E, is even more expensive.
Also read: How to choose an inexpensive car
Conclusion
Buying a used car, as you have already understood, is a matter that requires a lot of time, knowledge and attention. By following our recommendations as much as possible, you can determine how good a used car is, how long it can serve you. Buying a car without inspection and diagnostics often leads to disastrous consequences and makes the owner disappointed in his choice. Experienced car owners are preparing to purchase ahead of time, sometimes 3-6 months. We wish you a successful purchase and safe driving on the roads!
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Service
According to the cheapness of maintenance, used cars can be divided into 2 categories: brands and individual models.
Stamps
The cost of consumables, repairs will not hit the wallet of the owners of the following automotive brands:
- WHA;
- Hyundai;
- Daewoo;
- Citroen;
- Chevrolet;
- Nissan;
- Ford;
- Skoda;
- Renault.
These automakers have released many models that can be considered economical — cars with low-guzzling medium-power engines, simple suspension design.
Models
The choice among individual products of automakers, which will cost little in terms of maintenance, is also diverse.
According to experts, the cheapest thing in Russia is to serve Grant and Kalina — about 25 thousand rubles a year. This amount includes repair work, maintenance and other technical manipulations with the car.
It is also cheap to repair the Matiz. The annual maintenance of an Uzbek car with a manual transmission and a 0.8-liter engine with a mileage of up to 150,000 kilometers costs around 30,000 rubles. Often the owners change the rubber parts of the suspension, filters. Closer to 200 thousand kilometers, a major overhaul of the motor will already be required. Springs, shock absorbers, silent blocks will cover about 70 thousand kilometers. For our roads, this is a good indicator.
Another economical car is Daewoo Nexia. «Running» up to 150 thousand km a year, the car will require some 38 thousand rubles a year. When the mileage approaches 200 thousand kilometers, you will have to “shake” the suspension, change the intake elements, as well as the exhaust pipe, which will rust. True, spare parts for the model can be bought anywhere, they are sold almost on every corner.
It’s great to save money for the owners of the Citroen C3. The first 5-10 years the car will not require more than 42 thousand rubles a year. The car is famous for its reliability, however, spare parts are not cheap. After 150 thousand, you will have to “shake up” the suspension, change candles and filters. The motor paired with the box will pass 200 thousand without a major overhaul.
It will cost a little more in terms of servicing Renault Logan — 45 thousand rubles a year. The motor will faithfully serve 250 thousand km to the first «capital», the gearbox is even longer. The design of the car is much simpler than most foreign cars, it can be repaired even in the first available service.
In class D, it is cheap to service a Peugeot 407 — 60 thousand rubles a year with a mileage of up to 150 thousand kilometers. The motor and automatic transmission «run back» 250 thousand without any complaints. Of the minuses — expensive air suspension (in some versions), short-lived electronics and ignition system.
And another inexpensive “semi-premium” to repair is the Ford Mondeo with its 72 thousand rubles a year. It is produced in Germany, because the build quality and reliability of the motors are a solid five. But the “robot” is capricious, the adaptive suspension, in the event of a breakdown, will pull a considerable amount out of the wallet. You should not take a car with a fabric interior, as the upholstery will become unusable in a matter of months.
And the last in this list are the Mercedes C-Klasse W202 and the “troika” BMW E46. Engines of the German classics will pass 500-600 thousand km without repair, boxes — a little less. The main advantage of these machines is the simplicity of design — there is simply nothing to break. The only thing is that by 500 thousand kilometers, car interiors begin to creak. The cost of annual maintenance of these cars will not exceed 60-70 thousand rubles.
Also read: Buy a good car: signs of a reliable used car
How are applicants evaluated?
In world practice, several main characteristics are taken as a basis, which help to determine the reliability of the model under consideration. These include:
- durability;
- build quality of the main components;
- ease of maintenance;
- operational characteristics;
- availability of spare parts;
- price.
Reference. There is an opinion that exclusively expensive vehicle models can fully meet the declared parameters. However, practice says otherwise. There are quite a lot of inexpensive and mid-budget cars that fully justify the wishes of buyers, and also show excellent values for safety, quality, performance and other key characteristics.
Content
Another point by which economical cars can be distinguished is the content, which includes the cost of fuel and tires. We have compiled a selection of two types of cars: with an average engine power and «weak» small cars.
subcompact car
Option number one is the Chevrolet Spark. Its liter engine consumes 5-6 liters of fuel per 100 km. Experts advise not to drive this car to the forest, to the country house, to work, to rest — the nodes are not designed for excessive loads. And the cost of maintenance pleases — 37 thousand rubles a year.
Maintaining a Toyota Yaris will also be easy. With a 1.3 liter engine, the car consumes only 4.8-5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. For a year she needs 42 thousand rubles.
Another economical model is Smart Fortwo. The car is so small that it allows you to park across the curb. An engine with a volume of 0.6 to 1 liter consumes a fantastic 3-5 liters per hundred! It will be a little more expensive to maintain a car than a Yaris — 42.5 thousand rubles a year.
Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107, owners of the same platform, will also please their owners with the cost of maintenance. A 1 liter engine consumes 4.6 liters per hundred. Models require 43-44 thousand rubles a year.
A real gift for car owners and their wallets — Opel Corsa. It consumes about 5 liters of gasoline per 100 km. The diesel version «eats» even less — 3-3.5 liters per hundred. A car will require about 45 thousand rubles a year. True, without taking into account the cost of spare parts that will be needed sooner or later, the original ones cost fabulous money.
Of the diesel versions, there are also economical Peugeot 208 and Skoda Fabia with a consumption of 3.5-4 liters per hundred. The cost of maintaining these models per year does not exceed 45 thousand rubles.
Choose a small car with mileage or not — it’s up to you. But there are many undeniable advantages.
Cars with a 1.4 liter engine or more
Outside of the A-class, among the cheapest cars to maintain is the Toyota Corolla. The machine will not require unforeseen expenses, major repairs up to 5 years of use — it is so reliable. For a year she needs only 38 thousand rubles.
Another budget model is Kia Rio. Even with an engine of 1.6 liters of fuel, the car consumes a little — 5.9 liters per hundred. It will cost 47,000 rubles a year to maintain.
Twin «Rio», Hyundai Solaris, also «eats» a little — 6 liters per 100 kilometers. For the first 5 years of use, there will be no major repairs — the car is assembled to last. Annual maintenance will cost 47-48 thousand rubles.
Record holder in the B-class for fuel consumption Skoda Rapid. With a robotic gearbox and a 1.4 engine, the car consumes a ridiculous 5.3 liters per hundred. Petrol 1.6 will «eat» a little more — 5.8 liters. The nodes are assembled reliably, the suspension easily withstands the test of our roads. For a year, you will have to spend about 50 thousand rubles on a car.
Approximately the same amount will cost the annual maintenance of Kia Soul. Collected reliably, annual expenses will not exceed 51 thousand rubles.
Also, VAZ models remain invariably cheap in content — Priora, Kalina, Grant. You won’t have to spend more than 55 thousand rubles a year on these machines. They do not consume so much fuel, especially with robotic boxes (6-7 liters per 100 km).
First step
Decide on a budget. Allocate the necessary amount for the purchase of a used car and add five to ten percent to it. Remember, you are not buying a new car and it is likely that it will require additional investments. Even after a thorough inspection of the car, after some time, flaws may appear that require repair. It’s good if you have a familiar auto mechanic with a workshop where you can diagnose your future car.
Selecting a car model. Of course, many people would like to drive a beautiful car, their “swallow”, which attracts the attention of others. However, emotions are not the best adviser when buying a car. The main factor in a car is its reliability, both technically and legally. Therefore, collect as much information as possible about the car model: the experience of other motorists, how liquid this brand is, its technical characteristics.
Mercedes-Benz GLA
Cars of this brand regularly fall into all sorts of lists of reliable and high-quality cars. The Germans still make excellent and durable cars to this day. And this is confirmed by the crossover Mercedes-Benz GLA. It is remarkably durable and virtually indestructible. The car belongs to the premium class. That is why it is luxurious inside and out. At the same time, the car has versions for every taste and for any needs of motorists. There is a huge selection of gasoline-powered power plants to choose from. Their power is from 150 to 421 horsepower. Motors are quite economical and very durable. The machine is now equipped with a robot, which is quite reliable, but subject to professional service at dealerships. The drive can be either front or full. The crossover is equipped with the latest technology. Therefore, it is extremely safe and reliable. The car is not subject to rapid wear and tear. This applies not only to the technical part, but also to the elements of the exterior and interior. It requires professional and expensive maintenance, and its cost in Russia now is at least 4,200,000 rubles.