Written by A car buying advice request submitted by email to mpgtips.co.uk
Hi
Love your website!
I wonder if you could help me . . .
I’m looking to change my car to one which is more economical on fuel, however, I really want to stay with an automatic. I can’t seem to find an auto that has a decent MPG and wondered if you could help?
I have approx £8-9k to spend and am looking for a safe runaround.
Many thanks
J Littlewood
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Alan’s reply to the request for car buying advice.
Hi Joanne, I’m glad you like the site, I am currently compiling a searchable database of new & used vehicle info for the site, it should be ready in a few weeks. However, here’s a quick list of Brand New Cars
that may suit you, along with what you can expect to pay your local dealer.
1) Fiat Panda 1.2 dynamic (petrol) with an automatic gearbox, 51 mpg, ins group 2, List price £ 8005, but with a standard discount aim to pay just £ 7000 (a budget car)
2) Fiat Panda 1.3 multijet (diesel) dynamic with an automatic gearbox, 65 mpg, ins group 2, List price £ 8850, but with a standard discount aim to pay just £ 7700 (a budget car)
3) Mazda 2 1.4 Diesel Automatic 5 door, 60mpg, ins gp 4, List price £ 10250, Aim to pay just £9314 (a quality car)
4) Mitsubishi Colt 1.5 DID (diesel) Automatic 5 Door, 59 mpg, ins gp 5, List price £ 11,511, aim to pay £ 10,100 (a stylish & reliable car, over budget but I strongly recommend this one, it has a ‘smile factor’ of 10)
5) Proton Savvy (spelled s a v v y) 1.2 petrol (autobox £700 from options list), 49 mpg, ins gp 2, List price £7700, aim to pay £ 7350 (cheap & cheerful car)
These are all small hatchbacks, your options are obviously limited by your budget, it really is quite difficult to find a decent economical car with an automatic gearbox for less than £10,000.
I hope this helps you.
Alan
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Hi Alan
Thank you SO much for that fantastic information. I have searched high and low trying to find exactly the info you gave me – you have saved me so much time and effort.
Thanks again, a very worthwhile website – will be directing friends and family.
Kind regards
Joanne
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Alan’s 2nd reply to the request for car buying advice.
hi joanne, I’ve had a quick look around and I can’t find a small family car with an automatic gearbox + high fuel economy (45 mpg +) for less than around £15,000 They just don’t exist. The smaller cars mentioned before aside, the next size up are all petrol automatics under £12,000, as you will probably know, the automatic version of most cars will often return significantly less mpg than the manual equivalent (an average 10 mpg drop with an auto). It’s purely the automatic gearbox requirement that’s causing the problem. There is a wide choice of manual 50 – 60 mpg small family cars for under £12,000, but if you must have an automatic then you may want to consider a 1 – 2 year old used car. I have scanned the options lists of every new car manufacturer, and of the handful that offer the auto option on an economical car, those cars were all over budget, when you add in the additional cost of the autobox, the prices averaged around £15,000. From what I can see, you have 3 options, 1) Buy one of the smaller new hatchbacks with an autobox. 2) Buy a 1-2 year old used car to get the right combination of size, economy & autobox. 3) Buy a new small family car with a diesel engine & manual gearbox. It seems like we’re going backwards doesn’t it? I hope all this makes sense to you. Alan.
