Absolute Cheapest Transportation for Small Trips into Town with Maybe Monthly Long Trips

AlienC on 06/03/2017 - 18:49
Last edited 06/03/2017 - 20:53

What world be my best option for small trips top the local grocer every maybe week or two weeks and occasional monthly or two monthly trip to the city or inner west from the blue mountains.

Major emphasis on just traveling into town (definitely less than 10km total both ways for driving around town and possible 100km trip once a month or twice a season).

Main use would be just to save having to walk every week to carry 20kg or more of groceries and shuttle my elderly neighbour with travels to his friends places and doctors appointment every once in awhile.

Looking at a small sedan or hatch back. Don't need anything really flashy I will probably attach my own rear and front driving camera system and dash cam etc. Don't need GPS I will probably use a phone or stand alone device.

Hoping to get something below $2000 second-hand unless anybody knows of any unicorns. I shop aggressively a lot and hunt down the best bargains but my expertise inky really goes up to certain hardware and areas. When it comes to cars bikes and everything automotive I know buying or bare minimum. Just 8L / 100km is alright. Cars are better than trucks but not better than say a smaller car or maybe scooter motorcycle.

I was even looking at golf carts for in town driving but I don't think they are street legal only in certain small parts in America like gated communities and they cost a lot like $5000-20000 which is way over my budget and like buying a small car.

Even looked at dumb solutions like a segway haha lol or those mobility disabled scooters.

Just checking my alternative transportation solutions. Public transport well airways be there but for the travels where the nearest train station and bus stop is more than 3km I think a car or otherwise world be better.

Automotive

Comments

  • captobvious on 06/03/2017 - 19:36

    You need one of these

    https://www.engadget.com/2016/01/06/184-delivery-drone-for-p…

    but it might be out of budget

    • AlienC on 06/03/2017 - 20:01

      Not sure if my local dominos or kebab shop has a roof heliport or even free car parking space lol might have to park it in the grass field.

  • oscargamer on 06/03/2017 - 19:38

    do any supermarkets deliver to your area?

    taxi?

    • AlienC on 06/03/2017 - 19:59

      Yep for $4 delivery minimum $50 spend Coles does it with an 8 hour time frame but I was thinking of this mainly to go into town to grab a kebab or pork roll or dominos pizza or doctors appointment etc every once in a while basically an emergency device.

      Also future girlfriend not the car but to carry the girlfriend.

  • spackbace on 06/03/2017 - 19:43

    Swift but I'm biased lol

    Go for the newest you can find, but be careful of it needing new tyres/brakes or if it needs a timing belt change… These could add a fair percentage to the purchase price.

  • ranap on 06/03/2017 - 20:42
    +1

    Any Particular reason you are specifically looking to buy a car?

    If you just needed it for short trips for few hours in a month the absolute could be car sharing options like https://www.goget.com.au/ or https://www.carnextdoor.com.au/. Check out these sites to see if there are enough car shares close to where you leave.

    For longer trips you can usually just rent a car for less than 100 $ for a weekend.

    Do remember that just having a car parked in garage would cost atleast 100-150 $ per month for rego, CTP, Comprehensive insurance. This is before any fuel, maintenance costs.

    P.S. I am not related to any of the car sharing sites, have just used them couple of times. But they do not have enough locations close to where I live.

    • AlienC on 06/03/2017 - 20:51

      Can be car motorbike scooter electric bicycle golf cart segway whatever.

      Well I have read online of crazy stories of people owning and buying and maintaining a car for like less than $1000 aud a year obviously not family material but for small usage it sounded enticing to me.

      Having the luxury and freedom to go into town without having to worry about physically traveling is very enticing and also just shuttling visitors and guests to the train and around town would be nice.

      Occasional future trips to buy maybe say a tv or fridge or new laundry machine might even be worth it.

      Also random Facebook events and otherwise online meet ups would be available to me without having to rely completely on public transport.

      I guess the small freedom is what I am after.. I can only walk so far on a given day and then the rest of it is spent walking back which can be a major turn off.

      But yeah weight lift Olympics grocery edition and countless broken plastic bags even after triple bagging is a major concern for me but I know I have delivery options but shopping inside is always nice.

      Gotta get outside of the home every once in a while lest the voices start calling you crazy wait what did you say something?

    • AlienC on 06/03/2017 - 20:55

      What is the lowest that they go I am looking for the nvidia shield tab of automotive transportation.

      • [Deactivated] on 06/03/2017 - 21:33

        I would offer $3k

        • AlienC on 06/03/2017 - 22:48

          Any other recommendations or is this as low as they pretty much go for cars without heading into dodgy pendo tab territory per se.

  • theya on 06/03/2017 - 20:58

    Honda jazz.
    Edit I wrote all of that then realised I misread your $2000 for $5000. * facepalm*
    You might be able to find 1st gen ones about the $5k mark especially if you negotiate the price down or you get one that has been repaired after an accident ( personally I wouldn't do that but my freind got hold of one for $4k that was rear ended. Took a look at the repairs myself and there was nothing wrong with them so guess he got lucky)
    Issues to look out for are just 2 things. If it's a CVT make sure servicing is up to date and it doesn't shudder upon accelerating from start. Note also since it came out honda halved the service interval for changing the CVT fluid.
    Other thing to watch out for is ignition coils. Prone to failure around the 100k mark leading to misfiring and stuttering. And your looking at $120(ebay) to $260 (dealer) each, and you would need to replace 4 of them)
    Otherwise it's a solid car very reliable, surprisingly spacious on the inside and massive online community following it.
    I have the 1.5L engine model and I get 5.8L/100km on freeway and about 6.4L/100km usually and I drive spiritedly.

    • spackbace on 06/03/2017 - 21:18
      +1

      It was posted as $5000
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/295638/revisions#584137vs5…

      • AlienC on 06/03/2017 - 21:26

        Yeah sorry I realised people were looking at my budget as my preferred price rather than max budget ceiling..

        Closer to $2k is better. I got offered $700 for a working van second-hand so I know it is definitely doable.

        Say there is 400 days in a year and I spend $5 a night $2000 is definitely feasible for my use case (driving in to town for dinner then 30 minute max joyride around Sydney hahaha lol before I go home and ponder what to eat or do the next day..

    • nafe on 07/03/2017 - 12:31

      I would have sold your mate my wife's 04 Jazz for $4k. Only 66k on the clock, maybe a 6/10 cosmetically with parking dents and scratches etc but interior was a good 8/10. Ran well she just wanted a new car. Got $3800 in trade which I felt was okay.I reckon the advertised pricing is way out for the old Jazz and most aren't worth anything like $5k.

  • coyney on 06/03/2017 - 21:17
    +1

    You could always just use Uber. It would probably cost you less than owning a car.

  • altomic on 07/03/2017 - 01:51
    +1

    Pedal assisted electric bicycle(at least for the short trips to town). Build your self a little wagon to attach to the back

    • mingofmongo on 07/03/2017 - 09:54

      This.

      I'm a long time car-owning, bike-not-owning person and recently got sick of the traffic (… in Hobart) so picked up an e-bike.

      I now ride every day to work. I'm barely fit and don't own any lycra, so pretty much anyone can do it. ebikery.com.au sells a $495 kit that you can add on to pretty much any bike (I have the $900 one that has a bit more oomph). Turn up to your local bike kitchen and they'll pretty much give you a bike for free and help you fit the electric bits.

      With panniers you can carry most day-to-day shopping on the bike.

      If you need to do a big trip once a month, then bizarrely the cheapest way is to hire a car. You can hire a car for a day for $50 or so. Yes it's $600 a year, but compare this with $500+ rego, $200+ insurance, $100 petrol, and the cost of the car itself…

      • AncientWisdom on 07/03/2017 - 14:29
        +1

        What about rain?

        Also I don't see how renting a car will save you petrol…

  • backpaqer on 07/03/2017 - 08:20

    cargo bike (or bakfiet)

  • Euphemistic on 07/03/2017 - 09:21

    Pushbike + trailer as required. Cheapest option by a long shot, but not ideal for carting passengers. You could get a bike and trailer for $100, but probably should spend a bit more to get something decent. $400 would be heaps to set you up with a great second hand bike and trailer and the ongoing costs will be next to nothing.

    Then hire a car for long trips or public transport and use delivery options for groceries

    Somewhere above you say someone is owning and maintaining a car for $1000/yr? That's probably one that is parked in the drive all year. Pretty much rego and insurance will eat up $1k without moving the car. Then you have petrol, tyres, services (cheap if DIY), depreciation (not much on a $2k car). I ran a $1500 Toyota Corolla for about $35/week using a tank of fuel per month but with no servicing costs or parts though.

  • HeWhoKnows on 07/03/2017 - 14:45
    +1

    Under $2000 second hand - keep dreaming. Most are shit boxes.

    Anyway to answer your question….

    In this price category beggers can't be choosers - seriously.
    Its a case of finding the best car under $2000 and you cant be too choosy on the make and model. Just look for the lowest kms and in the best condition and hopefully with a few months of rego. Any service history is a bonus.

    PS If it looks half decent - BE QUICK! True bargains are gone in just a few hours.

  • shaybisc on 07/03/2017 - 18:05

    How far from a train station are you? How far from the grocer are you? How can you get by on one trip to the grocer every two weeks?

    • AlienC on 11/03/2017 - 00:22

      Dominos.. milk cereal potatoes bread butter.. fruits.. rice

  • rowenaduncan on 09/03/2017 - 05:29

    Why not Uber? Then you get a driver too. Cheap as chips…

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