Is it possible to buy a car and run it to your destination for less than the price of a train ticket? CCFS went to find out.
No one likes taking the train. And if they say otherwise, they are clearly lying - or on drugs - to hide the pain. Besides suffering the possibility of catching a debilitating infection from individuals who would prefer to spray you with mucus rather than blow it into a hankie, putting up with spoilt children who humbly require drop-kicking out the nearest carriage window and being subjected to cackling groups of yobos who deafen all nearby with their conversations of post-watershed topics, your journey will also be dictated to you by a time schedule as vague and characterless as Nicolas Cage’s face.
Forced into the corner seat of a damp carriage alongside an intimidating heifer who communicates solely through the use of narrow-eyed glaring, concurrently enjoying the warm stench of cheap cleaning materials and feeling alone - so alone - the train offers all the charm and appeal of being beaten to a slow death by the cast of Hi-De-Hi! You could always travel first class if you have the budget, and fancy spending hundreds of pounds only to find yourself staring out the window, in utter tedium, awaiting another free coffee; but there is another way…
Is it possible to purchase a fully working car and travel to your destination for less than the extortionate fare offered from train companies? As it turns out, if you shop around, you could travel everywhere in the comfort and serenity of your own space - listening to what you like and driving at a speed you are comfortable with.
Cars will never be cheaper than short train journeys, but that doesn’t mean you need suffer over a long haul from the likes of London to Edinburgh or Land’s End to John O’Groats - as we demonstrate…
5. Citroen Xantia - £150 - or - Strood to Cardiff (Return) - £243
Would you like to arrive from Kent into Cardiff having made various heart-stopping transfers where you have only 50 seconds to get from one platform to another? Or would you prefer to waft in on a bed of comfort having just experienced one of the last truly great Citroens - this fantastically underrated Xantia, of which was the final ever to be registered in the UK.
A further bonus is that, after arriving in the Welsh capital, you have a set of wheels in which to explore. You can also stop en route to buy food and snacks without the premium train companies charge you, unless you enjoy paying £9.99 for a cheese sandwich made from the cheapest ingredients known to man. The fuel bill for an old Citroen is usually tiny, leaving you with profit to burn.
4. Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 - £195 - or - Glasgow to Birmingham (Return) - £276
If you felt brave you could tackle the chaos that is Glasgow Central before fighting for a seat held together with elderly chewing gum. Birmingham’s train station offers little in the way of comfort either - but one car that does, for less that £200 we might add, is the mighty Vauxhall Corsa. This one is an LS, adding some posh bits, and can deliver over 50mpg - putting the train firmly in the shadows. Get a look at this Vauxhall Corsa for sale on the CCFS website.
3. Rover 200 Cabriolet - £250 - or - London to Stranraer (Return) - £383.50
It may not look stylish - in fact, style is something that escapes the Rover 200 Cabriolet almost completely - but it certainly makes for a better option than contemplating your existence, as you sponge your face up the condensed train carriage window seeking escape from the excessive, yet damp, heat.
At only £250, this Rover 200 Cabriolet for sale makes for a bargain on more levels than one. You can travel straight from point A to point B without delay in comparison to the locomotive, and save time into the deal. The train takes just shy of ten hours to travel from London Marylebone to platform 1 in Stranraer, where as driving takes only seven. The money saved could easily secure you a meal, where as the return trip would cover your petrol costs for fun. Plus, if the weathers nice, you can drop the roof and take in the air. If you tried doing that in a train chances are you would kill everyone involved.
1. Vauxhall Cavalier MKIII - £250 - or - Land’s End to John O’Groats (Return) - £469.00
Fans of the Vauxhall Cavalier MKIII will undoubtedly tell you that the engines are tough, the interiors are sturdy and the seating position is second to none. Something that can rarely be said for the train. The fact that you can pick one up for less than half the ticket price of a Land’s End to John O’Groats return rail journey boggles the mind - with enough room for four people and a barrel load of luggage to boot. And the best part? After traversing the longest journey Britain has to offer, you can sell on your Cavalier without losing any of the money you spent on it. So long as you don’t take on an express train with it…
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