What is ‘Bangernomics’?It’s nothing to do with the economics of buying sausages. Bangernomics is the science of buying and running a used car for next to nothing. But if you are the type of person who chooses to buy a cheap, older car rather than splash out on a new one, even if you can afford it, then you could already be classed as a follower of ‘Bangernomics’. It’s an approach to car-buying that has already existed for many years, but which now has a name and a growing legion of fans - particularly since the credit crunch began. Bangernomics is the title of a book published in 1993 by British motoring journalist James Ruppert. The book, now long out of print (although you can buy a copy in CD-Rom form direct from Ruppert), has slowly gained something of a cult following in recent years as many motorists came to realise that buying and running a car for a little as possible didn’t mean being forced to drive a rough-running shed of a motor with multiple dents and scratches, faded paintwork, bald tyres or busted door mirrors hanging on only with the help of gaffer tape. If you followed the buying advice and tips contained in this book, you could buy and run a smart, reliable and perfectly respectable set of wheels that meets all your needs for next to nothing. Today, the credit crunch has opened up a whole new audience to the concept, and Ruppert has responded by writing a follow-up to the original tome entitled ‘The Bangernomics Bible’, which will be published at the end of this year. So what are the essential principles of Bangernomics? How does it save you money? The basic idea is to find an attractively cheap car but which still has plenty of life left in it, and run it until it starts to become uneconomic to run or repair. Ideally, it will be a car that you can afford to buy outright, rather than one which requires a big loan to pay for. According to Ruppert, most followers of Bangernomics, says Ruppert, would pay anything from zero to STG£1,500 (€1,700), possibly a bit more. While this budget is feasible for the UK market, you’d be forgiven for thinking this seems a rather severe budget with which to find a decent, reliable car in Ireland. But if you factor in the price-inflating effect of our VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax), you could feasibly push the budget to €3,000, which seems more reasonable. You can save so much with a Bangernomics approach to car ownership because you are buying a car for which the previous owners have already borne the worst of its depreciation in value. The huge boom in new car sales here over the last decade given rise to rich pickings of cheap, older cars costing less than €3,000 but still with plenty of life left in them. What makes a good banger these days? Ruppert recommends anything Japanese, but popular models such as a VW Golf, Ford Focus or Opel Astra are also recommended because there are so many of them and parts and servicing are usually cheaper than for less popular or more specialised makes. Bangernomics clearly makes good financial sense if you are prepared to live without the kudos of a car with a ’09 number plate, particularly with the credit crunch. However, it’s no surprise the motor industry is increasingly pushing the line that running a banger is bad for the environment, and that you should buy a newer smaller or more fuel-efficient car in order to win your environmental ‘spurs’. After all, they say, witness the huge take-up of car scrappage schemes in the UK, US and other countries. Ruppert’s simple response is that a Bangernomics approach means a car is effectively recycled, rather than abandoned. He says the natural resources and energy used to make a new car are phenomenal, which makes prolonging the useful life of a car and then disposing of it responsibly a decidedly ‘green’ thing to do. Useful websites:
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