Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Dacia is 10k new for the base model.

If you don't care what you drive then the most important thing is service history and evidence that the car has been cared for.

Oh and don't buy a thing you like... Then you'll spend money fixing it for no good reason.

I love my C55 but it has become another project car, and frankly one project car is the correct number.

I think that the car that sits outside on the drive/in the road should (from a convenience and cost management perspective) probably be something leased inexpensively with a comprehensive warranty and servicing package.

Just add electricity or petrol during the period of use.

Quick google says you can get a Skoda Octavia Estate for ~£160 p/m.

https://www.whatcar.com/car-leasing/deals/business/skoda/octavia-estate/10-tsi-se-technology-5dr/3275897/44491252/

£1k upfront + 24*£160 = £4,840

£5k over 2yrs is pretty tempting. As you wouldn't have any consumables and I assume road tax would be included in that.

and that's the business rate, the personal rate is even lower.

V50 is a great car. The boot isn't huge, due to the wheel arches. I can fit a pushchair, travel cot and most of the stuff for a weekend in the boot - and bike on the roof - there's usually over-spill into the cabin though. It's fine for two adults up front and a kid in a child seat, but think I'd get something bigger for any more kids.

The aircon is a weak point, so if you're looking, check it's working and whether the condenser has been replaced recently. Other than that, the only stuff I've shelled out for is a new set of tyres and some disc back-plates.

I recall at some point you analysed the impact of your Merc's roof rack on fuel consumption. I think I have the same Thule set up as you (wing bars and fork mount).

I don't have electronic mpg gauge and keep forgetting to measure it, and have lazily just left the rack on permanently. I often end up doing laps of the M25 and down the M3 and back - is this costing me enough to bother taking it off and finding space for it in my shed?

If you take yours on and off, how much of a faff is it? Can you loosen all the feet and remove it and reinstall it quite easily in one go? Or does it need de- and re-assembling?

Every christmas the missus and i drive home to Ireland, bringing the dog with us.

Until now we've always put bike and luggage on the roof, with the dog in the boot, but driving from SE london to Holyhead, limited to 70mph, with a loud whistle gets old very quickly, so I'm investigating ways to get around the need for a roof rack this year.

I'm planning to buy a spare bike to leave at my parents house for when we visit (we'll be over a lot next year), but I'm still a bit uneasy about luggage on the rear bench.

Is there a neater solution than just strapping it in as best as possible?

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Can you loosen all the feet and remove it and reinstall it quite easily in one go? Or does it need de- and re-assembling?

This is what I do, unlock the feet, pull the covers off, undo the rubber straps, ping them off, then grab one of the bike racks and pull it toward the side of the car that I am standing by so the whole thing lifts from the horizontal to the vertical. When it's balanced on in a vertical position lift it away, carry round to the garage, store.

Cheers. I should/shall stop being lazy and do that.

1200 squid full fat service including front brakes overhaul on the landbrover. not quite neil levels of sphincter clenchosity but an expensive hobby nonetheless.

oof.

Wow what the hell are they doing?

Yeti or golf/Leon wagon. 1.4 tfsi + dsg 7 speed is probably the winner in all of those.

Hi car thread, is it wise to avoid diesels right now? Are they going to be taxed off the road? I’m in the market for a big estate (5 series / E class / A6 / Accord) budget is about 10k but just about everything is diesel. Do I have any better options? Cheers.

Depends where you live; the low emission zone is being extended in London soon.

Also depends on what spec engine you can get for that money; euro5, euro6 etc. Euro6 should be exempt from tax for a while but something like euro4 will be taxed out of existence within 5 years probably.

Good news is that 2nd hand diesel market is tough for dealers at the moment so you can get more for your money.

Thanks @Soul I’m in the shires so low emissions zone isn’t an issue, I think most cars I’ve looked at are Euro 5 era.

Diesel doesn’t really make sense for me as I’ll be doing 8k miles per year or less, I just need a big wagon as I have 2 young kids and regularly find myself filling cars to the max, particularly for holidays, but there’s very little choice; I’ve seen a couple of 5 series, one Honda, zero Audis and zero Mercs in petrol on Autotrader and eBay, apart from performance variants which I won’t be able to exploit enough to be worth the premium.

But it's not just tax you need to consider, it's the potential depreciation, frustrating power delivery and oh yes...the foul pollutants.

Purely because of the sellers name: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-E350-3-5-7G-Tronic-Elegance-Estate/253938246842?hash=item3b1fe624ba:g:9l4AAOSwSTpbyjs7:rk:3:pf:1

ALL U H8TERZ...

#PerpetualFunkPool

Yep I’m with you on all that

@dammit that’s actually quite cool - v6 manual.

I drive a renault scenic, you see tons out on the road but they were pretty much invisible to me before i got convinced to buy mine. this was partly because of the fact that it cost £800.
problems with it is that: brake discs are attached to hubs so expensive to replace, it is weird (eg it has an auto hand brake), i took it to a dodgy garage once and got shafted (not really the car's fault)

and that's it, apart from that it has been perfect for three years

Why would you attach the brake discs to the hub?

Because French cars?

I thought that, and started typing it, but erased giving them the benefit of doubt