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Sheepman
7th-January-2004, 04:42 PM
Well I got the car in there last night, but when I looked this morning I thought there's no way I'll get it out again. I might be a bit late arriving tonight . . . :sad:

Greg

Pammy
7th-January-2004, 04:55 PM
Originally posted by Sheepman
Well I got the car in there last night, but when I looked this morning I thought there's no way I'll get it out again. I might be a bit late arriving tonight . . . :sad:

Well, I've managed to smash up my drivers door today, so I'm in the car club too :tears:

Paul F
7th-January-2004, 07:04 PM
Ive just had my car written off :tears: :tears:

On the positive side they have given me back much more than the car was worth. They naturally only checked the incident damage. Lucky for me :wink:

Just means going out to get another one now.

Im betwixed and between two. i have read through WhatCar mag, Autoexpress and pretty much every road test and two cars come out on top in the hatchback range.

Ford Focus (got 5 out of 5 !!)

Skoda Fabia (European car of the year)

Does anyone have any experience with any of these??

ps. LEts not go down the Skoda jokes path......they are essentially VW's now and are supposedly some of the most reliable and safe cars (European safety award winner) around.

TheTramp
7th-January-2004, 07:45 PM
A man walks into a car showroom and says "Have you got a windcreen wiper for a Skoda"

Car salesperson says "Sounds like a fair swap to me"

Sorry. Couldn't resist! Even though you said not to. It's one of my all time favourite jokes :D

Steve

fruitcake
8th-January-2004, 12:59 AM
:grin:
Me chums have got a Skoda, never had a problem with it, now theyve decided to upgrade.....theyve got a Skoda again, a Fabia, and this ones got all mod cons!
Fruitcake.:cheers:

Paul F
8th-January-2004, 02:24 AM
Originally posted by fruitcake
:grin:
Me chums have got a Skoda, never had a problem with it, now theyve decided to upgrade.....theyve got a Skoda again, a Fabia, and this ones got all mod cons!
Fruitcake.:cheers:


Thankyou FRUITCAKE!!! ..... NOT TRAMPY!!.......:grin: :wink:

Yeah the fabia won loads of awards. Trying to find a low mileage diesel verison of either is impossible though. May have to go with petrol :tears:

stewart38
8th-January-2004, 10:21 AM
Cars blocking you in

I have nearly ramed cars out of the way

Guildford ceroc use to be a problem (probably still is). I got blocked in and was so close to raming this car out of the way (I had a hired car):devil:

Pammy
8th-January-2004, 10:24 AM
Originally posted by Paul F
Ive just had my car written off :tears: :tears:

I know two people with the Ford Focus who love them and have been really pleased with them.

Sorry to hear about your write off. What was that car?

I'm planning on getting a Ford Ka or a Fiesta.

Seems like the forumites are having a bad week for car incidents!

Px

Lory
8th-January-2004, 10:35 AM
Originally posted by Paul F

Im betwixed and between two. i have read through WhatCar mag, Autoexpress and pretty much every road test and two cars come out on top in the hatchback range.


Forget them both! I test drove the new Mazda RX8 on Saturday! WOW

I HAVE TO HAVE ONE! :drool:

Paul F
8th-January-2004, 11:29 AM
Hmmmm......i guess I could just stick to my chauffeur driven limo but I do like to mingle with the regular folk now and again :D :D

My car was a vectra. It was the smoothest and quietest car I have ever driven. You could hear a pin drop in my car. Of course, if i were to drive it now you could hear (and feel!) the wind rushing through your hair and its not a convertable!!

Me thinks the Mazda RX8 would be a little bit out of my price range unfortunately :tears:

Pammy
8th-January-2004, 12:20 PM
Originally posted by Paul F
You could hear a pin drop in my car.


I've never tried dropping pins in my car, mostly I drop old sweet wrappers and half eaten biscuits :blush:

I can't afford the Mazda either; unless we share one; you could have the front half and I could have the back :wink:

Paul F
8th-January-2004, 12:53 PM
Originally posted by Pammy
I've never tried dropping pins in my car, mostly I drop old sweet wrappers and half eaten biscuits :blush:

I can't afford the Mazda either; unless we share one; you could have the front half and I could have the back :wink:

Does that mean (n some roundabout way) that your paying for my petrol :grin:

:cheers:

Paul F
8th-January-2004, 12:56 PM
Quick question about diesels.

I do drive quite a bit but no more that 13-14,000 a year.

Even without doing hundreds of motorway miles everyday, are diesel cars still more economical than petrol??

The old addage used to be that you bought diesels for purely long haul driving but these days, with car performance just slightly slower (if not as quick) is this still true?

TheTramp
8th-January-2004, 01:12 PM
I have a peugeot 306 1.9 Diesel.

Most of my mileage is motorway (well, 70mph 'A' road anyhow), and I get around 50-55mpg.

Course, I don't know how that compares with the petrol version, but I'm pretty happy with it. I don't get to speed away in it, but it's pretty happy chugging away at 70mph (honest).

Steve

Sheepman
8th-January-2004, 01:31 PM
Originally posted by stewart38
Cars blocking you in Just in case nobody else believed me (ChrisA didn't) I wasn't blocked in, I did actually park it in there, but it wasn't till later that I realised it was only 5 inches, (I normally need at least 6.)
Is it something to do with old age?

Luckily both the other cars had gone by HDT (Hipsters Departure Time).

Greg

Lynn
8th-January-2004, 02:12 PM
Originally posted by Pammy
I'm planning on getting a Ford Ka or a Fiesta.


I have a Fiesta and I really like it – its my first car and I’ve had it for a year. But it’s not the new model – it’s the 16 valve zetec 1.25 that they don’t make anymore and is really nippy and responsive. I don’t know if I would like the new Fiesta after driving this one. My mum test drove one last year and didn’t enjoy it as much as her old one (which is now mine!) and so opted instead for a nearly new (3,000 miles) 1.25 zetec – of the 'old' model (which of course was a lot cheaper too!).

The Ka is cute, definitely a 'girls' car! Haven't driven one yet though (I don't really care too much what a car looks like, whether it is 'cool' or not, even what gadjets it has, if I enjoy driving it...)

Sheepman
8th-January-2004, 02:18 PM
Originally posted by Lynn
I have a Fiesta – it’s the 16 valve zetec 1.25 Same model as the one in the pic, also very easy for parking!
Not quite so good for going skiing in the Alps, (yes there's a pic of that somewhere too, but car pics aren't exactly exciting?)

Greg

Pammy
8th-January-2004, 03:12 PM
Originally posted by Sheepman
I did actually park it in there

No way! :what: :really:

Rachel
8th-January-2004, 04:17 PM
Originally posted by Paul F
Quick question about diesels.

I do drive quite a bit but no more that 13-14,000 a year.

Even without doing hundreds of motorway miles everyday, are diesel cars still more economical than petrol??

The old addage used to be that you bought diesels for purely long haul driving but these days, with car performance just slightly slower (if not as quick) is this still true? It won't make much difference on a day-to-day basis, but if you plan to keep the car 'forever', then yes, probably best to get a diesel. I do around 25,000 miles annually, and have just got a diesel Astra - very boring, I know, but extremely reliable and cheap to run. I have no idea about mpg (very girlie!), but I can get 500 miles out of a £35 tank of petrol, which is far better than anything I've ever had before.

But skoda's are supposed to be very good, too, these days!

(PS I'm with Pammy - Greg, you never got that that car into that space! If you did, I want lessons!)
Rachel

Dan Hudson
8th-January-2004, 05:20 PM
I have a new Mazda 6 as a company car and I thoroughly recommend it, 2.0l turbo diesal engine so economical too..
Only £15,995.00 on the road at the last look, a fab price!!

I drive around 30,000 miles a year..

Bit of a licence loser though, always driving too fast!:eek:

I saw the RX-8 for the first time yesterday.. wow !! What a car!:waycool: :cheers:

Rachel
8th-January-2004, 05:35 PM
Originally posted by Dan Hudson
...Only £15,995.00 on the road at the last look, a fab price!! How much???! That's nearly the price of my house!
R xx

Bill
8th-January-2004, 05:51 PM
Thankfully I don't need a car - I live in the centre of town and work 10 mins away so use trains for travel. Couldn't afford a car anyway :rolleyes:

If jammed in you could always pretend you're French and simply drive forward and back until you move the other cars out of the way. Saw that happen a few years ago when having coffee at a cafe on the banks of the Seine and sat amazed ( along with the others out on the pavement) as a van simply reversed into a space pushing the car behind almost off its wheels and then forward, doing the same to it then repeating until he was in the space. I was told that this was quite normal for Parisiens ........ is this ture Franck ?????

Lory
8th-January-2004, 06:08 PM
Originally posted by Dan Hudson
I have a new Mazda 6

I saw the RX-8 for the first time yesterday.. wow !! What a car!:waycool: :cheers:

I have a Mazda MX5 (well, I am a hairdresser after all! :na: )

It's great FUN to drive but not the most practical of cars! It happens to have the smallest boot in the world :sad:

Whilst the RX8 on the other hand has 4 seats and a fairly large BOOT! AND lot's of other goody's too...... OOOOH I really really WANT ONE!

:drool:

Dance Demon
8th-January-2004, 06:17 PM
I got rid of my Ford Escort at the end of October, and after driving Ford for quite a lot of years ( Ford....Fix Or Repair Daily:sick: )
I decided on a Change. I bought a 1.7 Turbo deisel Astra Estate. It used to cost me £30 a week in petrol for my Escort. I now spend around £25 a fortnight on Deisel.........Deisels are fab, and if you get the Turbo version, you don't lose out on performance either.

Jon L
8th-January-2004, 06:41 PM
I drive a ford escort which will be changed this year.

I used to have a ceroc car sticker in the back window but I don't anymore, if I was to have car stickers for every dance organisation I think is good I would not be able to see out of it! :grin:

The wierdest travelling experience was when I parked the car outside St. Mary's and there was a bidet standing beside the car on the pavement !!!

The car used to always have a kebab smell in it on Saturday mornings.
:really: becuase when I come home from St. Mary's I would stop at my favourite kebab shop in Fulham.

Lounge Lizard
8th-January-2004, 07:07 PM
Originally posted by Paul F
Quick question about diesels.

I do drive quite a bit but no more that 13-14,000 a year.

Even without doing hundreds of motorway miles everyday, are diesel cars still more economical than petrol??

The old addage used to be that you bought diesels for purely long haul driving but these days, with car performance just slightly slower (if not as quick) is this still true?
I had an Astra Diesel Turbo van and Audi A4 car
I found I always used the van so gave the car to my daughter, I drive around 500 miles a week lots of Motorway use and cruise at 80 + (sorry I meant 70)

Heard a great storry today (may be urban legend but who cares)
Guy parking his mercedes is cut up by a mini who takes the parkig place, the mini driver gets out and with a smug look states you need to be quick to get on in this world, the merc driver gets in his car and drives into the mini completly wrecking the side of the car, then replies to the mini driver "no,you need to be rich mate"

Sheepman
9th-January-2004, 04:12 PM
Originally posted by Rachel
(PS I'm with Pammy - Greg, you never got that that car into that space! If you did, I want lessons!)
Rachel Did too! (Why do you think I took the photo, I was feeling a bit smug!) But sadly there's no witnesses, (unless the neighbours looked out of their windows at 1 am wondering what the "bump, brrrrrrm, bump, brrrrrm, bump" noises were.
Sadly it's an essential skill living in the inner city, but I think the Smart car would definitely be too impractical for those dance weekends and trips to the Alps.

Greg

CJ
9th-January-2004, 04:30 PM
... A READITMOBILE.

Aye, one big red transit van. 4 smelly inhabitants can be seen driving up and down M6 all year selling wares.

If you see us on road, give us a flash!!

re: Lounge Lizard's "urban myth:" there is footage somewhere of "parking rage." Some irate woman, mildly unhappy at someone else stealing parking space removes obstacle using minimum required force (she did it mainly in reverse!!)

DS will probably have a copy of it somewhere!!

horsey_dude
9th-January-2004, 04:50 PM
Originally posted by Rachel
It won't make much difference on a day-to-day basis, but if you plan to keep the car 'forever', then yes, probably best to get a diesel. I do around 25,000 miles annually, and have just got a diesel Astra - very boring, I know, but extremely reliable and cheap to run. I have no idea about mpg (very girlie!), but I can get 500 miles out of a £35 tank of petrol, which is far better than anything I've ever had before.

But skoda's are supposed to be very good, too, these days!

(PS I'm with Pammy - Greg, you never got that that car into that space! If you did, I want lessons!)
Rachel

Rachel, I am impressed that you can get a diesel car to run at all on a tank of petrol regardless of the cost. My hat goes off to you.....

I am in no position to criticise though, I don't have a car at all....

HD.

Rachel
9th-January-2004, 05:04 PM
Originally posted by horsey_dude
Rachel, I am impressed that you can get a diesel car to run at all on a tank of petrol regardless of the cost. My hat goes off to you.....

I am in no position to criticise though, I don't have a car at all....

HD. Hey, just a typo ... I may be girlie but I'm not that bad! (Though my boss just admitted to us that she'd filled up her hired diesel car with a tankful of unleaded petrol recently. I gather the hire company were not too impressed!)

(Anyway, where have you been hiding lately, HD? Been aaages since I've seen you. We're long overdue a dance!)
Rachel

Lynn
9th-January-2004, 06:31 PM
Originally posted by Rachel
...I have no idea about mpg (very girlie!), but I can get 500 miles out of a £35 tank of petrol, which is far better than anything I've ever had before...
Only been driving just over a year, that's my excuse for not knowing much about the more technical stuff.:blush: But I have heard you use less petrol when you drive more slowly. Here in NI we have to have 'R' plates up for a year after you pass your test and you are still restricted to 45mph for that year. Mine just came down 6 weeks ago and now I can go faster :grin:, but it is costing a bit more. :tears: Doesn't make me want to save a few more pennies by going back to doing 45mph on the motorway though...

Paul F
9th-January-2004, 07:00 PM
Originally posted by Lynn
Only been driving ...... Doesn't make me want to save a few more pennies by going back to doing 45mph on the motorway though...

Thats really interesting. I had no idea that was the case in NI. Not a bad idea.

Been round to loads of car showrooms today looking at , well, cars and it looks like the clear favourite at the minute is not the Ford Focus (too expensive for low mileage one) or the Skoda Fabia (looks a little flat) but the Peugeot 206 HDi.

Brilliant little car and is one of the lightest small hatch's around which makes the fuel economy excellent. Servicing and parts arent the cheapest ut a good trade off. Its quiet at high speed and comfy and the peugeot garage offer a good warranty.

Must confess though. Looked at the Ford Focus.....Mmmmmm!!!

DavidY
13th-January-2004, 06:01 PM
Originally posted by Paul F
Skoda Fabia ~snip~
Does anyone have any experience with any of these??I've done 77,000 miles in 2 years in my Fabia - the 1.9 turbo diesel. I easily get over 55 mpg (my driving is on lots of motorways/A Roads so easier for me to get better mpg than around town), but at the same time the engine 'pulls' well and IMHO is as powerful as most people would ever need.

The seats are comfortable on the long drives up to Ceroc events in Scotland, and there's legroom for adults in the back and front at the same time.

It's not gone wrong in any major way over 77k miles, although it's going into the garage this week to have a minor oil leak fixed.

Overall I would buy definitely consider getting another when this one needs replacing.

Hope this helps,
David

Paul F
13th-January-2004, 06:20 PM
Thats great David. Thanks for that.

77000 miles in two years :what: Wow that is a lot of driving. :grin:

Pete
13th-January-2004, 11:41 PM
Paul, have you had a look at http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/home/index.htm ? If you click on the 'car by car breakdown' you can get 'insider' reviews of the Focus, Fabia and others. The site will tell you a lot about reliability - something that magazine reviews don't always cover. Good luck with finding a new car!

Pete

Paul F
13th-January-2004, 11:43 PM
Originally posted by Pete
Paul, have you had a look at http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/home/index.htm ? If you click on the 'car by car breakdown' you can get 'insider' reviews of the Focus, Fabia and others. The site will tell you a lot about reliability - something that magazine reviews don't always cover. Good luck with finding a new car!

Pete

Thats fantastic pete. Thanks very much for that :cheers:

bobgadjet
15th-January-2004, 01:37 AM
Originally posted by Rachel
but I can get 500 miles out of a £35 tank of petrol, which is far better than anything I've ever had before.



If you are looking for economy I don't think you are getting it with those figures.

I've just got a Volvo (yes, lights always on ! !) V40 estate (not new) and am surprise that I get around 450 miles from about £35-£40. well pleased as it's a 1800 petrol engine, and I'm not the slowest of drivers ! ! !
Mind you, it does depend on the price of the fuel.

Who has the cheapest fuel near them?

Watford has LOADS of fuel at 72.9p/ltr, but in Poole I noticed the cheapest was still as high as 75.9/ltr, and the most expensive around 82.9/ltr. Why do people pay that much?