£9 per day in Diesel or £20 per day on the Train…Spec Time

[TW]Fox · 31 Jul 2007 at 13:03

Telescopi said:
Rather you should look at the kind of cars taxi drivers use, they're not daft, they know they do lots of hard miles and the car has to be reliable, cheap to service and run.

Absolutely spot on - a lot of cars are criticised for making you like a minicab driver. Far from a reason to avoid them unless you are after the latest style statement and you really just want A to B transport this is a VERY good reason to follow their lead.

Taxi drivers need something reliable and comfortable - they spend hours in the cab and every hour off the road being fixed hits them hard in the pocket.

Now, there are some daft taxi drivers out there with stupid things like Audi S4's and ST200 Mondeos, but on the whole, buying what the majority of cabbies do is a sound idea.

So yes, by all means, follow the Cabbies lead and get an Octavia diesel. Just dont get one that a Cabbie has had

pitchfork · 31 Jul 2007 at 13:59

Passat 1.9 Tdi?

I've had a look at quotes you can lease one maintenance included, 30k miles a year for about £400, 36 months lease.

Most taxi drivers round here use passats or octavias.

Butters · 31 Jul 2007 at 14:12

[TW]Fox said:
Dont worry, because neither can Butters

I know what i'm trying to say, just came out not how I planned it. Dam you business types

Mr_White · 31 Jul 2007 at 14:42

Butters said:
Servicing, tyres, MOTs, yadayayayd = £1000 / year. As a maximum I'd allow a grand for routine parts and servicing. This includes 4 x tyres once a year at £400, an MOT at £42 and servicing costs of £200 a year. This is really £642 a year but if you allow a grand you can cover yourself if anything else was to go wrong (brakes, clutch, etc). Over 3 years = £1926

£400 tyres for a diesel cruiser?

You could get decent tyres at £220-250, servicing every year, about £100-150, MOT £42, and I'd expect it to pass, so it's more like £450 a year.

Brake pads he'd probably have to replace, clutch, over 3 years?

Not if he buys a well looked after car, there really shouldn't be any expensive repairs over 3 years on a decent £7.5k diesel.

Mickey · 31 Jul 2007 at 15:11

Mr_White said:
£400 tyres for a diesel cruiser?

You could get decent tyres at £220-250, servicing every year, about £100-150, MOT £42, and I'd expect it to pass, so it's more like £450 a year.

Brake pads he'd probably have to replace, clutch, over 3 years?

You think he's going to do 30k miles a year on one set of tyres and one service? :eek:

Mr_White · 31 Jul 2007 at 15:17

Mickey said:
You think he's going to do 30k miles a year on one set of tyres and one service?

Nothing unusual with a 30k interval service inspection on a modern derv.

Anything else will just be oil change, filter changes etc.

The average life of a tyre is 25k-30k miles, which would be achievable with the sort of driving he'll be doing.

So yes I do.

[TW]Fox · 31 Jul 2007 at 15:20

Mr_White said:
Nothing unusual with a 30k interval service inspection on a modern derv.

Show me 3 modern Dervs in the sub £10k bracket with 30k service intervals.

Mr_White · 31 Jul 2007 at 15:43

Octavia, Passat, A3.

What?, that's three cars as far as I'm concerned

They can all reach 30k service intervals with their variable service interval system.

Ok, maybe I worded it wrong, what I meant was it's not unusual for one service a year, it could be 20k, that's still only one service per 30k miles, and one service per year, as long as the car he buys has been recently serviced, then he shouldn't need more than one service a year.

Dolph · 31 Jul 2007 at 16:00

Bangernomics is the other way forward. Run the fiesta doing the journey until it dies/explodes/is beyond sensible repair, then buy something else cheap and mechanically sound for less than a grand and keep going.

Going to be cheaper than buying something and paying the depreciation, especially if you're even the slightest bit mechanically minded.

Scrutinize · 31 Jul 2007 at 16:56

Dolph said:
Bangernomics is the other way forward. Run the fiesta doing the journey until it dies/explodes/is beyond sensible repair, then buy something else cheap and mechanically sound for less than a grand and keep going.

Going to be cheaper than buying something and paying the depreciation, especially if you're even the slightest bit mechanically minded.

Lol yer the fiesta is ok but despite its 11 years of age, it has only done 30k miles (old lady owner) so running it into the ground may take a bit long

and I don't fancy it on that journey for another 2 years.

Cheers for the response guys. I had a look at lease hire but with the mileage it works out too much per month.

I will have a look at the mondeo tdci's and octavia tdi and primera dci + the citroen c5 hdi for now as these seem to be the best choice.

Heck if I look like a taxi, I may as well sort my taxi licence out and earn some additional money to and from work

If I had the money I would get a Mondeo ST tdci without question but I don't. I am favouring the mondeos though.

!bluetonic! · 31 Jul 2007 at 16:58

Dolph said:
Bangernomics is the other way forward. Run the fiesta doing the journey until it dies/explodes/is beyond sensible repair, then buy something else cheap and mechanically sound for less than a grand and keep going.

Going to be cheaper than buying something and paying the depreciation, especially if you're even the slightest bit mechanically minded.

I like this idea.

The fiesta may last longer than you think.

(don't forget to factor in depreciation..

)

Scrutinize · 31 Jul 2007 at 17:06

!bluetonic! said:
I like this idea.

It is a good way forward, if I can find the car.

The fiesta may last longer than you think

Unfortunately it will

On a side note, I am blummin excited about my new job but I can't be bothered to do a general discussion thread so I will mention it here lol

Dolph · 31 Jul 2007 at 17:09

mrk1@1 said:
It is a good way forward, if I can find the car.

Plenty of mechanically sound mondeos etc for under a grand. Might not look the best, but who cares, it's bangernomics

And 11 years old and 30k, that's a bit high... 15 years old and 22k for the runabout here

!bluetonic! · 31 Jul 2007 at 17:15

Skree said:
Yep thats right i said it. I dislike vauxhalls, and having worked as a vauxhall mechanic some years ago, i will never, ever own a vauxhall again.

DAMMIT

I'm stuck with mine for a few more years.

...

Skree said:
and if you really want to save cash... drop a few bottles of vege oil in with a nearly full tank of diesel... every diesel i have ever seen can run 10% vege with no problems - it's 30+p a litre cheaper than diesel

Don't forget to declare how much veggie oil you're using as fuel to the taxman.

Simon · 31 Jul 2007 at 18:59

!bluetonic! said:
DAMMIT
I'm stuck with mine for a few more years.

...

Don't forget to declare how much veggie oil you're using as fuel to the taxman.

Under 2500 litres per year is tax free

leaskovski · 31 Jul 2007 at 19:05

Hmm, this thread has caught my eye!

I'm in a similar stich. My misses lives in london and i go and see her every weekend, but i am thinking that i might up sticks and move closer to her which at the same time would move me away from work. So instead of doing 14k a year i would probably end up doing about 30k. Gawd damn it! I want to see her more but i don't want to have to do stupid mileage.

jegz · 31 Jul 2007 at 19:49

just to throw a spanner in the works

I get the train to work every day (plymouth to exeter) approximately 100 miles round trip. If you book the tickets in advance and specify the train your going to be taking it is possible to get the weeks fares for approx £30 whereas a week season ticket is £60.

This trip in a car would cost in excess of £100 a week excluding parking so it may be worth looking into the train option and getting a less practical but more fun car for the weekends.

Scrutinize · 31 Jul 2007 at 20:23

jegz said:
just to throw a spanner in the works

I get the train to work every day (plymouth to exeter) approximately 100 miles round trip. If you book the tickets in advance and specify the train your going to be taking it is possible to get the weeks fares for approx £30 whereas a week season ticket is £60.

This trip in a car would cost in excess of £100 a week excluding parking so it may be worth looking into the train option and getting a less practical but more fun car for the weekends.

Cheers, I will look into this

[TW]Fox · 31 Jul 2007 at 20:30

jegz said:
just to throw a spanner in the works

I get the train to work every day (plymouth to exeter) approximately 100 miles round trip. If you book the tickets in advance and specify the train your going to be taking it is possible to get the weeks fares for approx £30 whereas a week season ticket is £60.

This trip in a car would cost in excess of £100 a week excluding parking so it may be worth looking into the train option and getting a less practical but more fun car for the weekends.

Out of interest, I am currently working in Exeter and living in Plymouth. I'm driving, and it's costing me £70 a week in petrol in a 3 litre BMW.

Scrutinize · 31 Jul 2007 at 20:34

[TW]Fox said:
Out of interest, I am currently working in Exeter and living in Plymouth. I'm driving, and it's costing me £70 a week in petrol in a 3 litre BMW.

Is that a hint

I suppose I could look at an economical petrol car if the actual fuel costs are well off set by the savings