commuting 60miles each way, 40mpg, stupid?

Fett said:
I have no idea what the job is, I'm going on the "springboard" term he used. I'm assuming Gex is bright enough to interpret it correctly for his situation and the job, maybe he'll let us know.

I just think that turning down something prospective right now because of a bit of a commute in a Cinq is indicative of how mollycoddled some of us are, including myself.
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Would you drive 140 miles a day to work at McDonalds, for example?

No. Therefore clearly there is a threshold below which it just isnt worth the bother?
 
[TW]Fox;15720334 said:
Would you drive 140 miles a day to work at McDonalds, for example?

No. Therefore clearly there is a threshold below which it just isnt worth the bother?
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The terms "prospective" and "springboard" should have indicated what I mean in my previous post. Unless I have missed it, Gex has not mentioned what the job is, only that it would be a good launch to a career, (similiar to AtomicBanana's experience), that's how I'm interpreting "springboard". If he is using the term to describe a job screwing lids on tubes of toothpaste then clearly a 120 mile commute is difficult to justify.

Unless I am being especially dense tonight, I think my point is obvious. Put up with the commute, all things being equal it's not a great hardship and the inconvenience and time lost could easily be worth it in the future. That is just an assumption that maybe Gex could take and ponder as he knows just what the prospects are.

Simply, instead of looking at something to have an immediate reward, if the prospects are good, bite the bullet and hopefully reap the rewards in time to come.
 
Firestar_3x said:
What’s that got to do with how good the car is on the motorway?

Mine has far more interior comfort / soundproofing / doesn't get bashed about by the wind / better weighted steering designed for long drives / cruise control / climate control the list goes on.

Coupled with the fact that not only is the engine bigger but it’s geared differently, my car will sit at over 120mph on the autobahn all day long, yours can't do this.

Usually bigger cars are better for longer drives, i should know i've had several smaller cars and done the same trips in them the difference to how tired you feel is night and day.
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you brought engine size into it, that's the only reason i mentioned the poweroutput of your car. i said nothing about the size / wheel base / etc etc etc


numnutz said:
What the hell man, firstly

*snip*
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Wasn't directed at you :)

[TW]Fox;15718576 said:
Totally stupid here. Here is why.

a) Work life balance will suck. Up to 3 hours a day, outside your working day, in a car. Great! Sounds good.

b) It will suck a load of cash and ruin your enjoyment of your because it'll become just a tool. You'll spend a fortune fuelling it and reliability will suddenly become mission critical. If anything goes wrong, you cant get to work. A Cinq isnt the most reliable of cars for this sort of punishment day in, day out, is it?

c) Commuting in a Cinq is a great idea, if you live in a city. It is not a long distance car. You need to arrive at work relaxed, refreshed and ready for a days work. You wont in a Cinq. Neither willl you arrive home after work ready to enjoy your free time.

I did 100 miles a day for a bit, it sucked and thats despite:

i) Doing it in a BMW 5 Series
ii) My employer paying relocation expenses which completely covered the cost of doing so.

I now drive 4 miles to work and 4 miles back. It's awesome and I'd need a £10k payrise before I'd consider doing 100 miles a day again.

Unless this is a decent job with a decent (£60k+) salary, dont waste your time.
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It's not a 60k+ job, and points well made.

Gaygle said:
Oh right. Just looked and apparently it's a 1.4 Stilo engine (95bhp standard).

What have you done to the engine to make 120bhp, Gex? :)
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It's the same engine which is in the panda100hp, which is oddly.. 100bhp in them. But engine wise, it has a higher pressure fuel pump, uprated injectors, larger throttle body, decent induction CDA, properly designed 4>2>1 stainless exhaust system, fully programmable managment, different inlet manifold, different coil packs, wideband lambda controller, erm.. dunno probably few other bits and bobs.

The Mad Rapper said:
From where to where? Is using the train not an option?
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Sheffield to Harrogate, not sure re train. Without a rail card its £18.20 return, but i'm not sure if i'd need a car up there or not.

The job in question is not 1st line tech support, or anything mundane like that - i can earn more money that doing temp chef work.

Thanks for the replies and discussing people :) If i do go for this job, then chances are i will get some motorway mile mucher to use for work - with an eye to selling it on once the situation changes.
 
I used to do Nottingham to Leeds and back every day in a 1.3l Vauxhall Combo tdi. Horrible experience I never wish to relive. Underpowered, crampt car, it's a really bad journey which was 70 miles and yet used to take 2 hours because of traffic, and you'll probably be using a lot of the same roads around the Leeds area. I used to chew through £80 of diesel a week.
 
I commute from sandhurst to Hatfield 3 times a week.

M3 / M25 / A1

It works out at close to 120 miles a day (360 a week)

My Zafira is returning close to 48 mpg over all and costs me about £55 a week in fuel. Basically I spend about £250 all told on fuel for work a month.

Not only can it take 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours to get to work but it also takes a minimum of about 2 hours to get back again due to traffic and the occasional snow storm/accident. So I spend around 4 hours on average in the car 3 times a week, and that's 12 hours a week I won't get back.

Couple that with the early start and getting home late, sometimes after the kids have gone to bed, it doesn't make things easy.

I am currently looking at taking a job closer to home, at the end of the day family > work any day.
 
Sheffield to Harrogate would be an absolute nightmare traffic-wise. If you do consider it, try driving there at 7-9am and see just how busy it is and how long it takes.
 
I don't have trouble with my 43 miles each way to uni in my mk1 1.2L 8v Punto, did it last year and continue to do it this year. The only reason I do it is down to the money it's saving me loads in paying rent!
 
Sorry to thread hijack, but I commute 30 miles each way to Uni. People are always abit shocked when I tell them I do.

Is it abit over the top to travel this distance? If there is no traffic I get home within 45mins-1hour and normally it takes me 1 hour-1hour 20mins.

Does get annoying stuck in traffic and hate commuting when I'm tired. Mind you, I only have 3 days a week.


Edit- just saw post above, feel abit better now lol.
 
[TW]Fox;15720334 said:
Would you drive 140 miles a day to work at McDonalds, for example?

No. Therefore clearly there is a threshold below which it just isnt worth the bother?
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Sure, but would you not agree there's quite a gaping chasm between working at McDonalds and a 60k+ job?

I totally see what you are saying but I think there's a fair bit more 'wiggle room' than you suggest.
 
212 said:
Sorry to thread hijack, but I commute 30 miles each way to Uni. People are always abit shocked when I tell them I do.

Is it abit over the top to travel this distance? If there is no traffic I get home within 45mins-1hour and normally it takes me 1 hour-1hour 20mins.

Does get annoying stuck in traffic and hate commuting when I'm tired. Mind you, I only have 3 days a week.


Edit- just saw post above, feel abit better now lol.
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My usual journey time is 45 minutes to an hour but longer with standstill traffic in rush-hour where it takes about an hour and a half.

To the OP: Have you done any long back-to back journeying over a say a week?
 
My mate use to do this and spent a quarter of his wages on petrol. Seriously bad idea. Also, I find long car journeys make you feel worn out and when you get home you just want to go to bed and not have any fun doing something social.
 
I drive 80 miles a day (40 each way) and it takes about 50 minutes, I drive an Integra DC5 which does about 33-35mpg in that sort of driving and it is rather expensive but you just have to take it all into account. The main thing i find isn't the money, its the feeling knackered when you get home and knowing you've spent 2 hours a day sat there.
 
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