yup vec c is based on the epsilon siggy is epsilon 2
but if you get both on a ramp side by side they are nigh on identical underneath.
New taxi musings
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yup vec c is based on the epsilon siggy is epsilon 2
but if you get both on a ramp side by side they are nigh on identical underneath.
How did you find the Superb?
I agree with the others above - they are suprisingly good and not a bad place to spend a lot of time in.
and the esate is a genuinely nice looking car..it has kind of assumed the mantle of large volvo estates to be loved by antique dealers country wide
I'm not sure I'd spend so much money on a taxi myself. I've only got a facelifted mk3 Mondeo and I resent anyone dropping chips all over the back seats, then falling around or sitting in them, mashing them all over the place when drunk (yes, I ask them not to eat in the car but they still manage it). That's not to mention the additional lack of respect a lot of passengers give to your car, ie. dirty footprints all over the place, leaving rubbish and cans in your rear door storage etc, vomiting in the back after a night on the town.
I really could go on and on. As much as I'd love to drop £10k on a great car like the Superb, it would annoy me so much to have to deal with the above in such a fine motor.
That's just me, though.
I really could go on and on. As much as I'd love to drop £10k on a great car like the Superb, it would annoy me so much to have to deal with the above in such a fine motor.
That's just me, though.
I'm a little puzzled why you deem power to be such an issue, its a taxi!
I cope perfectly well, day in, day out with between 30 (empty) and 10 (loaded) bhp per ton, its no issue to me whatsoever, if anything, I often find Taxis getting in my way!
Or is it you intend to use it for personal use also? - I'm assuming its a work tool...
I cope perfectly well, day in, day out with between 30 (empty) and 10 (loaded) bhp per ton, its no issue to me whatsoever, if anything, I often find Taxis getting in my way!
Or is it you intend to use it for personal use also? - I'm assuming its a work tool...
you'd be surprised at some of the metal that floats around Glasgow on taxi plates, several new 3 series bmws and i've seen a solitary 5 series. a few octavia vrs's and every second motor you see is a vectra Sri. if i had the cash i'd buy a new320d sport just to annoy fox with pictures of it covered in footprints and vomit
but unfortunately 10k is my max not 30k 
suprisingly nice, in fact i would have to say very very nice. didnt manage to get a test drive(didnt have time) but i did have a good 1/2 hour nosing round opening and closing things and sitting in it making rattly diesel noises. its light years ahead of my veccy in terms of being a nice place to be. i really could see me being quite happy in one of these with a bit of extra grunt
I'm a little puzzled why you deem power to be such an issue, its a taxi!
I cope perfectly well, day in, day out with between 30 (empty) and 10 (loaded) bhp per ton, its no issue to me whatsoever, if anything, I often find Taxis getting in my way!
Or is it you intend to use it for personal use also? - I'm assuming its a work tool...
nope its both a work tool and to a lesser extent my personal toy. the current vectra is perfect for this 190 horses lots of torque and a smattering of toys make it a good compromise. If the engines werent made of swiss cheese i'd have a 3l v6 vectra and to hell with the mpgz that said a 5mpg gain over the vectra would net me somewhere in the region of £800 a year saving in fuel bills so i can almost justify something with a bit of poke and less economy on the grounds i'd spend a lot more than that on a weekend toy(most likely a vr6)
seriously thinking a superb with a 2l tdi and a few tweaks might be the way to go. a quick remap would see me with a very comfy and quick toy. or the alternative is spend less and buy another vectra
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Soldato
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Fox feeling smug!
Get the 170PS version of the 2.0L CR (rather than the 140PS) and remap it to 200BHP. Jobs a goodun.
Get the 170PS version of the 2.0L CR (rather than the 140PS) and remap it to 200BHP. Jobs a goodun.
[TW]Fox;21081042 said:What did I tell you
you were spot on, left skoda feeling very underwhelmed after stepping back into the vectra, it really is poles apart
that would be the plan, spent the last wee while looking through autotrader at elegance spec models around 12k
hopefully by xmas they will drop into my budget but with that said i did like the octavia vrs i parked my backside in bit more aligned with my hooligan ethos than the more sedate superb. tough choices to be made over the next couple of months i think. the Superb is indeed a fantastic car although i would question whether i'm the right person to own one
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Its you using what is an essential work tool as a toy that puzzles me a little, were I an owner driver of whatever vehicle, I somehow doubt I'd want to be anywhere near it on a weekend - I got a brand new 61plate VolvoFH this week and enjoyed it as a workplace but I'm damned if I'd want to see the thing again until Monday! - Same could be said of my much loved Scanias....
But yes, were that toy a VR6 or whatever I see it would be a bigger hole in the pocket overall, hence something with a bit more oomph for the day job.
Thing is, for me anyway, you work to live, social life should not ideally involve something you damn near live in for the job
Each to his / her own though.
Its you using what is an essential work tool as a toy that puzzles me a little, were I an owner driver of whatever vehicle, I somehow doubt I'd want to be anywhere near it on a weekend - I got a brand new 61plate VolvoFH this week and enjoyed it as a workplace but I'm damned if I'd want to see the thing again until Monday! - Same could be said of my much loved Scanias....
But yes, were that toy a VR6 or whatever I see it would be a bigger hole in the pocket overall, hence something with a bit more oomph for the day job.
Thing is, for me anyway, you work to live, social life should not ideally involve something you damn near live in for the job
Each to his / her own though.
you make a fair point, but if i buy a second car its another lot of tax, insurance and servicing/running costs. if i put up with a work toy that has a bit more poke and slightly less mpg i can save a few quid and be a lot happier 12 hours a day 6/7 days a week. your right about damn near living in it. I spend more time in my taxi than i do my house
remember i can make use of the rac truck/wifes alfa at the weekends/days off.
Soldato
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you'd be surprised at some of the metal that floats around Glasgow on taxi plates, several new 3 series bmws and i've seen a solitary 5 series. a few octavia vrs's and every second motor you see is a vectra Sri. if i had the cash i'd buy a new320d sport just to annoy fox with pictures of it covered in footprints and vomit
I had an E60 525d taxi 'race' me earlier. In white with tints too so I can only imagine what kind of person was driving that.
Move to Auchterarder where every taxi was an E class merc. Felt like being in spain again.
A superb would make a superb taxi, think I've been in one of the local guys and it was lovely.
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Not sure if it's different for Scotland but what's the going rate for taxi insurance?one guy on another forum says he pays £200 per month in Sheffield, I'm 28 with 3 years ncb average postcode, does how long you've had the drivers badge dictate the cost to a certain extent?
Is the mot a lot more strict for private hire or is it simply a standard mot albeit twice a year.
Should I rent a car from a firm? one guy mentioned you lose 60% of your earnings doing it like this and I guess it's more hassle getting to the car to begin shifts etc, how should I go about selecting the best council patch to work on?
I have 2.5k savings and another 2.5k tied up in my current car which I may would need to sell for a diesel, is this sufficient to get started? I know £350 was mentioned as a cost to get the badge etc, I've already done a medical to get my class 2 will I need to do another?
Is the mot a lot more strict for private hire or is it simply a standard mot albeit twice a year.
Should I rent a car from a firm? one guy mentioned you lose 60% of your earnings doing it like this and I guess it's more hassle getting to the car to begin shifts etc, how should I go about selecting the best council patch to work on?
I have 2.5k savings and another 2.5k tied up in my current car which I may would need to sell for a diesel, is this sufficient to get started? I know £350 was mentioned as a cost to get the badge etc, I've already done a medical to get my class 2 will I need to do another?
it all varies from council to council and i can only advise you from a Glasgow city council point of view so my views will be a very general overview. for a more local perspective it might be worth asking on http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/
ok here we go
first things first, Taxi insurance. I've currently ben working as a Private hire driver for 6 years, and i'm north of £1800 for insurance in Glasgow bear in mind i'm the wrong side of 30 which is a big milestone in terms of taxi insurance. friend of mine had a claim last year for a stolen cab so 0 no claims he's been taxiing for over 10 years and is over 50 he's paying £3500 a year for insurance. your car no claims bonus is no good for a private hire or taxi insurance policy i'm afraid although a few companies may be willing to offer you an introductory discount. they use a number of factors in determining premium, length of time you've held your drivers licence and taxi badge points will see you being crucified etc etc. think normal car insurance but worse. (for example i've just renewed with the same company, most car ins cos would just be a case of an auto renew with no questions. i've stayed with the same broker and underwriter and i had to hand all the same documents in that i gave them last year, in person at their office.
as in terms of buying or renting someone elses motor it varies region to region some will take a percentage where others will just charge a flat fee.
my radio base every driver is self employed with no drivers employed by the company directly.
radio rental is charged at £126 a week (ours is the dearest in Glasgow, some smaller companies have this down as low at £80-90 a week but they dont have the same volume of work for their drivers.
our company will rent a driver a car for £160 a week fully insured and maintained, al you have to do is fuel it. atm every company car getting put out is a split new citroen berlingo. they dont supply you with the paper bag to stick over your head. known as a van wae windaes amongst the owner drivers up here
there are third party vehicle renters people like myself with 1 or 2 motors and then theres the guys who are running fleets of 20 or 30 cars and renting them out to drivers. but the company owners are trying to drum them out as its eating into their own profit margins so these are put out in underhand ways (owned by a third party and in the renters name etc etc)
a lot of guys double shift their motors too so you can pick up either a day or night shift on someone elses motor for a fair bit less than the costs above but but then your tied into working the hours someone else dictates.
Money up here isnt as good as it used to be i remember making fortunes when i first started but its a lot harder now, although the money is still there if your willing to put the hours in. bear in mind especially if your running a company car all your costs bar fuel are fixed so anything after clearing that is pure profit (minus fuel of course). In terms of figures, theres guys that will work a minimum number of hours and do nothing more than cover their costs and theres guys out there pulling ghosters working 7 days making a grand a week,(obviously not this month though- jan/feb is notourilsy quiet.)
personally i would recommend renting a vehicle off someone else, at least to start with, the last thing you want to do is get yourself financially tied into the job ie buying a motor etc then finding out you hate it, its either for you or its not and you wont know until you've been there and done it.
In terms of owning a vehicle in Glasgow at least its a case of keeping it legal re mot, tax etc and presenting it for inpection to the council twice a year where it is tested to MOT standards the council can actually issue a dual taxi test/ mot inspection (their a registered mot station as well) so you can kill 2 birds with one stone twice a year. vehicle wise it varies council to council but in Glasgow a private hire must be no more than 5 years old when it is first plated as a PHV and can be used until it is 7 yrs old then it must be replaced. Our council has some archaic restrictions in place in regards vehicle specs no of doors minimum seat pad sizes and especialy in this day and age of eco motors a minimum engine capacity of 1.6 litres (silly considering you can get some rather fiesty 1.4 petrol turbo lumps these days- but this dates back to many moons ago so i can see this changing in the short term.)
in terms of costs outwith radio or vehicle rental i can only go with Glasgow figures, my taxi badge works out at £60 a year(or £157 every 3 years - you can renew for 2 or 3 year or for your first badge 1,2 or 3 years plates are circa £140 a year again same as badges in terms of years.
In regards to your own vehicle with a budget of £5k my money for the Glasgow area would be going on as new a vectra as i could get my hands on in budget. but you would need to find out the requirements of your local licensing authority and take it from there (motors is your friend for this) but remember comfort should be a priority you can end up almost living in your taxi/phc
anyway think that about covers everything, anything else you need to know ask away or e-mail in trust
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Thanks for the advice Apparantly it's slow in Edinburgh but a chap there claims £450 on the metre and £50 in tips on a sat night, surely £250 plus and £20 in tips would be realistic in my location, could be worth it, maybe rent the car fri-sun from an older driver who prefers to do school/airport runs contracts during the week and has his own/wife's car to use at weekends, sound like a plan? I could keep my car then and do other work during the week.
Apparantly there is a firm that does recognise ncb from a personal car so will check them out if I decide the jobs for me after renting a cab for awhile.
Apparantly it's slow in Edinburgh but a chap there claims £450 on the metre and £50 in tips on a sat night, surely £250 plus and £20 in tips would be realistic in my location, could be worth it, maybe rent the car fri-sun from an older driver who prefers to do school/airport runs contracts during the week and has his own/wife's car to use at weekends, sound like a plan? I could keep my car then and do other work during the week.Apparantly there is a firm that does recognise ncb from a personal car so will check them out if I decide the jobs for me after renting a cab for awhile.
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Associate
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He means the cab turns over £450 so an average of about £38 per hour before any costs, he did 13 hours is that not realistic? How full on is a 12 hour shift do you have down time where you can have time to eat and read the paper or is it constantly on the go?
just seems awfully high, even if hes a hack. then again if that was over the xmas/new year period then fair enough, but i honestly doubt even a hack would average £40 an hour over 13 hours on a nightshift unless he had a couple of exceptionally good hires which would make it a one off rather than every week occurence.
put it into perspective i pulled £225 last night on a good shift for 11 hours and that was non stop. different tonight though, sitting twiddling my thumbd atm very quiet tonight, I generally aim to pull in £100 a day monday to friday plus cover my fuel costs then £150 plus fuel sat and same on sunday if i work a weekend. its certainly achievable but it does take a lot of motivation especially on days when its quiet
put it into perspective i pulled £225 last night on a good shift for 11 hours and that was non stop. different tonight though, sitting twiddling my thumbd atm very quiet tonight, I generally aim to pull in £100 a day monday to friday plus cover my fuel costs then £150 plus fuel sat and same on sunday if i work a weekend. its certainly achievable but it does take a lot of motivation especially on days when its quiet