What do you drive?

[StefanAVFC]

On 09/09/2021 at 19:04, DCJonah said:

Just ordered a Skoda, although 27 weeks wait for it to be built. 

They were always the joke car when I was a kid and never really thought about them but really liked it when I eventually saw one. 

I drive a Skoda now. Changing it soon, probably to a Renault but it's been brilliant to be honest. So cheap to run.

[Davkaus]

35 minutes ago, mottaloo said:

Need some advice please. Other half has just bought a 66 plate nissan juke and the main beam headlights still appear to be "too high" despite being on the lowest setting (did the usual test of facing a wall and watching the beam lower whilst pressing the required switch on the dash) but it still is a bit high and we get flashed at night by some drivers. I know they have those daytime running lights higher up but don't think they're the problem. I've looked on forums but nothing really helps so far.

Any ideas VTers ?

In the engine bay on top of the headlights, there are some screws that allow you to make more adjustments. It's a really simple job, the most important thing is being on level ground and having a clear wall to aim at to judge the height

 

Bit of a write up here for your model with a diagram (which for some reason I can't embed here) that should help you find the right screws:

http://www.nijutech.com/headlamp_aiming_adjustment-2874.html

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by Davkaus

[villa4europe]

8 minutes ago, StefanAVFC said:

Mid 2000s Corvette

the new one looks good and is relatively well priced too (£74k for a wannabe super car)

if it was realistic then mine would be 2 audis, an A5 and a Q5 for me and the wife, if i could then stretch the realism of the budget I'd just go up the range, RS5 and SQ5

even id wont the euromillions i still id look at the RS5 etron and the and RSQ8

[bickster]

On 13/10/2021 at 16:56, Sid4ever said:

Anybody here have experience of the Hyundai Ionic 5?  Potential new car so would welcome thoughts.

No personal experience but I do know of at least 2 Private Hire fleet owners who have considerable numbers of them and they keep getting more of them as they appear to be relatively trouble free. 

If you want to know how shit a vehicle is, ask a private hire driver, they'll find its faults in weeks

[chrisp65]

We have an Aygo that is due it’s 24 month service.

Toyota wanted £280 !!! Crazy money, the car has done 5,000 miles, we’ve had a bit of a pandemic lockdown and working from home. It still has the protective wrapper on 3 of the seat belts!

Toyota have been insistent the service is £280, out of their control, the figure is set by HQ.

So I sent them an email earlier just to confirm that we’re having the service done elsewhere and I understand this won’t impact the PCP value or the warranty.

They phoned me up, asked how much and who was servicing it. £180, the AA. They have now decided they can match that price. Still bloody expensive for what will be lots of things like checking tyre tread on a car that’s done 5,000 miles. But £100 less than it could have been.

That’s £100 we can spend on us whilst we wait 90 minutes for the service to be carried out.

[Xela]

The new choice for footballers no doubt

 

[sidcow]

I think I've written on here how happy I am with my VW Polo.

I had a call from dealer earlier in the week asking me to come in and talk about a new car, I'm still currently 18 months from the end of my PCP.  

Just got back from seeing him.  Basically as has been publicised second hand car values have been rocketing.  My car is low mileage, even with lockdown, its got 7,700 miles from new in 2.5 years.  I keep it pretty well as well, the interior is immaculate.  It's got a couple of scratches and a chip on the bonnet where some mortar fell off our roof onto it in a storm. 

I remember clearly when I bought it I specifically asked the dealer if there is usually any residual value left at the end of PCP deals.  He said not really, they tend to judge it pretty well so their values are normally bang on. 

Anyway the dealer said my car was perfect for their second hand sales.  Right age, right condition, probably as prime as it's possible to be.  He's made me an offer of £13, 700 meaning I've got £4,800 of equity towards a new car. 

I get the new equivalent model (Polo is refreshed this year) for just £15 a month more.  I've got to put down £250 cash but as I'm due a £250 service in 6 months plus an MOT that's just fine. 

Bit of a no brainer to me and a nice suprise.  I told him my story asking the original dealer about residual value.  He said in normal times the most you would ever see is £500 - £1,000.  He did say £4,800 is the most he's seen on a polo.  Apparently some guy earlier in the week had £10,000 equity on a Golf GTi. 

My advice if you're mid term on a PCP is to give your dealer a call, you never know.  

New model has got tons more kit on it too.  There is even one on the ferry right now, will be available at the end of this month. 

It's not often life throws a bonus at you.   

 

 

[tinker]

17 hours ago, sidcow said:

I think I've written on here how happy I am with my VW Polo.

I had a call from dealer earlier in the week asking me to come in and talk about a new car, I'm still currently 18 months from the end of my PCP.  

Just got back from seeing him.  Basically as has been publicised second hand car values have been rocketing.  My car is low mileage, even with lockdown, its got 7,700 miles from new in 2.5 years.  I keep it pretty well as well, the interior is immaculate.  It's got a couple of scratches and a chip on the bonnet where some mortar fell off our roof onto it in a storm. 

I remember clearly when I bought it I specifically asked the dealer if there is usually any residual value left at the end of PCP deals.  He said not really, they tend to judge it pretty well so their values are normally bang on. 

Anyway the dealer said my car was perfect for their second hand sales.  Right age, right condition, probably as prime as it's possible to be.  He's made me an offer of £13, 700 meaning I've got £4,800 of equity towards a new car. 

I get the new equivalent model (Polo is refreshed this year) for just £15 a month more.  I've got to put down £250 cash but as I'm due a £250 service in 6 months plus an MOT that's just fine. 

Bit of a no brainer to me and a nice suprise.  I told him my story asking the original dealer about residual value.  He said in normal times the most you would ever see is £500 - £1,000.  He did say £4,800 is the most he's seen on a polo.  Apparently some guy earlier in the week had £10,000 equity on a Golf GTi. 

My advice if you're mid term on a PCP is to give your dealer a call, you never know.  

New model has got tons more kit on it too.  There is even one on the ferry right now, will be available at the end of this month. 

It's not often life throws a bonus at you.   

 

 

Go to WBA or motorway and get a price for it before you decide, people I know have had similar experiences and found they got higher prices than the dealer could offer .

[chrisp65]

17 hours ago, sidcow said:

I think I've written on here how happy I am with my VW Polo.

I had a call from dealer earlier in the week asking me to come in and talk about a new car, I'm still currently 18 months from the end of my PCP.  

Just got back from seeing him.  Basically as has been publicised second hand car values have been rocketing.  My car is low mileage, even with lockdown, its got 7,700 miles from new in 2.5 years.  I keep it pretty well as well, the interior is immaculate.  It's got a couple of scratches and a chip on the bonnet where some mortar fell off our roof onto it in a storm. 

I remember clearly when I bought it I specifically asked the dealer if there is usually any residual value left at the end of PCP deals.  He said not really, they tend to judge it pretty well so their values are normally bang on. 

Anyway the dealer said my car was perfect for their second hand sales.  Right age, right condition, probably as prime as it's possible to be.  He's made me an offer of £13, 700 meaning I've got £4,800 of equity towards a new car. 

I get the new equivalent model (Polo is refreshed this year) for just £15 a month more.  I've got to put down £250 cash but as I'm due a £250 service in 6 months plus an MOT that's just fine. 

Bit of a no brainer to me and a nice suprise.  I told him my story asking the original dealer about residual value.  He said in normal times the most you would ever see is £500 - £1,000.  He did say £4,800 is the most he's seen on a polo.  Apparently some guy earlier in the week had £10,000 equity on a Golf GTi. 

My advice if you're mid term on a PCP is to give your dealer a call, you never know.  

New model has got tons more kit on it too.  There is even one on the ferry right now, will be available at the end of this month. 

It's not often life throws a bonus at you.   

 

Right now, because of job and lifestyle, I think the Golf is probably just on the borderline of being too small for what I need.

In about 3 or 4 years I’m expecting that to change, for there to be far less need for space to be transporting people and stuff around the country.

As soon as that happens, I’m in to Golf / Polo territory, and I think I prefer the Polo. Or whatever the equivalent will be in 4 or 4 years time. We’ll be that much closer to the end of petrol by then.

[Lichfield Dean]

29 minutes ago, tinker said:

Go to WBA or motorway and get a price for it before you decide, people I know have had similar experiences and found they got higher prices than the dealer could offer .

Be careful with Motorway though. We got hit an unscrupulous dealer who offered us a lot more than we'd expected, therefore won the bidding, then when a guy came to collect it claimed that there was loads of damage and that the radio wasn't as advertised (which was a lie) and tried to bat the price down by over £700. It was clearly his tactic just to win the bid even if he had no intention of paying it.

Fortunately we had the right to refuse the offer, so instead we just sold it to a local dealer.

It is a problem that Motorway need to resolve, and unfortunately for some reason they always back the dealers rather than the sellers.

[Genie]

18 hours ago, sidcow said:

I think I've written on here how happy I am with my VW Polo.

I had a call from dealer earlier in the week asking me to come in and talk about a new car, I'm still currently 18 months from the end of my PCP.  

Just got back from seeing him.  Basically as has been publicised second hand car values have been rocketing.  My car is low mileage, even with lockdown, its got 7,700 miles from new in 2.5 years.  I keep it pretty well as well, the interior is immaculate.  It's got a couple of scratches and a chip on the bonnet where some mortar fell off our roof onto it in a storm. 

I remember clearly when I bought it I specifically asked the dealer if there is usually any residual value left at the end of PCP deals.  He said not really, they tend to judge it pretty well so their values are normally bang on. 

Anyway the dealer said my car was perfect for their second hand sales.  Right age, right condition, probably as prime as it's possible to be.  He's made me an offer of £13, 700 meaning I've got £4,800 of equity towards a new car. 

I get the new equivalent model (Polo is refreshed this year) for just £15 a month more.  I've got to put down £250 cash but as I'm due a £250 service in 6 months plus an MOT that's just fine. 

Bit of a no brainer to me and a nice suprise.  I told him my story asking the original dealer about residual value.  He said in normal times the most you would ever see is £500 - £1,000.  He did say £4,800 is the most he's seen on a polo.  Apparently some guy earlier in the week had £10,000 equity on a Golf GTi. 

My advice if you're mid term on a PCP is to give your dealer a call, you never know.  

New model has got tons more kit on it too.  There is even one on the ferry right now, will be available at the end of this month. 

It's not often life throws a bonus at you.   

 

 

Am I missing something here? You’ve got £4,800 equity (great!) but you’re starting a new contract early which involves you giving them £250 and another £15 a month?

Do you get the £4,800 back as a lump sum? 

 

 

[sidcow]

1 hour ago, chrisp65 said:

 

Right now, because of job and lifestyle, I think the Golf is probably just on the borderline of being too small for what I need.

In about 3 or 4 years I’m expecting that to change, for there to be far less need for space to be transporting people and stuff around the country.

As soon as that happens, I’m in to Golf / Polo territory, and I think I prefer the Polo. Or whatever the equivalent will be in 4 or 4 years time. We’ll be that much closer to the end of petrol by then.

It's still probably too expensive, but nevertheless is one of the better priced electric cars, but the "Golf" size ID3 apparently has as much space inside as a Passat because of the removal of much Petrol car paraphernalia. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by sidcow

[sidcow]

20 minutes ago, Genie said:

Am I missing something here? You’ve got £4,800 equity (great!) but you’re starting a new contract early which involves you giving them £250 and another £15 a month?

Do you get the £4,800 back as a lump sum? 

 

 

No, I put a big lump sum down at the start of my current PCP with my part ex and additional money I put in.  Plus the new model is more expensive than the old. 

[Genie]

4 minutes ago, sidcow said:

No, I put a big lump sum down at the start of my current PCP with my part ex and additional money I put in.  Plus the new model is more expensive than the old. 

It doesn’t strike me as a particularly good deal for you.

You’re handing back a car that the dealer will make a load of money on. Whilst you’re getting the face-lifted model, you’re also paying more for it.

If seems like they’ve managed to transfer the benefit of owning a used car that has increased in value to themselves, and shift a new car for more money in the process.

 

[sidcow]

13 minutes ago, Genie said:

It doesn’t strike me as a particularly good deal for you.

You’re handing back a car that the dealer will make a load of money on. Whilst you’re getting the face-lifted model, you’re also paying more for it.

If seems like they’ve managed to transfer the benefit of owning a used car that has increased in value to themselves, and shift a new car for more money in the process.

 

Well I had been turning my attention to what was going to happen at the end of my deal which would be:

1) taking out a loan to buy my current car over 3 years or so which would see me paying probably £50 more a month than I am now, driving round in a 4 year old car and then owning it at 7 years outright.   That was the original plan in all honesty. 

2) handing it back and having to find £2k odd of my own money to get another pcp on a new car which would still see my monthly payment increase by £60 or so more than it is now. 

As it is I'm getting a new car for very little more per month (its actually £13.75) and only having to stump up the same cash as I've got to pay for my service anyway that I won't need to pay for now. 

It's only because of this temporary surge in second hand values this has become possible. 

Not sure how this is a bad outcome? 

"It seems like they’ve managed to transfer the benefit of owning a used car that has increased in value to themselves, and shift a new car for more money in the process."  That's where my £4,800 of equity is coming from? It should be almost nil, or a few hundred pounds at most. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by sidcow

[sidcow]

Thinking about it I'm also presumably getting another 4 years of lower PCP costs as credit is still dirt cheap right now.  If I waited 18 months bank loans and PCP costs will probably be higher than they are now.  BOE have made it quite clear that they will be raising interest rates in the next 12 months. 

There is also a lot going on in my life financially right now that mean delaying the end of my PCP by another 4 years would make everything so much easier.  By then I might have got to the stage of being able to accumulate enough cash to buy the car without a loan. That will definitely not be the case in 18 months. 

I'm delighted with the outcome. 

[Genie]

8 minutes ago, sidcow said:

Well I had been turning my attention to what was going to happen at the end of my deal which would be:

1) taking out a loan to buy my current car over 3 years or so which would see me paying probably £50 more a month than I am now, driving round in a 4 year old car and then owning it at 7 years outright.   That was the original plan in honesty. 

2) handing it back and having to find £2k odd of my own money to get another pcp on a new car which would still see my monthly payment increase by £60 or so more than it is now. 

As it is I'm getting a new car for very little more per month (its actually £13.75) and only having to stump up the same cash as I've got to pay for my service anyway that I won't need to pay for now. 

It's only because of this temporary surge in second hand values this has become possible. 

Not sure how this is a bad outcome? 

"It seems like they’ve managed to transfer the benefit of owning a used car that has increased in value to themselves, and shift a new car for more money in the process."  That's where my £4,800 of equity is coming from? It should be almost nil, or a few hundred pounds at most. 

The “what are you going to do at the end of the contract based on this dealers prices” shouldn’t be a factor.

On the face of it they’re taking the benefit of the used car increase, and “sold” you another car which is an increased payment from you. They’ve made it look like they’ve done you a favour but I think you’ve done them one.

They're having their cake and eating it. You’re giving them more money for the same car but face lifted, despite being in the position of having a high value asset to trade.

 

[sidcow]

1 minute ago, Genie said:

The “what are you going to do at the end of the contract based on this dealers prices” shouldn’t be a factor.

On the face of it they’re taking the benefit of the used car increase, and “sold” you another car which is an increased payment from you. They’ve made it look like they’ve done you a favour but I think you’ve done them one.

They're having their cake and eating it. You’re giving them more money for the same car but face lifted, despite being in the position of having a high value asset to trade.

 

OK I don't know what else I can say to you.  I've got £4,800 that I wouldn't otherwise have had.  That's my slice of the cake. If you can't grasp that I just can't explain it any better. 

[Genie]

23 minutes ago, sidcow said:

OK I don't know what else I can say to you.  I've got £4,800 that I wouldn't otherwise have had.  That's my slice of the cake. If you can't grasp that I just can't explain it any better. 

You’re paying £4,800 + £250 + (£13.75x36) to start a new contract in the same car you already have (but with facelift).

You’re paying £5,545 extra to restart an agreement on the same car you already have from the starting position of being in a very strong position ref the value of your current car.

I think the dealer has played a blinder. He’s made sure the increase in market value of your car doesn’t doesn’t go to you and stays in their business. Now he’s gonna sell the Polo for a profit, AND get more money from you than he’d have got if you did nothing. 

We should get him on UK Trade deals.

[cheltenham_villa]

So the new wheels have turned up, BMW IX3. I bloody love it. Decent size, fully electric but feels like a BMW (which I love) and im saving the planet at the same time. Need to adjust my driving style to get a decent range but so far so good.