Cycling, trains, walking. This is the place to talk about how good or bad cycle routes are, mention great train journeys, talk about car sharing schemes or husky travel. Anything in fact that is about transport that is a little alternative.
I'd like to pick your brains - I'm looking for a small car that returns at least 50mpg, cheap for parts/insurance/tax but solid and reliable, particularly in the suspension area because our country roads are a bit rubbish really! Something that can cope with ice and hard frost on a road would be a megabonus too.
At the moment I'm thinking of a Fiat Panda but I'm open to suggestions.
Diesel Polo or Golf - built like the proverbial brick outhouse (unlike Fiats, which have the structural integrity of a wet eggbox), and incredibly frugal with fuel
http://solarwind.org.uk - a small company in Sussex sourcing, supplying, and fitting alternative energy products.
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
try looking at skoda... we have one, they are made by VW and are a good bit cheaper... defo a good idea to get a car that you can always get good parts for... ie. don't buy a Japanese car.
I'd love a hybrid, but just too pricey
Ann Pan
"Some days you're the dog,
some days you're the lamp-post"
hybrids are also a massive eco-con
Several people recently did the sums proving that if you take the "dust to dust" cost of hybrids they cost the earth far more over their lifetime than a gas guzzler..........
By dint of the technology involved, particularly the batteries, if you take the embodied energy costs into account over their lifetime, and recycling, a simple gas guzzler uses less energy (more petrol during it's lifetime, but far less energy to manufacture and recycle)
http://solarwind.org.uk - a small company in Sussex sourcing, supplying, and fitting alternative energy products.
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
If it was me, I'd look for a post '96 Golf Mk3 TDi (look for full painted bumpers and oval side repeaters) in GL spec. The GL had standard power steering, electric windows and a higher level of trim.
The main things to look at are the front suspension mounts and the rear axle mounts. The TDi engine is excellent with outstanding longevity as well as being very frugal, but make sure you get a car with full service history and the timing belt changed at the recommended interval.
(I used to work on car magazines BTW, covering mainly used and classic cars.)
Martin wrote:Diesel Polo or Golf - built like the proverbial brick outhouse (unlike Fiats, which have the structural integrity of a wet eggbox), and incredibly frugal with fuel
like it! does anyone think golfs are a bit overpriced for their class?
no.......... the reason WHY they hold their value is because........you guess!!!!
http://solarwind.org.uk - a small company in Sussex sourcing, supplying, and fitting alternative energy products.
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
My mate bought a 2nd-hand Skoda van a few years ago, thinking he was buying a VW with a different badge. He later found out that it was still just a Skoda - VW bought the company the year after his van was made!
So... can anyone remember when Skodas become VWs?
(I'm thinking of buying a little van for work, and if newer Skodas are just cheaper VWs, I might look at them!)...
VW took a 30 per cent stake in Skoda in 1991 and started investing in the business. In 2001 VW took total control.
The first VW Skoda was the Felicia in 1994 (ended 2001), but it was basically a Skoda with VW tweaks and improvements.
The first Skoda to be built on a VW platform was the first-generation Octavia in 1998 (ended 2004). It was built on the A4 platform, the same one as the Golf MkIV (and many others).
Then came the Fabia in 1999 (ended 2007), and this was the one that turned Skoda from a joke to what people perceive as a cut-price VW (although it isn't that cheap, just less than a "proper" VW).
The Fabia was built on the A04 platform, which is the same as the one under the Polo MkIV and the SEAT Ibiza.
Bit of a tip off - instead of the diesel Golf, go for the Vento, which is a Golf with a boot on it.
I've got one, it does 55mpg and they cost about 20-30% less to buy than the Golf - people want the hatchback, but I've no idea why as you can get more into the Vento (provided it's not a wardrobe or something bulky). The rear seats fold down, so you can get long items in and it's more secure as the boot is harder to break into than with the hatchback.
Mine cost me £1200 a year ago and I could probably sell it for not much less than that.
It's cheap to run, doesn't break (provided you change the oil at the service interval) and they seem to go on forever.
Only trouble is, because they're less popular than the Golf, they're also harder to find 2nd hand!
