October 2003
Driving to work today, I recalled something from a few years ago.. When the UK moved to ULSD (Ultra low sulphur diesel) the tax / duty rate was reduced by around 3p/litre.
see hansard report at
tinyurl.com/pfam
It was introduced gradually, and now I think it's probably universal. I can't recall that 2-3p/l reduction on duty ever being passed on to the consumer.. Or that ULSD was pushed at a cheaper price...
perhaps that's why some soopermarkets are able to "absorb" the cost of the tax hike - the fuel vendors have been saving the difference since...
any comments / opinions?
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Hi there
I\'ve recently got a VW Polo 1.6 Saloon, and first drive in it was from Brighton to Derby - no problems, car ran fine. Next day ran down M1 to Leicester and noticed that between 60-70mph the steering wheel had a slight vibration. Initial thought was tyre balance, so seeing as the fronts were getting lowish, bought new fronts, balanced them hoping to resolve problem, but the problem is still there. After a while of driving at higher speeds, the problem does goes away, so its got me completely stumped.
I did notice that the front left was worn unevenly when it came off, but I assumed that was down to tyre pressures.
Is there anything else it could be?
Thanks in advance!
Ben Read more
Thanks for all the help.
I got around to swapping the fronts and rears over today - and drove down the M27 with no problems at all, so I'm assuming its something to do with one of the old front tyres. The alloys look like they've taken a few curb on in the past, (I've not long had the car so it's not me!) and I can only assume theres something bent on one of them!
Rather than hijack pdc's road widening thread something tangentially related as it could involve mamba road works.
Certain lorry manufacturers are lobbying the EU for an increase of the max vehicle weight to 60 tonnes gvw and increase the max length. I believe this is for a lorry and drawbar trailer outfit.
Their argument is that bigger loads will reduce number of lorries on the roads. They also argue that this vehicle size has been used without problems in Sweden and Finland for years, so you can make a good guess which VM's I'm talking about.
Now forgive me if I have got this wrong but I thought that there was good information that the last hike in max gvw's did not result in that many fewer vehicles. Recall a survey about average vehicle loads showed most running part full / empty depends on your viewpoint. Of course changes in the rules did allow the greater use on US style trucks instead of the cab overs predominant in Europe and UK.
IIRC the most significant effect was the horrendous congestion and cost of uprating hundreds, maybe thousands of bridges now incapable of taking the heavier loads.
So Backroomers, should the VM's get their way with the EU and get an increase in max gvw?
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Alan
Assuming this was a motorway then he was still illegal regardless of weight age etc.
60 is the max when articulated or towing a trailer.
see the little + after the 70 on the linked page of the Highway code.
hope that helps,
FiF
www.highwaycode.gov.uk/09.shtml#103
As seen elsewhere on t'internet
that john prescott is going on about spending £billions of our money on road widening, why? he should just put the responsibility onto the motor car makers, rather than the poor taxpayers. He should force them to make NARROWER cars, then there wouldnt be perpetual roadworks on our busiest motorways, and we could then probably afford to increase the speed limit, because if cars were narrower, there would be less chance of a collision. Read more
"with the weight I've put on lately."
Easier on than off unfortunately. Well worth the effort tho.
Congrats on the promotion.
Phil I
My company has offered me my car that I\'ve had from new for £8,500. It\'s a motorpoint car 2001 X 5 dr, full spec with leather & cd changer, climatronic etc..Do you think it\'s good value? It has covered 105,000 m/way miles but still feels & drives as new. Should I buy it? Read more
Yes, that does sound like good value for what is a great car. Just make sure you can afford to run it when you are paying the bills!
Just a quick one. I'm replacing the oil in the afore mentioned box (due to most of leaking out after removing the propshaft before i could stop it) and bought some EP80 for the job. But I note from another bottle of Castrol 80/90 (not what I was going to use) lying around that it is specifically NOT recommended for use in sierra five speed boxes. I just wondered if any backroomers know of good reasons why that is so or why one should only use genuine Ford stuff. Out of interest really, I'm not sure that a 150000 mile gearbox will suffer dramatically as long as some oil is in there. Read more
Thank you for the replies. Armed with this knowledge actually looked it up in the application guide and, lo, something different is recommended for five speed boxes and MT75s. And thank you for the offer John S but its a bit far to go from essex even though its free!
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=3&t=16...3
You will find that there is an open thread in the Discussion Forum if you wish to comment.
This thread is write-locked.
Mark. Read more
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=3&t=16...3
Feel free to discuss and/or comment here if you wish.
Mark. Read more
/me sharpens my posting pencil.
I wonder if any of you guys can offer me some help...I am a bit out of touch with car ownership - had a van for the last 10 years.
I drive at the moment a VW caddy TDI,its a company pooled vehicle. Due to my work role changing I am looking at a largeish estate, preferably diesel. I am looking at spending about 8-9K on a car and charging the company mileage to cover costs, probably about 15,000 miles a year, I will be getting in the region of 35p per mile.
The question is what car - I like the look of the following:
Merc C250 TD sports estate
Volvo V70 / S70 2.5TD
Obviousley at the sort of money I will be paying I will looking at 90 K mileage, what kind of depreciation and maintenance costs can I expect on these cars, also what kind of mpg will I get?
I like the octavia estate but I would prefer something a bit bigger and with a bit more poke.
What would be my best way of financing this, I would not be buying the car outwright.Would it be cheaper for the company to buy the car and I pay TAX as per normal?
Any other suggestions welcomed !
Cheers,
Mike. Read more
The best way to view a V40 is over your shoulder as you run away from it, very quickly.
I would echo the suggestions of a Mondeo or perhaps Astra/Focus. All good solid vehicles, (but check the Car By Car for specific problems on the TDCi Mondeo)
Failing that, if you can stretch to an A6 they do have the image, if not the handling you might expect from a "prestige" manufacturer,
I have a 2001 Seat Alhambra S TDi (115bhp) which is fitted with 205/60/15 tyres (reinforced). I phoned Costco to find out the price of replacements and they said that 205/60/15's were £88 each, but that the recommended tyre for my vehicle is a 195/65/15 (reinforced) at £64 each.
I have contacted Seat who eventually told me that my car should be fitted with 205/60/15, but various tyre websites which I have visited since say the same as Costco - that 195/65/15 is the correct size.
Does anyone have the same model as me ?
What tyres do you have on yours?
I'm more inclined to take Seats word with them being the manufacturer, but with the 195/65/15 tyres being significantly cheaper I am also slightly tempted to change.
Jock Read more
I can't really see a problem with fitting the 195 tyres if you are changing all four. Perhaps the 195/65 is the spec for a lesser model than yours, but for a change of one tyre size down I think the rims would be the same.
I would be more dubious about going from 195 to 215 on the same rim or vice-versa.
Perhaps you could double check with Seat that the rims would be the same for the base model and yours for your own peace of mind.
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I recall that tax change coming into force.
Don't you remember when diesel went through a phase of being a good bit more expensive than petrol??