My mum and gran have kindly offered to cart me and all my stuff back to uni. As I brought everything back last time it'll be a job!
What has more space, realistically? Punto+Micra or a hired Escort (or similar) van? The van option would be expensive - £80 for the weekend, but would save hassle should I find some things don't fit.
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If you have anything long and/or wide, then the Escort van. The issue with the car(s) option is not so much actual storage volume as it is the size of the doorways to that space.
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And a van is much easier to pack, usually has a flat floor space, and can deal with the weight a lot easier.
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Based on my experience of 4 years ago....
Daughter returning midway thro 3rd year required the 240 estate for goods, (packed 100% full, no room for passenger. She then travelled as a passenger in the Fiesta!
pmh (was peter)
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If you fold the rear cushion upwards and fold the backrest down, you will get a fairly box shape loading area. I do not know if the rear cushion of Punto or Micra will fold upward. If they do not, you will not get a flat floor and you will have to plan the logistic of how and where to load different items, even more so if the cars are three instead of five-door. Also be extra careful not to scratch or tear the interior vinyl, often found on the seat's back cover on cheap cars, as they are impossible to repair compare to velour.
FYI, my method of loading my Mondeo while at university is to have the cushion up, backrest down, start loading from the centre front through the rear doors up to the roof. Then work towards the doors until they just manage to close and then start to load towards the back of the car.
Lastly, don't forget to increase the tyre pressure if you are going to use motorways on your trip.
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My Punto seats fold [split fold actually!] but may not on base models.
If it's far away a van may be better [less fuel cost, general running problems] but for a short trip two cars may be better.
Like someone said, if you have a bed to move a van is better but for lots of small stuff [more likely], two cars may be better.
I got a lot of stuff in my Punto, had 3 people in it, plus 2 tents, 2 big blue boxes, cold box, table, chairs, massive rusksak [100litres if you care], and two suitcases [smallish though], guitar and gazebo poles, and could still see out of the rear window! Do I win the 'impressive packers award'?
Kev
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Do I win the 'impressive packersaward'?
Nope. I've seen a string quartet in a Fiat Cinquecento: four people, plus two violins, viola, and cello, plus luggage for the weekend including concert dress. At a rough estimate the instruments were worth in the order of £100K, about one hundred times the car's value. You have to pack that quite carefully.
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Mark has it in a nutshell. Hire a vehicle designed for the job. Peace of mind and all that.
My eldest finished Uni a few weeks ago and wanted help moving her and her housemate's stuff to their new house. Took 2 trips in the Synergie with only the front seats installed, loaded to the roof AND towing a small trailer-full on both trips.
Considering the minute amount of money you students have to live on, and most of that goes on alcohol, how come the rest of your stuff is so bulky?
Signed, Bewildered of North Yorkshire ...
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Hi Hawkeye,
You'll be surprised how much stuff students have at university!! Piano, floor-standing 3-channel speakers, separates hi-fi, four monitors, three computers and keyboards, books, files, papers, bikes, etc. to name a few.
You may also be surprised that the difference in the amount of money the rich and the poor students have are growing (and I am not talking about hand-me-down-from-parents money!).
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(Any student who is going to university or in university should read this)
With the growing economic climate in the last 7-8 years and globalisation, students have more and more opportunities to get part-time work, placements or internships. Of course, individual students have to take the initiative to go and find those jobs instead of sitting around drinking alcohol, but the job are out there and they are competitive (even at this difficult times)
To put that into prospective, I had a placement with a major car manufacturer in 2000 and my salary was 1250 pounds per month. This grew by 60% when I had a placement in a management consultancy in 2001. In 2002, I had the opportunity to work in the US and a 132% salary growth with company car and housing. Thus those students, who work hard and look after their finance well, will get richer and others will get poorer.
Getting into university is an important step for students these days but it is how they use the opportunities open to them that is more important.
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>>it is how they use the opportunities open to them that is more important.
Very true.
On the point regarding us gaining a questionable number of material posessions: in my experience, credit cards love us ;)
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>>in my experience, credit cards love us ;)
There is nothing wrong with using credit cards, I love them and I use them all the time. However, I make sure I pay up in full every month so I do not pay any interest.
It never made sense to me to use the overdraft facility or the cash advanced on my credit card though. My cards range from 17.5% to 22%. Consider the BoE rate (3.5%) is currently at its lowest in 25 years, doesn't it make sense to transfer the debt from 22% to a 3-4% low-interest loan, if necessary? (With the help of parents or get a few friends together to take a large enough loan so to guarantee a low-interest loan)
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