[Miscellaneous]

Aye, at 50p a gallon that's not to be sniffed at, although I was more thinking that No11 Downing Street may play with the duty.

Even at that difference I can't see a petrol benefiting us. We do so little town driving a hybrid would be wasted whilst still having the potential problems with it and the petrol, well it's petrol and they haven't been developed the way the diesels have over the last couple of decades.

As far as list prices go I'm beginning to conclude they are artificially high since hardly anyone buys a car these days. It's all PCP and whether the monthly payments are manageable. How much the car costs, or indeed how much the finance costs, seems to go over the heads of the financially illiterate masses.

[riverrock]

If many of your regular journeys are less than 10 miles, a diesel filter will clog up. Petrol has developed significant efficiency in the last few years but still lags behind diesel in like for like engines, other than when using a petrol hybrid in town. See https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/new-and ... -is-better

[skydriller]

Now all that said the most surprising conclusion, despite all the hype about electric, hybrid and the shift to petrol, is that for us diesel is still the right decision, at present. Whist our requirements are certainly not the norm I can't help but wonder if folks are getting carried away on a big green wave without properly thinking things through?:

I suspect that the core EV buyer is a bit of a Tech-geek in some way.
I have noticed that EVs are getting good reviews here on the forum as many on here will be tech-oriented and additionally as pilots we are used to planning a route and fuel (charge) stops such that range anxiety doesnt really come into the equation in the same way as it might for your average driver. My GF gets worried when the range gets to 150km and positively panics when the little (~100km) light comes on. I suspect the majority of drivers may be like this if they have no interest in a car other than a means to get about.

Regards, SD..

[Paul_Sengupta]

So much for going cheap.

How much is a two year old one?

[Miscellaneous]

I suspect that the core EV buyer is a bit of a Tech-geek in some way.

This process has me thinking along similar lines with those thoughts naturally progressing to questioning how much benefit is actually being realised through the adoption of such technology.

How much is a two year old one?

It's a very fair question Paul. It's not so easy to answer without negotiating the advertised price of a two year old car. However based on what's advertised, and although it's a few k, it is a two year old car with 15-25k on the clock.

I'm not so likely to buy at two years old, but certainly happy at 6 months to a year. When checking this out they are generally priced higher than the discounted new price and I suspect have much less scope for discount. The highest offered discount to date (on a Merc) is 17.9%.

Our existing car was never intended to be a new purchase and only became so when it was suggested we could get another £3400 off by taking the finance. That made the already significantly discounted car even more attractive when compared to a used car. I'm assuming they don't have the flexibility to support sales of new with the same attractive finance deals, but they may well do?

Our previous car was 6 months old when we bought it, from memory it was an BMW head office car and offered a good deal at the time.

[Miscellaneous]

Thought I'd round this thread off with an outcome.

The gearbox issue never did return, however we were away for a few days for our annual trip to a country hotel with friends during which a previously unidentified noise developed in to being diagnosed as the air conditioning pump. En route the usual garage on the back of a transporter I called them to advise. Oh, we don't really do those jobs they can be awkward, so reroute to main dealer. It lay for a week untouched, however the good news was it was the pulley bearing and not the pump. Still, it needed the timing belt doing and together the jobs totalled £1300 plus. That sealed it, it was going!

During the period the car was in I managed to arrange a 48hr test drive in the Merc GLC, neither of us liked it. Having received an email from a forumite suggesting I may well prefer the Volvo XC60 to the XC40 we ventured back to the Volvo garage. Said forumite was right.

So short story is that there is now an XC60 sat in the drive and the Audi was traded.

It will come as no surprise that having used we buy any car for a price guide on the Audi they were on the verge of pestering me. What is surprising is that their price went up £395 between the 6th and 20th Dec.

The car we eventually bought is and existing 3 months old car, so the specification is as it came and not how we spec'd it. Interestingly it has 'bits' I would have dismissed as gimmicks and never have chosen. Generally I am impressed with many of those 'gimmicks', overall I am amazed at the technology and how it has advanced in the 5yrs since we bought the Audi. I had no idea.

For example; so far I have found the Volvo shadow technology headlights work well (I'd never heard of the technology), the HUD is big plus (I'd never have spec'd it), similarly the keyless entry foot/leg operated boot opening are more than gimmicks.

The Volvo On Call system also seems to offer a range of excellent functions, although starting the car remotely from my phone may be limited to when it's sat in the drive on a cold morning.

[Bill Haddow]

Interestingly it has 'bits' I would have dismissed as gimmicks and never have chosen.

Once upon a time that was what many of us thought of electric windows, central locking, cruise control . . .

Bill H

[avtur3]

...... It's all PCP and whether the monthly payments are manageable. How much the car costs, or indeed how much the finance costs, seems to go over the heads of the financially illiterate masses.......

In one sentence you've summed up the "raison d'être" of the UK's new car retail sector. Whether it's a Dacia, a Kia or BMW they're all being sold on the basis of "X £'s per month"

I've no doubt the "some" folks (such as forum subscribers!) go into PCP knowing exactly what they are doing but I can't help but think that majority go into it with a very blinkered view using it as a way to get, on the face of it, the most bang for the least buck. However, when the small print of excess mileage charges and wear and tear 'condition' limitations kick in PCP can prove very expensive.

[riverrock]

the Volvo XC60

Congratulations!
They are lovely cars! I got one a a hirecar when travelling across the Canadian Rockies earlier this year. Didn't have all the gizmos (adaptive cruise control worked nicely ) but was very comfy, easy to dive with power when needed.
My wife was pretty sceptical about getting a "premium" hire car but was won over.
Many happy miles of motoring!

[Miscellaneous]

Thank you rr, so far we are very pleased with it having meandered 600 plus miles home (surviving an elderly gent mistiming his departure from traffic lights and nudging the back of us ).

The clock is ticking on the countdown to your new car too, I'm looking forward to your review.

...the most bang for the least buck.

I think PCP does indeed give the most bang for buck…to the retailer. The great benefit to them is PCP being based on much higher prices with the focus being taken away from discounts. The retailers are laughing all the way to the bank.

It made the whole car 'shopping' experience poor having to deal with the questioning on budget on the assumption it would be PCP. Overall the salesmen were poor.

I think most people when buying a car don't realise there are up to 3 independent deals being done. There's the purchase of the new car, the sale of the old car and the cost of the finance to be negotiated. Viewing the process as one deal is generally costly for the buyer.

Once upon a time that was what many of us thought of electric windows, central locking, cruise control . . .

Indeed, unfortunately I haven't learnt from that and still dismiss technology. As I said though I am being won over by most of it (it doesn't have ACC). What I am struggling with is the 'need' to connect to the internet. Am I missing something? Is there real benefit from connecting the car to the internet and if so does it justify getting the car its own sim card.

[TheFarmer]

easy to dive with power when needed

Ahh, the rare and often underestimated ‘submarine’ Volvo option.

[avtur3]

.... Am I missing something? Is there real benefit from connecting the car to the internet and if so does it justify getting the car its own sim card. ....

I thought the sim card for the car was pretty much part of the deal these days .... you didn't haggle that in?

[Miscellaneous]

You telling me I've missed that opportunity?

[stevelup]

You don't need really a SIM card - the car has one built in - that's how the Volvo On Call stuff works.

You get it free for a few years, then it's about £50 per year to renew it.

If you put a SIM card in the car, that's for internet access and a few other trinkets which are essentially useless.

[Miscellaneous]

Yes, I knew about the On Call, I just couldn't see the value in the car having its own internet connection, or even tethering to the phone. Seems I'm not missing something.

That aside I am pleasantly surprised at the usefulness of the other technologies. I discovered the Automatic Speed Limiting function yesterday, whereby activating it limits the car's speed to the limit of the road you are on and changes it accordingly as speed limits change. I also discovered that care is necessary when, for example, going from a 60 to a 30 limit, the car doesn't brake as smoothly as a driver.

I've also concluded that as good as the lane keeping aid is, it is, as advertised, for motorway driving and is more of a nuisance locally.

Apologies to those with modern cars who having been using this sort of technology for years.