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46

General Car Chat / Re: Can I buy one?

« on: 27 February 2024, 13:48:11 »

This is exactly right. It's all very well saying you should run an older XYorZ but when any kind of minor repair at a garage, or even routine items like suspension bushes runs well into three figures it makes much less sense to buy cheaper older cars.

For a lot of people a £500 bill (easily achieved these days) will quickly become £6-700 by the time the credit card company has had its due.

47

General Car Chat / Re: Can I buy one?

« on: 27 February 2024, 13:13:52 »

But yeah.....£200 PCM for such performance makes it very tempting. Presumably this low figure is linked to a 'high initial payment' on PCP, or similar.

Salary sacrifice lease again, so saving around 60% on a regular lease, also no VAT  .

I was tempted, but it had to be appliance white which just doesn't interest me. The Smart Barbus #1 is around £275 and offers similar performance in a proper colour 🤔

48

General Car Chat / Re: Can I buy one?

« on: 27 February 2024, 12:29:38 »

I had a look on my employer's lease portal and an xpower MG4 can be had for around £200pcm all in. I'm not sure there's a cheaper way to get from 0-60 in under 4 seconds 

49

General Car Chat / Re: Might be of imterest JLR independant garage

« on: 27 February 2024, 12:27:43 »

Later Vauxhalls also have a wet belt which can disintegrate very quickly so, again, the problem is everywhere, not just on certain engines.

https://www.grandlandforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1063

I hadn't heard about the idea of wet belts until reading this thread, not really sure why you'd want one - maybe someone who knows could explain? Also, I know its a one-off but I'd be pi$$ed off if  my 2018 car lunched itself after only 40k miles. 

50

General Car Chat / Re: Might be of imterest JLR independant garage

« on: 27 February 2024, 11:12:55 »

Personally, I would never buy an engine with rear mounted chains as that such a retarded design. Fortunately, I am unlikely to ever buy a JLR or VAG product, it's unlikely to be much of an issue .

Don't forget BMW, they were also represented on the committee of window-lickers that decided the timing chain should be installed next to the driver's knees.

51

General Car Chat / Re: Land/Range Rover insurance

« on: 26 February 2024, 11:56:56 »

From what I heard it provided a source of amusement to many other forum goers too. 

52

General Car Chat / Re: Land/Range Rover insurance

« on: 25 February 2024, 19:38:01 »

Would it kill the insurance company to exclude or limit claims for cat thefts? Or body part theft of Festers and Corsas 

Probably not, but given the margins on consumer car insurance are pretty thin, it probably isn't worth it for the hassle

53

General Car Chat / Re: Land/Range Rover insurance

« on: 24 February 2024, 21:35:24 »

Is being able to charge at work treated as a benefit?

It should be as you* could theoretically live at the end of the road, charge the car at work and then plug it into your house battery and gain from the "free" electricity and presumably they don't provide petrol and diesel to employees.

Similarly, if you had to buy your own electricity but had nowhere to charge it, your overall costs would be higher 

You being the royal you rather than personally.

Point being that running any vehicle, of any fuel type, costs someone something at some level and an EV only works as a fully funded company car.

The BIK issue has been collectively settled with HMRC by my employer, so no worries there. But the point is a valid one.

Point being that running any vehicle, of any fuel type, costs someone something at some level and an EV only works as a fully funded company car.

In this case it works financially because HMRC are missing out on a chunk of the vast amount they like to take from my salary every month. Robbing b@stards. 

54

General Car Chat / Re: Land/Range Rover insurance

« on: 24 February 2024, 10:07:33 »

What if you didn't have a company car?

If I add up the costs of 20,000 miles p.a. on Diesel, tax, insurance, servicing, MOT and maintenance I can have a fully maintained EV and power it for around the same money (either more or less depending on the EV). That's before depreciation is taken into account.

Interesting read here, Jim:

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/electriccars/article-13113365/Half-EV-drivers-petrol-diesel-car-want-longer-journeys.html

I think this might be the way we go Ste, the galaxy (or something like it) is a requirement for us as we need 6 proper seats plus space for one (soon to be two) folding mobility scooters. There are basically no ev that meet this requirement. Also, I'd have to think long and hard before taking an EV to Europe from the Midlands! 

Where we win out is both our commutes are fairly large but infrequent (c150 miles round trip and once or twice per week) and we have access to charge at work if needed, add in school runs and a lot of ducking about on her part and we'll hit 20,000 miles pa. And probably never have to use a public charger.

55

General Car Chat / Re: Land/Range Rover insurance

« on: 24 February 2024, 01:38:11 »

No, much less in fact.

The car would be a salary sacrifice lease car. So Tax and NI saving (then a relatively modest BIK added back), this is dependent on the CO2 of the car and is basically punitive if it's not a zero emissions vehicle.

56

General Car Chat / Re: Land/Range Rover insurance

« on: 23 February 2024, 15:36:13 »

Insurance does appear to have massively gone up in the last year, and is continuing to do so.  Bear in mind that a scratch on an EV is often enough to write it off, and the amount of pointless shit fitted to the front of most cars because drivers cant drive, all makes insurance repairs rocket.

Agreed, at this point I don't think I would want an EV with my own money, for the reasons you've stated. Letting my employer run one for me though, whole different ball game  .

57

General Car Chat / Re: So what have you done to your car today?

« on: 22 February 2024, 23:57:09 »

That's a fair distance (assuming its Paris TX and there isn't another Paris USA I'm unaware of), anything in Paris worth seeing?

58

General Car Chat / Re: Land/Range Rover insurance

« on: 22 February 2024, 22:19:45 »

Swmbo Evoque has gone from £580 -> £750 -> £975 (as at today, thinking about renewal in July). That's for a 2015 car that WBAC reckons is worth £8650. She hasn't made any claims or moved in that time either. That's purely cost inflation.

This will probably push us back towards a company EV I think, roll two cars (300c and Evoque) into one. We will probably save money and I won't have to lie under either of them. 

59

General Discussion Area / Re: British Army’s Race Action Plan

« on: 22 February 2024, 10:13:15 »

Given how late the government are to the party about securing critical infrastructure, makes no difference, we're still Donald Ducked!

I don't know how you can be so pessimistic, we've installed the bestest chinese hardware at our most critical sites and the Chinese have assured us that they are super secure.   

60

General Discussion Area / Re: Boots

« on: 20 February 2024, 10:06:24 »

PMSL, right on cue, Dominos just pulled up outside

Dominos for breakfast?! Fu£king savages!