If it were down to me I'd ditch the car ...

[mark barker]

Life without a car does take some getting used to, but it can be done. I was a complete petrol head and a few factors made me look at the necessity of a car (one of the major factors was cost!). Now I'm car-less, and when I need to travel further afield I hire a car for the duration. I guess I'm lucky, most things I need are here in Swindon, so I don't have to go out of the area often.

As an aside, I can't stand public transport, the thought of a bus ride makes me shudder!

 

[GrasB]

To make it worse I have been on car maintenance courses and could have swapped out the discs and pads and done the oil change myself, but I couldn't stamp the log book so any potential buyer would have no history to go on. I'm over a barrel!

A pile of receipts & a proper maintenance log often is valued higher than a book full of stamps. It does depend on who you're selling the car to though.

 

[Zippy]

I guess Camborne is a pretty rural area of Cornwall yes, not exactly a city? Why would you want numerous trains or buses running through your patch?

Camborne is a relatively rural area of Cornwall though it is probably the dormitory town occupied by the majority of “unwashed” to use your eloquent term. We already have a main road running around the perimeter and on to feed the main A30 and also to connect with the next town, Redruth. It is well serviced by buses though I prefer to cycle for the exercise and because it gives me a buzz on my way to work.

As soon as a new train line or numerous bus routes are anounced the NIMBYs are screaming not in our back yard as it will destroy our beautiful rural idyll.

I think your idea of our beautiful rural idyll is somewhat skewed. Our seaside honey pots are swarming with holiday makers and locals in cars all competing for limited parking spaces. With little extra expenditure and more people employed you could have a regular coastal bus service with connecting return services from the towns to strategic points along the coastal route that would take most of the car traffic away. Cycle commuters and tourers would be able to cycle impeded only by the regular bus service; preferable to the many cars zipping by at 60+mph.

Anyway why should tax payers in the cities subsidise a transport system for those who choose to live out on a limb?

I don’t suggest this. Those out on a limb do not live in isolation. At some point they will commute long distance to holiday destinations or for family appointments. Similarly, city dwellers will travel to more rural holiday areas or to alighting points for travel overseas. Both ends therefore should subsidise a transport system which will benefit most people overall.

I not saying you shouldn't have a good public transport network just that may be you should consider what it might entail in terms of genuine cost, practicalities and whether it would indeed be well used.

I do not think such a network would be popular at first but this is where we will be forced to go as limited resources run out and the expense of extraction increases. I understand (but have no direct experience of this) that countries such as Germany have much better public transport systems and far less private ownership with little detriment to the idyllic countryside there. Why not here?

Case in point – Cathedral city Truro was subject to heavy commuter, trade and public transport with limited car parking spaces and people parking illegally when all spaces were taken up, simply to commute to work. A Park-and-Ride complex was set up just outside the city with a regular 10-minute bus service running from the complex to the centre of Truro, visiting the train station en route. At first it was thought to be a flop as people would not travel with the “unwashed”. Now it is far more popular and the city is far quieter and more pleasant a place to walk or cycle in.

Have you travelled on a bus with the great unwashed? Yuk !

No – but I have had the pleasure to exchange greetings and pass the time of day with people I would not ordinarily have met, while travelling locally on business and about my daily life on air conditioned smooth buses without the worry of leaving my car somewhere to find it has been keyed while I was away or the stress of trying to find a parking space and enough correct change for the ticket machine.
===
Rythm Thief - Hya! I was initially annoyed about my car expenses, but this led to me weighing things up and realising that those expenses could be better directed if only we lived in a society which could see a bigger vision of improved networks etc etc - see above; a philosophical rant if you like

I don't think Crankarm is trolling (yet) - just trying to tease out the deeper essence of my rant. Is that right Crankarm?

 

[jonny jeez]

I am not aware of any insurance obligation that insists on a garage replacing consumables on your car. I understand that a buyer may wish to see reciepts and possibley photos of the parts fitted, but this is simple to do yourself.

I think the insurance thing is a red herring.

that said, I do understand you, My car costs over £600 a year to insure (I have had a company car since I was 17 so have no NCB) and the last "service" cost over £3000 (which was paid for by the garge as the main part (a mechatronix unit, would you believe...sounds like something out of the transformers movie!) was covered under the vehicle warranty...Phew!

can you imaging the bikes I could buy with that cash

 

[slowmotion]

The major problem seems to be that you are locked into getting the car serviced by an official dealer who will drain you of funds. Why not sell the car and get an absolute banger, and regard it as a strictly disposable item rather than an investment to be cherished? When it needs a large amount spent on it, take it to the scrappy, and find another banger.

 

[swee'pea99]

...or a 10 year old VW with a FSH and 74,000 miles on the clock. Unless you have money to burn, an old French car is always a bad idea. German, every time. Or Japanese, if you're not bothered about the experience and just want cheap and reliable. But not French...or Italian.

 

[skudupnorth]

I agree with Swee-pea,bin the French and buy a nice Tdi VW or any VAG group car (they are all the same underneath !) Around your way they are the main mode of transport from what i have seen so there must be loads of independant garages to do a good deal with.

 

[Crankarm]

I agree with Swee-pea,bin the French and buy a nice Tdi VW or any VAG group car (they are all the same underneath !) Around your way they are the main mode of transport from what i have seen so there must be loads of independant garages to do a good deal with.

Not my experience. I had a very reliable mint Pug 205 diesel which I reluctantly finally got rid of despite being an excellent cheap reliable car to run due to it being targetted twice by fiething scum and vandals. Then I bought Italian - Fiat which has been totally reliable in 6 years of ownership only needing oil and filter changes plus 2 new tyres which you would have to change on any car. Both have cheap insurance. Yeah the cost to keep the car legal for road use is about £350 - insurance, tax and MOT is money that could be channelled elsewhere but when you need a car in a rural area it is a necessary expense as without the car in the few occasions you need it, it would be a nightmare.

I have a friend who owns a VW Golf GTI Mk4 and he is forever cursing about the VW dealers' exorbitant charges for servicing and high cost of replacement parts which he puts down to the German factor. He's constantly looking for reliable independent garages/mechanics to do servicing he cannot manage himself.

I susepct all manufacturers and main dealers are cast in the same bunch of crooks mould. Best to get a really old reliable car and maintain it yourself. At least you know the job has been done properly.

 

[Crankarm]

Crankarm, stop trolling. You hate it when people do this to you. The guy's just letting off a bit of steam about his car expenses, ffs.

Are you making an admission that you troll my threads and posts ?

 

[Crankarm]

I am not aware of any insurance obligation that insists on a garage replacing consumables on your car. I understand that a buyer may wish to see reciepts and possibley photos of the parts fitted, but this is simple to do yourself.

I think the insurance thing is a red herring.

that said, I do understand you, My car costs over £600 a year to insure (I have had a company car since I was 17 so have no NCB) and the last "service" cost over £3000 (which was paid for by the garge as the main part (a mechatronix unit, would you believe...sounds like something out of the transformers movie!) was covered under the vehicle warranty...Phew!

can you imaging the bikes I could buy with that cash

Must admit when I read this in zippy's posts I thought "Eh??? Whose told him this?" I've never seen any such clause in any insurance schedule, not even a santa claus . Maybe in a manufacturer's warranty, but there was a ruling/judgement recently where manufacturer's cannot insist that their own makes of car are only serviced at their designated dealers using only their own genuine parts. An owner can use any independent garage and the manufacturers have to provide the same information about their cars that they use for servicing. Replacement parts do not have to come from the manufacturer which will finally open up the whole car servicing market and hopefully bring down prices for those reliant on main dealers.

 

[Davidc]

I agree with Swee-pea,bin the French and buy a nice Tdi VW or any VAG group car (they are all the same underneath !) Around your way they are the main mode of transport from what i have seen so there must be loads of independant garages to do a good deal with.

I agree with Crankarm on this (it's a habit I must break). I tend to buy cars new or in very good nick and keep them to 15 years old or 150000 miles, and I expect them to have no major faults in that time.

The only cars I've had that have achieved that have been French and made by Peugeot/ Citroen. A Renault 18 got close but needed a new clutch at 145000. German cars have had to be sold early because they've not lasted well enough - and that includes a Merc and a VW.

 

[PBancroft]

My car decided to stop working on the M3 on monday.

£290 later its now fit to sit motionless in the car park again, waiting for its weekly outing.

 

[GrasB]

Most cars of the production line are equally reliable these days, any difference between a manufacture will be a small number of cases. I could say that German cars are far less reliable because I see more of them stuck at the side of the road with the bonnet up but that's probably due to the fact a lot of these executive brand cars cover big motorway miles to close to the car in front (it's amazing the difference in engine temp between being 50 yards & 70 yards behind the car in front makes on the engine temps when the air temp is high)

As for the insurance thing, I spoke to a loss adjuster & he's never been asked to look at the service history of a car unless it's been modified & there was reason to believe the modifications were installed incorrectly. Basically if it passed its MOT then the service record is irrelevant.

 

[Zippy]

thanks for that GrasB - I guess that came from my suspicion that if an insurance company can find a wway out of paying up they'll use it and one way could have been that the servicing was not done by a professional. It seems from what you say that this would be irrelevant and I am wrong. Its actually reassuring on this occasion that I am misinformed, so thanks.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

As an aside, I can't stand public transport, the thought of a bus ride makes me shudder!

It depends who's on the bus with you at the time!

Personally, I hate the bus, they are horrible dirty things, but at the same time, I realise they are necessary when I can't get a train (eww!! imagine THAT? a train!).

By the way, isn't a hire car in a sense, a form of public transport?? I mean, it's not just you who uses it and who's to say that the last person to use it wasn't the most unhygienic person ever in the history of the universe, and has left you a little 'surprise' somewhere?? ....and what about an airliner, you have to share the space with others, technically isn't that public transport? ...or a ferry? ...or a ... well, you get the picture!

The 'I'm to posh to use Public Transport' argument quickly falls down