Up yours Gordon !
Discussion
I cover about 12-15k miles a year personally, and have done so mainly in the past couple of years by way of Mondeo, 307 and Laguna, all petrol.
I've been shopping in the £1500 to £3000 range and moving my cars on after 6 months to avoid depreciation. Actually, until the Laguna came along I was running in profit by £145, repairs included.
The Laguna came along and while it was a nice car it had too many problems emerging and had been to the garage more times than all the other cars I've ever owned put together, and I'd had it 5 months so was due a change anyway.
We were going to a dealer to see a low miles Xsara, but couldnt get parked so stopped down the road, near another dealer.
Walking past, spotted a very clean, very red 206 on the forecourt. "Low Miles", "Diesel" said the stickers across the window. Interesting. I took a walk round it, green "i" on the back in Hdi - I thought it was the old straight 1.9 - no its a 1.4hdi, 68bhp and 113lb/ft torque.
Got the keys, found it to be Peugeot + one old lady owner, serviced first 3 years at main dealer then a garage slightly more local to the owner. Spotless, and drove well. Check of the docs showed it had not long been MOT'd, failed on a wishbone and foglight being out, supported by invoice for the repairs.
Dealer had just sold a Laguna but was well aware of the issues Lagunas can have.... some tough haggling ensued, and it being late afternoon on a wet Saturday certainly helped - I moved the deal £300 towards my favour from their original offer, and based on book values, only dropped £50 on the Laguna in real terms.
Hands were shaken, debit cards were used, keys exchanged and I drove off in it. with £35 road tax, and 78mpg extra urban I will save at least £660 a year between tax and fuel, insurance should be less as well. So Gordon Brown and Co wont be milking me for as much from now !
Dont think its worth getting remapped, its actually not bad once it gets going, and its very economical, did get to a point where I wondered if the fuel gauge would move !
No inside pics yet, dash is black with blue swirly inserts, matches the seats.
I've been shopping in the £1500 to £3000 range and moving my cars on after 6 months to avoid depreciation. Actually, until the Laguna came along I was running in profit by £145, repairs included.
The Laguna came along and while it was a nice car it had too many problems emerging and had been to the garage more times than all the other cars I've ever owned put together, and I'd had it 5 months so was due a change anyway.
We were going to a dealer to see a low miles Xsara, but couldnt get parked so stopped down the road, near another dealer.
Walking past, spotted a very clean, very red 206 on the forecourt. "Low Miles", "Diesel" said the stickers across the window. Interesting. I took a walk round it, green "i" on the back in Hdi - I thought it was the old straight 1.9 - no its a 1.4hdi, 68bhp and 113lb/ft torque.
Got the keys, found it to be Peugeot + one old lady owner, serviced first 3 years at main dealer then a garage slightly more local to the owner. Spotless, and drove well. Check of the docs showed it had not long been MOT'd, failed on a wishbone and foglight being out, supported by invoice for the repairs.
Dealer had just sold a Laguna but was well aware of the issues Lagunas can have.... some tough haggling ensued, and it being late afternoon on a wet Saturday certainly helped - I moved the deal £300 towards my favour from their original offer, and based on book values, only dropped £50 on the Laguna in real terms.
Hands were shaken, debit cards were used, keys exchanged and I drove off in it. with £35 road tax, and 78mpg extra urban I will save at least £660 a year between tax and fuel, insurance should be less as well. So Gordon Brown and Co wont be milking me for as much from now !
Dont think its worth getting remapped, its actually not bad once it gets going, and its very economical, did get to a point where I wondered if the fuel gauge would move !
No inside pics yet, dash is black with blue swirly inserts, matches the seats.
Edited by MondeoMan1981 on Sunday 24th January 20:54
its amusing to get a super cheap to run car after having an expensive to run car.
I went from a GT4 which was never doing more than 20mpg (i drove it fast on the motorway a lot) to a A3 TDi 110 which seems to be doing consistently 60mpg and around 600miles to the tank.
So costs less to fill and gets filled up about every 2-3 weeks whereas the GT4 was a week tops (and about 70 quid to fill the GT4!) Like you i was starting to sweat that it was just going to konk out and it to transpire that the fuel gauge wasn't working correctly.
Congrats on the fuel sipper, 78mpg is amazing!
I went from a GT4 which was never doing more than 20mpg (i drove it fast on the motorway a lot) to a A3 TDi 110 which seems to be doing consistently 60mpg and around 600miles to the tank.
So costs less to fill and gets filled up about every 2-3 weeks whereas the GT4 was a week tops (and about 70 quid to fill the GT4!) Like you i was starting to sweat that it was just going to konk out and it to transpire that the fuel gauge wasn't working correctly.
Congrats on the fuel sipper, 78mpg is amazing!
I've done 100 miles in the car now and the fuel light just came on again.
Only put 8 litres in it at the BP along the road from the dealers because the price was 115p and the fuel light was on during the test drive.
Think thats about 55-60mpg average
Cruises in a sweet spot at 69mph/2500rpm/5th.
Done some reasearch online and when it went on sale in 2001 only the Lupo TDi and A2 Tdi were more economical ?
My insurance has also gone down by £13 for the last 4 months of the policy - average that out over the year, £39 less, and at renewal time last year I got it under £200 for the year - hopefully break <£175 this year. Exactly ten years ago I paid £908 for a year's TPFT on a £2500 1.0 Micra...
Had a closer look at the tyres today, 5mm on the back 4mm on the front, all matching Goodyear as well. Need to replace the wipers, but at £3 a go in Tesco I wont complain, just need to find a local one with 22" in stock, dont think I'll bother with flat ones. Bought Tesco mats for it last night, £3.97 for a full set - dont like the rubber Peugeot ones.
Only put 8 litres in it at the BP along the road from the dealers because the price was 115p and the fuel light was on during the test drive.
Think thats about 55-60mpg average
Cruises in a sweet spot at 69mph/2500rpm/5th.
Done some reasearch online and when it went on sale in 2001 only the Lupo TDi and A2 Tdi were more economical ?
My insurance has also gone down by £13 for the last 4 months of the policy - average that out over the year, £39 less, and at renewal time last year I got it under £200 for the year - hopefully break <£175 this year. Exactly ten years ago I paid £908 for a year's TPFT on a £2500 1.0 Micra...
Had a closer look at the tyres today, 5mm on the back 4mm on the front, all matching Goodyear as well. Need to replace the wipers, but at £3 a go in Tesco I wont complain, just need to find a local one with 22" in stock, dont think I'll bother with flat ones. Bought Tesco mats for it last night, £3.97 for a full set - dont like the rubber Peugeot ones.
Edited by MondeoMan1981 on Monday 25th January 21:38
Only had it since Saturday, no savings yet 
I'm reading on What Car's road tax microsite that the 113g/km band is changing in April, from £35, to £30
I would love to spend the savings on something for the weekend, an old MX5 or something, but I'd have nowhere to keep it... and I can do 300 miles in a weekend....
EDIT: I have done 466 miles since last Saturday in the car. about 320 on the motorway largely at 0.7 leptons and the remaining 146 in urban-ish conditions 0-0.4 leptons. Used 32 litres of V Power diesel. Averaging 66.1mpg
Reckon that a full tank would do about 740 motorway miles
Astonishing
I'm reading on What Car's road tax microsite that the 113g/km band is changing in April, from £35, to £30
I would love to spend the savings on something for the weekend, an old MX5 or something, but I'd have nowhere to keep it... and I can do 300 miles in a weekend....
EDIT: I have done 466 miles since last Saturday in the car. about 320 on the motorway largely at 0.7 leptons and the remaining 146 in urban-ish conditions 0-0.4 leptons. Used 32 litres of V Power diesel. Averaging 66.1mpg
Reckon that a full tank would do about 740 motorway miles
Astonishing
Edited by MondeoMan1981 on Thursday 4th February 19:14
Time for a wee update...
Had the car for what, just over 2 months now. Averaging 65mpg overall.
Bought a lavish set of £3 carpet mats from Tesco and some reduced end of line Bosch wiper blades from Halfrauds for £10.
Also a headlight bulb went, so I replaced both with a +50%, slightly blue (very slight - e marked of course) bulb, has improved the lights no end especially on those dark motorways where I spend 4 hours every second weekend.
But it all went a bit Pete Tong this week. After about 1200 miles in 2 weeks, I popped to check my tyre pressures. All fine and within 1psi, however the outside of the nearside tyre was looking a bit like a slick, and in car parks on heavy lock there was a rumble, plus it just wasnt feeling tight as it should on the corners, particularly on a change of direction.
So off to the local garage I went (good service and they refitted a tyre with a leaking valve for free) to let them have a look. Not much of a trip, the garage is about 150m from my house, across the road...
After an hour I got the call - the other wishbone had gone, the drivers side having been replaced by the prev owner for the MOT. Garage also reminded me that the discs were well worn and grooved - something I knew from the advisory on the MOT and from having a look when the wheel was off getting the tyre re-valved.
So, after some negotiation and a few calls elsewhere I agreed on the wishbone replacement, pads and discs, laser alignment and a new tyre. I picked the car up, completed, 4 hours later in exchange for £220.
Next up is an oil and filter change either this weekend or next - that'll cost £35 using Castrol Edge, and I'll replace the air filter myself.
Touch wood thats it til MOT time which will be about 8000 miles down the line !
Here's a wee pic of a dirty looking motor last weekend, actually gutted the car tonight, honest...
Had the car for what, just over 2 months now. Averaging 65mpg overall.
Bought a lavish set of £3 carpet mats from Tesco and some reduced end of line Bosch wiper blades from Halfrauds for £10.
Also a headlight bulb went, so I replaced both with a +50%, slightly blue (very slight - e marked of course) bulb, has improved the lights no end especially on those dark motorways where I spend 4 hours every second weekend.
But it all went a bit Pete Tong this week. After about 1200 miles in 2 weeks, I popped to check my tyre pressures. All fine and within 1psi, however the outside of the nearside tyre was looking a bit like a slick, and in car parks on heavy lock there was a rumble, plus it just wasnt feeling tight as it should on the corners, particularly on a change of direction.
So off to the local garage I went (good service and they refitted a tyre with a leaking valve for free) to let them have a look. Not much of a trip, the garage is about 150m from my house, across the road...
After an hour I got the call - the other wishbone had gone, the drivers side having been replaced by the prev owner for the MOT. Garage also reminded me that the discs were well worn and grooved - something I knew from the advisory on the MOT and from having a look when the wheel was off getting the tyre re-valved.
So, after some negotiation and a few calls elsewhere I agreed on the wishbone replacement, pads and discs, laser alignment and a new tyre. I picked the car up, completed, 4 hours later in exchange for £220.
Next up is an oil and filter change either this weekend or next - that'll cost £35 using Castrol Edge, and I'll replace the air filter myself.
Touch wood thats it til MOT time which will be about 8000 miles down the line !
Here's a wee pic of a dirty looking motor last weekend, actually gutted the car tonight, honest...
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