Thursday 6 January 2011

Getting confused about cars

I thought it was about time I started seriously looking for a new car, after searching on the internet for several weeks. I have been putting it off because I haven't yet received the cheque from the insurance company, and I don't relish the idea of traipsing round the dealer showrooms and getting pounced on by some over zealous salesman.

I gathered the bits I needed, street map, bus timetable, copy of Auto Weekly, sandwiches, banana, and drink, and walked the 3.4 miles to Winterton to catch the bus to Hull. I marked down four places to visit.

It was a twenty minute walk once I got off the bus, to the first one. I looked down as I walked over the flyover, and saw this shower cubicle dumped on the grass verge. Pity I am not driving, I would pick that up, I could make a cold frame with it, ha ha.

I had my eye on a black Ford Focus diesel estate, at Quicks, it looks good on the web site. No pushy salesmen thank goodness, but a nice helpfull young lady. The car had an 08 plate, 40,000 on the clock, and it was a good price. I was a bit disappointed when I saw it though, it has been a fleet car and it looks as if every man and his dog has driven it. Hmmm, I will have to think about that, I know they will tidy up all the little scrapes, but it has done quite a lot of miles for a car of that age, but I suppose that is reflected in the price.

I made a note of two other possibles while I was there, an Astra and a Peugeot, both estates, I have to have an estate for all the stuff I carry in the back.

On the way to the next one I went over Drypool Bridge spanning the River Hull. It was opened in 1961. It is a similar design to the one at Gunness not far from here, the big tank is filled up with water, and the weight of it lifts the bridge. This one is fixed and doesn't open any more.

I found this small picture of it opened.

Looking out towards the sea you can see the tidal barrier at the mouth of the river. I think I have posted a photo of it before, when I visited The Deep.
Anyway, onward and upward, more cars to look at, and the more I looked the more confused I got. Such a lot to take into consideration, now that the fuel has gone up. Should I stick to diesel or change to petrol? Then there's the emissions to think about, and the engine size, and how much to tax and insure.
I think I'll narrow it down a bit and do some more checking, give my insurance broker a ring, and check on taxdisc.direct.gov.uk to see which ones are the cheapest road tax.
When I got off the bus to walk the 3.4 miles home it was dark, and with no footpaths and no street lights it is a very dark country road. I was prepared though as I took a couple of yellow flourescent vests with me, one to put on and one to cover my back pack. I also had two red bicycle lights, one flashing and one not, one for my back and one for my front. So far so good, hopefully people can see me.
I thought it best not to rely on drivers moving out to overtake me, so everytime a car approached on my side, I jumped onto the grass verge, not easy with headlights blinding me. It wasn't much fun dicing with death, I dont think I will be doing that again.

9 comments:

  1. interesting post. I am in the same position at the moment. I live in a rural village, public transport is next to none and my car was unfortunately the victim of the ice just before Christmas. I own a great dane so I too need a good sized car but want to keep the costs down. Good luck with your search.

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  2. I dont know given the prices whether it is still cheaper to run a diesel at the moment, I cant see the prices coming down any time soon x

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  3. Depending on how much you have to spend on a car look at a demo model......thats what I bought 2 years ago. Its a desiel, I still think they are better than petrol, more miles to the gallon. Mine is a greenline Skoda Fabia, you might be able to pick one up second hand....they are just coming on the market, mind you the spece with the seats down might be a bit small for you. The road tax is £25 a year.

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  4. I have considered the Skoda, Silversewer, but there are hardly any around this area. I am leaning a bit more towards petrol now, because I would get a lower mileage newer car than a diesel.

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  5. I've got a 2003 1.4 diesel Fiesta, enough poke to pull a small 2-berth caravan and returns 55mpg when not towing, around 40 - 44mpg towing. And £35 road tax. Only drawback is the storage capacity is limited - but the back seats fold down which helps enormously.

    Good luck with your search!

    John

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  6. Thank you John. I've been looking at a 1.4 Fusion Zetec estate. I think I might get a similar MPG out of that.

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  7. I fancied a Fusion too, but there weren't any available at the time. The mpg figures are the same.

    John

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  8. I love my Nissan Vanette diesel campervan. I put about £13 worth of fuel in every weekend, and it gets me around fabulously. It fits into the Tesco parking tower as its not very high, so I can utilize it for shopping or taking things to the tip. I think diesel gives more milage to the gallon, too.

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