The 'Great Keep Your Car Tip Top For Less' Hunt

KrisPringle

ElvisThePrince wrote: »

Tips is no particular order:
1. VAG Turbo Diesels (VW, Skoda, Seat, Audi) driving "Like a granny" may actually cost you money! It seems that in 5th somewhere below 75mph the fuel consumption goes up!, it would appear that the Turbo stops spinning fast enough so to compensate the ECU dumps more fuel into the engine! Also see the notes about the engine needing a good high speed run above!
2. When MOT time is near pour a whole bottle of Red-Ex diesel system cleaner into the fuel tank when you fill up for the 2/3 tankfuls before the test, also make sure the engine is nice and warm, should help with the emissions test.
3. German, Swiss, French (http://www.gsfcarparts.com/) seem to be the cheapest for VAG cars, dunno about other makes.


Stephen

i agree with this, i have an audi a4 2.5 tdi, i started driving a bit slower to see what the mpg was like, my usual to work trip averaged 34mpg, when i short changed on the gears it dropped to 32 mpg. i now gave up the driving slowly part!!!

Stephen_Leak

I’d also recommend the 5,000 mile oil change as well. My Ford Zetec engine requires this for technical reasons, but it just like an internal service.

I get mine done at National Tyres for £20 less, in true MSE style, 10% for booking it online. Having done oil changes myself in the past, I consider it well worth it to save myself the hassle of a very messy job and of then disposing of the old oil. They do insist on using 10W40, where Ford recommend 10W30, but I reckon that clean 10W40 is better than dirty 10W30.

It is what is known in the retail trade as a “footfall offer”, designed to get you through the door so that they can also check your tyres, in case they can try to sell you new ones, but I accept this, and actually make a note of the tread depth readings! When my rear tyres get down to 2mm, I will get a price from them, but will also get ones from eTyres and blackcircles, and my usual local supplier. My local supplier usually wins.

I have another saving planned. My cambelt and pulleys are due for renewal this year. Ford do a kit of all the necessary bits and the garage where I had this job done back in 2002 charged me £74.42 + £13.02 VAT = £ 87.44 for it. I shudder to think what Ford sell them for retail. However, the same kits come up on eBay from time to time and the last one sold for just £44.95 + £6.95 P&P.

I will get this done in the next couple of months at the same time as the next service to save time and petrol. Beforehand, I will check things like the light bulbs and top up the windscreen washer bottle. I was once charged £1 for the additive used in topping this up – it is a service item, but I haven’t had to pay for it since!

Stephen Leak.

anewman

For those talking about 60mph being a bad speed to do on the motorway, you forget that the national limit for goods vehicles above 7.5 tonnes, and cars towing caravans or trailers is 60mph on motorways.

The real problem with the motorway is people going slow in the middle lane - see http://www.middlelanemorons.com/ for details.

As I understand, for petrol engines, generally they're more fuel efficient at 60mph than 70mph. The reason being that achieving 70mph in 5th gear compared with 60mph in 5th, requires more RPM's and therefore more petrol. Although I am not a motoring or fuel consumption expert.

charlieheard

KrisPringle wrote: »

i agree with this, i have an audi a4 2.5 tdi, i started driving a bit slower to see what the mpg was like, my usual to work trip averaged 34mpg, when i short changed on the gears it dropped to 32 mpg. i now gave up the driving slowly part!!!

There's a difference between driving slowly and using the engine inefficiently. Changing up early will mean that the turbo is just acting as a power drain, and so the engine will run inefficiently. Change up so that the turbo is producing useful power/torque in the next gear. When you get to the desired speed, then you can change into the correct gear. This may not be the top gear, as turbo diesels work best above 2,500 rpm (typically - but may change in different makes/models)

I used to run a Volvo V70 diesel, which would get 40-45 mpg on a long motorway run, averaging nearly 70mph. This would drop well below 40 when traveling on the higher-speed French motorways. On a long German autobahn trip, it averaged 29mpg/80mph. In heavy motorway traffic, it would rise to nearer 50mpg, but the average speed dropped to 50mph. Plot those figures on a graph, and the conclusion is obvious. Also see, my earlier post about my Micra's consumption...

crossleydd42

Not all VW's are built in Germany. My son has not long taken delivery of a VW Polo GTi - nothing but unreliable crap - built in the SEAT factory, Spain!

t8769

I get my tyres at junk yards.

They're cheap and cheerful. Back tyres don't need tracking, just balance them and stick them on.

I don't even use tracking on front tyres usually and they're fine.

Many junk yards have new spare tyres or barely used ones. You won't get the hard sell when they tell you your exhaust/transmition/front end is about to blow and you MUST give them lots of money.

Just roll in, get your tyres and off you go.


One piece of advice.. if you need to repair your car, get several estimates.

I've been amazed at the difference. 50% of all diagnostics on my cares have been complete and utter lies.

Mechanics have looked me in the eye and told complete porkies.

I try to get three opinions, and trust none of them.

charlieheard

t8769 wrote: »

I get my tyres at junk yards.

They're cheap and cheerful. Back tyres don't need tracking, just balance them and stick them on.

I don't even use tracking on front tyres usually and they're fine.

Many junk yards have new spare tyres or barely used ones. You won't get the hard sell when they tell you your exhaust/transmition/front end is about to blow and you MUST give them lots of money.

Just roll in, get your tyres and off you go.

NO!:eek::eek: :eek: :eek:

Tyres are in junkyards because they are from junked cars. You have no idea how they have been treated, and could harbour all sorts of problems. How old are the tyres you're buying? Tyres perish with age, especially spares exposed to years of road salt, or hung in the daylight on the back of 4x4s. Would you want a front tyre carcass to fail on the motorway because the reinforcement had been damaged when the junk car was being collected, or because the "rubber" had fallen apart?

Of course, you may be fine, but it's like driving round without a seatbelt - you may be fine, but the downside is huge!

Tracking is there to make the car handle predictably and safely: poor tracking will cause unpredictable handling - i.e. unsafe. It also has the beneficial side-effect of prolonging tyre life as you're using the tyres most effectively and not scrubbing them even when driving straight. Not checking it means that you're potentially wasting money, when the check itself is free. I've always checked it on cars when I buy them: they only charge if it needs adjusting, so you're saving nothing by not checking them.:rolleyes:

Mind you, if you use potentially dodgy tyres, it's probably a good idea to wear them out quickly

t8769

I've been using junk yard tyres for years, can't tell the difference between them and new ones, stick them on the back and don't worry about it.

charlieheard

t8769 wrote: »

I've been using junk yard tyres for years, can't tell the difference between them and new ones, stick them on the back and don't worry about it.

"I've smoked for years, and it never hurt me". "I've never worn a seatbelt, and it never hurt me"

Until, of course, it does, when the consequences can be appalling....:rolleyes:

DeskBob

pKaTz wrote: »

i think i read on this site that some supermarket fuels are not all they're made out to be.
But asda is supposed to be the same as shell.
asda is also a little little bit cheaper than most other forecourts.
PLUS if u get the asda credit card u get 2p off every litre of fuel when paying with the credit card.Just make sure u pay the balance off the card every month and use for ur asda shop too for extra points.
those 2p's soon add up.

I don't know if this has been said, but Asda are changing their terms and conditions, you only get 1p a litre off fuel now. Get a Shell card, 3% off when you use it to buy their fuel, get their club card too and top it up every time you fill up and you get a credit on your Shell card every so often (I forget the frequency, it may be yearly). Some other Cards are offering 5% cashback, may be worth using them for your fuel until the offer expires.