General car questions?

forgotmyname

Quick look on the copart website and this is near the top....

Yes its a CAT D. I think it may need more than a bit more than some T-Cut and some buffing....

bery_451

forgotmyname wrote: »

No i find it the opposite. A 2L petrol is cheaper than a 2L diesel.

In fact some years back i could insure a 150bhp petrol turbo sports model cheaper than a 100bhp diesel engined version of the same car.

Hoes does the insurer know its a CAT D. Its either on the database or they may not know or bother checking until you claim and offer you much less than you think its worth.

How does a buyer know if they will cover it. The buyer asks them.

Because they dont want to insure it. They may assume rightly or wrongly that its been repaired on the cheap. Plenty of badly repaired cars out there.

Diesels used to be slow in the 1980's and much older. But things changed.

You can get a 2.5 ton 4x4 with a diesel engine that will do the 0-60 dash faster
than your average small hatchback.

A cars speed has little relationship with its insurance rating.

Why is it the case that petrol versions are way much cheaper than their diesel counterparts? Is it only because diesels give better mileage?


However diesels need more service parts, need service regularly, diesel fuel cost more and like you said not cheaper to insure.


Isn't there any fuel efficient big petrol cars out there that can compete with the diesel versions?

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

Diesels are more expensive because they are harder to make. The engine has to be stronger and is heavier, so there are other modifications that are needed. It used to be that a diesel was otherwise a very simple engine, but to make them acceptably clean and fast enough the addition of a turbo (which makes them work a lot better) and filters, electronic injection systems and all sorts have made diesel engines as complicated as petrol engines.

The motor industry spent a lot of time and energy getting diesels up to scratch and now seem to have taken them as far as they can they are now turning back to petrol and applying more up to date systems to get extremely powerful engines which are fuel efficient. A 1.0l Ford Focus is by all accounts (well by the account of my mate who drives one and is really happy with it and his day job is driving Land Rovers and Jaguars round in circles at high speed) a very good car.

However, if you are looking at the second hand market, then you are going to struggle to find something that can compete in fuel efficiency with a diesel, especially in the larger cars.

forgotmyname

When you crash a petrol car you dont have the expensive fuel pump hanging off the front of the engine.

Its dearer because insurers charge more. Why? Who knows. Maybe statistics or maybe because they can?

nobbysn*ts

Diesels - historically white van man, driven by idiots that can't park, can't wait in a queue, generally hit anything in their way. Cars, they were driven by granddad that drove the same way. So diesels are a bigger risk than petrol. Nowadays it's changing, but the insurers take a decade to catch up.

UsernameAlreadyExists

The torque delivery of modern diesels make them easier to crash or get into a mess. They quite simply respond quicker and with less effort/input. You have to deliberately "wind up" an equivalent petrol to get it to react so quickly. I laugh at the amount of people that are suddenly "born again" tyre brand snobs because they've found themselves spinning on the spot trying to pulling out of junctions when there's a little bit of rain on the roads.

nobbysn*ts

UsernameAlreadyExists wrote: »

The torque delivery of modern diesels make them easier to crash or get into a mess. They quite simply respond quicker and with less effort/input. You have to deliberately "wind up" an equivalent petrol to get it to react so quickly. I laugh at the amount of people that are suddenly "born again" tyre brand snobs because they've found themselves spinning on the spot trying to pulling out of junctions when there's a little bit of rain on the roads.

It's diesel, they're still slugs, even with a turbo. If you can manage to get out of shape in a diesel, you must be asleep. A petrol from the same era will always leave them behind.

bery_451

If a Car fails MOT at a garage and you believe the failure is caused by the tester lies to make more money out of the driver then can the driver take his/her car to another 2nd MOT garage? If the car passes 1st time at this 2nd MOT garage yet fails at the 1st garage then which garage will the ministry of transport honour for the final MOT result?




Also how do you add the option 'protect no claims bonus' on comparison sites such as moneysupermarket?

forgotmyname

NO. If you think they failed it on purpose you contact VOSA who will test it themselves.

All that takes time though and your without a car.

A lot of the stuff is at the discretion of the tester.

bery_451

forgotmyname wrote: »

NO. If you think they failed it on purpose you contact VOSA who will test it themselves.

All that takes time though and your without a car.

A lot of the stuff is at the discretion of the tester.

Vosa will test it for free? and where do they test it? If vosa finds out that the tester lied then what happens?