Nice People 13: Nice Save

Doozergirl

Generali wrote: »

I'm really looking forward to electric cars being viable. Stack the roof with solar panels in a nice sunny country

It's a lovely day today. The sun is shining but it's not crazy hot like yesterday.

Me too. We did try one. I'd like one.

For it to have a pay off, you need to do an at least average mileage. But the cars can't go all that far *at a sensible speed*. They're still suited to low mileage city driving which doesn't provide the pay off per mile.

There might be a sweet spot for someone who commutes to a regular place a certain distance away and travels in slowish traffic. And doesn't make unusual journeys. I'd not even bother with the older batteries, there's too much risk when your charge is eight hours. You have to stick to routine only.

silvercar

PasturesNew wrote: »

OK, so I've another thing I'm watching on ebay, finishes in 10 minutes.
Trouble is - where is it. Says "Wells", that's not a place, that's potentially several places. So now having to go back and search for it again, to arrange it in "nearest first" order, to evaluate if it's [a] too far to bother no longer worth it due to price + fuel as the price has increased since I first started watching it (it has 5 bids on it).

I've now discovered it is 50 miles away (probably 60 by road), and the cost is already £29, Ikea new price would be

It's not easy trying to find "local" stuff, then ensure you've got the right place etc - lots of faffing around. Then you have to double check it on maps.google for road distance, which is always more.

New one's £30 + the extras are £32 - but you do get [a] to pick the colours and it's new.

So it's no longer worth it to me. 120 miles it is, round trip by road. So £20 in fuel and 3.5-4 hours on the road for an item I've not seen in the flesh, that's in colours I'd not choose. It started at £5 so I thought it was worth watching.

I notice there's a "good trade" in selling brand new Ikea items at above the Ikea shop prices, must be because they don't do online ordering/delivery, so people close to a store have set themselves up to do that.

IKEA do allow ordering online and deliver and quite reasonably priced. They also put together, but the whether that is cost effective depends on the item.

michaels wrote: »

Yesterday we went to a craft event for kids put on by the local library, the kids loved it and I met some nice librarians, I think I would be satisfied with that as a job but sadly the D Family would not be happy with the income.

This has inspired me to look at the county library reorg plan (they need to save a further 20 ish % having already saved a bit more than that in the last 4 years). Our local libraries seem to be 'safe' but some other small ones are under threat. OF course for me the 'need' is for the kids and the nice to have is that I can get free ebooks but I know the libraries do a lot more for the communities. Could they co-locate with coffee shops or something similar to help offset the overhead?

Our new library, stylishly named "96" has a coffee shop, social room and council offices. Downside is that the library is now across 3 floors, which makes it feel very disjointed.

silvercar

michaels wrote:

electric car

Friends looked into this and settled on a Nissan Leaf.

PN wrote:

radiator valve

Most MSE way would be to wait for BG. Also safest.

CKhalvashi

Doozergirl wrote: »

Me too. We did try one. I'd like one.

For it to have a pay off, you need to do an at least average mileage. But the cars can't go all that far *at a sensible speed*. They're still suited to low mileage city driving which doesn't provide the pay off per mile.

There might be a sweet spot for someone who commutes to a regular place a certain distance away and travels in slowish traffic. And doesn't make unusual journeys. I'd not even bother with the older batteries, there's too much risk when your charge is eight hours. You have to stick to routine only.

If someone was to make a diesel hybrid, and sell it at a decent price (I know I'm asking for posh alert, but I looked at Range Rover Sport in hybrid spec, and decided the extra £18k+ by the time I'd specced it (I'd have had to go for the Autobiography rather than the HSE) wasn't worth it, as with my driving style and making assumptions would be nearly 500k miles before it was recouped.

Mix the figures into what I already drive, and you're looking 7-800k miles, so really not worth it.

The E300 seemed a good, more affordable option, but the hybrid system doesn't work in the same way that I've seen before. I couldn't pull out the dealership without the diesel motor coming in, and in start-stop traffic it was the same when the accellerator was pressed, so again not suitable for my driving style (about 75-80% motorway)

silvercar wrote: »

Friends looked into this and settled on a Nissan Leaf.

The range worries me, especially as 70% of the charge would be used on the commute (using Nissan's figures), with close to 80% of that on fast roads, I'd worry I wasn't going to make it.

Tesla seems a good option, but I prefer a 'proper' estate, rather than a large hatchback. Renting a car for longer runs probably means it wouldn't make sense, too.

Doozergirl

CKhalvashi wrote: »

If someone was to make a diesel hybrid, and sell it at a decent price (I know I'm asking for posh alert, but I looked at Range Rover Sport in hybrid spec, and decided the extra £18k+ by the time I'd specced it (I'd have had to go for the Autobiography rather than the HSE) wasn't worth it, as with my driving style and making assumptions would be nearly 500k miles before it was recouped.

Mix the figures into what I already drive, and you're looking 7-800k miles, so really not worth it.

The E300 seemed a good, more affordable option, but the hybrid system doesn't work in the same way that I've seen before. I couldn't pull out the dealership without the diesel motor coming in, and in start-stop traffic it was the same when the accellerator was pressed, so again not suitable for my driving style (about 75-80% motorway)



The range worries me, especially as 70% of the charge would be used on the commute (using Nissan's figures), with close to 80% of that on fast roads, I'd worry I wasn't going to make it.

Tesla seems a good option, but I prefer a 'proper' estate, rather than a large hatchback. Renting a car for longer runs probably means it wouldn't make sense, too.

The Leaf is supposed to have a 100 mile range. At what speed, I'm not sure, but it's 100 miles to London from here. At 60mph, the Leaf engine needs two rapid charges to 80%. The second on the outskirts of London. For motorways, no.

Spirit_2

lostinrates wrote: »

What kind of diffusers do you have? I like the idea of a differs ers we smelled that day in Neal's yard apocathery( we have normal tea light oil burners al ready).

I think we're just about to look under our structural Lino in the 'old' bathroom upstairs and I imagine that is going to smell frightful.


Edit. I have tried apocathery, apocathary, and apocathory. I just decided to go with one of them in the end. No idea.

in the sitting room we have harlequin burnish diffuser it has a woody smell so not too girly and goes well with smell of wet dog:rotfl:

in the portch it is green vetiver and clary sage. Oh wont have one in the bedroom as he says they are too strong . dd has yankee candle diffuser but not going in to see what sort.

lostinrates

Wet dog smell time coming up:( I wad going to bath kiwi today but he's got away with just a brush as he was quite miserable enough. His muzzle was really matted, I cut some hair away around his mouth.


Cute thing on face time yesterday with niece, when fir was FaceTime, and kiwi jumped onto his lap niece ran over to screen and instead of saying doggy said moomin....so somehow is making a connection we've sent books about moomin trolls because we have one. ( other dogs remained dogs and cats the cats)

PasturesNew

silvercar wrote: »

IKEA do allow ordering online and deliver and quite reasonably priced. They also put together, but the whether that is cost effective depends on the item.

I thought they did some stuff, but not others. And some stuff you had to physically stand in the store, then get them to deliver it. I know last time I checked you had to visit the store to arrange home delivery - I was 200 miles from the nearest store and so you had to take a chance that what you wanted would be in stock when you arrived, so that you could arrange home delivery... or, not very useful.

I just looked - first item I picked at random it said "this item is not available to order online".

For the "putting together" - it is horrendously expensive. They charge based on the price of what you bought, rather than a fixed fee. When I was in Ikea I saw a sign that hinted that there was a man round the back who would put small stuff together for you on the spot, in store. Ideal for small drawers etc I'd imagine.

I just randomly checked the delivery price of one small item (kallax 4x4) and that was £9.

PasturesNew

silvercar wrote: »

Most MSE way would be to wait for BG. Also safest.

BG won't be coming, I'll use "local bloke" probably.... and I feel quietly confident that michaels' description seemed doable, so long as I can get an EXACT match for the one I'm now carrying in my bag everywhere until I find one

ukmaggie45

michaels wrote: »

d almost certainly buy a new one rather than spend half a day searching. Our level of hoarding and disorganisaton far surpasses that of any other NP including Lydia's DD :eek:

I suspect I could prove you wrong on that assertion! I did take some photos the other evening, but couldn't get card to talk to computer, think it might be because I put it in laptop to check out the other photos on it, so now desktop wants to download over 1000 photos and videos! :eek: Might have another go later or tomorrow. Trying to freecycle some stuff and person we contacted yesterday hasn't bothered getting back yet. Bit cheesed off as did state we needed stuff out this weekend. 2 desks and an Ikea bookcase similar to a Billy but wider. I mean if you bid on freecycle it's only courteous to get in touch to arrange collection? Anyway, that's why can't rush down and sort photos just now.

michaels wrote: »

This has inspired me to look at the county library reorg plan (they need to save a further 20 ish % having already saved a bit more than that in the last 4 years). Our local libraries seem to be 'safe' but some other small ones are under threat. OF course for me the 'need' is for the kids and the nice to have is that I can get free ebooks but I know the libraries do a lot more for the communities. Could they co-locate with coffee shops or something similar to help offset the overhead?

Over half our libraries are going to shut in Liverpool. :eek: :mad: And the majority of the ones closing are in the North of the city, where deprivation is worst. I could quite happily string our mayor up from a lampost! At least one young girl has started a petition. Good for her!

vivatifosi wrote: »

It's a really exciting time to work in libraries, providing you are pragmatic and not a dinosaur. Change is good. Bring it on.

In Liverpool we are only keeping 8 libraries, and closing 11. :eek: There's a map on where the closures are here.

I think the idea here is to get shot off all those expensive librarians and just use community groups. A lot of the libraries that are threatened are interesting architecturally, and have interesting histories. Here's a blog post about one of them.