OT next financial crash end of October?...

:-) She managed to get to Waitrose and back this morning so there is hope. Anyone want a low mileage, overdue for a cambelt change Fiesta?

I'm sure both dealers and makers will soon find a way of conning money out of you with an EEV. They are only human.

Given the way most say they no longer understand IC engined vehicles due to the electronics they use, EEVs will be a godsend to them.

If you're not doing many miles now, EEVs make even less sense financially. Since fuel is not the largest cost.

Just had the cambelt done on mine at 10 years and 103k miles, £350+Vat but the kicker was they found a broken front spring which bumped it up to 700 quid.

My wife refuses to drive it as it is manual but being one of the last small diesels without a DPF I'm keen to keep it as it has been in the family since new.

She is an ideal candidate for a small ev like a Zoe as she never drives far but the capital cost means it's worth sticking with a petrol auto for a long time yet. As to the £50/month battery lease; she never spends that much on petrol in a month.

Hmm.. Ford agent wanted around £800 but they insist on replacing the water pump as part of the job! This is the 1600cc with DPF. I'm the only driver doing motorway trips so I always get the filter clean cycle:-(

I like ours. Reasonable performance, sensible gear ratios, good embedded screen heaters and parsimonious fuel consumption.

One fault is the glossy plastic finish above the dashboard.. can't see through the windscreen if driving towards the Sun:-(

Not all batteries are leased.

groan...

Is this your coat? B-)

If mileage is really low and trips only once or twice a week, insurance, tax, MOT, servicing/maintenance are going to be significant costs. Might be worth coming to an arrangement with a local taxi firm...

Current annual mileage around 6000. Tax zero! (only £20 on the Fiesta) Servicing out to be cheaper as there is nothing to do on the motor or battery. Brakes/filters could be d-i-y. Don't know about insurance but might be marginally cheaper (collision avoidance tech.)

Yes job included auxiliary belt and water pump, parts £150 labour £180, not a main dealer, local firm I like.

This is the 1600cc with DPF. I'm the only

Same PSA basic engine but no DPF. A chap I work with has a Dmax pick up, sump fills up with unburned diesel every 3k miles, stupid system to get the dpf hot.

Me too but mine is the eco model with no extras like that, small, handles well and over 65mpg, not quite as good as the 206 with the 1400 psa engine (which lasted 305k miles and still good when I handed it back) but 16 more hp.

No not many are now the battery gets a 7 year warranty that it is still within 80% capacity as new but you still need to amortise the capital cost over the miles you expect it to last. The Zoe originally could only be bought with a leased battery and thus the secondhand prices are reasonable but still not worth having for low mileages with a battery costing more than fuel used on very local journeys.

Why on earth did she buy a diesel fiesta in the first place ?. Diesels and 'low mileage' are a bad combination.

Yaris petrol/hybrid seems to be the sort of car she should have. Implicitly auto.

Trade price for a belt kit for most mass produced cars can be less than £50 !

Old diesel auto luxury cars are cheap as chips at the moment

that's why i want to replace my diesel. 9000 miles mostb years, only 5000, so far this year,

On a little used newish vehicle, depreciation is often the major cost.

You can minimise that by buying/selling used carefully.

EEVs are too new to have reached the best part of that depreciation curve.

Of course many just want a particular vehicle. Then try to justify their choice with figures plucked out of the air. ;-)

If you regularly stall any vehicle, I'd suggest getting an auto. ;-)

Plenty of red diesel around...

Naughty!

Farmers markets and sales are a common place for Revenue tank dipping. While the dye can be removed it is apparently not so easy for the trace chemicals.

Much the same as my daughter and coupled with the zero tax and low insurance cost it is economical on long trips, so while it sits in my drive doing nothing most of the time (as I have a classic, a 4wd and a couple of bikes to entertain me) it is not worth replacing, 100k miles more will easily see me out.

even 10K miles per year doesn't really put you in the saving category, fuel-wise. Most people bought diesel cars so that they could pay almost nothing for annual road tax.