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Post by Martin on May 18, 2022 9:23:30 GMT
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Post by Martin on May 17, 2022 16:06:21 GMT
What a fucking horrible noise though. Isn't it just. I couldn't watch much of the actual driving as it was making my head hurt.
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Post by Martin on May 17, 2022 14:00:26 GMT
I confess do blow very hot and cold on this topic. I've been really pleased with my current car plus it costs me nothing except maintenance and does nothing wrong apart from perhaps being a touch on the low side. Moreover, to date it's been easily the most reliable car I've owned. Over 45k miles and 5.5 yrs, the only thing that's gone wrong with it was a failed bush on the steering column about two years ago (a known fault for the model). Now I've said that, it'll probably blow up tomorrow... It's mainly just an itch to change before the fun police kill everything off. But then equally a lot of the time it would be a waste of time and money. The London Mayor and TFL have lost the plot entirely and made pretty much every road near us and frankly anywhere within central London a 20mph zone, and I shouldn't have to drive slower than the cyclists are permitted to cycle on frankly anything other than a residential side road or going past a school. 30mph on main streets was fine for years without entire classrooms of toddlers being mown down on a monthly basis - why is it suddenly not now? Going along the Embankment at 20mph is just mind-numbing and the the West Way, where the A40 goes into central London is now 30mph despite being an entirely inaccessible elevated dual carriageway. At the risk of sounding like Jeremy Clarkson (not that I disagree with him on much), I'm convinced it's just more evidence of the pernicious "health and safety" plague afflicting metropolitan officialdom these days. With those circumstances, what's the point of 440bhp and a large monthly payment? Just in case any of you thought that what with being a perennial Boris-bashing Remainer, I might be some sort of closet lefty... That does sound equally pointless and horrendous. I think I’m having a bad day of my door to door average speed starts with a low 4!
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Post by Martin on May 16, 2022 17:46:36 GMT
Much too much. Yes, sticking with Macan for time being. Crunch decision time on that is not until the autumn, unless production takes an unlikely leap forward, with a car key not materialising in my sweaty paw much before early 2023. My order is currently circa £76k OTR. Less well-specced nearly-new Gen 3 Macan GTSs are on the Porsche Approved site for over £90k! I was in my local dealership last week and they have a late Turbo in a not particularly special spec or low mileage up for £101,500!! Although it was in the showroom, it's officially a demonstrator and I was told they don't want to sell it right now....I guess that's the case with some of the new GTSs that are being advertised. Even at £76k, I'd guess the cost per month is over £1,000 on a PCP (inc deposit) at 6.9%. Better to think of it being over £300 a month less than a 4 series, makes it feel like a real bargain! Edit: Having seen one now, I'd seriously look at the gloss black exterior trim pack on the GTS. There's a huge amount of unfinished black plastic on the front otherwise, which looked a bit cheap to me.
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Post by Martin on May 16, 2022 17:26:27 GMT
Coming back to this...just for completeness, I had the quote from Sytners... £88k OTR, 6.2% APR, £20k deposit, £950pcm and a balloon of £36.6k. Lovely car though it is, that pricing is just not happening, not by a long way. For comparison, when it was new, my car was £39k OTR, 2.9% APR, £6k deposit, £390pcm and a balloon of £17.4k. That is an awful lot for a 4 series (£1350 a month) but I suppose is to be expected for one that is nearly £90k. It is double the cost new of your current car, has a much higher spec and you wouldn't get a new 440i for £39k, as the discounts aren't there now (5-6% at best). A new 'like for like' replacement would be £60k after discount, so the monthlies would be double that you paid on yours with the same £6k deposit. Perhaps a fairer comparison is an M3 xDrive, which would be £750 a month with a £20k deposit and a small discount. The APR doesn't help, that's c£260 a month in interest. Although BMW are up at 4.9% and Porsche want 6.9%....it's easy to start getting to figures of over £500 a month interest on a 911. Are you sticking with the Macan you've ordered?
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Post by Martin on May 14, 2022 8:43:22 GMT
What time is the flight?!
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Post by Martin on May 11, 2022 16:36:42 GMT
That looks better and will fit through narrower gaps!
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Post by Martin on May 11, 2022 15:11:32 GMT
€1.94 a litre here today for regular diesel when I filled up. Can you put high performance diesel into a regular diesel tank? Must look and see if my car can do that. I’ve found the more expensive diesel to be a waste of money, tried it in the 535d and current car. But yes, you can put it in any diesel fuelled car.
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Post by Martin on May 11, 2022 15:09:20 GMT
That is amusing!
Made me think about a situation a couple of weeks ago on the M5. I could see an Ambulance slowly catching, but there was a long line of middle lane hoggers in front nose to tail so I spotted into a big gap on my left. The guy clearly wasn’t paying attention as when he woke up he got very angry, waving / gesticulating/ shouting and then threw his car out into the 3rd lane to pull alongside and shout at me some more. I was trying to let him know to look behind his car…. He eventually realised he had slowed an ambulance down and it was sitting on his rear bumper. I let him in of course, then he didn’t make eye contact as I went back passed!
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Tyres
May 9, 2022 14:21:11 GMT
Post by Martin on May 9, 2022 14:21:11 GMT
It is one of the downsides of Mrs M leaving Asda, losing the 10% discount on tyres! Didn't know that Mrs M had left Asa, or that they did tyres!!! I'm pretty sure that Asdatyres is the same business as Etyres, the websites and pricing are almost identical.
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Post by Martin on May 9, 2022 13:51:07 GMT
The worst I've had is £139 to fill up (c80 litres, so it wasn't empty). It's come down slightly but was still £120 to fill up on Friday and I had just under 100 miles range. Current cost is around 27p per mile vs 18p per mile when I bought it 2 years ago, so that's an extra £100 a month plus another £85 a month in the Golf. Some of that I'm getting back in business mileage, but that's short by £130 a month as I only get 16p/15p per mile, so it's around £150 a month extra cost to me.
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Tyres
May 9, 2022 8:32:14 GMT
Post by Martin on May 9, 2022 8:32:14 GMT
They are a definate improvement over the Verdes, which is good because it's always really annoying when you spend money on a car and don't feel like you're getting any benefit. The wheels don't look massive on the car, but it did amuse me when I put them in the garage.....
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Golf R
May 8, 2022 17:51:02 GMT
Post by Martin on May 8, 2022 17:51:02 GMT
The more I see the current Golf, the more I prefer the previous shape So do I. I have very little interest in the new Golf R.
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Post by Martin on May 8, 2022 11:00:52 GMT
I gave the Golf a spring clean this morning. Wash, wax and Gyeon Wetcoat plus a full interior clean including all the leather. Sparking! (Apart from the discs…)
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Post by Martin on May 7, 2022 10:27:25 GMT
At the other end of the spectrum, I realised recently that our 2013 Focus is probably worth as much now as we paid for it in 2018. And that dropping the best part of £20k on a five year old GT86 that cost £27k new is just silly. Now seriously considering spending the £1500 or so needed to bring my Mk2 Focus up to scratch, and keeping it. That’s not the way to think about it. The Focus hasn’t cost you anything in depreciation, so add what you’ve saved over the 4 years to the new car budget! I agree that spending £20k on a 5 year old GT86 is daft, much better to buy a new one (£30k?)
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Post by Martin on May 6, 2022 13:43:57 GMT
Blimey, if I was spending that sort of money I'd want my badge to say GT3 rather then C4S. Exactly and it's slightly more than a 'Martin Spec' new GTS. A lack of patience carries a big premium!
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Post by Martin on May 6, 2022 12:40:46 GMT
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Tyres
May 6, 2022 11:29:51 GMT
Post by Martin on May 6, 2022 11:29:51 GMT
I hope you do. Nothing like a full set of four new boots. Definitely quieter at motorway speeds. The car was really quiet anyway, but at 75mph you could hear some tyre noise which isn't there now. I've only travelled 7 miles though, got a 200 mile journey later including a newly (terribly) surfaced road which will be interesting to use as a comparison. Pirelli say these tyres have a higher wear rate, I wonder if that's because they have less tread new? The Verdes had 8mm when I bought the car, I assume LR had put a new set on, these have 7.4mm in the centre and 7.0mm at the edges. Not a hugely different tread pattern, but quite a few difference in the details. I decided to hold onto the front tyres and keep them as spares, as they've still got just over 5mm of tread left.
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Tyres
May 5, 2022 6:56:56 GMT
Post by Martin on May 5, 2022 6:56:56 GMT
If the tyre was repaired but is still losing air, sounds like something is wrong. Was it not reseated properly on the rim? Is it a bad repair? Trimming away the noise reducing foam shouldn't promote air loss I don't know Chris. Poor repair, second puncture or maybe even a leaking valve. Replacing the tyre will eliminate the first two. You're right that it won't be trimming away the foam, but that's potentially the reason for the slight vibration.
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Post by Martin on May 4, 2022 17:08:24 GMT
I've got a slow puncture on the rear offside tyre. It was losing 1 x PSI every 24 hours and not getting worse, but I got the local tyre place to have a look and they found a nail in it. They didn't want to repair it as it's lined with noise reducing foam but I asked them to trim a bit away, repair it and buy a bit of time. It's still losing pressure, closer to 2 x PSI every 24 hours now and there's a slight vibration which you can feel on some roads and it's worse at 75 leptons plus. Maybe they didn't balance it properly or maybe the foam is coming loose.
Whatever the answer, I need to replace it, which isn't too upsetting as they are down to 4.5mm and have covered 35k miles. As the fronts still have 5mm left and (I believe) a 3mm difference between front and rear axles is just about OK, I was going to just replace the rears. But I'd like to try the LR marked Scorpion Zero A/S tyre, as it's supposed to be better in all areas other than wear and they are rated A for fuel economy and 69db vs C and 71db for the Scorpion Verde. The Pirelli website rates them better for both wet/dry performance, the same for snow/comfort/off road.
As I've said before, I don't like mixing tyres, so I've decided to replace all 4 with the Scorpion Zero. Blackcircles wanted £1,220 for a set, but Asda Tyres were only £1,065 and they use the fitters I really like who aren't available via Blackcircles any more for some reason.
I wonder if I'll notice the difference.....
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Post by Martin on May 4, 2022 15:39:09 GMT
I think the 135 had the N55 engine. I'm sure Martin or Sav will confirm... Absolutely no idea, but Wikipedia says you're right.
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Post by Martin on Apr 29, 2022 16:44:03 GMT
A very comprehensive review. So comprehensive I had to leave it until the end of Friday to have time to read it! Whilst that is true, it's not a criticism. I did enjoy reading it (well written and raised a smile or two!) and now have a slightly warmer feeling towards the car than I had before. The spa sounds great, but doesn't look it in the first picture.
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BMW i7
Apr 21, 2022 11:26:47 GMT
Post by Martin on Apr 21, 2022 11:26:47 GMT
The 7 series has been an ever increasing munter since they killed off the E38. I politely disagree.....the pre facelift G series 7 was a great looking car!
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Post by Martin on Apr 21, 2022 9:43:06 GMT
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Post by Martin on Apr 21, 2022 9:11:18 GMT
Put the Golf summer wheels/tyres back on at the weekend. It's still on the original set of tyres and they have 5mm (F) / 5.5mm (R) tread left. Not a surprise, as it's only done 21k of its total 38k miles on the summer tyres, but part of me had hoped I'd need to change them by now so I could try the PS4S, or given the review Andy posted, the Sport Contact 7. I've just had a look at the price and they are only £147 each, just £1 more than replacing like for like and £2 more than the PS4S with a 15% off deal. Given that although they're a couple of generations old now (Sport Contact 5), they are a decent tyre and it does seem like a waste.
Running winters continues to prove to be a sensible economical decision alongside the other benefits. The CC+ have 7mm/7.5mm of tread left after 17k miles, so there's some reasonable value left in the wheels/tyres plus I definitely would have had to buy a second set of summers by now.
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Post by Martin on Apr 21, 2022 9:00:36 GMT
I don't mind it. Perhaps I'm contemporary, or young, or Chinese! Still drunk from last night?
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BMW i7
Apr 20, 2022 18:57:44 GMT
Post by Martin on Apr 20, 2022 18:57:44 GMT
Not easy to spot with all the other mess going on, but what’s with the badges…..! The last couple of launches show that BMW have ‘upgraded’ the engines as well, with the old 50i now being a 60i etc.
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Post by Martin on Apr 20, 2022 17:56:20 GMT
See my previous comments about the instruments: the speed is a huge digital number, rendering the “dial” to decorative status; similarly rev counter: you say it’s not worth thrashing it and it’s an auto which won’t allow you to either overrev it or labour it so why do you need it? (on the PHEVs this dial is only revs in sport mode). The other gripes about the torque shite and map view are in the menu for Displays. I have no issue with them as they are in the binnacle but the next gen looks likely to just have the screen sitting as a horrible upright rectangle sitting on the dash. That’s far more of a visual offence than the layout. Doesn't not needing most of the information make them worse? My gripe with them is they look a mess and they're right in front of you all the time plus it would be so easy to have a 'traditional' dial option. The previous generation dials were configurable and could display different things, but looked a lot better. Both current cars have got a number of display options, but I've got them both set to 2 x round dials with an info screen in the middle! Back to the OP....I had a 330i loan car for a couple of days when my car was getting a puncture sorted and the engine sound was a negative but it went OK and was economical on the motorway. It had adaptive suspension but was firmer in comfort than the Golf is which was a surprise. I'd quite like to try an M440i and/or M440d.
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Post by Martin on Apr 20, 2022 15:57:14 GMT
I don't like mismatched tyres, so it would have to either be new PZeros (you can get the PZ4 with the * marking, although that will be a slightly mismatch....) or get a complete new set. I have swithered with that but £500/£600 for two tyres that have lots of life left just feels a bit wrong especially when we are supposed to be more environmentally friendly. I completely understand. I've just had a slow puncture, which thankfully could be repaired as with the level of wear and a permanent 4WD system, I'm pretty sure I would have needed to get a new set of 4 at £1,200.
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Post by Martin on Apr 20, 2022 14:52:06 GMT
Yep. On Martin's advice I have had the same policy and have used it three times in however many years with no quibbles on claims. Whatever Enterprise told you it would be enough to never use them again, not that I would in the first place due to the Europcar account. I’m currently in a Peugeot 5008 and the notes on it are building up daily. Oh dear....what did you done to upset them, as I thought you were a valued customer?
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