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Post by Tim on Oct 15, 2019 13:39:20 GMT
I had the dubious pleasure of driving a Citroen Berlingo van - all 1.5 litres of throbbing diesel power - from Perth all the way down to the Czech Republic and back. In all it was 2,555 miles of pure heaven conducted at an average of 54mph and 52.2mpg! I was actually quite impressed by it - the comfort was acceptable although I noticed I had the seat pushed back as far as it would go so god knows how someone 6 feet tall would manage. There were plenty of toys on board - a heater, electric mirrors, bluetooth, DAB radio. It was easy to pair my phone with the bluetooth and play Spotify and Google maps through it. Apparently it even had Apple CarPlay (BMW charge extra for this!) Performance was reasonable, even fully loaded it sat at a comfortable 75mph and unladen it got to 90 pretty quickly although was then very susceptible to sidewinds. The biggest disappointment of the whole trip was this being my first time on unrestricted Autobahns and not having a vehicle worthy of having a maximum speed run. Anyway, here's a token photo of the mighty beast.  |
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Post by johnc on Oct 15, 2019 13:47:06 GMT
That was an impressive jaunt. Was that taking the emigrating family to the Czech Republic or repatriating them?
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Post by Tim on Oct 15, 2019 13:50:37 GMT
That was an impressive jaunt. Was that taking the emigrating family to the Czech Republic or repatriating them? This was shipping them (well, my brother in law and his 2 dogs, the others were already there) out. |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 15, 2019 13:58:25 GMT
That was an impressive jaunt. Was that taking the emigrating family to the Czech Republic or repatriating them? This was shipping them (well, my brother in law and his 2 dogs, the others were already there) out. I heard the return journey was a bit cramped.  |
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 15, 2019 14:38:34 GMT
Shhh...if you're not careful Priti Patel will find them and deport them to the Congo.
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Post by Tim on Oct 15, 2019 14:54:37 GMT
It's funny but when I was approaching the Chunnel on the way home I did check in the back a couple of times!!
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Post by PG on Oct 15, 2019 18:54:25 GMT
Small vans are incredibly good now aren't they. I hired a Peugeot Partner earlier in the year to pick up some stuff up from my dad's house before we sold it. Cruised to London and back in a day at 50mpg+ and 70+ leptons in comfort.
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Post by johnc on Oct 16, 2019 7:58:14 GMT
Tim, can I ask roughly what it cost to hire a van you could take to Europe + the Chunnel + the fuel. The reason I ask is that my wife wants a particular design of wardrobe door for the new house which you can no longer get in the UK. However they sell them in Holland and Germany. I have also been looking at winter wheels and tyres for my car and can get some decent used ones from Germany for about £1,200 to £1,500 less than I would pay for a new set in the UK. I was just wondering if doing it myself might be worthwhile.
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Post by Tim on Oct 16, 2019 9:14:24 GMT
Sure.
The van was around £600 but that was for a 9 day hire (they didn't supply on Sundays so we got it from Saturday to the following week on Monday) and unlimited mileage.
We chose to drive down by the Chunnel which added about 350 miles each way compared with taking the ferry from Newcastle.
However if you travel at the right time on the Chunnel the cost is £97 each way compared with about £250 each way on the boat (travelling from Hull is about the same cost while the Harwich one is quite a lot cheaper but doesn't save much mileage and is too short to get a sleep on).
I'm not really sure what the fuel cost was. I don't think the cost per litre in mainland Europe is significantly different from ours and, as with here, if you buy from motorway services you get stung for an extra 15%.
Remember these prices are all for the van we took which is quite short.
If you were travelling alone you wouldn't have a problem as both passenger seats fold flat (independently) but with them up a door might be a bit of a squeeze.
EDIT We also broke the journey at Ashford in each direction so add on about £120 for accommodation.
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Post by johnc on Oct 16, 2019 9:24:39 GMT
Thanks Tim.
I don't think that would be worth the hassle and the time involved. I can get the wheels delivered for c£150 and the wardrobe doors are similar or a bit more - they haven't confirmed yet.
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Post by Roadsterstu on Oct 16, 2019 9:48:02 GMT
But it's a road trip...
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Post by Roadrunner on Oct 16, 2019 10:10:34 GMT
I still can't get my head around the idea of going all the way to Holland for a wardrobe door.
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Post by johnc on Oct 16, 2019 10:17:26 GMT
I still can't get my head around the idea of going all the way to Holland for a wardrobe door. It's about 10 of them and they are over £100 each |
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Post by PG on Oct 16, 2019 10:17:40 GMT
I still can't get my head around the idea of going all the way to Holland for a wardrobe door. But it's not "a" wardrobe door. It is "the" wardrobe door (well a set of them) such that no other will do.  |
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Post by Martin on Oct 16, 2019 10:26:55 GMT
I still can't get my head around the idea of going all the way to Holland for a wardrobe door. It's about 10 of them and they are over £100 each And I bet that’s only the start! I await the rest of the list with interest and a large amount of sympathy! |
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Post by johnc on Oct 16, 2019 10:30:12 GMT
I still can't get my head around the idea of going all the way to Holland for a wardrobe door. But it's not "a" wardrobe door. It is "the" wardrobe door (well a set of them) such that no other will do. She's a woman - they know nothing else when they set their heart on something and it's just my job to bring it home! |
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Post by Tim on Oct 16, 2019 10:57:53 GMT
But it's not "a" wardrobe door. It is "the" wardrobe door (well a set of them) such that no other will do. She's a woman - they know nothing else when they set their heart on something and it's just my job to bring it home! I feel your pain. Having spent a lot of time earlier in the year replacing the suite main bathroom now that we're holding off selling the house it's been decreed that the whole lot, including tiles, needs done so the new bathroom suite and flooring have been ripped out (sink and bog will be re-used though) and the walls are half removed in anticipation of being re-plasterboarded plus a cupboard that ate into the room is being removed, etc.  |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 16, 2019 11:02:54 GMT
Trannys (the vans) always impress me. They get better and better with each new generation, making long journeys almost pleasurable.
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Post by Tim on Oct 16, 2019 11:06:09 GMT
The Berlingo was fine too, I'd probably rather drive that than a small shopping hatch.
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 16, 2019 21:04:59 GMT
I still can't get my head around the idea of going all the way to Holland for a wardrobe door. +1 Can you get the doors inside a c2003 blue BMW 5-series estate as there may be one nearby for rent at "mate's rates" ?? |
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Post by Tim on Oct 17, 2019 8:45:40 GMT
I still can't get my head around the idea of going all the way to Holland for a wardrobe door. +1 Can you get the doors inside a c2003 blue BMW 5-series estate as there may be one nearby for rent at "mate's rates" ?? It'd still cost him nearly £500 just for the ferry. The 530 does have self-levelling rear suspension that usually works though. |
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