Short journeys

Depends, you say you need it throughout the day so presumably it will be getting longer journeys during the day so there should be no need to warm it up in the morning. Couldnt you just leave the car at work though and walk home?

R D S ( snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Leave the car at the house, walk to work, and walk back to collect it when you need it.

The message from "R D S" contains these words:

No. Walk back and get it when you need it.

You drive a few hundred yards to work? Heh. Have you thought about walking it?

Barely warm? It won't be anything like warm...

I knew I would get these replies! :)

Seriously, once I am at work I have no time for pissing around.

Which part of my question was your 'no' in reference to?

I actually enjoy walking it.

But I need the car throughout the day and once at work it isn't always practical for me to have to walk back home.

So...

Can anybody answer my original question?

Hmm.

I re-read my post and it reads as though I was being short, sorry, this wasn't my intention.

If it really isn't far I don't understand why it won't be practical. If you're that desperate to save wear and tear, get a push bike, cycle to and from work, use the car when needed.

The answer is "no." If you don't have the time to mess about walking to the car, I'm not sure where the time to warm the engine up comes from.

I have same probs, I'm a retained fireman and when the bleeps go have to be at the fire station 1 mile away in a few mins, so I understand. All I do is run a diesel and service it far more than normal. Same car has lasted me almost 8 years and it's still as new so I doing summat right.

Regards

those sought of distances will not do your car any good , engine wear will be one issue but yo arenot likely to do your exaust system much good either the cat wont have time to start working and the condensation from first start up will not evapourate , warming the engine before moving off is unlikely to help the situation

Could you leave the car at work overnight?

Most of the Old Wives' Tales I've heard say that warming up a car by leaving it idling for ages is also very bad for it. I think it warms up too slowly so spends some time idling away while cold wearing itself out.

Maybe you should get a Prius, you could drive to work just on the battery. They also have a thermos the coolant goes into to keep it warm.

Or go to work on a bike, because to cycle a few hundred yards back home to get the car should take approximately one minute.

I could easily crack the car up 5 mins before i'm due to set off in the morning if it would help.

But if it makes no difference then I won't bother.

Now, do you mean warm as the insides of the cylinders warm? or do you mean warm as in the temp gauge has started to move warm? after all some people here could take it to mean the former not the latter.

The message from "R D S" contains these words:

No, warming it up isn't a good thing to do.

"R D S" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

If you need to do it that way just do it. I bet you won't notice any increased wear if you then use it for longer journeys later on in the day. Letting it warm up is a waste of fuel, it will warm up driving it a few hundred yards anyway. You'll save the fuel used leaving it ticking over before you start your few hundred yard trip :-)

"ThePunisher" wrote in news:ISleh.1602$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net:

Christ, here he goes agin ! :-)

Obviously you do because you reckon you have the time to sit there waiting for it to warm up which, today, took my car about 5 minutes.

Perhaps your work should supply you with a company vehicle.

Then being in such a high pressure job your remuneration should pay for a new car whenever needed?

Walk into work early by the time it would take to sit in the car while it warms up. Then grab back that time on the walk back home to pick up the car when needed.

A diesel is a far better choice for short journeys where the engine never gets fully warm. The fuel is a lubricant and helps prevent wear on a cold start.