Not a 'which banger to buy' post

That's not bad at all then. Same ballpark as my 406.

I don't understand all this tax stuff. I'll take your word for it.

TBH if I were going for the cash option, I'd look at a 1 or 2 year old car rather than lease or HP on new, and try and save some cash. Surely the firm can get far better rates than you can?

i'm in semi rural yorkshire these days - lived in a tiny pituresque village on the lincs/leicester border in the 80's but found the natives too cliquey, one shop (a converted integral garage) and 2 buses a day...maybe if i could drive back then it would have been ok...

"DervMan" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die.

"Grant" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

_S_DSL?

I thought 2Mb was the maximum possible?

T'is.

But you can bond 4 lines together.

Hehehehe... me neither. As in I've not been mugged.

Not in York. If it's urgent you cycle. In speed terms, it's usually cycle, minicab, bus, car, walk. Depending on the time these change.

That's where York pretty much has it spot on. In three years* of using the busses, I've only once gotten onto one that had eau d'wee.

*It took me four years to get onto a bus...

Providing there isn't a stream of 14 cars stuck behind somebody doing the same t'other way, yes...

I have a bit of a shortlist here. Despite the easy option possibly being the best car..... I've worked out that on a £12k used car, even accounting for tyres and maintenance, I have effectively got myself a £2-3k pay rise.....

07 Vectra CDTI-150 Elite Auto 07 Cadillac BLS SE or Executive - both 150bhp CDTI Autos 05 Alfa GT JTDm

or, if I went cheaper, I've seen a 19k mile old Alfa 156 2.4JTD 20v Veloce for £9999 on an 04 plate.

Yes. You can also modify it too. :)

How much?!

Have you looked into the alternative, which is to buy a petrol version of the above, then convert it to LPG?

If you like petrol engines and can tolerate the range, it's the way to go.

It's a bit OTT, but at only 19k miles from a respected specialist it would be a price worth paying - if only to get the lovely (and thirsty!)

2.4 20v diesel lump.

Range is s**te, no local LPG station and I just can't be arsed with getting rid of my diesel card.

All those things, plus issues like expensive and poorly designed parts that you really don't expect to have to touch on a car of that age, would be steering me to the newest and best BMW estate for similar money, regardless of the fact that it might be a good few years older. It won't feel as modern or cossetting as the 406, and don't get me wrong, from what I hear

406s are pretty decent cars to drive - but ultimately you still wouldn't regret spending what seems like more money relative to the age of the car, as long as you made sure you didn't get a dog.

Was there a really big argument going on in front of you in the queue?

Sort of. I told Charlie there was no way I'd get onto a bus when we had the car...

It's the trade off between that five cylinder growl, the relative thirst, plus getting things replaced.

Not always that poor, though. If you return 80% of unleaded and use the Passat 1.8T for comparison, with an effective tank capacity of 50 litres, what's that range? Half the TDI? Is that such a big compromise...

More fuel stops means it's easier to justify using the cupholders 'cos you'll be buying more coffee..?

If you're going private, won't you have to return the fuel card anyway? Or am I missing something?

I'm too lazy to open Autotrader to see how much '04 166 2.5 V6s sell for. Or 156 2.0 TS models. Or the earliest 159s. I forget if Volvo did a BiFuel version of the S60, but the S60 2.4T on LPG could work a treat...

It won't need much replacing and it'll be run largely on a diesel card, so thirst isn't an issue.

Yes. Could mean filling up once a day some weeks.

No, we can keep the fuel card.

I'm not doing LPG.

As opposed to once every two days, some weeks?

:-)

That's a lot of extra filling up, especially if you have to go searching for LPG.

Or perhaps I just want the convenience of being able to fill up everywhere and not have to do endless reams of paperwork to sort the mileage claims or be hundreds of pounds out of pocket every month 'cos I've filled the tank with my own money.

14 cars?!?!? On the same stretch of road?!?!! Ye city dwellers have it strange...

;-)