Ok, I have a Transit Tourneo 8 seater (not a connect, proper transit) with the 125 tdci engine doing a school contract, 140 miles a day, 6 days a week (yes, SIX) and am averaging 38mpg.......(figure accurate over 15 weeks)
My question is, as I have the run till march 2013 and only carry 2 pupils (only 1 from july) and am spending £110 a week on derv, should i change vehicles, as i hear a Ford Focus (and maybe a saab 1,9td or AR 156 JTD) could give me 60+ mpg
I need at least 1600cc, at least 4 doors and a 2005 reg or newer.
cheers
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I have just got rid of my 307 1.6 hdi 110bhp and on the final 'delivery run' I noted that I drove 205 miles at an average of 60 mph and got 61.4 mpg. I am sure that this is not the sort of driving your contract entails ie I was cruising at 65 mph on A or M roads the whole way. The figures might give a pointer though.
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Look at the other current threads where posters are wondering whether high fuel costs warrant changing a vehicle (not a Transit, I admit). Usual opinion (environmental considerations ignored) are that costs of changing are too high, unless you switch to something at least as old, or higher depreciation wipes out any saving.
Edited by Andrew-T on 23/10/2009 at 12:02
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Slightly OT and in no way meant as an attack on the OP, but who's paying for this service? The tax payer I'm gussing. How much is this costing us? Based on 40 school weeks thats £4.4K a year just in derv and least £8K in time for the OP.
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Looking the figures another way - OP is doing 33,600 miles a year and the AA figures for the cost of doing that @40p a mile would be £8400 plus his time based on say 40 mph and the current minumum wage would be at least £4200 which comes out at about £12600 which is very close to the £12400 calculated by 832. This doesn't include NI contributions either. Not a job I'd care to take on I have to say! Apoolgies in advance for any bad maths on this!
I haven't checked the AA figures for his vehicle but they could well be £1 a mile!
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 23/10/2009 at 12:45
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Obviously i cant go into detail, but if the pupils cant easily get to the education they need (i.e. not main stream) then they are entitled to transport, im sure if you (or i) had "special needs" children the view would be different.
Im VAT regd, so i get the vat back, and its 191 days per year, the vehicle id Private hire plated (so i CAN take other work if i want, i just dont at the moment)
The school run is A/B roads (and a bit of "C" roads.....
my suggested list so far is...
Focus tdci
Saab 1.9
Alfa 156 1.9
Modeo tdci (had one, but only saw 48mpg on runs, totally different to what i do now)
The AA "cost per mile" figures are fine, till applied to commercial/work scenarios, they wouldnt take into account "capital allowances/write down for instance
Edited by mondeo1306 on 23/10/2009 at 12:51
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Isn't their a chance more kids might be added onto the route in the future? I would probably keep the Transit unless you buy a replacement vehicle for what ever you sell your Transit for.
As for the question about who's paying for it, plenty of kids cannot make their own way to school and for various reasons (such as learning difficulties) cannot use public transport.
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How about a Zafira 1.9 CDTI. At least you would still have the option on lugging more kids if required.
Don't see why the Vectra wouldn't be on your list if the Saab 9-3 is?
None of the cars you've listed so far would be *significantly* more economical for your type of driving I expect, so I'm not convinced there's any value in changing at all.
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the list isnt in any order, just a list...
im sure to get it all wrong and change then need a 7 passenger vehicle...sods law
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I appreciate that kids with special needs obvioulsy need to travel to specialist schools, I just wonder if thats the most efficient way. For several years my folks worked for a company that transported young offenders from secure accomodation to court and back. There were always two or three adults to one kid and woul use their own car getting milage costs etc. The kids would go to the nearest avaiable center with a bed, this could regularly be 4 hours drive away. They'd leave home, pick up the kid, take to court, wait at court, drive the kid back to secure accomodation. In some cases this might go on every day for a couple of weeks - huge cost to tax payer - totally inefficient
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Try getting involved with Fostering
Children being driven from one end of NI to the other
reason?
their foster parents/addresses have changed
But hey
they still "need" to attend the school they were at
How come this does NOT apply to children living with their own parents who have moved
One could not make it up if one tried
and it costs us ALL an absolute fortune
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Look the original poster did not come on here to discuss the merits of or the cost of getting kids with special needs to school.
Back to the car list. Take the SAAB and the Alfa off the list, your car will be off the road so often the little dahlings wont get there.
And forget this 60mpg rubbish as well you wont get that either unless you drive at 30 mph all the way.
You need a Skoda Octavia tdi , or a VW touran tdi
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Apologies for the OT. How about LPG? Get a reasonably economical petrol that will maybe do 35MPG and run on LPG?
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More info please.......
How old is the Tranny? What miles, what condition and what's it worth?
An Octavia estate may be a solution (for 4/5 seats) or a Toyota Verso/Mazda5 for 7 seats (all diesels), but it depends on the cost to change, finding a suitbale replacement and the likely running costs of the replacement vis-a-vis the tranny.
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More info please....... How old is the Tranny? What miles what condition and what's it worth?
Tourneo is 55 plate/60k miles average condition...
trouble is not many CAR dealers can value it
the Zafira wouldnt get a plate here for more than "4 passengers" as the rear row require seats tipping up to exit
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LPG was my first thought, reliable info is hard to come by
Most sellers say "70 mpg" working on 35mpg and half price fuel (petrol £1/LPG 50p)
but they seem unable to confirm
i.e. 1 guy had a "sport" focus on LPG
i thought it would do 200 miles on £15 of LPG but he said £25
I get 100 miles per £10 derv at the moment (in a transit)
a guy with a lacetti on LPG said 200 miles for £15-£18
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Two things to bear in mind about claims for LPG.
Firstly, it has 10% less energy per litre than petrol. Therefore fuel economy and performance is hit 10% straight away. Don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise, it's an inescapable fact.
Secondly, you're adding considerable weight to the vehicle with an extra fuel tank and fuel delivery system. This also hits economy and performance.
I work on a rule of thumb adjustment of petrol economy minus approx 15% to see true LPG effect.
So it's not as simple as looking at the difference in fuel costs.
You may also have to factor in the cost of servicing and maintaining the LPG system, on top of existing service requirements.
Plus the typical £2k to install such a system, and the benefits don't seem so clear cut.
If Darling then decides to push up LPG fuel duty (no promises that they won't) then it looks dead in the water to me.
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SQ
And forget this 60mpg rubbish as well you wont get that either unless you drive at 30 mph all the way. You need a Skoda Octavia tdi or a VW touran tdi
30mph is about the average speed, assuming there are no tractors about (or another peacock...not joking)
skoda octavia does keep coming up.....
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 23/10/2009 at 20:05
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I have been in two starship mileage taxis recently. An Octavia with 250,036 miles (connected on as it had clicked over that morning) and a Mondeo on about 246k.
Both were obviously a bit tired (suspension clonks etc), but both went very well (far too well in the case of the Mondeo - 60 mph through town is not good) and both "refused to die".
The chap with the Octavia said he kept meaning to get rid of it, but it then kept passing the taxi MOT without needing anything but consumables.
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Years ago a driver pitched up here asking a similar question. He had a contract to deliver and return a piece of specialist medical equipment from Milton Keynes to Glasgow and back 3 times a week. I think he finished up with an Octavia but we never heard how got on with it!
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He went for a pre-registered delivery mileage 05 plate old-shape VW Passat Trendline estate, 1.9TDi PD 130 5 speed manual. Cost £12,150.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=32282&...f
I don't think we ever found out how he got on.
EDIT: but Dave_TD {P} is active again, so. Dave, how did you get on?
Edited by Gordon M on 23/10/2009 at 18:46
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am spending £110 a week on derv should i
The unconventional, but still, legal answer would be make your own biodiesel.
Car Mechanics magazine (Oct 2009) had there front page article about different companies that ... well read for yourself:
www.ebec.co.uk www.greenfuels.co.uk www.simplebiodiesel.co.uk www.bio-power.co.uk www.biobot.org.uk www.yorkshiregreenfuels.co.uk
It all rests on how easily you can get a good steady supply of used cooking oil and if you have space (in a garage) to do the chemistry bit.
The www.bio-power.co.uk/ seems to be the lower cost option.
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Don't forget to factor in the total reliability or not of the Transit, and it's ongoing service costs.
As it's private hire registered i'd have thought it has more potential for other specialised passenger work than the average car should you decide to look for more work.
As it is i'm quite impressed by the fuel consumption the OP is getting anyway....is the odometer accurate...keep in mind that most car odo's will be 10% optimistic, which means knock 8 to 10% off consumptions quoted for some cars here, and they may be reading the car's even more optimistic computer too.
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Most car odo's will be 10% optimistic
Nonsense. I check most of the cars I drive against the M'way kilometre markers, and I've never found one more than 4% 'optimistic'. My current Pug reads less than 1% over.
Speedometers are certainly up to 10% optimistic, as they are intended to be.
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i calculate mpg brim-to-brm/same pump and using a mpg calculator which i have faith in, as for the odometer, hard to say, speedos (mph) are rarely accurate, odometers are directly driven so should be quite good.
on autoroute the route comes in at 74.8 miles, on speedo its 73, i have a satnav so can log each leg too but 10% out is not an option, mote like 2% max
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for something to do i may go and find a measured mile!
(im curious now...)
I have to say i can squeeze every mile out of a gallon, i was getting 33 mpg out a LWB sprinter driven with gusto, and 36mpg out of a 2.8hdi 05 reg LWB citroen relay
i know where 1 council has a measured mile to check taximeters.
Edited by mondeo1306 on 24/10/2009 at 15:08
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I may go and find a measured mile!
Many years ago our M'ways were fitted with 100-metre markers along both sides, showing (I believe) the Km distance from London. Over time these have been decimated (using the term literally) so quite a few are missing, and after roadworks some have been replaced out of position. But recently they have been augmented by larger 'signs' on posts at 500-metre intervals - at least on the M6.
So it's easy to check your odometer if you can convert miles to Km. Or you can use GPS if the road is straight enough.
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trouble is i live in the country
i know what "wide by a country mile" really means now......
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