Fabcol

Hi, My wife and I have a 2.0L diesel Yeti SE L bought in 2016. Our mileage is around 6,000 per year but until the virus we used to do a decent run of 50 miles or so each week which kept the car in good order and prevented sooting of the exhaust; it's the Adblue model. Now the Yeti is just used for very local supermarket trips and as the virus lockdown got into about the third week the exhaust icon lit up on the dashboard? I opened a police chatline and was granted permission to take the Yeti for a drive long enough to clear the exhaust on condition I didn't stop anywhere or take a passenger. Now still mostly used for the supermarkets we have a run in the countryside of 20 miles once each week. We've got our diesel Yeti and we love it; being bought new we know it hasn't been abused; it's excellent on fuel and road tax at only £30 per year; servicing might cost a bit more than servicing a petrol Yeti but we don't care. In January 2018 we had four new Michelin Cross Climate tyres fitted and since then it hasn't snowed. I'll never forget our wonderful government about 8 years ago condemning petrol cars as being dirty and price of diesel was reduced to encourage a swap to diesel; with diesels now promoted petrol cars were traded in so we certainly won't be parting with our lovely Yeti. We don't want an electric car either because we feel to buy electric cars is is heading the way white goods have gone; once the battery is no longer serviceable will such cars too become disposable items? Electric isn't clean it has to be generated and if everyone changed to electric the power grid couldn't cope; during heavy winter we lose power? If everyone went for electric cars could we trust our government to keep electricity prices as they are; I certainly wouldn't; I could see a new high tax tariff being introduced. I'm just biased because the only person I trust is my wife. Had brand new Yeti's still been manufactured we'd already have traded in a year ago but we wouldn't trade in our Yeti against a second hand Yeti. We could easily afford to buy a brand new Yeti but Skoda let faithful Yeti owners down; we'll keep our Yeti unless it starts to cost a lot for repairs then might swap to a Duster these not having lots of electronics to go wrong. I can well understand your caution because to get it wrong could prove expensive. Good luck. Kind regards, Colin.

Hi, A belated thanks for the pictures Sad555 and Roottoot; much appreciated. Yours looks like a small Tonka Toy Roottoot that will go anywhere. I fancied a Tuk Tuk because it's a cross between a motorcycle and a car just being unusual and a lot of fun to own. 966 Piaggio AD1 175cc Vespacar Vespa Vintage Classic Lambro Lambretta Tuk Tuk 37 BIDS:£2,450.00 Old Tuks command high prices and I'm sure they make excellent restoration projects; I'd enjoy restoring one but haven't got the space. Kind regards, Colin.

Hi, Sorry to hijack this thread. I wouldn't trust any MP even to buy me a bag of sweets because it would end up complicated just like taxing a car. I don't even think it's about climate change I think its about money? Yes there are a number of brand new Tuk importers who not only supply standard Tuks but can modify them to a dream machine; they also can make them street legal ready to register as brand new this takes a few weeks for the paperwork to be sorted.. https://www.rickshawrevival.com/ https://tuktukuk.com/ Our wonderful Yeti is 2016 so at the moment £30 road which actually surprises me. You're very welcome Robjon. Here in the UK our heavy industry is replaced by small industrial units and the only growth industry is fast food outlets; just how complicated can the government make it to do anything let alone doing something so complicated as buying a Tuk. Even when legal if anyone wants to be the slightest bit different it costs large amounts of money and with loads of paperwork; all I wanted to do was spend some of our hard earned money in retirement to buy the Tuk just for a bit of fun but suddenly just about everyone wants paying off. At my age of 72 with a clean licence I can buy a powerful car easily capable of 150 mph with 0/60 in a blink and receive a big no claims discount but a 40mph Tuk is considered special whereas an invalid scooter cruising at a mighty 5 mph is considered fine? Thanks for reminding me; https://www.watsonian-squire.com/ I used to own a BSA Golden Flash with a "Dustbin" fairing and aged 18 had a 1,000cc Ariel Square Four but I've sidetracked this thread enough so I'd better behave. Thanks Sad555; I don't need a pick up truck it was just the Tuk which really did appeal to me it bringing back my biking memories of 50 years ago; what really is sad is how the UK is constantly suppressed by tax; just to buy a bag of nails involves 20% tax so where is the incentive to buy anything; the Tuk I fancied would have tax added to it so now the government have lost this also they've lost the road tax and tax from the insurance company. I don't want to turn this into political debate but this is real life and it's accepted. Perhaps a company should start up here in the UK manufacturing cheap little runabouts that are not complicated to repair and with virtually no electronics; I don't want to drive around in mission control but our Yeti has lots of things included which I'll never use and even possibly don't even know about; I'm already retired but if I had to sit down and read just about using the Infotainment I'd rapidly age. I'm sure many Kirklees bone shaker passengers would prefer a small easily parked cheap to run three wheeler than travelling on a mobile roadblock which by the way puts out plenty of dirt? My wife and I when first married owned a second hand Citroen 2CV then later bought a brand new 2CV; we've owned 10 new Micra's; 2 new Toyota Aygo's; new Fabia and our current Yeti bought new and lots of small cars including a Bond Bug. The 2CV's were very enjoyable but were rust buckets. There's little fun in modern cars all clones of each other other than showing a new number plate to neighbours; who actually enjoys driving these days. Before marrying I owned many cars; big Healey's and Jags etc but out of the cars I've owned I've not had one I liked more than I like our Yeti. Skoda start manufacturing a car that is uncomplicated and cheap to run/ repair and insure similar to the Duster then I might be interest in buying another new Skoda? What a pity about the Tuk; I almost bought one yesterday. Kind regards, Colin.

Hi, It's surprising where threads go with replies. Yesterday I was on the point of buying a brand new Tuk but then thought I'd just check a few things first and I'm glad I did. I'm not an expert on Tuk's just very interested in them and fancied owning a Tuk for fun. The bits of information I could find is that insuring a Tuk might not be straightforward Tuk's regarded here in the UK as a bit different and the only rough estimate I saw quoted was £300 per year; then the dreaded CO2 emissions; apparently the petrol Tuks are dirty and are quickly being phased out for electric Tuks although diesel Tuks are available but after our UK government got so many into diesel cars because petrol cars were so bad about ten years ago the government have done an about turn so even diesels now are classed as dirty; once we're all conned into buying expensive throw away electric cars electric wil be classed as dirty because electricity has to be generated; anyway I couldn't obtain a road tax figure for a Tuk but guess minimum £150 per year. As usual here in the UK if we want to do anything we need deep pockets; I only wanted a Tuk just to potter around locally in leaving our much bigger Yeti at home thinking a Tuk would be a lot of fun; fun isn't allowed in the UK. I've abandoned the Tuk idea it's just not worth it. Unless our Yeti starts to cost a lot in repairs its a keeper my wife and I love it. Kind regards, Colin.

Hi, Thanks TruckbusUK. When in Rome do as the Romans do? With most modern cars mostly being clones one of many things I like about the Yeti is its street presence. A Tuk would also have such street presence it looking a great deal different to most other vehicles. It's not just looks but I'm an ex biker and aged 16 way back in 1963 I passed my motorcycle test riding a BSA 650cc A10 Golden Flash combination with double adult sidecar; the rain was coming down like pencils the examiner stopped me around the course and asked if he could get into the sidecar which he did. A Tuk would be interesting it being half bike half car and if I chose the Tuk pick up truck it would also be highly useful. At the moment I'm dithering whether to buy a Tuk; The Yeti turns into a decent sized van and would carry more weight than a Tuk but I can't load full sized sheet material or longish lengths of timber into the Yeti; I've considered buying a trailer or roof racks for the Yeti but neither of these would have the fun aspect of owning a Tuk? I'd like to rebuild a Tuk but old Tuk's are commanding high prices so by the time such a Tuk is bought plus parts and many hours labour brand new Tuks make more sense. I'm not in a panic so can take my time before deciding. As the title of this thread is Yeti Replacement I'm just adding my thoughts because how many who love their Yeti realize they could retain their Yeti and run a second car for what it would cost to trade in a Yeti against a brand new car; it's a good option? Kind regards, Colin.

Hi, Many thanks for your reply and link Roottoot; much appreciated. The company nearby in Ossett who were advertising new Tuks have disappeared but I've found this company who also are very near; https://www.rickshawrevival.com/ Piaggio look to be a big and respected manufacturer of Tuks but the Atul Tuk supplier is so local to me it would be much better for after sales etc. At the moment I'm window shopping gathering information before jumping in to buy a Tuk; our driveway accepts one car so I'd need to widen the driveway. Kind regards, Colin.

Hi, This might be a bit different. My wife and I love our 2016 SE L diesel Yeti which has just been serviced and MOT'd with under 25K on the clock. I've looked around because this Yeti now at four years old is the oldest car we've kept since 1990 but there isn't a better car than our Yeti for us; we just love it. However I'm interested in a brand new Tuk-Tuk pickup truck just for the fun of owning it and for running around locally to places like Wicke's and timber yards etc whilst keeping the Yeti as our "Best" car. A local company were advertising Tuk's on eBay as a dealer and this afternoon I decided to contact them but because I'm now serious I appear to have closed the company down; it's no longer advertising? Has anyone got a Tuk or even driven one; I could buy a Tuk for less than half the cost to trade the Yeti in for another new car? Kind regards, Colin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o3KSF_Xtw4

Hi, I'm 73 next month with a clean licence and no health issues. I checked comparison sites a few years ago and LG was best for me; if my insurance goes up by £60 per year I don't worry because everything costs more each year. I don't even bother switching anything because how can all companies be cheaper than each other; the savings shown are only estimates anyway; I've got decent cover with LV and could reduce it further if I took out a less comprehensive cover with them; our Yeti also has gap insurance over three years meaning if it gets written off its still valued at £14,000. Everybody's insurance costs more than it should because of our our rubbish laws where criminals are treated better than victims so decent hard working law abiding people support those driving entirely without insurance; driving licence; MOT and being crackheads. Insurance cover is only important when a claim is made and until then those who opted for cheapest possible insurance just might wish they had paid more for better cover? We have a good lady pensioner living next door who enjoys many foreign holidays and playing golf all over the place; she was planning another cruise for 3 weeks on the Queen Mary. A couple of years ago she fell out with npower because she was paying a great deal more for her electricity than her neighbour (Me) was saying her neighbour has a workshop full of big machinery so it wasn't fair she had to pay so much? We're friendly with her and she told us about what she had said to npower; this lady has her bungalow lit up like Blackpool illuminations; shortly after an npower engineer was in my workshop wanting to install a smart meter but he couldn't because British Gas had installed a new gas smart gas meter hence he couldn't interfere with their installation; I explained my neighbour had fallen out with npower and hoped he hadn't tripped over the 30KW supply cable I had hooked up to the street lamp? I sent this neighbour details of how much a single 60W bulb cost to run 24 hours a day compared to my big 4hp single phase saw bench which is so powerful I can put a great deal of timber through it in a few minutes then switch it off immediately when not being used this more regarding safety than electricity usage; her bungalow even has security lights switched on outside during the day; she changed electricity supplier and now I think she pays even more because she won't divulge any savings she made? I don't like paying big bills but always pay in full rather than be annoyed with constant monthly withdrawals tormenting me. When it comes to saving money I just smile at what others do to save a penny but are blind as to how they throw money away on unimportant things; we just pay the bills in full as soon as they are presented; there is more to enjoy in life than money. SOME PEOPLE ARE SO POOR ALL THEY HAVE IS MONEY? Kind regards, Colin.

Hi, Thanks Expatman Yes we're in keep the Yeti club. It sailed through the MOT with no issues. Because of the extra hygiene involved due to the virus the courtesy car was an additional £15 we live 10.5 miles from the dealer but because the courtesy Fabia was running on empty I put £10 of petrol in it; I had to be very careful to ensure I put petrol in the Fabia after four years of adding diesel to our Yeti. So the courtesy car added £25 to the bill but no way am I complaining because to hire a car for a day would cost a great deal more. At just under £300 including the MOT I'm more than happy to pay this for another full year of happy Yeti ownership; I think next year will be a lot more expensive with possibly a timing belt and water pump replacement but again I won't be complaining. Our Yeti is always main dealer serviced. Our Yeti was a pre reg with a big discount it being brand new with zero mileage; it's roughly worth £8,500 now (Parkers) so over four years depreciation has been £2,625 per year which is very reasonable for such a lovely car. Obviously the longer we keep it depreciation will drop even further but will reach a point when depreciation on it means nothing but we'll still have a lovely car. Our neighbour directly across the street has owned a small Vauxhall Agila for at least 20 years and it's still in daily use always parked on the driveway so I'm sure our Yeti has many years pleasure still in it. We put away money in our car fund so always have funds to buy another new car whenever we decide to trade in. Most of you reading this will know exactly what I'm on about regarding owning a Yeti. Our's is the SE L 2.0L diesel so has full leather interior which I treat a couple of times a year with leather balm. Since 1990 we've traded in before 3 years; there are YouTube videos showing million mile cars still in perfect condition and even this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL49FBPqcdY As I said earlier it's the electronics I worry about more than bodywork or mechanicals; I dislike the stop/start so this is switched off for every journey however short. last year we had four Michelin cross climate tyres fitted at £600 these fitted on our driveway and of course it didn't snow? Out of interest I've wanted to own a small pick up truck and I've been fascinated by Tuk-Tuk's for quite some time; I could buy a new Tuk and use it to cart stuff around saving our Yeti for best. My lovely wife says she wouldn't ride in a Tuk but no problem if I want a Tuk pick up as a wedding anniversary prezzie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lumRuxkFJ8I Before buying the Yeti we looked at Toyota pickup trucks and although I'd like one of these I wouldn't want one as daily transport; the Yeti turns into a big van but with a Tuk I could carry board materials and lengths of timber etc. My only problem is parking; we have a large site but its steep; our garage is now my workshop and the Yeti sleeps out; I've been wandering around with tape measure? I've rambled on enough but thought I'd share my story. Kind regards, Colin.

Hi, What a dilemma now Skoda no longer manufacture the excellent loveable Yeti. This morning I took our Yeti in for it's four year service with 24,400 miles on the clock. Before the Yeti we owned a Fabia Monte Carlo for two years which we liked but the Yeti was a transformation. Having run our diesel Yeti for fours years it felt very strange indeed to drop down into a Fabia courtesy car on a 69 plate this being a petrol. The difference between our Yeti and this Fabia is amazing; the Fabia feels incredibly low so low I thought all tyres were flat and I bumped my head as I dropped into it; with low petrol icon glaring at me and the message saying this Fabia was due a service I pulled away. On acceleration the exhaust note was quite pronounced and I've never driven a car with so much hand brake lever travel; I was glad to return home but I'll be gladder still to collect our lovely Yeti later this afternoon. I've put petrol in the Fabia. Normally we trade in at three years or less but looking around at all the modern clones there's nothing to tempt us to let the Yeti go; we've decided to keep the Yeti unless it starts to run up lots of repair bills; we just love the Yeti so much and it's got street presence which is increasingly rare. I'm sure Yeti's will be future useable classics unless the electronics kill them which is now a major concern with any modern car and it's getting worse as more and more electronics are added with each passing year. Our Yeti is the Adblue model so only £30 per year to tax and the insurance (LV) has just been renewed at £500 with a clean driving licence. Kind regards, Colin.