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'Asking prices' are high, and if the cars are selling for the asking prices then sellers will be happy. But Traders and Dealers are sitting with cars they have bought using 'Borrowed money, ie finance availabe to traders / dealers from BCA (British Car Auctions.) and others. They are not being realistic in many cases and are not prepared to take a loss that many 'Used car sellers' are going to have to take. What the cars advertised are actually selling for matters more than any asking prices. Parkers & Glass are the 'Trades' friend not the private customers, Dealers and traders do not just make a 'Mark up. they need a profit & need to covering all the costs involved in buying and selling and they pay tax on profits.

@JR8418 Welcome to the forum. Your fuel consumption is up not down as in you are using more fuel. Efficiency is down. ? How long have you had the car, and did you have it last winter? Has you well serviced car been given The Emissions fix at a Skoda main dealers? ? Do you think the colder weather and the engine / engine oil taking longer to get to an efficient temp could be the reason the car is using fuel up quicker?

@Sad555 It was certainly reported in the past couple of years that Vauxhall was ending contracts with Dealerships with the aim of reducing franchised dealers. I have not seen anywhere that there would be no Dealers entering into new agreements with Vauxhall. There were some dealers being taken over by groups that were expending just last year. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/vauxhall-terminate-all-dealer-contracts-major-uk-overhaul

^^^ That might come to pass with PSA Approved Repairers but currently it is not and Approved Repairers and Dealership are required for each of the PSA Brands. Only the technicians trained to Service & Maintain the EV's can do PDI's and servicing repairs as there is high voltage checks to be carried out. The KIA techs trained to work on EV's are obviously able to do the work but can not for the sake of the Vauxhall Warranty and unable to do Warranty work.

My local Vauxhall Dealership who have been trading for 50 years is giving up their franchise at the end of March. They will still have their KIA Franchise.

Having a new car or changing the oil in a car you know and have changed the oil in before is one thing. £2.50 for a new sump plug really is no big deal for many as the last thing they want is to change their oil or some persons and then there is a drip and the oil needs drained and a new plug and washer or just the washer needs replaced. There are choices for what people do DIY, but for those working on others cars there are work practices expected of them.

RoI costs.

@alessio92 Sorry to read about your bad luck in the Insurance section. Maybe members can check the post there.

^^^ This is a UK Winter where day and night temps are around freezing or below in some areas, so maybe some reviewer will go borrow one as they are 'workers' and go see if they will do 150 miles on a full charge'.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/473898-tyre-tread-depth-changed

Hot or warm water is OK but only if then you can get rid of all that H20 if the temp will stay below freezing. Hot / Warm water freezes hard. Not some myth. So you want a Water Dispersant and WD40 can work, or you can get better and also then lube. (Remember what a bike chain looks like if you spray with WD40 and leave outside. It will rust badly unless properly oiled / greased / dry greased.) So you need to be sure the seals on the door let water out, you need lube, you need to prepare door seals etc etc Get the car inside someplace warm and dry if you can and prepare it for cold days and nights. If an ICE vehicle is parked near where a safe extension lead can be used then a Greenhouse heater can keep the interior above freezing overnight / daytime and the glass free of ice inside and out and the locks all working. Not that expensive in electric it costs me about 50 pence a day to have a heater in the car when parked. Costs more than that running a heater in an EV to be pre warmed.

@Luckypants A pair of Snow Socks on the rear will be ideal for around town or village if there is no blacktop road about. The past few days there are so many about my area that could have done with using a pair even if just to get moved from the roadside. I am never surprised at drivers that do not understand if they can not reverse or go forward a few feet where they are at the kerbside with the steering straight then trying to get out to the road over the snow or frozen snow is a waste of time. If somebody is really stuck i will stop and help and put Snow Socks on their drive wheels if they want a help. If they are outside their house and have not de-iced the car or shovelled some snow to get moving i do not bother helping. (There are some exceptions to that obviously..... Like maybe a cuppa and a warm up could get offered.)

Minus 16 where my car was parked and no pre heating. 2 miles driven and at a public Rapid 50kW charger where it is minus 12. Battery was at 50% charge. After 30 minutes charging it has got to charging at 52 mph and battery showing 64%. Remember this is how it can be when you see road testers / reviewers saying a PSA EV can charge at 100kW and that equates to getting 500 miles range in an hour or some such crap. First you might need a lovely ambient temp and then an actual Rapid Charger and fingers crossed and legs crossed if there is no place to go get a pee. If there is someplace to get that pee then maybe you will drink your nice warm drink you brought with you or went and bought.

'Tesco Momentum 99' is 99 ron minimum and can sometimes exceed 99 ron. Some Tesco Express filling stations have ESSO super unleaded which was 97 ron minimum but is now 99 ron min.

@CJJE Where are you finding 98 ron petrol in Wales to use? There are no 98 ron retailers in the UK. The 97 ron minimum might well be 99 ron, and the 99 ron min might well be 100 ron from EU winter Super Unleaded, but no filling station pumps have 98 ron.

Robert gets more arseish as the years go on. Lane Keep Assist is on because it is on as default and if you want off you put it off. Regen is not feeling like there is much because he has it in D and if he wanted more he would need to go to B and even with 95% in the battery it would put power into the battery. Then the Sports switch with engine sound enhancement needs enabled or you will not hear it....

@SurreyJohn Really as much better economy as that with 97 or 99 Ron which can be as little as only 5 pence a litre more than 95 unleaded from Shell, BP, Esso etc, even the same price. Was the 98 Ron tried on mainland Europe where it is available? Tesco momentum 99 or Sainsbury Super unleaded 97 only 5 pence a litre more expensive than their 95.

For about 6 winters i used my Picanto 68ps Auto on Avon Ice Touring if not driving a Jimny as a daily in town or out and about. It drove pretty much as a Mini must have in the Monte Carlo rally or anyplace else in snow. (Better heater and brakes though & an OD button on the shifter.) If a car is going to slide it is nice if it is lighter IME. Light cars can still get traction on the correct tyres, as can heavy, but shifting a lighter car is much easier if they do get stuck. A Fabia Mk2 vRS with winter tyres is pretty good in snow due to the DSG and not much need to use the brakes to reduce speed.

@Adam984Welcome to the forum. ? What country are you in. Are you in Europe / EU as that makes a big difference for the car / mapping / engine management & owners manual. (You will find it hard in the EU / UK to find fuel with a lower octane than 95 ron.) http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/need-help/need-help-faqs/fuel For the UK the VW Group have not recognised that there is no 98 Octane super unleaded sold in the UK, so if you choose to buy Super Unleaded in the UK it is 97 ron minimum or 99 ron minimum from Royal Dutch Shell, Tesco / Greenergy or ESSO / Greenergy. The Skoda recommended oil for Fixed or Variable / Flexible Servicing is 0w 20 FS IV which is VW 508 00 5w 30 FS to VW 504 00 could be used for Fixed Service Intervals. Some dealers are now saying they are using 0w 30 FS oil for Fixed Services. Bottom Fuel Flap stickers where the 'Prescribed Fuel' was 98 Ron like on VW GTI's & R's (Green Flap Sirocco R) or Fabia Mk2 vRS 1.4 TSI Twinchargers. (Red fuel flap.)

It was crazy yesterday here in Forfar with cars not even able to drive along totally flat streets. Usually cars and vans get about OK but just now the ice under the snow is an issue and brand new cars / tyres.... Mercedes A200 types, VW Tiguan and the worst i have ever seen was a new Vauxhall Insignia that turned off the ploughed and salted main road and could just not move anyway other than sideways. I am using Michelin Alpin 6 and they are very good. My Shogun is on CrossClimate SUV's and they are just OK. It is sitting now covered in snow as the driver side wiper stopped working as the snow built up below the bottom of the sweep and it went wonky. 4 inches more to be cleaned off the car this morning before i go any place.

@Simon79 Is putting All Weather / All Seasons on the wheels you have not an option? If there are any available for fitting in the next few days that is.

It is a common requirement with many local authorities that Private Hire vehicles do not have privacy glass. Children are being transported with School Contracts. Council Policy on Tinted Windows in Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles.pdf