I'm in the planning stage of buying my next instruction vehicle and looking for thoughts on this regarding fuel type please.

 

Speaking to my local dealer yesterday he was telling me that if I came to him with a 60k mile car in petrol he might not look at taking it in as keenly as he would a 60k mile diesel.

 

But reading up on the new Euro emissions coming in, I wondered whether buying a diesel now and when I come to trade in 3 years time when the new regulations are in place, will they still look at it as favourably? Are there going to be a large amount of diesel powered cars sitting around because the tight emissions have forced fuel prices/road fund prices up, causing low trade in values?

 

http://www.rac.co.uk/community/blog/rac-blog/january-2012/euro-6-and-diesel-vehicles

 

All thoughts much appreciated, I've always gone for the look of a car I like and then bought diesel engine for economy but now petrol engines are getting better economy, lower fuel price at the pump, I'm having to think a little harder whether the extra cost for the diesel engine is going to actually pay off, especially come trade in time.

 

Many thanks in advance :-)

The answer would be not to take your 60,000 mile car to him to trade in.

I would go modern petrol that gives the best economy and low VED.

 

Many new rules coming in, but guessing what the future holds with EU or UK Government VED and Congestion charges or Fuel Duty changes is not worth bothering about.

 

It tales some working out Purchase Price, Depreciation, VED, Economy, etc etc.

Cost over 3 - 6 years, Servicing etc.

 

But modern diesels can be a PITA now unless you really need them. IMHO.

There are a few Diesel Mini's & other cars beside me used as Instructors cars and the noise is also a PITA.

 

george

I normally change car every couple of years, around 40k but will be keeping the next one longer and the worry of DPF issues in that extra 20k are a concern, I've found the more miles I clock up, the more frequent regens happen.

 

The other thing I had considered that you also mention is noise, it does bother me when I'm doing manoeuvres mostly about the noise pollution for people around me.

 

I reckon that petrol is going to win out this time around, it may cost me around an extra £1000 per annum in fuel but I'm sure I will also feel happier that I'm not annoying someone with noise and could probably do that extra hours work a bit earlier in the day to offset the extra fuel cost :-)

I've just sold my Octy III TDI; couldn't get comfortable with it :S and decided to give a ex demo Spaceback a try but like yourself automatically went looking for a another diesel, as I average between 13 to 15k a year.

 

To cut a long story short the dealer offered us a very good deal on a petrol TSI 105 in the showroom against the used car and after trying their TSI 105 demonstrator there was no contest, the petrol felt far smoother and quicker, despite the book figures suggesting the diesel and petrol 105PS were about on par with each other.

 

Also a friend of ours runs his own one man driving school and swears by his petrol Yaris; think he said it had around 180k on the clock when I last spoke to him.

 

 

TP

I also tested a 1.2 Spaceback recently and really enjoyed it. I tried to replicate a learner driver and it was so nice coming into very slow corners and not being 'dragged' around them as the diesels do.

 

It's been several years since I drove a petrol manual car and I felt they have moved on a lot, though this may be just because I'm used to diesels! I think it will give my pupils a little more confidence in having control over the car too, only a very small percentage of my pupils buy a diesel as their first car due to scarcity of them in the local area and higher purchase cost.

The answer would be not to take your 60,000 mile car to him to trade in.

I would go modern petrol that gives the best economy and low VED.

 

Many new rules coming in, but guessing what the future holds with EU or UK Government VED and Congestion charges or Fuel Duty changes is not worth bothering about.

 

It tales some working out Purchase Price, Depreciation, VED, Economy, etc etc.

Cost over 3 - 6 years, Servicing etc.

 

But modern diesels can be a PITA now unless you really need them. IMHO.

There are a few Diesel Mini's & other cars beside me used as Instructors cars and the noise is also a PITA.

 

george

I know this is a Skoda forum and apologise in advance if this upsets anyone but people on here are very knowledgeable and trustworthy and I respect their thoughts.

 

I don't know much about this Cylinder On Demand system (which I'm hoping will be coming to Skoda's before I change my car), it's roughly the same price as a diesel engine equivalent but would it be beneficial for me in my job? The info states it works between 1.400rpm and 4,000rpm, which most of my work is done at, but is it only at cruising speeds? I read it that it's when the engine is under low load, will it work and save money driving in town at 20mph in 2nd, 30mph in 3rd?

 

https://www.audi.co.uk/about-audi/latest-news/new-super-frugal-audi-a1-and-a3-cod-models-make-the-cut.html

 

Many thanks and apologies in advance

 

EDIT

 

This article says it works in 3rd gear or higher, after so long not driving a petrol car, can anyone advise what sort of lowest speed 3rd is capable of without labouring the engine please?

 

http://www.zigwheels.com/news-features/auto-insight/audis-cylinder-on-demand-explained/12500/1

It might come in the form of the Fabia MK2 FL replacement available in 2015.

 

Good now in the Seats, VW's (ACT), Audis (COD). but then not really tried and tested as a higher mileage vehicle in the real world of the UK, and UK Servicing and Warranty.

Already many Twinchargers have been loss of cylinder without demand so the VWG know all about cylinders cutting out..

 

??

Do you think your or other Skoda Dealership workshops can be trusted to work on the new technology.

 

How about a Ford Fiesta or the likes with Ecoboost. 

or a Mini 3 Cylinder.

Edited 3 August, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi

Being a former aircraft engine tech, things like cylinder shut down seems rather weird and I feel cannot necessarily be a good thing for the engine long term, as obviously the stresses within the engine change as it goes from 4 cylinders under load to 2 and visa versa.

 

Again with the Octy it had stop start, which from an economy point of view was good, however I found it could cut out on the very odd occasion when it shouldn't but without leaving a fault code, so glad this new Spaceback is green tech free, even though its a little more expensive to tax/run.

 

 

TP

Thanks for your comments, I am always wary of new technology until it's well tried and tested, and from your comments I think I am right in thinking that way!

 

Maybe next time around when I come to change it will be a little better tried, tested and improved, something for the future.

 

George : Being an instructor of only 3 years, one of the things that has established me is having a vehicle that's not the standard tuition car, a large percentage of the tuition vehicles around me are Fiesta's, MINI's and Clio's. When I started with the red Monte Carlo in 2011 it really caught peoples eye, I changed school last year and also car to a white Monte Carlo which also stood out from the pack, I would like to continue this by being a little different in the future. Whether the new Fabia is the car for that I don't know, possibly not until a Monte Carlo edition comes out as there are a few Fabia SE instructors here so they'll probably upgrade to the new SE which will look like the rest of the range for the time being.

 

I have seen an A1 Contrast Edition in silver at the local dealership which is very eye catching, my thoughts are turning to buying this (albeit at a premium) and then when I come to change in a few years, the new Fabia will be tried and tested and a Monte Carlo in the range.

 

Any thoughts on the above, I'm always open to thoughts!

Here there are several private Instructors,  vehicles of choice are, A1, (Red with Silver) Minis, Pug 207, Fiesta, Monte Carlo   & i think that is it.

 

The A1 looks good, i like the Seating.  

Maybe a good deal can be had or on a VW Polo Facelift.

 

Something from'Seat' might well be a good buy, but getting shot without buying another 'Seat' can cost you.

 

george

Edited 3 August, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi

This is my difficult decision, changing brands. I have had a trade in price from both my regular Skoda dealer and also from the Audi dealer who uses a trader because they won't well my car on from their forecourt, and both came back with the same value. So I am quite happy that changing brand now won't make much difference but could be detrimental with another brand.

 

Just out of interest, the school that uses Audi's that I know of is Bill Plant, is that the one you see or is it an independent?

Where i live it is Individuals with their own cars.

 

In Aberdeen i see lots of A1 instruction cars, 

again i just thought they would be Private Owned / Leased cars.

 

george

 

PS

Never heard of Bill Plant before,  but i see now that they must have a good deal with Audi Fleet or some Lease Company.

http://billplant.co.uk

Edited 3 August, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi

Yes I've seen Bill Plant around my area and further south but they have been using A3's here.

 

New Polo FL is getting the new Skoda 1.0 ltr 3 pot none turbo and updated 1.2TSI's but I sure I've read somewhere the 1.2 will be eventually replaced with a 1.0TSI, probably by the end of 2015.

 

 

TP

Yes I've seen Bill Plant around my area and further south but they have been using A3's here.

 

New Polo FL is getting the new Skoda 1.0 ltr 3 pot not turbo and updated 1.2TSI's but I sure I've read somewhere the 1.2 will be eventually replaced with a 1.0TSI, probably by the end of 2015.

 

 

TP

I believe a lot of those instructors are going to the A3 now from the A1, they pay a big lump of money to have a supplied car though, like the AA. Many instructors start with a large school and once established they move independent.

 

I've thought about the Polo but seems to be similar price to an A1 by time you match the spec.

 

I hate car change time in a way because of the selection available, usually torn between the car I really want and whether or not to be sensible and go for an economical one, the one I really want always seems to win, only live once eh!!

http://broadspeed.com/new_cars/Volkswagen/Polo

Question for you as a driving instructor, if you're looking to change to Audi/VW, how do you teach people correct use of a handbrake, since they have automatic electric ones?

Question for you as a driving instructor, if you're looking to change to Audi/VW, how do you teach people correct use of a handbrake, since they have automatic electric ones?

Hi, I've never come across an automatic handbrake yet, the A1 has the standard manual handbrake. I don't know anyone instructing in my area with an automatic handbrake but it's a great question :-)

 

New technology is going to change the way the driving test is marked in the future, at the moment, in-car cameras have to be switched off but they are reviewing that at the moment.