The Car thread

[Jattdogg]

Electric will never work here in big (and cold) countries like Canada the way people want them to.  Things are far away, the cold climate is not good for batteries which makes them more useless in winters.

 

There is a use case for electrics just not for most people and countries right now until they have longer range, better performance, infrastructure and much more cheaper.

 

I also am a bit skeptical on pollution levels involved with mining for batteries and then disposal of them. So much yet to work out before we go balls deep with them (solely).

 

Toss in the need for clean power in the grid to handle everyone charging their cars,  phones, equipment every night...

 

I wont say no to buying one but don't see that happening with my next purchase. 

[The Bear]

Electric infrastructure will work when there's chargers at every business and building. Then you'll constantly be topping up as you need it wherever you are. 

[Jattdogg]

2 hours ago, The Bear said:

Electric infrastructure will work when there's chargers at every business and building. Then you'll constantly be topping up as you need it wherever you are. 

That's not possible in Canada unless you are in an urban setting.

 

Driving to montreal from toronto could be a pain. Heck, heading up north or across the prairies could be a disaster. It will take a long time for Canada to "get there" IMO.

 

England is a different beast but has its issues i suppose

 

Still, where is all this extra clean power coming from to support all these elctric cars? We have brownouts  over here every now and then and we dont have crazy amounts of electric cars.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6440595

 

Anyhow, hope all things get cheap and cleaner as thats the main goal here.

 

I am a skeptic though.

[Bellend Sebastian]

I've spent most of the day helping my friend by ferrying her and her kids around after she lost her car key at the supermarket.  Seeing what a nightmare pain in the arse this is and will be for her, I'd urge anybody else who only has one key for their car to seriously consider getting a second one.

 

It would be difficult to replicate the horror of my mate losing the one key he had for his Saab after they went down the pan and it was impossible to buy any spares, but even so, the costs of auto locksmiths etc if you're not insured and the total waste of time that sorting it all out must be something you'd want to avoid. Keys can be daft expensive (I was quoted £330 by Mazda when I left one in Portugal) but Timpsons can apparently do remote keys and they're a lot less than OEM ones.

 

At least buy a Tile or something to give you a chance of finding it if your key goes astray

 

 

[tom27111]

9 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

I've spent most of the day helping my friend by ferrying her and her kids around after she lost her car key at the supermarket.  Seeing what a nightmare pain in the arse this is and will be for her, I'd urge anybody else who only has one key for their car to seriously consider getting a second one.

 

It would be difficult to replicate the horror of my mate losing the one key he had for his Saab after they went down the pan and it was impossible to buy any spares, but even so, the costs of auto locksmiths etc if you're not insured and the total waste of time that sorting it all out must be something you'd want to avoid. Keys can be daft expensive (I was quoted £330 by Mazda when I left one in Portugal) but Timpsons can apparently do remote keys and they're a lot less than OEM ones.

 

At least buy a Tile or something to give you a chance of finding it if your key goes astray

 

 

 

Luke talked you in to key insurance didn't he? 

 

It is ridiculously expensive for a new key, you're looking at a minimum of £250 as far as I'm aware.

 

And the guys who come out to let you in to your car charge around the same price and it takes them about 90 seconds.

 

[Bellend Sebastian]

25 minutes ago, tom27111 said:

 

Luke talked you in to key insurance didn't he? 

 

It is ridiculously expensive for a new key, you're looking at a minimum of £250 as far as I'm aware.

 

And the guys who come out to let you in to your car charge around the same price and it takes them about 90 seconds.

 

Ha! He didn't actually. He didn't try and flog me ANYTHING other than to do the car for the best price.

 

Wish it was always like that!

[tom27111]

1 minute ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Ha! He didn't actually. He didn't try and flog me ANYTHING other than to do the car for the best price.

 

Wish it was always like that!

 

Whilst they make commission from it, stuff like alloy & tyre, or key insurance is good value. So I'd genuinely have pushed that. Same as Gap insurance.

 

I don't really believe in the paint protection, especially for the price they charge, and if extended warranties were over-priced, I'd basically gloss over it 

 

I'd rather have some morals than rip people off.

 

That isn't why I'm not in the trade anymore though!

 

Paint protection generally retails from £399 upwards. Cost price...£29.

 

They'll also tell you it's applied by "skilled technicians". It isn't. It's done last minute by the Romanian valeter who didn't understand you when you asked him to apply it 2 days before. 

 

 

[The Bear]

FFS. Some young girl just reversed into my Tesla just before 9pm, after going up my road the wrong way (I live at the end of a one way section) then panicking and trying to reverse back out. Her friends were supposed to be directing her and she didn't spot the two huge 'No Entry' signs apparently. 

 

The arch liner is fouling the rear wheel with the boot substructure almost touching it, meaning I can't even drive it other than to shift it along somewhere safer. Hers was just driveable of course as hers wasn't quite touching her wheel. Typical. 

 

And she's only had her insurance 2 days after passing last December 🙄

 

She was really apologetic and a bit shaken, even in tears at one point so I had to reassure her no-one was hurt so it's all fine and nothing to get upset about. She said "I'm terrible at reversing".... I was like, yeah no shit! Police were called though and she at least passed the breathalyser with zero. And she's insured so it'll all get sorted. But still, FFS! 

 

 

Edited 27 May 2023 by The Bear

[Jattdogg]

Is she a Leicester fan? Least she can stick in the boot! Get her in the squad for our championship season!

 

That sucks though, I couldnt drive expensive cars for this reason,  my rage would be intense haha

 

Thank fook for insurance though.. will you be without the ride for awhile? Do you get a rental via insurance?

 

[The Bear]

21 minutes ago, Jattdogg said:

Is she a Leicester fan? Least she can stick in the boot! Get her in the squad for our championship season!

 

That sucks though, I couldnt drive expensive cars for this reason,  my rage would be intense haha

 

Thank fook for insurance though.. will you be without the ride for awhile? Do you get a rental via insurance?

 

She lives in Liverpool apparently (yet no accent) and was visiting friends down here. She's lucky hers is still just driveable as she's going back today. 

 

I imagine I'll be without mine for a few weeks at least, depending on where it goes to be fixed, if it even is fixable. Tesla are notoriously slow if it goes to them. I get a courtesy car on my policy, probably some tiny 1.2L piece of crap!

 

She told me because she's a new driver her insurance is £270 a MONTH!! And it's only a Vauxhall Corsa!! £3.2k per year on a f'in Corsa 😂 Oops, better make that £5k a year now! 

[The Bear]

Annoyingly, my insurance is due for renewal on 22nd June so it's bound to screw with that too even though it was parked and wasn't my fault. 

[Mike Oxlong]

She should just be glad she didn’t bump into Tincy 

[FoyleFox]

4 hours ago, The Bear said:

Annoyingly, my insurance is due for renewal on 22nd June so it's bound to screw with that too even though it was parked and wasn't my fault. 

In theory it shouldn't as she's admitted liability and if that's processed before your renewal. 

 

It's too late now but with your courtesy car, do you not have the option to pay for a guaranteed equivalent? We pay £20 or so extra that means if we were provided with one, it'll be decent and not the 1.0L crap you usually get. 

[Tuna]

12 hours ago, The Bear said:

FFS. Some young girl just reversed into my Tesla just before 9pm, after going up my road the wrong way (I live at the end of a one way section) then panicking and trying to reverse back out. Her friends were supposed to be directing her and she didn't spot the two huge 'No Entry' signs apparently. 

 

The arch liner is fouling the rear wheel with the boot substructure almost touching it, meaning I can't even drive it other than to shift it along somewhere safer. Hers was just driveable of course as hers wasn't quite touching her wheel. Typical. 

 

And she's only had her insurance 2 days after passing last December 🙄

 

She was really apologetic and a bit shaken, even in tears at one point so I had to reassure her no-one was hurt so it's all fine and nothing to get upset about. She said "I'm terrible at reversing".... I was like, yeah no shit! Police were called though and she at least passed the breathalyser with zero. And she's insured so it'll all get sorted. But still, FFS! 

 

 

Annoying!

 

I've had 2 cars written off - 2016 and 2021 - so I feel your pain!

 

Hopefully yours can be fixed though.

 

Both write offs were not my fault by the way, rear ended by a rav 4 and then sideswiped by a woman in a Peugeot 308 who ran a stop sign, could have been nasty that one but caught the rear wheel arch and spun me round. Both low speed and no injuries fortunately.

[tom27111]

I feel for you @The Bear. What a pain in the arse.

 

Hope all is sorted quickly.

[The Bear]

They've processed my claim today and given me their approved repairer, but I think I'm going to insist on my own Tesla Approved body shop as the damage is right on the charge port rear quarter panel, and who knows what else might be damaged battery wise underneath.

 

Will probably be a bit more hassle, and maybe push back from her insurer but it's an expensive car and I want to make sure it's done by people who know what they are doing.

[tom27111]

1 hour ago, The Bear said:

They've processed my claim today and given me their approved repairer, but I think I'm going to insist on my own Tesla Approved body shop as the damage is right on the charge port rear quarter panel, and who knows what else might be damaged battery wise underneath.

 

Will probably be a bit more hassle, and maybe push back from her insurer but it's an expensive car and I want to make sure it's done by people who know what they are doing.

Too right mate, dig your heels in.

 

The insurance company is bound to try and do it as cheaply as possible, but don't let them.

 

 

 

[tom27111]

And @The Bear, if you end up with some shitty, manual courtesy car, feel free to hit me up on advice how you drive it 

 

There's these things called 'petrol stations'. Genuinely, they can be a minefield 

[The Bear]

Just now, tom27111 said:

And @The Bear, if you end up with some shitty, manual courtesy car, feel free to hit me up on advice how you drive it 

 

There's these things called 'petrol stations'. Genuinely, they can be a minefield 

I occasionally drive my mum's Ford Ka for her, and yes manual gearbox is antiquated shite nowadays! 

[The Bear]

Jesus wept. No wonder car insurance prices are so high. Especially for Tesla owners the last 2 years. 

 

My no-fault incident is now being sorted by Novo who are an insurance provider and incident management company. The girl who hit me has accepted full liability so it's now just a case of Novo sorting it all out with her insurance They have been used by several Tesla owners on the owners forums, and they ensure that only Tesla Approved repairers handle the car, and what with the damage being right next to the charging port it was a must. There's one in Cannock called Shorade which is sorting mine.

 

It's a Tesla so it'll be a huge bill for her insurance no matter what. The hire/courtesy car (Same make model as mine) is £300 per day alone - Compared to the £25 per day hire company my insurance tried to get me to sign with (Auxillis - who get awful reviews online for being cowboys and charging you for damage/fuel fraudulently) for some tiny petrol hatchback.

[Bellend Sebastian]

Does anyone on here know the lads who I'm guessing were coming home from the game on Sunday and crashed their works van into a lamp post on Hinckley Road?

 

That was a horror, but I think everyone was ok. Saw the van being towed away this morning

[Leeds Fox]

On 24/05/2023 at 12:08, Jattdogg said:

Electric will never work here in big (and cold) countries like Canada the way people want them to.  Things are far away, the cold climate is not good for batteries which makes them more useless in winters.

 

There is a use case for electrics just not for most people and countries right now until they have longer range, better performance, infrastructure and much more cheaper.

 

I also am a bit skeptical on pollution levels involved with mining for batteries and then disposal of them. So much yet to work out before we go balls deep with them (solely).

 

Toss in the need for clean power in the grid to handle everyone charging their cars,  phones, equipment every night...

 

I wont say no to buying one but don't see that happening with my next purchase. 

From what I’m lead (no pun intended) to believe, batteries will be refurbished by 3rd party companies and re-sold. Not for environmental reasons but due to the profit that can be made under the guise of it.

 

The company I recently left have started exploring the viability of it, unsure whether it’ll be worthwhile for consumers. 

[Leeds Fox]

5 hours ago, The Bear said:

Jesus wept. No wonder car insurance prices are so high. Especially for Tesla owners the last 2 years. 

 

My no-fault incident is now being sorted by Novo who are an insurance provider and incident management company. The girl who hit me has accepted full liability so it's now just a case of Novo sorting it all out with her insurance They have been used by several Tesla owners on the owners forums, and they ensure that only Tesla Approved repairers handle the car, and what with the damage being right next to the charging port it was a must. There's one in Cannock called Shorade which is sorting mine.

 

It's a Tesla so it'll be a huge bill for her insurance no matter what. The hire/courtesy car (Same make model as mine) is £300 per day alone - Compared to the £25 per day hire company my insurance tried to get me to sign with (Auxillis - who get awful reviews online for being cowboys and charging you for damage/fuel fraudulently) for some tiny petrol hatchback.

I had my car written off (non fault) and was given an M140i for almost 4 months by my insurer. Anyway, the bill came to my house and it was over £17,000. Called my insurance company and they just said the liable parties insurance would cover it! Absolutely mental. 

[hebangsthedrums]

Companies take the piss when they know an insurer is paying, my wife had a volvo c40 on employee lease and when it went back it had a couple of scratched allows and a tiny ding on the bumper (we're talking 3mm). Until a month or so ago I worked for a manufacturer so took it to a dealer I know on my final visit and asked how much - they reckon they would have charged retail circa £400, which I still think was excessive...

Cost that got charged to Volvo's insurer - circa £1800

There's a few bits I'll miss about the industry but the level of opportunism was beyond ridiculous.

[Daggers]

Have they started making Teslas with a button that has a German flag on it? One press and the car appears to be driven by an absolute Audi twat with no roadcraft skills? Three have tried to climb into my car this week. Between them and Musk I’m beginning to really dislike the vehicles.