Completely off topic, but after reading here what ridiculous high premiums one has to pay for car insurance, I'm wondering how expensive Insurance for a motorbike might be in the UK.
gr J
gr J
Off Topic Anyone keeping their Panda 'for life'?
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Off Topic Anyone keeping their Panda 'for life'?
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I've had bikes all my adult life, Certainly they are more dangerous than cars, but the one that hurt me the most had a sidecar attached.
Wear appropriate gear.
Get something that can keep up with traffic. There's not much worse than a slow bike. You get all the disadvantages and apart from traffic filtering none of the advantages.
Don't ride with friends but if you do, DON'T get sucked into any silliness. There are no second chances. Ride like everyone on the road is out to get you. Before long you'll spot them a mile off but you cant trust anyone out there.
I have a BMW 1200 Adventure. it can't of course but looks like it could cross Africa in a weekend. Road presence is the big thing HID headlight and LED daylights make it stand out without dazzling the whole street.
Economy? 40mpg if Im lucky. Rear tyre will be illegal in 5000 mile and front will have gone off too much to be worth keeping.
Performance? Wet weight about 1/4 ton and around 100bhp onto the road not much will touch it and very naughty speeds are so easy to reach. But it stops, accelerates and corners amazingly well. 65K miles and counting.
Its a good compromise. Sports bikes will do bigger numbers with much less weight but are hardly usable on normal roads.
Do you NEED a big bike of course not. My brother did Derby to Turin in under 24 hours door to door on an MZ 250 2 stroke. AN acquaintance used to your Europe on his. He did Helsinki, Moscow and Ankara on different trips.
I took this in the Alps (in 2003) from the exact spot where the "Italian Job" bus was left wobbling on the edge. We got there on bikes and even now I could almost certainly retrace the route without a map.
Nearly there
It wasn't on the Beemer.
Wear appropriate gear.
Get something that can keep up with traffic. There's not much worse than a slow bike. You get all the disadvantages and apart from traffic filtering none of the advantages.
Don't ride with friends but if you do, DON'T get sucked into any silliness. There are no second chances. Ride like everyone on the road is out to get you. Before long you'll spot them a mile off but you cant trust anyone out there.
I have a BMW 1200 Adventure. it can't of course but looks like it could cross Africa in a weekend. Road presence is the big thing HID headlight and LED daylights make it stand out without dazzling the whole street.
Economy? 40mpg if Im lucky. Rear tyre will be illegal in 5000 mile and front will have gone off too much to be worth keeping.
Performance? Wet weight about 1/4 ton and around 100bhp onto the road not much will touch it and very naughty speeds are so easy to reach. But it stops, accelerates and corners amazingly well. 65K miles and counting.
Its a good compromise. Sports bikes will do bigger numbers with much less weight but are hardly usable on normal roads.
Do you NEED a big bike of course not. My brother did Derby to Turin in under 24 hours door to door on an MZ 250 2 stroke. AN acquaintance used to your Europe on his. He did Helsinki, Moscow and Ankara on different trips.
I took this in the Alps (in 2003) from the exact spot where the "Italian Job" bus was left wobbling on the edge. We got there on bikes and even now I could almost certainly retrace the route without a map.
Nearly there
It wasn't on the Beemer.
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Sweetsixteen
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Thought I'd logged on to the wrong forum for a minute there!
We'll be discussing Moto GP next!
(Long time Rossi fan here).
We'll be discussing Moto GP next!
(Long time Rossi fan here).
I'm in the same boat. I'm expressly banned from owning a bike by my entire family.
Same. I have a full bike licence too. Always liked the old 125 2 strokes. Light and fun. Big bikes too easy (for me) to go too fast.
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I'm in the same boat. I'm expressly banned from owning a bike by my entire family.
Man up and buy one anyway.
That won't work. Once he's banished to live in the garage, the bike will have to live outside.
Pfft, yeah if you've met my family.
My uncle and mum had one, and my uncle lost a friend or two because of biking accidents, and another ended up in a horrible state. Obviously a lot has changed, but yeah.Also at 22 years old, and being me, I'm an absolute liability. So it's probably for the best.
notsmartcars
New member
Well you may have noticed my panda diesel is now in the for sale ads wasn't my intention to keep for life but to keep as long as possible and I have to say it is a fantastic reliable car.it has done everything I've asked of it and tows effortlessly 900ks of trailer .
Ok it's done 200000 but I can't see why it won't hit 300000 miles .
Cost a shade under £6000 new so it's lost around £12 a week.
Maintenance costs are virtually nil.
I've just replaced it with a zero road tax car the same engine but with the power up 20hp and I can notice the difference it's more economical may be because it's geared for 115 instead of the pandas 100 so the revs are lower at my normal cruising speed .the previous owner has took a hit of £9000 in 3.5 years a staggering £50 a week so how could I say no when I now expect to "lose" £12 a week for a like new car .
Will pop in to the panda forum every now and then .
Oh the replacement car you may ask well the fiat 500S diesel only owned for 3 days 450 miles on the clock ,initial feeling so far.... Absolutely fantastic ...fiat rocks
Ok it's done 200000 but I can't see why it won't hit 300000 miles .
Cost a shade under £6000 new so it's lost around £12 a week.
Maintenance costs are virtually nil.
I've just replaced it with a zero road tax car the same engine but with the power up 20hp and I can notice the difference it's more economical may be because it's geared for 115 instead of the pandas 100 so the revs are lower at my normal cruising speed .the previous owner has took a hit of £9000 in 3.5 years a staggering £50 a week so how could I say no when I now expect to "lose" £12 a week for a like new car .
Will pop in to the panda forum every now and then .
Oh the replacement car you may ask well the fiat 500S diesel only owned for 3 days 450 miles on the clock ,initial feeling so far.... Absolutely fantastic ...fiat rocks
I'm going to try and keep using my 100hp everyday for as long as I can, I'd like to get an abarth 500 next and I would like to keep the panda at the same time but it'll depend on finances and having somewhere to store it.
Alas, Lucia (2006 active with colour coded bumpers) left me a number of years ago. She was followed by a newer 2nd hand Fiesta and in 2014 by a brand new fiesta. I do dream of repurchasing her and returning her to her former glory to keep forever - probably without the amps and subwoofer though!
MountainRunner
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Yes. I have a 1.3 diesel panda multijet 2007. I want to keep it forever
I like the £30 tax and high MPG at least once I get the EGR cleaned its only getting 34mpg at present.
Now the government has stopped cheap car tax on low C02 cars I now have no intention of ever buying a brand new car as they have taken away the incentive so will keep my fiat thanks
But I suppose its been the cheapest car to run out of all of them.
Here an unlucky history of all my previous cars:
My first car was a 1998 Daewoo Matiz I had it only 3 months before the cylinder head went.
Second car in 2006 was a relatively new 2 year old 2004 Daewoo Matiz. Complete load of crap! :bang: Kept cutting out when foot off gas pedal which was downright dangerous on roundabouts and busy junctions, when it rained windows constantly steamed up and for a tiny 998cc engine it was over £200 a year car tax!
had it barely one year! Third car was a 2000 VW lupo.
Constant problem with Engine warning lights. Badly designed door hinges worn and had to have new ones welded in. Electric window and sunroof seized. Engine started to cut out just like the Matiz until I unplugged the EGR. Inner door handle broke off in my hand. Clutch cable snapped in town. A year or two later it stared consuming oil at a phenomenal rate but with no visible leak or smoke and was having to top up oil after every journey. Then the gears became impossible to engage so got rid of it quickly part ex for Merc A class. Had lupo 2007-November 2013.Forth car. Merc A class 1.6 petrol. Nice interior but cost a bloody fortune to run! £230 a year car tax and about 23mpg
was costing me so much I got rid of it 8 months later.Finally in July 2014 I got my fiat panda diesel
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Now the government has stopped cheap car tax on low C02 cars I now have no intention of ever buying a brand new car as they have taken away the incentive so will keep my fiat thanks
You've got until the end of March to buy a new car before the rules change, however from your history of previous cars it doesn't look like you buy brand new cars anyway so I'm guessing that it's not going to be a major problem for you.
I drive a 2.0 2015 TDI and my tax is also £30 a year.... my wife's mini is free to tax....
OP
OP
Will the tax rates go up for the TDIs affected by that emissions scandal at some point?
In other countries, perhaps. Don't think the UK has even fined VW yet for the difference in road tax which should have been paid on the vehicles before they get "fixed", and I suspect they never will, so doubt they will reclassify the cars... maybe I'm just cynical.
OP
OP
They should make owners pay the increased tax cost due to the higher CO2 per Km volume, either them or VW to pay the difference if they're so great.
I think it has something to do with the EU going soft on them being such a big economic player. The US certainly didn't care to hold back, wish we were the same! Whether it bankrupts the company or not. That goes for anyone else who did such a thing too!
Nope [emoji847]
Only effects older euro5 2.0 and 1.6 litre TDI and there is a class action law case going on in the UK for owners to sue VW.
As previously pointed out on this forum, fiat are now in the same boat in America and with the huge difference on modern cars between the real work figures and the quoted figures I suspect most manufacturers were at it.
OP
OP
When the first news of all that broke, Ford were quick to send out a promotional email saying how 'you won't be facing these problems with our diesels' , so I'd imagine they genuinely do build their engines honestly otherwise it'd be extra embarrassing should they be caught out!
It's idiotic for any government to fine a company so big to the point of bankruptcy. Volkswagen employs over 600,000 people and as the world's biggest manufacturer it employs millions more indirectly though dealerships, workshops, manufacturing partners and distribution services. You fine them till the point of bankruptcy and weigh that up against how much tax revenue they would lose and it really isn't worth it, not to mention all those people now not earning but out of work and potentially claiming benefits.
It's all very good from a moral standpoint to fine the hell out of them but It doesn't make economical sense which is what everything really comes down to.
As fiat are in the same boat I'd be interested to know if you think they should be fined to the point of bankruptcy which is a possibility as fiats finances are at best on a very uneven footing
