Here one mnute, gone the next

bobsleigh

Active user
Mar 7, 2014
90
13
Not ts
Due to increasing mileage the Cougar is going. Diesel will be needed, just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their help. This is a great forum.
 
That's a shame mate. I know it isn't easy with the price of the bleedin' stuff these days: I'm lucky in the fact that I do relatively little mileage (and hopefully when we get our own place I'll be able to walk to work).
Having said that I was apparently getting 36mpg at 80mph on Saturday.
 
Always a shame but make sure you're combined by the sums.

The people I know who have spent £4000 on "upgrading" to get 10 extra mpg lol
 
Ill still come on the forum but like most of you, never used the car that much, but moving house again soon, and i know ill need a cheap derv, so already started hunting. Defo be a downgrade, but needs must
 
Recently bought mine (already converted to LPG) LPG is very economical, dont know how much it costs to fit the basic kit, but it might help some of you to consider it. Same MPG, no loss of power, half the cost :)
 
budget about £2k for a multipoint kit fitted and passed
....and cost of an annual service.

It's quite terrifying the number of these kits that are fitted then never checked! My view is that an up-to-date LPG service certificate should be presented to pass an MOT test on LPG vehicles; I'm genuinely concerned what happens when all of these vehicles hit another 10 years without an LPG service.

This is across the LPG board, not aimed at anybody on here.
 
Don't want to be the voice of doom here but diesel is the fuel of the :devilish: i did very briefly consider going the derv route earlier this year, but working for a garage we see so many diesels in with DPF problems and the resulting costs to get these fixed is £££££££'s i changed my mind pretty quickly,

I'd say if you must go derv, do through research on how many miles your likely to get before the DPF needs replacing, on Fords its 75,000 so if your doing high mileage or buy a car with this sort of mileage on it, it won't be long before your facing a big bill,

Good luck which ever route you decide (y)
 
Touching wood, I have never encountered a dpf issue and I do huge mileage. That said a dpf delete is a sound investment


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Si has touched upon a good point, large mileages invariably mean a DPF should last indefinitely.

Not had issues this far with the Astra or Transporter, but they both cover 100k annually between them.
 
That would be an MOT failure if you delete the DPF, and also fall foul of a VOSA roadside check.
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An mot tester can't tell if the job is done properly. Various things are strictly mot fails but rarely come up


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An mot tester can't tell if the job is done properly. Various things are strictly mot fails but rarely come up


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Absolutely.

There tester has to be able to clearly see that the DPF has been removed to reject.

So, if for example the unit was removed and a pole was knocked through it and the filter destroyed then refitted....... It's not difficult to "delete" the unit from the software side either.

Much like my MX5, it appears to have a catalyst fitted, but I can assure you it's hollow.

How would it fail a VOSA Roadside inspection?

The other option of course would be to knock up a temporary cover and weld a pipe in, I believe the only people who can forcibly dismantle your car are appropriately trained Police vehicle inspectors or if there is reason to suspect illegal items are concealed in the vehicle.
 
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Am I right in saying diesel is only a cheaper option if your doing a lot of miles as petrol is cheaper per gallon ?

Yes and no.

If you're doing big miles, a Diesel is better. You get much better MPG with Diesel for a variety of reasons, (you're not using part of your power to drive the alternator to generate a spark, for a start).

Over short journeys, Diesel is worse. That's counter-intuitive because they make massively higher torque and so get to speed with much less effort. So you'd think they'd be great for short runs. But they're not.

Using real-world figures and assuming an average mileage of 14,000, my V6 Cougar costs me around £2400 a year in fuel. A modern Diesel Mondeo would cost around £1700 for the same mileage. No contest. But my Cougar cost me somewhere around £380 to buy. The modern Mondeo would cost me around £24,000.

Considering the price difference (and ignoring varying taxes) I would have to run the Mondy for 34.5 years before I broke even. There's some wiggle room here because the Cougar won't depreciate, but the Diesel will...but very slowly.

"Yes, but that was a ridiculously cheap car, Chris. What if you bought a petrol car at an average price for a 3-year-old?"

Assuming a price of £6K, it would still take 26.3 years.

If you do 200,000 miles a year though, you'll start saving after 1.8 years. But if you're doing 200,000 miles a year, I bet you're not keeping that car for more than 2 years at most. Also, think about maybe getting a job that lets you see your family more often.

:edit: Comparing two brand new cars makes the deal a bit more appealing. But assuming a petrol car at £22,000 and a Diesel at £24,000, it would still take 2.6 years to break even at average mileage. You'll break even after 2 months if you do 200,000 miles a year.

What do you want to bet that the government, car manufacturers and fuel companies know this and have priced everything accordingly?
 
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