The Car thread

[FoyleFox]

1 hour ago, Greg2607 said:

most insurers can "stomach" a loss.... that isn't the driver for higher prices as such.. ... its that the regulator stipulates that they HAVE to have that liquidity on hand. for my company it's £14bn....... the regulator doesn't allow for the amount to be less.  so if we lost £2bn in a year and the £14bn becomes £12bn... then the company have to demonstrate to the regulator where and how they are going to re-balance.... 

 

long and short... if you want someone to blame.... blame Liz Truss. 

That's one we can all agree on, for multiple things.

[ithuriel]

A strange one but still a car and an iconic one at that.

 

[bmt]

On 19/02/2024 at 13:24, Greg2607 said:

for the insurance industry, most of them are operating at about a 2% margin for their products.  The introduction of Fair Pricing, means that they can't now use "loss leaders" to draw new customers in, which is why you are seeing price rises across the board.  additionally, Insurers have to be able to demonstrate that they have a certain amount of liquidity on their balance sheet, to be able to pay out if every customer made a claim....  this money is "typically" invested in the stock market, bonds, gilts, property etc.  Huge amounts of insurers lost money last year or 18 months (in the billions per company) due to the instability in the stock market and as a result, due to Solvency II laws, they are having to rebalance their balance sheets due to regulatory constraints.... PLUS, the cost of repairs, claims etc are all going through the roof as others have aluded too. 

 

All of that is why you are seeing huge rises in costs. 

 

Don't forget, that with things like global warming, we are seeing "200 year events" (storms or flooding that you would only expect every 200 years) happening on a super regular basis.)  We saw £150m of vehicle claims as a result of flooding from the recent winter storms. 

Good post. Still hard to stomach though. My insurance on a 2005 Skoda Fabia worth about £300 went up more than double (to around £800) when I have never claimed for anything and have had my license for 13 years lol.

[Bellend Sebastian]

What's great to see is that given the ever more eye watering financial implications of having an accident, everyone's driving much more carefully.

 

LOLZ

[Steve_Walsh5]

What’s happened to EV prices? VW id3 3 years old less than £15k now. 4 year old Teslas with low mileage just over £19,000. 
 

Couple more years and they’ll be next to worthless when trying to sell secondhand. 

[tom27111]

6 hours ago, Steve_Walsh5 said:

What’s happened to EV prices? VW id3 3 years old less than £15k now. 4 year old Teslas with low mileage just over £19,000. 
 

Couple more years and they’ll be next to worthless when trying to sell secondhand. 

 

I see people all the time who are trying to change their EV, but they can't get out of their current finance.

 

So far in negative equity, it's unreal. About 2 weeks ago, we had a customer that was 11k upside down.

 

Looks like the finance companies will end up having loads of EV's returned to them once the car hits 4 years old.

 

And anyone who put down a large deposit on a PCP will be massively out of pocket.

 

 

[Bellend Sebastian]

6 hours ago, Steve_Walsh5 said:

What’s happened to EV prices? VW id3 3 years old less than £15k now. 4 year old Teslas with low mileage just over £19,000. 
 

Couple more years and they’ll be next to worthless when trying to sell secondhand. 

I can only assume it's because there's actual supply now and decent stock of used vehicles. During the year I was waiting for the IONIQ 5 used prices were the same as new ones effectively, but now the one I drive has lost about a third of its value in less than a year. Glad it was bought with someone else's money.

 

I don't think they'll end up being worthless, they'll find their market - there's been so much noise about them being too expensive (which they are) but if they can be bought more cheaply then owning them starts to make a lot more sense to a lot more people 

 

[fox_favourite]

So just had my renewal through and it's £20 shy of doubled!! No claims in 15 years, clean driving licence for 20 years and a standard diesel car. That is ridiculous!!!!

Edited 24 March by fox_favourite

[Parafox]

19 minutes ago, fox_favourite said:

So just had my renewal through and it's £20 shy of doubled!! No claims in 15 years, clean driving licence for 20 years and a standard diesel car. That is ridiculous!!!!

Do you have a period of time before the renewal becomes "live"?

 

If so, do the comparison site search thing. 

 

I did, and found a reputable insurance through Royal Bank of Scotland for about the same as my insurance co. before they put their prices up.

[fox_favourite]

1 minute ago, Parafox said:

Do you have a period of time before the renewal becomes "live"?

 

If so, do the comparison site search thing. 

 

I did, and found a reputable insurance through Royal Bank of Scotland for about the same as my insurance co. before they put their prices up.

Got 20 days left, thank goodness, but I was just shocked at the fact it had almost doubled. I always shop around, but never seen an increase like that before. 

Edited 24 March by fox_favourite

[FoyleFox]

Lots of the car manufacturers are now restricting 3rd party apps connecting to their cars, for data security reasons. Octopus Intelligent Go relies on the Octopus app connecting to your car or charger. We've just been notified that Octopus can no longer access our car for smart charging purposes and that in 2 months we'll lose our Intelligent tariff and be switched to Octopus Go, on a higher evening rate and for 4 hours instead of 6.

Octopus and JLR have advised they are working on a new improved secure version of the app.

The Octopus website has the VW group, Tesla and JLR as manufacturers with an issue. All listed as working on a secure solution, no timescales, though.

It doesn't apply if you have an Ohme charger as Octopus control, that and not your car.

So, if you find your smart charging plan no longer appears in your Octopus app, this will be why.

[fox_favourite]

I'm more angry than the result against Bristol and the fact Leeds are top. 

 

So shopped around and I paid £289 last year. Nothing has changed, no accidents, same car (diesel SUV

2021 reg) same location, same job...yet the cheapest quote is more or less doubled what I paid last year. Direct line wanted £948!! Average now is £500 to £600!! It's not like I'm a 20 year old with a Lamborghini, driving around a mine field 

 

People are not going to be able to afford car insurance soon and not have any. Talk about a rip off!

Edited 31 March by fox_favourite

[Costock_Fox]

On 27/03/2024 at 17:47, FoyleFox said:

Lots of the car manufacturers are now restricting 3rd party apps connecting to their cars, for data security reasons. Octopus Intelligent Go relies on the Octopus app connecting to your car or charger. We've just been notified that Octopus can no longer access our car for smart charging purposes and that in 2 months we'll lose our Intelligent tariff and be switched to Octopus Go, on a higher evening rate and for 4 hours instead of 6.

Octopus and JLR have advised they are working on a new improved secure version of the app.

The Octopus website has the VW group, Tesla and JLR as manufacturers with an issue. All listed as working on a secure solution, no timescales, though.

It doesn't apply if you have an Ohme charger as Octopus control, that and not your car.

So, if you find your smart charging plan no longer appears in your Octopus app, this will be why.

We had this with Ford and they found a way round it.

[Jattdogg]

5 hours ago, fox_favourite said:

I'm more angry than the result against Bristol and the fact Leeds are top. 

 

So shopped around and I paid £289 last year. Nothing has changed, no accidents, same car (diesel SUV

2021 reg) same location, same job...yet the cheapest quote is more or less doubled what I paid last year. Direct line wanted £948!! Average now is £500 to £600!! It's not like I'm a 20 year old with a Lamborghini, driving around a mine field 

 

People are not going to be able to afford car insurance soon and not have any. Talk about a rip off!

Think you are due for a michale douglas  falling down type moment with insurers.

 

Same ish happening overe here in Canada, ratesgoing up, car prices through the roof. Keep it up and nobody will be buying either  and you will see car companies, insurance companies going bankrupt in those areas. Tossers.

 

Can you get snow tires for bikes? Need them over here

 

[FoyleFox]

12 hours ago, Costock_Fox said:

We had this with Ford and they found a way round it.

Ford are the only ones currently on the Octopus list as resolved. Basically they just need to make the app secure to the satisfaction of each manufacturer. In theory a developer needs to tweek some code and job done, shouldn't take long. However,  it doesn't appear to be happening that quickly. 

[The Blur]

Looking into a seven seater car.    Any recommendations?

 

It also would be the first time that I would not pay for the car in full.   Do I take out personal/car loan out with the bank (if I am going down this route) first or do I put down a deposit and arrange for the loan afterwards (will be doing some research and getting loan offers first)

[tom27111]

6 minutes ago, The Blur said:

Looking into a seven seater car.    Any recommendations?

 

It also would be the first time that I would not pay for the car in full.   Do I take out personal/car loan out with the bank (if I am going down this route) first or do I put down a deposit and arrange for the loan afterwards (will be doing some research and getting loan offers first)

 

I work at a Nissan dealer, so I could sort you something out on an X-Trail.

 

Feel free to PM about the car and any questions about how you're looking at financing.

 

A lot depends in if you're looking brand new or used.

[Big Dave]

1 hour ago, The Blur said:

Looking into a seven seater car.    Any recommendations?

 

It also would be the first time that I would not pay for the car in full.   Do I take out personal/car loan out with the bank (if I am going down this route) first or do I put down a deposit and arrange for the loan afterwards (will be doing some research and getting loan offers first)

Depends on how the car will be used and who will use it.

We had a 2016 Ford Galaxy - great car.  Loads of room in the middle row of seats (width wise and leg room) and reasonable in the back too.  Im 6'2" and could sit happily in the 3rd row.  We had the 210 Auto - great engine and gear box.

Have been in smaller 7 seaters before (like the VW Touran), and middle seats and boot seats were more restricted, but fine for small kids.

 

VW Sharan / Seat Alhambra OK too and have the sliding rear doors, which are handy in car parks etc.

 

Cant help with finance though - been a long time since I have financed, but do shop around.  We found that finance rates varied quite a bit.  Sometimes a slightly dearer car can work out a little cheaper.  

[The Blur]

10 hours ago, tom27111 said:

 

I work at a Nissan dealer, so I could sort you something out on an X-Trail.

 

Feel free to PM about the car and any questions about how you're looking at financing.

 

A lot depends in if you're looking brand new or used.

 

 

Nice,   my wife fancies X-Trial but I am not quite sold.   Felt Sharran has better extras in the car but X-Trial is easier on the eye!

 

You live in Northampton don't you?   Would I need to pop down?

 

Pretty sure you have slagged Nissan off earlier in this thread 😆 

[Jattdogg]

2 hours ago, The Blur said:

 

 

Nice,   my wife fancies X-Trial but I am not quite sold.   Felt Sharran has better extras in the car but X-Trial is easier on the eye!

 

You live in Northampton don't you?   Would I need to pop down?

 

Pretty sure you have slagged Nissan off earlier in this thread 😆 

Good leverage to get a deal or tell his boss.

 

[tom27111]

9 hours ago, The Blur said:

 

 

Nice,   my wife fancies X-Trial but I am not quite sold.   Felt Sharran has better extras in the car but X-Trial is easier on the eye!

 

You live in Northampton don't you?   Would I need to pop down?

 

Pretty sure you have slagged Nissan off earlier in this thread 😆 

 

I only said the that the Kia Sportage is a nicer car then the Qashqai 

 

I'll drop you a PM

Edited 9 April by tom27111

[MonkeyTennis?]

12 hours ago, The Blur said:

 

 

Nice,   my wife fancies X-Trial but I am not quite sold.   Felt Sharran has better extras in the car but X-Trial is easier on the eye!

 

You live in Northampton don't you?   Would I need to pop down?

 

Pretty sure you have slagged Nissan off earlier in this thread 😆 

If you want an endorsement, I love my X-Trail and can't recommend it enough, although its a 2019 4WD 2L diesel model rather than the new one. I would say that the seven seats are fine if you are using the back seats occasionally for kids or young teens, but fitting in seven adults is a squeeze. 

[tom27111]

54 minutes ago, MonkeyTennis? said:

If you want an endorsement, I love my X-Trail and can't recommend it enough, although its a 2019 4WD 2L diesel model rather than the new one. I would say that the seven seats are fine if you are using the back seats occasionally for kids or young teens, but fitting in seven adults is a squeeze. 

 

Yeah, the extra seats are definitely for occasional use for kids.

 

 

[The Blur]

5 hours ago, MonkeyTennis? said:

If you want an endorsement, I love my X-Trail and can't recommend it enough, although its a 2019 4WD 2L diesel model rather than the new one. I would say that the seven seats are fine if you are using the back seats occasionally for kids or young teens, but fitting in seven adults is a squeeze. 

Would you recommend back seats for regular use if you have got 3+ kids?

[MonkeyTennis?]

1 hour ago, The Blur said:

Would you recommend back seats for regular use if you have got 3+ kids?

Probably not. The back seats fold up out of the boot, so you lose most of the boot space and there isn't much of a footwell. You also need to move the front seats forwards, so it reduces space for everyone else. If you think you need seven seats pretty much every day, and your kids are not very young, then it's probably not roomy enough in the cabin.

 

Newer model might be different though.