I just had to replace the front tyres on my other car, a Ford Focus. Incredibly this 1.6 Zetec has 205 series tyres.. the engine doesn't have enough power to pull the skin off a bowl of rice pudding.. so why does it need such big tyres I don't know. The tyres had done 35,000 miles - which isn't too bad. £100 each to replace after discount. One of the rears also needed replacing as a puncture repair had failed. With tracking done, the total bill was £312.
The Pirelli Scorpions on the XC70 are holding up well. Since I have rotated the tyres at 18,000 miles I think I can get the whole set past 30,000 miles. However that's going to be a big bill since the Scorpions are £180-200 each.
Saturday 30 August 2008
Friday 29 August 2008
21000 Miles and a bit dirty
Went to 21,000miles now..
I saw a silver XC70 today, I have to say that looks very nice. I was never sure about light colours with all of the black plastic trim around the wheels and bumpers, but it looks pretty good. My black car is looking pretty grim. Have been hinting to my son that it could do with a good clean. However I can see myself doing it.. again.
My estimate of mileage for year 1 is going to be 28-30,000. So quite glad to see the price of fuel coming down. When diesel was £1.30 + per litre, the UK government allowed business mileage rate barely covered the cost. At 35mpg this is 16.7 p per mile, and 17p is allowed to be claimed for the XC70. Given the fuel consumption recorded is probably wrong, I doubt I was breaking even. Now at £1.20+ per litre, cost per mile is around 15p.
I saw a silver XC70 today, I have to say that looks very nice. I was never sure about light colours with all of the black plastic trim around the wheels and bumpers, but it looks pretty good. My black car is looking pretty grim. Have been hinting to my son that it could do with a good clean. However I can see myself doing it.. again.
My estimate of mileage for year 1 is going to be 28-30,000. So quite glad to see the price of fuel coming down. When diesel was £1.30 + per litre, the UK government allowed business mileage rate barely covered the cost. At 35mpg this is 16.7 p per mile, and 17p is allowed to be claimed for the XC70. Given the fuel consumption recorded is probably wrong, I doubt I was breaking even. Now at £1.20+ per litre, cost per mile is around 15p.
Sunday 24 August 2008
Panel Fit
The quality of some features on the car is perhaps the most disappointing aspect of my ownership experience. I just started to notice that the panel fit on the bumpers isn't identical from side to side. When I was filling the car up with diesel, I noticed there was a ridge between the bumper and the rear wing. Nothing big, but a definite ridge. However on the other side, there is no ridge. Similarly, when I was checking the tyre pressures, I noticed that the front bumper panel was slightly proud of the front wing. Again nothing big, but a defect none the less.
Activity this week, well the car went past 20,000 miles. Put the tyre pressures from 2.4 bar to 2.6 bar. I suspect the garage had reduced the pressure when they move the wheels around. 2.6 bar is the eco setting in the manual. Average fuel consumption in the past 1000miles had been stuck around 35mpg.
I am interested to hear from people with the same car, if they are getting worse or better fuel consumption. However I suspect most people will have the automatic, so it won't be truly comparable.
Activity this week, well the car went past 20,000 miles. Put the tyre pressures from 2.4 bar to 2.6 bar. I suspect the garage had reduced the pressure when they move the wheels around. 2.6 bar is the eco setting in the manual. Average fuel consumption in the past 1000miles had been stuck around 35mpg.
I am interested to hear from people with the same car, if they are getting worse or better fuel consumption. However I suspect most people will have the automatic, so it won't be truly comparable.
Sunday 10 August 2008
Volvo's in Finland
Just got back from 10 days in Finland. Unfortunately the rental car wasn't an XC70, or any Volvo for that matter. The budget only stretched to a Nissan Note.. which isn't an exceptional car, other than having an incredibly small fuel tank. I guess it is one of the new breed of small, light economy focused cars - it did do nearly 50 to the gallon, but when it only has a 40litre tank - and distances in Finland are pretty huge - and petrol stations far apart.. I did get quite worried at one point I would be having a long walk through the forest.
Anyway - spotted quite a few new V70's during the trip, and one XC70, which I got a picture of and will post soon. The XC70 was a metallic red, towing and also with a nice colour coded roof box as far as I recall. However all of the models I saw had the smaller wheels on. The XC70 looked rather strange on the smaller wheels, like a regular estate car. I saw quite a few of the older XC70 Cross Country Volvo's. Finland has far far fewer cars than the UK, but I saw as many Volvo's there in a week as I see in a month. Obviously very keen on the Swedish brand, despite the rivalry that can exist between the countries.
Anyway - spotted quite a few new V70's during the trip, and one XC70, which I got a picture of and will post soon. The XC70 was a metallic red, towing and also with a nice colour coded roof box as far as I recall. However all of the models I saw had the smaller wheels on. The XC70 looked rather strange on the smaller wheels, like a regular estate car. I saw quite a few of the older XC70 Cross Country Volvo's. Finland has far far fewer cars than the UK, but I saw as many Volvo's there in a week as I see in a month. Obviously very keen on the Swedish brand, despite the rivalry that can exist between the countries.
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