Our son bought a performance kit for his car online, think he’s a bit disappointed.
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Hi BF,
Yes, that was a useful thread you posted. Unfortunately work got in the way of a test drive today so I had to cancel. Hopefully next week now🤞
Lotus Emira 2.0 anyone ?
One of the best exhaust notes in the business and much quicker point to point than they get credit for due to that wonderful torque.
Indeed, especially with tubular headers. Just a glorious noise. It cruised very comfortably at 60-70 in overdrive. Had to stop at almost every petrol station though!
Sold now but I do miss it.
Bruce
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My Range Rover Sport order is looking like it will be delayed beyond 12 months and I am very close to cancelling it.
Found a defender I liked the look of but cannot quite commit to a diesel again (and would have to buy personally rather than through company), so now looking at a used bmw iX.
The iX is not the most handsome of cars (
) but over 300 miles real world range, (up to) 200kW charge speed and through the company it will be v tax efficient. But the boot is a bit small (500 litres) - a bit of a bad design, and the steering wheel isn’t round 
. Anyway, still researching lenders and insurance and I could change my mind (again) by the afternoon!
I tried to buy a Jaguar E-Pace 250 Special Edition last year from Marshall Jaguar Landrover in Cambridge. It was sat in the showroom and they were happy to sell it to me, but I couldn’t have it until Jaguar could build them a replacement as their franchise agreement required them to have one in the showroom.
When I asked them about how long they said maybe a couple of months. I paid the deposit and arranged the purchase and settled in for a short wait.
After 4 weeks I called for an update and was told that we were still on target and they should have their replacement in 3-4 months, but Jaguar couldn’t build engines at the moment so they weren’t 100% sure. 
Effectively, they took my deposit money but I would have to wait 6 months or more for the car that was sat in the showroom.
Needless to say the sale got cancelled and I bought another Mercedes Convertible🤷🏻♂️
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There has been some terrible press for JLR recently related to the ease with which ‘tea-leaves’ seem able to gain access and drive off into the distance, never to be seen again. In London it is reported to be such a problem that folks are finding it either impossible or crazy expensive to insure; and this in itself is having a dampener on demand. Perhaps not such an issue outside the big smoke.
Peter
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Yes, I have seen that. People getting quotes 4-5 times last year or being refused. Not such an issue oop north - I managed to get a quote for the RRS without difficulty
A 12 year old Titleist 910D2 with a Fujikura Rombax X-type 65-S shaft. A true war club and, IMHO, yet to be bettered by Titleist or anyone else. If you listen carefully while removing the headcover, you can hear Led Zep off in the distance playing The Iceman Cometh.
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Very droll
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Hi Tim,
Carwow told me today that used prices for EVs have been falling v fast since New Year and that franchised dealers are struggling to sell their ex dem and used ones. Meanwhile, Tesla keeps knocking thousands off the price of their new cars because boatloads of Teslas are coming over from Shanghai looking for European buyers because the China market is too slow.
In summary, don’t be fooled by BMW dealer confidence if you are thinking of buying an iX. Check with carwow and the we buy sites for a realistic price guide. We are looking at a new Tesla model Y and the price just fell this week (!) by another £3k for “inventory” cars.
Best regards, BF
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Thanks - am well aware of price drops. All sorts of reasons - oversupply of new cars, used cars coming off lease, recession / general cost of living crisis, huge increase in electricity costs, interest rate hikes, reversal of ludicrous excess used EV pricing over the last 2-3 years etc.
a finance guy (Oracle) advised me today to get a Tesla model S. I have been tracking prices for the long range version for a few weeks, and they have dropped £10k in that time (having previously already dropped a fair bit in the previous six months). As an extreme example, Tesla Manchester had one at £68k yesterday (ludicrously overpriced) that is £55k today (competitive ish but several are available same age etc fir £5-6k less). Stock brand new model Y are £3k below list, rhe list price having dropped about £6k earlier this year - and it goes on
If I get the iX and its value tanks I will just have to keep it a long time. At least I will be getting tax relief on it 
Tim
I am not in the market for an EV but I do wonder if leasing may be the prudent approach to them. The tech is going to be continually evolving, particularly with batteries and range; and my concern about buying an EV is the unpredictable outcome of all those factors you have listed above on depreciation. With leasing, you have the car for a period at a known cost and hand it back. Not for everyone I appreciate, but I suspect it may prove prudent - unless leasing deals are crazy expensive £/ month - for EVs.
Peter
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Just interested to understand the diesel viewpoint, is that a personal preference or is there a more general movement away from diesel fuel in the UK?
Hi Samuel
I don’t like burning things at all - bad for the planet - have got rid of oil boiler and range oven in last three years so House all electric. At the pragmatic level, our car charger is in the garage and to get my wife’s car in (she has Volvo c40) I have to take my car out - and moving a diesel 20 feet and not driving further is bad for it
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Hi Peter
The leasing costs for anything like the iX (eg, polestar 3, Volvo ex90 - or indeed the iX itself) are now 1200-1500 per month or more including the deposit. So over three years looking at £40k to £50k - but huge waits for most of them (unless you find something in stock). I am also wary of leasing as I have really hated having to hand the car back in a fixed date and be forced to replace on that day
I have withdrawn from the purchase of the iX anyway - we have a week of holiday in Cornwall this summer and as far as I can tell (I spent an hour in zap-map, WattsUp, plugshare and google maps last night) charging would (likely) be a nightmare. Only one location with more than two chargers at all (Cornwall Services with six Gridserve CCS), mostly single and occasional double chargers with ropey networks (GeniePoint, BP) and none of them very near to where we are staying.
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My wife decided she’d had enough of Golfs and went for a Honda Jazz this time.
I was dreading the change and made several jokes about it.
It arrived Wednesday and I have to admit the Jazz is an excellent small car and should have been called Tardis as the interior is far more spacious once inside than it appears from the outside.
The engine is quite perky ( review timed at 8.6 sec - 60mph ) and very quiet as it runs for long periods on the electric motor. I’m even getting in excess of 50mpg and this figure should end up nearer 60 in time.
It’s not bad to drive either and given Honda’s reputation for reliability the car takes a bit of beating in this sector.
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A friend had one (from new) about ten years ago and really loved it.
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That’s a chunk of ££ per month/ over the life of the lease - I had no idea it would be pitched so high. I hadn’t considered the deadline hand back date - particularly as so many new cars these days are on such intolerably long lead ins from date of placing orders and such unpredictability in terms of when the car you have ordered will actually be delivered.
Your comments on logistics for planning the family holiday serve to demonstrate that we really are not adequately progressed with infrastructure to support reliable and flexible transport by electric cars without the constant cloud of range anxiety hanging over us. That plus the battery tech I think is still at an early stage of development and efficiency. Appreciate that it is possible to work around the current limitations, but in a sense anything is possible, but is it acceptable when cars are meant to be symbols of personal freedom? From my seat the answer is presently a firm no and I have little doubt in a few years time things will be much improved. But seeing is believing!
Peter
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