Fantastic offers around on VW cars

[Dry Run]

BTW what's a Ssangyong

It's a Korean Gangbang!

[Sonar]

As per the title of this thread I have so far not seen any good deals Or have I been looking at the wrong garages

[mick]

Originally Posted by Sonar

As per the title of this thread I have so far not seen any good deals Or have I been looking at the wrong garages

Be patient they will filter in

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by mick

BTW what's a Ssangyong 🙈

I thought you boys were into your engines, and thought you yorkshire boys were into your bargains...

SsangYong are a Korean car manufacturer of 50+ years. (South Korean before you ask). They very nearly went belly up about 5 years ago and were bought by one of the Indian Groups. They used to use Mercedes Blocks that they then did stuff to. They now make their own blocks. They have a pretty limitted range of engines, and have made a conscious decision not to drive down emissions by driving down engine power - so their standard engine is a 2L diesel, compared to the increasing trend to have 1.2-1.6 diesels.

When they came back from the Indian bail out they got an Italian designer in and he's not done too hideous a job (on mine at least). The basic spec is fairly high.

I've got a Korando 2.0L Diesel 4x4 like this: (very similar size to a Nissan Quaschi) SsangYong Korando The New 4x4 Crossover Car, SUV UK with the touring pack (roof bars, front fogs) and towbar (free if caravan club member - 13pin electrics which fold out the way when not in use, removable bar - although I think that was my Dealer upgrading the 'free' package). Weighs in at 2.3T loaded. Has a towing capacity of 2T. (Although I have a silly licence so I'm capped at 1.2T :-( ) Cost £16,500

Very pleased with it.

Has a completely unlimited 5 year warranty (by unlimited it obviously includes all the usual exclusions like tyres), but lots of the 5 year warranties have extra exclusions after 3 years or mileage limits. I do close to 100k in 5 years so I'd probably have been OK, but why do some not even trust their alternator after 60k.

Couldn't get anything else with that power close enough for money. Could get smaller (allegedly more economical) Crossover SUVs for similar money. Was specifically looking at a Mokka. Boot space was smaller. Power was less. Economy supposedly better. Dealer x 2 - both rubbish. Trying hard to fill you full of extras (gap insurance, chip and alloy insurance, pain protection coating). Couldn't answer questions. I knew more about the car from the internet than they did. Told me options not available anymore that Vauxhall since have been actively marketing, told me they don't do factory/dealer towbar - just get the local towbar company in to fit it for me. Couldn't tell me the cost of that... ...need I go on?

SsangYong man was like chatting to my dad. Very low pressure sales, very honest - asked him about things and he was honest about things that aren't 100% perfect like fuel consumption/emissions. He told me about the Caravan club free towbar. I wasn't a member, became one, supposed to be a member for 3 months - they said they'd find a way ;-). Offered me a car overnight to try. Something went wrong arranging that so popped into the dealer to re-book. He basically chucked me the keys and said "you will be back before 6 tonight wont you?" Off I went. No salesman with me.

[Xk59D]

the only thing wrong with the hyundai, ssangyongs etc is the resale, if you intend to keep it then you have a great bus, the depreciation though is VERY steep on them. 70% in 3 years is not unheard of.

that said, the resale on VW is probably about to gutter ball so if you have one it is probably worth keeping atleast until the dust settles on this mess.

[spartacus]

Last of the Kashin-class destroyers.

[Mollers]

The fella who works with me is well qualified Merc tech, he hated being indoors etc. and gave it up. He explained to me today quite how serious this VW scam potentially is.
I didn't realize that virtually all modern cars have to be put into 'Dyno mode' in order to put them onto a rolling road.
He reckons that when the VWs in question are put into 'Dyno mode' for a rolling road test, the ECUs are reconfigured to emit less NOx.

He went on to say, that if you left the car in Dyno mode and tried to drive it, you'd spin off on the first bend.

Perfect eh?

[Ian M]

I see the Times is carrying a story that BMW X3s are similarly affected

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by Mollers

He went on to say, that if you left the car in Dyno mode and tried to drive it, you'd spin off on the first bend.

Yeh but if you take the emissions code that's in the if dynoMode = TRUE { ... } and stick it in the dynoMode = FALSE you won't spin off the road. Making the emissions good does not make you spin. DynoMode avoids traction control activation on the rolling road when only 2 wheels instead of 4 are turning.

Maybe that's why 4x4 emission tests are worse... No reason to disable traction control ?

But the issue is that whatever they did to make the emissions pass can't be sustained on the road. Hotter engine, extra Urea etc. Either expensive to run, or damaging to engine long term.

You can fix the code to remove the cheat. You can enable that code in live driving if you want. Neither gives you what you thought you bought... A low emission, reliable engine.

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

. Making the emissions good does not make you spin.

No, but the connection that we made over a lunchtime pasty was that, for emissions to be lab tested Dyno mode has to be selected. The car cannot be driven in Dyno mode so hey presto, let's make Dyno mode emit petals and little puffs of sweetly scented perfume.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Mollers

... emit petals and little puffs of sweetly scented perfume.

Unicorn farts. Girls think they make them too...

[Mollers]

Here's another. Allegedly, some US manufacturers are fitting compressors to blow fresh air out of the exhausts,hence reducing the shite ratio.

Staggering innit?

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Here's another. Allegedly, some US manufacturers are fitting compressors to blow fresh air out of the exhausts,hence reducing the shite ratio.

Staggering innit?

That's genius. You can run the compressor all the time... Doesn't need to be a lab only solution...

Except in the UK, at least, the spec is grams per Km driven. So don't matter how much clean air you blow past... You will still have produced same number of grams per km.

[lakelandterrier]

Although the VW thing will have massive fall out for their brand in the US (at least) I think there's a far larger issue with diesels going forward certainly in the UK which is the growing concern about particulates and NOX -whteer the emission tests are.

Not withstanding VW, I think there will start to be punitive taxes on diesels - hitting everyone who moved from petrol as it was though to be better for the envirornment through lower carbon emissions.

I'm seriously thinking about reverting to petrol when I next change my car, especially when diesels are at the mercy of very expensive particulate filters. I was wrongly told mine needed renewing at 65,000 miles of mainly motorway driving at cost of £3k. I'm more concerned about OEMs / dealers "fixing" warning lights on parts like this to drive revenue out of consumers.

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

That's genius. You can run the compressor all the time... Doesn't need to be a lab only solution...

Except in the UK, at least, the spec is grams per Km driven. So don't matter how much clean air you blow past... You will still have produced same number of grams per km.

Presumably quite a lot when you are strapped to a rolling road going nowhere

[9D280]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

That's genius. You can run the compressor all the time... Doesn't need to be a lab only solution...

Except in the UK, at least, the spec is grams per Km driven. So don't matter how much clean air you blow past... You will still have produced same number of grams per km.

And how much more fuel do you burn to run the compressor?


The tests were, I'm sure designed with good intentions, and sure enough if I keep my trusty diesel burning Mondeo below 55MPH on flattish country roads it will happily do 67 to the gallon, even if I have 4 bikes strapped to the roof. (nearer 75 without!). Then if I dare to go up to 62 (oooooh, outside the extra urban drive cycle ) it drops to about 55mpg. Show it a motorway at a steady 70 and I'm barely pulling 47mpg. Add a Rib trailer and I might see 33 on a good day!

Same with my good lady's highly boosted 1.4 petrol. Keep it below 50mph - it runs on air. show it a motorway & watch the fuel gauge drop......

Same with crash tests. If you do anything other than hit a 200t concrete block perfectly perpendicularly or a big lump of aluminium honecom at exactly 40% offset at whatever kph and are of standard body size / weight and have your seat in the mid position....etc etc you are not guaranteed to walk away, no matter how many stars the tests give the cars.



What would be better, especially as everything has lots of computers is a system where the makers do what they perceive to tbe a "real world" fuel economy etc test. This would tide them over until the data from the cars is then downloaded (could be a legal thing for dealers & MoT stations and then uploaded to a cerntral database with monthy real world reporting. The incentive to get a realistic number for the initial test would be there becuase after the first almightly lie they are goign to find it progressively more difficult to sell the next new model as their reputation slips.....

[matt h]

The car i currently drive for the moment is a golf weisel. It broke down the other day. The AA guy said on this particular car, you can actually dictate the average mpg up to 15% and showed me how easy it was with his panasonic toughbook pc ��