Short commute car
Discussion
Hi Guys, I'd appreciate a bit of advice on very short commuting.
I need to get a car for a 2 mile commute to the station and I know it's not supposed to be good for any car as they probably don't warm up properly, but what exactly are the issues that it causes and is that an old fashioned view and modern cars can cope much better? What can be done to improve my luck, if I need to - more frequent oil changes? going for a blast once a month? Or maybe a trickle charger if the battery doesn't recharge in such a short distance?
Am I better sticking to petrol over diesel and why?
I reckon an electric Renault Twizy is probably the mot sensible thing to buy, but I just can't bring myself to do it, so am thinking of about a 7 year old Jaguar XF or Mercedes CLS. Alternatively I saw a 1983 Audi Quattro 8v for the same money!!! So what I really want is someone to reply saying that they run a 1983 Audi everyday for a 1 mile commute and it works perfectly!!!
Thanks
I need to get a car for a 2 mile commute to the station and I know it's not supposed to be good for any car as they probably don't warm up properly, but what exactly are the issues that it causes and is that an old fashioned view and modern cars can cope much better? What can be done to improve my luck, if I need to - more frequent oil changes? going for a blast once a month? Or maybe a trickle charger if the battery doesn't recharge in such a short distance?
Am I better sticking to petrol over diesel and why?
I reckon an electric Renault Twizy is probably the mot sensible thing to buy, but I just can't bring myself to do it, so am thinking of about a 7 year old Jaguar XF or Mercedes CLS. Alternatively I saw a 1983 Audi Quattro 8v for the same money!!! So what I really want is someone to reply saying that they run a 1983 Audi everyday for a 1 mile commute and it works perfectly!!!
Thanks
Yeah I know a little car will be best, but I fancy something more interesting than a C1/Kia etc. The reason for not cycling or walking is that it doesn't work in the rain or snow or for most of the winter for that matter and I have a long enough commute as it is, so just want to drive to and from the station to speed things up
JRM said:
Yeah I know a little car will be best, but I fancy something more interesting than a C1/Kia etc. The reason for not cycling or walking is that it doesn't work in the rain or snow or for most of the winter for that matter and I have a long enough commute as it is, so just want to drive to and from the station to speed things up
get a £500 shed then, dun't matter what it is as long as it goes and is legal, when it breaks, weigh it in and repeat. wemorgan said:
Why - Engines work best when at full operating temperature. A 2 mile journey in any car will be insufficient for this to happen. An electric car however might be more suitable.
So what exactly is likely to go wrong and is there anything that should be done like frequent oil changes or a thinner oil that would help? I'm struggling to understand what exactly is likely to go wrong?JRM said:
Mr Gear said:
Get a folding bike? You'll barely work up a sweat in 2 miles.
The money you save could be spent on something useful
I know, but I don't want to. The money you save could be spent on something useful
I'm trying to find out why a modern XF couldn't cope and if there is anything I could do to make it work
2 miles would probably be quicker on a bike that in a car.
No need to get any fancy road bike and get lycra'd up. £200 will see you with something decent that you can use to commute and use for leisure. £40 will see you some decent waterproofs for when it does rain.
2 miles is about 10 minutes on a bike unless it's all up hill and you ride really slowly. I manage my 11 mile commute which is very hilly in around 50 mins. I'm a fat, unfit 17 stone f
k.
I wish I had a 2 mile commute. I wouldn't own a car.
No need to get any fancy road bike and get lycra'd up. £200 will see you with something decent that you can use to commute and use for leisure. £40 will see you some decent waterproofs for when it does rain.
2 miles is about 10 minutes on a bike unless it's all up hill and you ride really slowly. I manage my 11 mile commute which is very hilly in around 50 mins. I'm a fat, unfit 17 stone f
k.I wish I had a 2 mile commute. I wouldn't own a car.
JRM said:
So what exactly is likely to go wrong and is there anything that should be done like frequent oil changes or a thinner oil that would help? I'm struggling to understand what exactly is likely to go wrong?
Most of the wear occurs while the engine is cold and you engine will spend most of its life cold. It would probably come under severe service in the operators manual. On such a short commute, by the time you have demisted/defrosted your windows you would have knocked a big hole in the journey by bike.
An electric car would be the most suitable car. If you can afford it then buy what you like, but it seems a huge extravagance to buy a new car, even if it is a tiddler, for this job when you could get a snotter to neglect and leave at the station.
Will it be your only car? If so then buy what suits best and just halve the service interval. If not, then a cheap, Japanese petrol shed will do.
My MiL commutes 1.5 miles each way and then an occasional 5 miles trip at weekends to ours or her mums!!
She ran an Almera for 7 years, the 1.5 petrol. Being a non petrol head she didn't overly care about what damage can be done to the car, like most of the public they buy a car to use not to worry about, so they use it to match their purpose.
She's now on a 1.4 Toyota Corolla that we picked up for £3k, chain driven, proven mechanicals, as cheap as possible to maintain and run.
My MiL commutes 1.5 miles each way and then an occasional 5 miles trip at weekends to ours or her mums!!
She ran an Almera for 7 years, the 1.5 petrol. Being a non petrol head she didn't overly care about what damage can be done to the car, like most of the public they buy a car to use not to worry about, so they use it to match their purpose.
She's now on a 1.4 Toyota Corolla that we picked up for £3k, chain driven, proven mechanicals, as cheap as possible to maintain and run.
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