2015 Ford Focus 1.5tdci Titanium

[mercedeslimos]

Eyersey1234 said:

mercedeslimos said:

Yeah, we get paid daily. Like yesterday, drove for 8 hours straight, day's pay. Tomorrow, 3 hours max driving but based away from the depot so 4 hours commute to get there, same day's pay. Not gonna complain, a nice Setra 416 to use! Engine in that is anything but refined, but my god there's a nice rumble off it

We get paid monthly. Never driven a Setra, our coaches were Volvo but when they ordered 7 coaches for National Express work in 2018 they went for Scanias for some reason, I'm not sure why.

Opps what I meant was we get a flat daily rate. So unfortunately this means a 12 hour day or a 4 hour day, the pay is the same. Basically a salary, but if I do 4 days I get paid for 4, do 7 and I'm paid accordingly.

Setra lovely to drive very high tech for the year, all Mercedes basically. Our usual fleet is 90% Van Hool/DAF which can get a bit boring, we have a few ex-London Scania too but double-decker buses. The Scania stuff seems very reliable and has good value, one thing Van Hool is not is cheap. I like the variety, different engines and boxes etc. Some people just want an easy life and that's fine too. Don't mind a loud engine or a manual box, all something different. The tri-axle, 13.2m and 445bhp + 8-speed automated manual is a bit overkill for a school run though

[Eyersey1234]

mercedeslimos said:

Opps what I meant was we get a flat daily rate. So unfortunately this means a 12 hour day or a 4 hour day, the pay is the same. Basically a salary, but if I do 4 days I get paid for 4, do 7 and I'm paid accordingly.

Setra lovely to drive very high tech for the year, all Mercedes basically. Our usual fleet is 90% Van Hool/DAF which can get a bit boring, we have a few ex-London Scania too but double-decker buses. The Scania stuff seems very reliable and has good value, one thing Van Hool is not is cheap. I like the variety, different engines and boxes etc. Some people just want an easy life and that's fine too. Don't mind a loud engine or a manual box, all something different. The tri-axle, 13.2m and 445bhp + 8-speed automated manual is a bit overkill for a school run though

Oh sorry I misunderstood what you had meant. Our NX coaches have Caetano bodywork, which is frankly built to a price and it shows, though the seals on the lockers on the 68 reg ones are very good at keeping water out, as I found when driving through flood water in London a few weeks back.
Oops sorry I'm going off at a tangent again

Edited by Eyersey1234 on Sunday 5th September 23:37

Edited by Eyersey1234 on Sunday 5th September 23:37

[Eyersey1234]

Whilst on taxi duty tonight picking my stepdaughter up after I finished work I had a play around with the radio getting the stations tuned in that I wanted. Never realised there were so many DAB stations though.

[keo]

Sorry I don’t know much about coach’s apart from more or less living on them for months when I worked in the Shetlands for months.

Cork is a lovely place I only spent a week there working a few years ago, but the place and people were very nice.

Op yes loads of stations on DAB I never realised either!

[Eyersey1234]

You can pretune 18 different stations in total, I have 12 so far but that should cover all of what I listen to, including Capital for when my OH and/or stepdaughter are in the car.

Stepdaughter also likes the sat nav in it, especially it telling you which street you are on.

Edited by Eyersey1234 on Monday 6th September 00:27

Edited by Eyersey1234 on Monday 6th September 00:32

[mercedeslimos]

And annoyingly they never brought out DAB here. Have it in the Mondeo and can't use it. I tend to use the Bluetooth audio with Spotify as you just put it on a playlist and control it with the radio or wheel.

[mercedeslimos]

Eyersey1234 said:

Oh sorry I misunderstood what you had meant. Our NX coaches have Caetano bodywork, which is frankly built to a price and it shows, though the seals on the lockers on the 68 reg ones are very good at keeping water out, as I found when driving through flood water in London a few weeks back.
Oops sorry I'm going off at a tangent again

Edited by Eyersey1234 on Sunday 5th September 23:37

Edited by Eyersey1234 on Sunday 5th September 23:37

Oh are they the Levante? I suppose one thing to be thankful for is there's no shortage of work in public transport. It's how I can run cars and fiddle with projects.

[Eyersey1234]

mercedeslimos said:

Oh are they the Levante? I suppose one thing to be thankful for is there's no shortage of work in public transport. It's how I can run cars and fiddle with projects.

Yes, we have the Levante 3 now. Agree about that, I've worked through since March 2020 on local bus from lock down 1 to May this year due to the NX network being pulled.

[Eyersey1234]

mercedeslimos said:

And annoyingly they never brought out DAB here. Have it in the Mondeo and can't use it. I tend to use the Bluetooth audio with Spotify as you just put it on a playlist and control it with the radio or wheel.

I didn't know there isn't any DAB in Ireland, I wonder why

Edited by Eyersey1234 on Monday 6th September 06:47

[mercedeslimos]

Eyersey1234 said:

Yes, we have the Levante 3 now. Agree about that, I've worked through since March 2020 on local bus from lock down 1 to May this year due to the NX network being pulled.

I'm on schools now and was last school year (when the schools were open), and for the summer drove an open-top tour bus around Cork (third year in a row doing that now). Plenty of work out there if you're willing I've found. My boss looks after me and I look after them. Decent machines, and I look after them, keep them immaculate and very very rarely say no to any job - don't mind the drink jobs been, somebody has to do it and it might as well be me, though being young helps!

Never driven a Levante, but the running gear is straight Volvo B9R, good reliable mechanicals. Reliability is everything, this is why I daily a Ford. Breakdowns are bad for business and breaking down in the bus is incredibly bad. Likewise breaking down on my hour commute to collect said bus is a nightmare!

[mercedeslimos]

Eyersey1234 said:

I didn't know there isn't any DAB in Ireland, I wonder why

Edited by Eyersey1234 on Monday 6th September 06:47

It used to be in Dublin and environs only I remember, but apparently, they pulled it last year, too expensive to maintain. And FM reception is dire in most of the country. and bus radios always seem to be dodgy, despite being top-notch Bosch units. Now I just use aux or bring my Bluetooth transmitter for the buses which still have a cigarette lighter - all the new stuff replaced that with USB. How am I supposed to make a cuppa with my 24v mug

[Eyersey1234]

mercedeslimos said:

I'm on schools now and was last school year (when the schools were open), and for the summer drove an open-top tour bus around Cork (third year in a row doing that now). Plenty of work out there if you're willing I've found. My boss looks after me and I look after them. Decent machines, and I look after them, keep them immaculate and very very rarely say no to any job - don't mind the drink jobs been, somebody has to do it and it might as well be me, though being young helps!

Never driven a Levante, but the running gear is straight Volvo B9R, good reliable mechanicals. Reliability is everything, this is why I daily a Ford. Breakdowns are bad for business and breaking down in the bus is incredibly bad. Likewise breaking down on my hour commute to collect said bus is a nightmare!

Completely agree about reliability. I've always had Ford's as a daily myself, 2 Fiestas then 2 Focuses/Foci/whatever the plural is

[mercedeslimos]

Eyersey1234 said:

Completely agree about reliability. I've always had Ford's as a daily myself, 2 Fiestas then 2 Focuses/Foci/whatever the plural is

Mondeo is my first ford, but my mother had a TDDi Focus for years, that thing was tougher than any old boots! Rust in the back chassis legs got it, unfortunately. Had heard about how good the 2.0 HDi unit is, and hasn't been disappointed. 2.0TDI Passat before that, while not unreliable, seemed a lot fussier! Mondeo gets oil and filter every 8k, and that's pretty much it for 2 years.

[Eyersey1234]

mercedeslimos said:

Mondeo is my first ford, but my mother had a TDDi Focus for years, that thing was tougher than any old boots! Rust in the back chassis legs got it, unfortunately. Had heard about how good the 2.0 HDi unit is, and hasn't been disappointed. 2.0TDI Passat before that, while not unreliable, seemed a lot fussier! Mondeo gets oil and filter every 8k, and that's pretty much it for 2 years.

Yeah sadly rust got a lot of Mk1 Foci. I have heard the 2.0TDCi is a very good engine. Glad to hear the Mondeo is serving you well, my dad has a 2010 Mondeo that he is looking to replace with another Mondeo about the same age as my Focus

[mercedeslimos]

Eyersey1234 said:

mercedeslimos said:

Mondeo is my first ford, but my mother had a TDDi Focus for years, that thing was tougher than any old boots! Rust in the back chassis legs got it, unfortunately. Had heard about how good the 2.0 HDi unit is, and hasn't been disappointed. 2.0TDI Passat before that, while not unreliable, seemed a lot fussier! Mondeo gets oil and filter every 8k, and that's pretty much it for 2 years.

Yeah sadly rust got a lot of Mk1 Foci. I have heard the 2.0TDCi is a very good engine. Glad to hear the Mondeo is serving you well, my dad has a 2010 Mondeo that he is looking to replace with another Mondeo about the same age as my Focus

Yes unfortunately as that Focus would take any and every abuse thrown at it, and never complained. It had obviously been like that a few years, hidden behind the arch liners as there was a hole a foot long. I reckon a hard shunt up the bum and it would have folded like a paper bag. By all accounts they have really got their act together with rustproofing since then, though I did remove the arch liners on the Mondeo, jet washed them, steam cleaned them and sealed them with stone-chip, just to help its longevity.

Have to say that the 2.0 has lived up to its reputation for hardiness, at the moment it is dealing with a 120 mile a day commute with aplomb. 50mpg and reliability. They still use it today, in updated form. Have had one of the current ( final) generation Mondeo rentals in Germany, and I really, really liked it. The adaptive LED headlamps are AMAZING. they are the only option that would be non-negotiable for me on one of those (apart from it only being a 2.0)

[Eyersey1234]

I agree they have really upped their game with rustproofing, the Mk3 Fiesta I inherited off my gran had rust spots appearing in places when it was the same age as this Focus, whereas there is no noticeable rust on the Focus at all.

[Bobberoo]

Only rust I can find on my Mk2 is under the car and it's just surface rust, I think they started galvanising the bodies on the Mk2, I have some stone chips in the door shut edge right at the bottom of the rear near side which are showing a dark colour through, but hopefully getting these, the tailgate, high level spoiler and a couple of scrapes on the bottom of the front bumper all done in October by a mate who has his own bodyshop!!!

[Peanut Gallery]

dandam said:

Eyersey1234 said:

How many MPG is the S Max doing?

39 on a gentle 70mph cruise without air con - I had an older 2.0 version in the past, would have done 45mpg at an 80mph cruise easily. The 2.2 is a thirsty engine with little power benefit unfortunately.
If I am in west Cork I can get c45mpg, but that is because you spend more time travelling around 50 to 60 mph.

Another thread de-rail here.. I have the Mk2 S Max, with the 2.0 TDCI engine, 39 would be brill, I might get there on a long, gentle cruise. As soon as a town appears it drops to 37 / 36. (using the computer readout, I have not yet worked it out myself) - My mixed driving gets me 38.0 very steadily.


And Bobberoo, you are just in the wrong part of the country, my Mk2 Focus had enough rust that I was employing the same method of panel attachment that Binky used to have - external air pressure. (literately, the front wings were attached at the top, the bottoms were loose) - Under the S-max over the weekend and I am seeing a fair amount of surface rust, contemplating a trip to Preserve and Protect or other under-seal company.

[dandam]

Peanut Gallery said:

Another thread de-rail here.. I have the Mk2 S Max, with the 2.0 TDCI engine, 39 would be brill, I might get there on a long, gentle cruise. As soon as a town appears it drops to 37 / 36. (using the computer readout, I have not yet worked it out myself) - My mixed driving gets me 38.0 very steadily..

39 is a the gentle cruise, around town it will be closer to 32.
I had an older S max with a 2.0, that would given mid 40's on a cruise

[Eyersey1234]

Peanut Gallery said:

Another thread de-rail here.. I have the Mk2 S Max, with the 2.0 TDCI engine, 39 would be brill, I might get there on a long, gentle cruise. As soon as a town appears it drops to 37 / 36. (using the computer readout, I have not yet worked it out myself) - My mixed driving gets me 38.0 very steadily.


And Bobberoo, you are just in the wrong part of the country, my Mk2 Focus had enough rust that I was employing the same method of panel attachment that Binky used to have - external air pressure. (literately, the front wings were attached at the top, the bottoms were loose) - Under the S-max over the weekend and I am seeing a fair amount of surface rust, contemplating a trip to Preserve and Protect or other under-seal company.

Good to see you join the thread Peanut Gallery. The main rust on my old Mk2 was at the bottom of the front wings and sills but "They all do it m8." There was also rust on the bonnet from stone chips.

I hope the S Max is running well.