How many vehicles does your household own?

Its a strange thought that Ernie's 72 volt lead-acid traction battery electric milk float is almost 100% recyclable, including the batteries made out of three recyclable components, acid, lead and polypropylene, and a modern EV is far less recyclable, because nobody is going to recycle those fiddly batteries made out of many different materials.

Wind turbine blades and solar cells arent recyclable either, the concrete in dams isnt recycled and because of the use of reinforcing steel, the life span is limited to around 100 years. ., and in a few years there will be megatonnes of unrecyclable "green" scrap. And the world will run out of economically obtainable materials for a "low carbon" economy long before anybody goes fully green .

If you want to go green it means if you live on top of a deposit of some strategic metal, you welcome the massive open cast mine and smelter next door.. (unless you are Indonesian, where because you are poor and live outside a big city you dont count, China's money speaks)

 

4, but if my sons ever got their own places we'd be down to 2 - the car and the camper

 

2002 Passat estate on the road 2003 Toyota Avensis . Standby car . 74 Bay currently off road . I made a conscious decision to not collect and hoard old cars or motorbikes any more .When cars come up I either immediately sell them on (within the trade ) or scrap them as prices are good at the minute .

 

Oh gawd!
I wondered what was going on ...

 

What does surprise me here is that the proportion of people on here driving 10-20 year old cars is a lot higher than I expected.

 

Just the 5
1970 Triumph Vitesse Mk2 conv
1999 Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0 ltr.
2002 Alfa Romeo 156 GTA.
1971 VW Transporter.
2004 BMW E46 Touring
(2 ltr run about)

 

But but they stopped making bays 30 odd years ago , not everyone makes architect wages

 

Unless you lease or your company leases, its not worth having a new car as it will be going beyond economic repair once the e.g. dashboard LCD screen goes out of production.

And 20 years ago the car was typically made out of heavier galvanised steel that was less vulnerable to sudden total rot too.

My daughter says the modern thin steel pressings actually are in crystalline phases that absorb energy best when first bent in a crash, using some of the energy to change crystalline phase - so if you ripple a panel you have to replace it, as it becomes less safe.

 

I’ve been looking at replacements for the Golf and I can assure you that I’d need to supplement an architects wage with that of a drug dealer to afford an equivalent 5-6 year old car!

 

5 or 6 years old , that’s virtually brand new , I wish I could buy such extravagance I can only afford a 30 year old junker

 

Elon Musk can't ride a bike any more

 

My mondeo Tddi daily is nearly 22 years old
Great car and workhorse

 

Top post

Got a mate who's just bought a Nissan Greta (or whatever it's called). It's essentially a one-time, throw-away car. Unlike our trusty busses, you're not going to be out fixing it on a Saturday morning. Good luck selling it second hand in five years time when the battery's shagged.

 

A gem

 

WHO OR what is Mondeo man? According to Ian Houghton, 53, who has owned four generations of Ford’s large family car, the answer is simple: “He’s a hard worker — stoical, with a heart of oak,” he says. “The backbone of the country.”

 

I am finding people are holding on to their old cars and if it cost them £500 a year to get it through the MOT then its not the end of the world .Why spend 8k plus on a replacement modern car with DPF , air suspension etc ?? We have a 2002 Passat estate with 126k on the clock that has had a underlying mystery fault for the last year or so that I have hopefully rectified . Planned full service in January and hopefully another year's motoring .

 

Well…. There are joys of owning older cars.

I do enjoy the non-mystery faults. Today - “Andy, now you’re a bit better could you look at the golf and check the brake noise?” Yes. What do I find? Completely depleted brake pad and a ruined disc!

It also sounds like the exhaust is blowing… happy elfin’ Christmas!

 

74 bay, 73 beetle, son Up! Wife's Aygo an astra that will go in the new year but was bought when the prices on new T6.1s over the past few years rocketed and our 4 year old T6 made money sat on the drive. Motorhome for our European trips and a new T6.1 that has finally arrived.
We count ourselves lucky as they are all paid for and these have to last until we both retire. We know family members who are paying £1k a month pcp to save money on an electric car they do 20 miles a day, crazy times....

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