Car advice

[coprolite]

1 hour ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

No, but you probably need driving lessons.

Fair. 

God knows how i passed my test

[Archie McSquackle]

I've got a hire car on holiday and a message has come up on the dashboard saying Adblue levels are low. A quick Google search suggests I've got a few thousand miles before the engine won't start so might just carry on. Anyone got any advice on Adblue?

[Guest]

I've got a hire car on holiday and a message has come up on the dashboard saying Adblue levels are low. A quick Google search suggests I've got a few thousand miles before the engine won't start so might just carry on. Anyone got any advice on Adblue?

It usually gives a range somewhere on the electronic dash as to how many miles you've got.

[Sergeant Wilson]

1 minute ago, Archie McSquackle said:

I've got a hire car on holiday and a message has come up on the dashboard saying Adblue levels are low. A quick Google search suggests I've got a few thousand miles before the engine won't start so might just carry on. Anyone got any advice on Adblue?

I had no idea what it was, so I looked it up. Urea is an ingredient, you can just pish in whatever bit it goes in. I didn't bother reading any further.

[Archie McSquackle]

It usually gives a range somewhere on the electronic dash as to how many miles you've got.

Thanks, I'll have a look but didn't see anything obvious before. Failing that, I'll take the Sarge's advice!

[Frosty]

Thanks, I'll have a look but didn't see anything obvious before. Failing that, I'll take the Sarge's advice!

If the adblue level drops below a certain level the car won’t start so it’s worth finding out how many miles you’ve got before that will happen. As has been said already it’s likely there will be a countdown on one of the screen on the dashboard - you might need to work your way through them to find the adblue section. My Jeep counts down from 1,500 miles so you’ve probably got a fair mileage before the car will shut down if the message has just started to appear.
All garages sell adblue now so if you need to fill up it shouldn’t be an issue or as Sarge says just park up at the nearest pub and get the punters to have a slash in the adblue tank instead.

[alta-pete]

18 hours ago, Archie McSquackle said:

I've got a hire car on holiday and a message has come up on the dashboard saying Adblue levels are low. A quick Google search suggests I've got a few thousand miles before the engine won't start so might just carry on. Anyone got any advice on Adblue?

Phone/email the hire company. Unless you’re doing ‘000s of miles it’s not your job to be topping up the levels. And if it does go ‘phut’ you’ve already warned them; you’re in the clear. 

Their problem to solve. 

[welshbairn]

22 hours ago, Archie McSquackle said:

I've got a hire car on holiday and a message has come up on the dashboard saying Adblue levels are low. A quick Google search suggests I've got a few thousand miles before the engine won't start so might just carry on. Anyone got any advice on Adblue?

 

3 hours ago, alta-pete said:

Phone/email the hire company. Unless you’re doing ‘000s of miles it’s not your job to be topping up the levels. And if it does go ‘phut’ you’ve already warned them; you’re in the clear. 

Their problem to solve. 

Maybe so but you don't want it to shut down in the middle of nowhere whoever's fault it is. It only seems to cost about £1 per litre, so if it's as easy as it looks here I'd go mad and drop a couple of litres in next time I was filling up the diesel.

[Archie McSquackle]

Thanks all.

Yeah, it should be easy enough to do even with the language barrier. I'm also of the view that they should have been providing me with a road-ready car with everything topped up, similar to oil, but it don't want it not starting when I'm in the middle of nowhere.

I can't see a mileage countdown on the dashboard but will have a look through the settings.

[strichener]

1 minute ago, Archie McSquackle said:

Thanks all.

Yeah, it should be easy enough to do even with the language barrier. I'm also of the view that they should have been providing me with a road-ready car with everything topped up, similar to oil, but it don't want it not starting when I'm in the middle of nowhere.

I can't see a mileage countdown on the dashboard but will have a look through the settings.

What kind of car is it?  On Peugeot's, if you press the service button (spanner) it will tell you how many miles are left.

[Left Back]

4 minutes ago, strichener said:

What kind of car is it?  On Peugeot's, if you press the service button (spanner) it will tell you how many miles are left.

No need to call him a spanner.

[TxRover]

3 hours ago, strichener said:

What kind of car is it?  On Peugeot's, if you press the service button (spanner) it will tell you how many miles are left.

Careful, that’s (“la clé à molette”)…use it or the Académie Française will be all over you!

[Archie McSquackle]

It's some sort of larger variation of a Fiat 500 (Crossover?) much to my daughter's delight and actually pretty decent to drive. I managed to go through the settings and eventually found the Adblue is showing half full despite the warning message so I'll probably just see it out and keep an eye on it.

Thanks everyone for all the advice.

[Derry Alli]

8 hours ago, Archie McSquackle said:

I managed to go through the settings and eventually found the Adblue is showing half full despite the warning message so I'll probably just see it out and keep an eye on it.

In my old work van it would tell you to fill up once it hit 500m left.

You'd then get a counter and it telling you you've got X miles left before the engine won't start again from 250m.

[thistledo]

On 27/06/2022 at 16:12, Ron Aldo said:

I took out my first lease a couple of years ago. It's due back next month and will be replaced by another lease. Theres a couple of comparison sites you can use such as leasing.com or Lease Loco. There's also a thread on pistonheads.com where people will post up lease deals which might not be displayed on those sites.

In terms of tips, I'm sure there's also threads on Pistonheads which have hints and tips when it comes to leasing. The main thing which I took on board is not to bother with a maintenance package unless the length of the lease term exceeds the warranty on the car. I think maintenance costs also include servicing but, in my case, I didn't bother with the leasing company's maintenance package and just took out a separate service plan to cover services as that worked out cheaper.

Thanks for that, been checking out lease offers directly on the companies websites, seems like some good offers to be had but some of the monthly prices are wild for what you get. 

I'll have a search on pistonheads, been years since I ventured on there, trip down memory lane. 

Only thing I'm worried about is the "reasonable wear and tear" as I've got a two year and can see at least one area of the car getting abused, tempted to get an older workhorse until she's a bit older. Then again, you could do that a few times a year and end up spending more than I would on a lease. 

[PWL]

Car passed its MOT today. 

Not very exciting I know but that's now 2 x MOTs and 2 x services plus a visit to Kwik Fit to repair a puncture since the original dealership told me both front brake discs needed replaced.

On a car that had done a total of 9,000 miles and less that 2,000 miles since the previous (second) service where they had a clean bill of health. 

I'd specifically asked local garage to look at it and their reply was "at it". 

[scottsdad]

16 minutes ago, PWL said:

Car passed its MOT today. 

Not very exciting I know but that's now 2 x MOTs and 2 x services plus a visit to Kwik Fit to repair a puncture since the original dealership told me both front brake discs needed replaced.

On a car that had done a total of 9,000 miles and less that 2,000 miles since the previous (second) service where they had a clean bill of health. 

I'd specifically asked local garage to look at it and their reply was "at it". 

There is no worse feeling than not trusting your garage when the MOT comes around. 

[Shandon Par]

The kid just started driving lessons and I wanted to insurer her to drive one of the vehicles we have. None of them are exactly classic “learner” cars and the insurance company didn’t want to know.

Instead of going through them I got her insured on Veygo. Seemed decent value and it can be set up for a couple of weeks, a month or just an hour or so as required. Seems a decent service if you need to let someone borrow your car or if you need to take a learner out.

[Thistle_do_nicely]

5 hours ago, Shandon Par said:

The kid just started driving lessons and I wanted to insurer her to drive one of the vehicles we have. None of them are exactly classic “learner” cars and the insurance company didn’t want to know.

Instead of going through them I got her insured on Veygo. Seemed decent value and it can be set up for a couple of weeks, a month or just an hour or so as required. Seems a decent service if you need to let someone borrow your car or if you need to take a learner out.

Very handy to know about that, hadnt heard of it. i work around hillington and my cars mot is due up soon, public transport to and from work would be doable for a day or two if its not needing much done (notwithstanding more and more rail strikes...) but at about double my journey times there and back. Can probably sweet talk my mum/dad into borrowing either my mums shitbox or (preferably) my dads vw for a bit, looks cheaper than dicking around with taxis etc. 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Thistle_do_nicely

[welshbairn]

1 minute ago, Thistle_do_nicely said:

Very handy to know about that, havent heard of it. i work around hillington and my cars mot is due up soon, public transport to and from work would be doable for a day or two if its not needing much done (notwithstanding more and more rail strikes) but at about double my journey times. Can probably sweet talk my mum/dad into borrowing either my mums shitbox or (preferably) my dads vw for a bit, looks cheaper than dicking around with taxis etc. 

My garage lends me a car when I leave it for a service and MOT.