How much will it cost me to drive to florence! lol

[badshot1uk]

I have a dillema,

On bank holiday monday I will be driving down to a campsite just south of florence (italy).

i desperatly want to take the old merc, but the wife also has a 2.0 hdi picasso that usually returns a whopping 50 odd mpg against the mercs best 25mpg.

the journey is just short of 900 miles each way and at the cost of unleaded roughly 99p a litre its gonna be double to cost in fuel!

Common sense tells me to take the picasso as it also has a two screen dvd package installed and is huge inside, and pretty quick too (chipped to 120 odd bhp). The merc also has a small head gasket leak and various other small niggles, plus the front brake pipes are starting to perish.... )

But on the upside, the picasso is nowhere as nice to drive, its a manual, and its a diesel, it cant compete against the 15 yo mercs magic carpet ride, cruise, cold aircon and an allround nicer place to be!

decisions decisions......

 

[Seamster15]

tbh if the merc has a head gasket problem, take the citroen! the last thing you want is to overheat the merc on the way down, then find that you are spending most of your trip getting it repaired!

 

[bitonw]

Bear in mind that Diesel is cheaper on the main land than Petrol... So take that HDI to save you a lot of £ on fuel so you can buy more Italian Icecream hmmmm :bannana:

 

[A-AvantGarde]

I would take the Citroen in this case with the issues you mentioned effecting the Merc I wouldn't want to take the risk.

You're right the Merc would be far nicer to drive but I wouldn't want to get stuck at the side of the road (let alone abroad!)...

 

[BonzoDog]

Any mechanical weakness will be magnified. It is not sensible to take a car with a leaking gasket.

 

[Pringles]

Take the Citroen for a stress free holiday. Imagine the grief from your better half if you broke down in Calais in the trusty war horse ! I told you.........................

 

[BonzoDog]

You also have motorway tolls in France and Italy. If you are aiming for the St Gotthard via Basle note that it is almots non-stop roadworks through Switzerland and then through quite a bit of Italy as far as Bologna. After that it is the awful twisty autostarda to Florence - you donßt need more problems.

 

[CAT220]

Sell the Citroen to pay for fuel and take the EVO!!!

 

[kensalriser]

Yeah it's gonna be the Picasso - big enough to be reasonably comfortable on long journeys, probably more reliable and imagine the fantastic meals you can have with the saved fuel money. You might miss the aircon though, Florence can get fiendishly hot. And don't forget mossie protection if you're camping.

 

[Steve Chafer]

Take the Picasso

I'd take the Picasso this time

the "I told you so" sound bite that will inevitably happen if you break down will last for years so go worry free, and,with the £££'s in fuel you save you can put it towards the MB's gasket repair..

have a good holiday
Steve

 

[badshot1uk]

Sell the Citroen to pay for fuel and take the EVO!!!

that is another option---lol


a few friends are going to spa and then onto the nurburg ring on the same day i go to italy!!!!

it'l be so juicy though

 

[badshot1uk]

Yeah it's gonna be the Picasso - big enough to be reasonably comfortable on long journeys, probably more reliable and imagine the fantastic meals you can have with the saved fuel money. You might miss the aircon though, Florence can get fiendishly hot. And don't forget mossie protection if you're camping.

Sorry I forgot to mention it does have aircon too, is actually colder than the merc its looking like a heavyweight win for the citreon at the moment.

 

[bibamus]

Breakdown cover might be difficult to get on the MB too at that age! Diesel in France is about a €1.12 a litre or less, you will save a packet in fuel charges, enough to pay for the new head gasket in the Merc!

Allan

 

[hawk20]

I have a dillema,

On bank holiday monday I will be driving down to a campsite just south of florence (italy).

i desperatly want to take the old merc, but the wife also has a 2.0 hdi picasso that usually returns a whopping 50 odd mpg against the mercs best 25mpg.

the journey is just short of 900 miles each way and at the cost of unleaded roughly 99p a litre its gonna be double to cost in fuel!.

You're obviously dying to take the Merc for the big annual trip. And why not? Life's too short to spend it saving fuel in a cinquecento and wearing rayon shirts to save money. Go and enjoy yourself.

And what's it going to cost? 1800 miles at 25 mpg equals 72 gallons. At about £4.50 per gallon (less in France especially at Supermarkets) thats about £300. So the diesel might be £150 less. What is that as a percentage of your total annual spend? Nothing. If that doesn't work for you, what is it as a percentage of your lifetimes earnings? Nought point four noughts bugger all. So the cost of doing what you really want to do this summer is tiny. Hurrah. (I am an economist by the way. So useful. We should all have one). BUT ... BUT... get that head gasket fixed first and remember trundling down the motorways at 70 saves a lot of fuel compared with 80 or more. And you keep your licence till you get home. You know it makes sense. Well almost.

 

[badshot1uk]

You're obviously dying to take the Merc for the big annual trip. And why not? Life's too short to spend it saving fuel in a cinquecento and wearing rayon shirts to save money. Go and enjoy yourself.

And what's it going to cost? 1800 miles at 25 mpg equals 72 gallons. At about £4.50 per gallon (less in France especially at Supermarkets) thats about £300. So the diesel might be £150 less. What is that as a percentage of your total annual spend? Nothing. If that doesn't work for you, what is it as a percentage of your lifetimes earnings? Nought point four noughts bugger all. So the cost of doing what you really want to do this summer is tiny. Hurrah. (I am an economist by the way. So useful. We should all have one). BUT ... BUT... get that head gasket fixed first and remember trundling down the motorways at 70 saves a lot of fuel compared with 80 or more. And you keep your licence till you get home. You know it makes sense. Well almost.

Your bang on, but the head gasket wont get done before I go, (no time/money). Ive heard that a couple of others on here may be in the same boat as me re the head gasket. Its a small leak but how serious not sure (my mechanic says itll do the trip no problem, its just whether ive got the nerve to take it all that way and back)?

 

[Will]

Take the Citroen - it'll be cheaper and more reliable, and as others have said - put the money towards getting the head done when you return

Will

 

[badshot1uk]

Re the breakdone cover, Ive had a quote for both with the AA

Citreon £52.85
Merc £89.74

Both single trip or £103.50 annual for the Citreon

Its a win for the citreon again

 

[big x]

The 2.0 hdi picasso is more likely to leave stranded on the side of the road...the fuel pump in the tank fail on most PCG hdi diesels at some point.Happened to my mum.
The merc is less likely to have electrical issues and the head gaskets on these M104 engines tend not fail suddenly like the M103 but just leak oil to atmosphere.
The idea that a steady foreign cruise somehow places more strain on the car than popping round to the shops is not the case .


adam

 

[Martin]

I returned from Spain last weekend (Costa Blanca near Alicante) 1200 miles each way in my 1993 C220 Sport (petrol) on 140K with the usual Merc head gasket oil drip at the front left. No problems just added a little oil at destination in Spain & back home in UK. Its been dripping for 2 or 3 years now. If anything the leak was worse last year when we went to the South of France as more oil was visible in the alternator area after a motorway run. There is also an oil level warning light on the dash should you forget to check! (I had Eurotunnels breakdown cover but did'nt need it.)

Did you notice that practically every car in the news reports from Lebanon, overloaded and still running under extreme conditions was an oldish 1970s to 1990s Merc?

 

[219]

Did you notice that practically every car in the news reports from Lebanon, overloaded and still running under extreme conditions was an oldish 1970s to 1990s Merc?

I did notice that ; in fact the majority of them were W123 series and W201 series ran a close second .