Taxi Driver Online

hi what would be the best car to run as a taxi (private hire taxi ) eg:mondao,octavia etc

Octavia or superb anyday but dont get the 2 ltr 140bhp one the turboes go

Whatever else the majority run ! You can generally judge the quality and reliability of a car by what cabbies use, any that are'nt up to the job soon fall by the wayside and your'e left with what works best. At the moment it's just about a three horse race between Mondeo, Vectra and Octavia/Superb. Haven't heard of much against the Superb but strangely not many actually drive them. A few use Vectras but doubt they'd buy another, so that says something.

So really the choice is either ;
Petrol Mondeo (cost more on fuel but cheaper overall to buy, repair, maintain.)
TD Diesel Skoda (Don't get one without a turbo, you'll regret it going uphill with 4 passengers or trying to overtake. The petrols fine but the diesels are pretty much bulletproof).

Opinions are like assholes. Everybody's got one.

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Skoda dont make the non turbo any more
Go for as new as you can afford check out the taxi centre for a new one with no deposit delivered to your door
The best skoda Octavia is the 1.9 tdi 105 bhp, or the new 1.6 tdi with the same power output
http://www.thetaxicentre.com/?gclid=CPy ... tAodWC3Vug

Mondeo or Superb.

My own preference is the Ford.

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IDFIMH

"Do not under any circumstances buy a Vectra", they are without doubt the worse motor ever to be allowed on the road. If your over 5ft 9ins you'll be forever adjusting the drivers seat so people can get in behind you.

I like the look of the Dodge Avenger

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

FIRST question

whats your LAs age limits for a new plate?

Second question

whats your budget?

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

what have i run?

Mk4 Cortina
Talbot Alpine
Vauxhall astra TD estate (GM engine not Izusu)
Mondeo Mk3 (current)
Vauxhall Carlton (punters loved it)
Tourneo 8 seater
Sherpa 200 crewbus
Cavalier 1600cc
Montego 1600cc petrol
Montego 1600cc estate
Sierra 1800td

never had an engine go, had a DMF in the Tourneo, had a cambelt go in the montego 1600cc petrol (no valve damage) had the belt go in the sierra and cost me £400

the cavaliers clutch went but they could be changed in situ thru the bellhousing

as a courier i had (50,000 miles a year average)

a LDV Convoy (£1200)
2 Smiley transits (£2500 and £1800)
X reg fiat ducato (£3500)
04 (new) Citreon (Fiat) Relay (£16000 inv vat and admin fees)
Sprinter 311cdi (£11000)

guess which was the bargain (£earned:£spent)
guess which was the bag of poo

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Skodas are bad to beat....The Octavia estate or Superb saloon/Hatch. I dont think buying a cheaper petrol engined model involves any more fuel costs in the long term due to the 12 pence extra cost in Diesel these days...the Cheaper fuel costs of Petrol negates the extra milage you get from a diesel. add to that the fact that Petrol models can be bought at around £2000 cheaper per equivelant spec models than diesels, then the petrol vehicle starts to make more sense.

Cant Say Ive had any real Issue with my 2 litre 140BHP Turbo diesel skoda, it can whine a wee bit, but its whined for 89,000 miles now and has not worsened any...if anything the car gets a better MPG now as it did 60,000 miles ago, maybe the engines comfortably loosened up a tad.

1 thing about a Ford, all faults are well known, most are fixable and prices are well known

i.e.

TDci
Turbo (ouch) £1000
DMF £650
Aux belt tensioner £225
Injectors (new) £450 (four)

and thats about it really, not all of the above are always gonna be needed but the 50mpg (true average) is the bonus, plus they arent that expensive to buy and should have a residual value when the day of parting arrives

Skodas are VAG products, id expect them to be good but expensive on parts and requiring dealership care wheras a Ford is anybodies to fix (if a garage cant fix a Henry they shouldnt be trading)

As for Vectras, anything French or Italian......cough splutter.....its your risk

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Petrol Mondeos are also a no no, 20MPG no turbo, if you've got more than 2 on board it's a no no trying to get up a hill.

Be aware, Mk4 Mondes Tdci use a PSA engine (French) with a cambelt...........

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Best car I've known been on taxi was the toyota carina E diesel
Mates dad had one on hackney taxi for 10 years bought N reg new in 96 ran in taxi double shift everyday untill 2006 and still going for private car.
Now his got a TX1 and hates it as everyweek has a problem changed engine twice gear box gone few times just fed up with it everytime see him the cars outgoings are more than incoming he always says just miss the carina days
The carina has over 700,000 on clock and still going verry reliabile cars shame they don't make them no more replaced by the avensis which is [edited by admin]