When we take our trucks to Truck East for servicing we are given a car or van to get home and the truck is serviced overnight, usually if it needs fuel they will run it round to the garage and put enough in to do a few miles and prevent people from taking the ■■■■.
Tonight I was given a van and as often the gauge was low, however as the fuel light was on and the display reckoned I’d got a range of 27 miles I thought that Witham - Chelmsford and back might be pushing it a bit so I went and asked them to fill it up. They now have new system, that requires drivers to pay for there own fuel. I was just about to tell them to poke it up their arse and take it and the chace when they offered as goodwill to put a drop in. It was returned with a range of 107 miles, I drove back at 60mph and my 12 odd mile journey home robbed 21 miles of range. I’m now quite glad I didn’t risk it as it could have been a long walk in the morning.
Whilst I can see that the fuel can easily get abused, I can’t see many drivers putting 1 or 2 litres in to get them back. Surely if they just charged the mileage to the company at 30p or whatever per mile it would soon stop getting abused.
I’m tempted next time to take my bike and cycle back when their van has conked out and leave them to recover it. Maybe we should charge them for fuel if they road test the truck. Cheeky ■■■■■■■■■
When I did the show work in that part of the world every show I set up involved me parking my truck behind and blocking it in for the entire duration of the show. Fords always supplied a brand new car to use, it was brilliant. I did get let down once in Carmarthen when the Ford rep didn’t want to give me a brand new car and bought me a trade in, it was a beaten up Austin princess about 20 years old.
Pat Hasler:
When I did the show work in that part of the world every show I set up involved me parking my truck behind and blocking it in for the entire duration of the show. Fords always supplied a brand new car to use, it was brilliant. I did get let down once in Carmarthen when the Ford rep didn’t want to give me a brand new car and bought me a trade in, it was a beaten up Austin princess about 20 years old.
Come off it Pat, they didn’t last that long!
When at P&O Ferrymasters, Fleetwood, I once had to drive a loaned Nissan Micra to go pick up a unit from service. We all know about Micra drivers! Cringe cringe.
keep a 5 litre can handy in your truck and next time u get the hire vehicle take that can with u if its low put that can in it…simple problem solved
A white van man waiting behind me at the lights set off when they were at red and half wrecked my car.
The insurance sent me a brand new Golf Blue motion for the five weeks my car was off road.
The car came from Avis and the cost to the third party insurance was £53 a day.
The chap who deliverd the car filled it right up at a garage half a mile away and it was expected to be filled when they collected the car.
I read the small print and they would have charged £3.25 a LITRE for the diesel to fill it up again and £25 admin.
I made sure it was full when they collected it and got the collection driver to sign the forms saying so.
Tankerman:
A white van man waiting behind me at the lights set off when they were at red and half wrecked my car.
The insurance sent me a brand new Golf Blue motion for the five weeks my car was off road.
The car came from Avis and the cost to the third party insurance was £53 a day.
The chap who deliverd the car filled it right up at a garage half a mile away and it was expected to be filled when they collected the car.
I read the small print and they would have charged £3.25 a LITRE for the diesel to fill it up again and £25 admin.
I made sure it was full when they collected it and got the collection driver to sign the forms saying so.
In which case the insurers are stupid and shouldn’t be in the job.
I’ve just looked at a medium compact car for a month from Avis Preston and its just under £20 a day. That’s with no discount from any source, which is easily attainable. The web site Argus car hire will likely find it cheaper. Insurance co’s will have negiotated big discounts.
On a side note, car rental companies make more profit per year on the sale of their cars than they do on renting them. This is because they get huge discounts on purchase.
If you buy a late model low mileage car off a main agents forecourt, it will very likely have been a hire car, but the name in the V5 won’t give you a clue.
Once had a courtesy car (with fumes in the tank) after a driver ran into the back of me. I used to have a 100 mile round trip to work so went down the road and filled it up. Imagining I’d have it for a couple of days. Garage rang after 3 hours. My car was repaired, it was a Citroen C3 and all the stuff at the back just clips on. Crumple zone was a bolt on job. Now I had a Corsa full of petrol so told 'em I couldn’t pick it up until 6pm and went on a long drive around sussex because you can bet your life they wouldn’t have paid me for the fuel left in it.
Driveroneuk:
Tankerman:
A white van man waiting behind me at the lights set off when they were at red and half wrecked my car.
The insurance sent me a brand new Golf Blue motion for the five weeks my car was off road.
The car came from Avis and the cost to the third party insurance was £53 a day.
The chap who deliverd the car filled it right up at a garage half a mile away and it was expected to be filled when they collected the car.
I read the small print and they would have charged £3.25 a LITRE for the diesel to fill it up again and £25 admin.
I made sure it was full when they collected it and got the collection driver to sign the forms saying so.
In which case the insurers are stupid and shouldn’t be in the job.
I’ve just looked at a medium compact car for a month from Avis Preston and its just under £20 a day. That’s with no discount from any source, which is easily attainable. The web site Argus car hire will likely find it cheaper. Insurance co’s will have negiotated big discounts.
On a side note, car rental companies make more profit per year on the sale of their cars than they do on renting them. This is because they get huge discounts on purchase.
If you buy a late model low mileage car off a main agents forecourt, it will very likely have been a hire car, but the name in the V5 won’t give you a clue.
I agree about the insurers and that’s why the premium are so high.
I didn’t choose the car they sent and as I was going to change my car I enquired at the VW dealer about buying a Golf Blue Motion will all the mens toys on similar to the hire car. The quoted over 22K. Why the insurers didn’t send some cheaper rental car I don’t know but I was happy to drive around in the Golf.
The Avis car came from the Bolton depot
Tankerman:
.
I didn’t choose the car they sent and as I was going to change my car I enquired at the VW dealer about buying a Golf Blue Motion will all the mens toys on similar to the hire car. The quoted over 22K. Why the insurers didn’t send some cheaper rental car I don’t know but I was happy to drive around in the Golf.
The Avis car came from the Bolton depot
Now you know why rental companies get such big discounts - they generate a lot of new car sales 
They sent an Alpha Julietta for me before the Golf but after three days they decided to change it. I preferred the Golf.
Both cars had less than 100 miles on the clock. Luckily for me my no claims hasn’t been lost.
Both a bit different to the first car I bought back in 1961.
£19 a year insurance fully comp and petrol four bob a gallon.
All nice pics TM, but I like #3 the best
This insurance courtesy car amuses me. My pal’s Big 4x4 was third-party damaged, so he was given a Corsa, with which he was quite happy, as the 4x4 is his caravan tow-car, which he could live without until March. His own insurance co rang him to ask if they could call to change the courtesy car, as he’d been hired the wrong one. Even though he was quite happy with the small car, they insisted that he had to have a Volvo XC90 at £140 per day, whereas the Corsa was about £30. His insurance weren’t concerned, as the third party would be paying for it. I’ll bet the TP’s premium went through the roof.
can’t you use the firms fuel card in future?
Yes I could use the fuel card. I was just amazed that it had come to this, trouble is the Connect van was showing about 40mpg so I’d need to go to a forecourt and dribble a couple of litres in. This is where I can’t be arsed with it and I’m sure plenty of other drivers won’t either. I wonder how long before they get one down the road that’s out of fuel.
Still reckon that if they charged the mileage to the vehicle’s owner there would be no more ■■■■ taking going on. If my boss got charged 30 miles for my use he’d not question it, if he got charged for 50 then rightly he’d ha something to say about it.
Driveroneuk:
All nice pics TM, but I like #3 the best
1947 Ford Anglia, 8HP side valve, three gears with crash on bottom one.
I had one of the last GT6 Triumphs
Triumph Dolomite was one car I never owned and I have had over thirty.
There was something about the valve gear and camshaft on the Dolly Sprint which made it different if I remember rightly.
TM
Yes its a bit unique. It has over head cam acting directly on one bank of 8 valves (just like a normal ohc) but also has rockers operating operating the second bank of 8.
some got a limited slip diff, the old workshop manager had a dolly sprint which came with a lsd when he got it.
No Austin Princesses there!