I was shocked today ...

[GrahamPlatt]

It's a spray can
https://www.nulon.com.au/products/aerosols/start-ya-bastard-instant-engine-starter

The publicity ends with “ One short spray of Nulon is all that is necessary to start the most stubborn of engines.” without getting into specifics.
So do you just spray it in the general direction of the motor? No, thought not. And carburettors are getting rare. So do you need to take the plugs out and squirt it into the cylinders?

[ReformedCharacter]

It's a spray can
https://www.nulon.com.au/products/aerosols/start-ya-bastard-instant-engine-starter

The publicity ends with “ One short spray of Nulon is all that is necessary to start the most stubborn of engines.” without getting into specifics.
So do you just spray it in the general direction of the motor? No, thought not. And carburettors are getting rare. So do you need to take the plugs out and squirt it into the cylinders?

Into the air filter perhaps?

RC

[SteelCamel]

Will need to give serious thought to car ownership, as we're inside the M25, and the car is diesel Having been a driver all my life, it would be a major change, to abandon car ownership, yet avoiding car tax and insurance costs every month would be tempting, as long as hiring a car occasionally didn't become prohibitive.

Is there a car club in your area? If so, and they have cars nearby, that might be an option. There's usually an annual membership, about £20, then apart from that you just pay when you want to use a car - and you book it online and open it with a card or app, so less hassle than "conventional" car hire. It's not quite as convenient as your own car - you might find all the cars booked when you want to use it, and you have to take your stuff out rather than just leaving it in the car - but not too far off.

[servodude]

It's a spray can
https://www.nulon.com.au/products/aerosols/start-ya-bastard-instant-engine-starter

The publicity ends with “ One short spray of Nulon is all that is necessary to start the most stubborn of engines.” without getting into specifics.
So do you just spray it in the general direction of the motor? No, thought not. And carburettors are getting rare. So do you need to take the plugs out and squirt it into the cylinders?

Into the air filter perhaps?

RC

Bingo!

[pje16]

Will need to give serious thought to car ownership, as we're inside the M25, and the car is diesel Having been a driver all my life, it would be a major change, to abandon car ownership, yet avoiding car tax and insurance costs every month would be tempting, as long as hiring a car occasionally didn't become prohibitive.

Is there a car club in your area? If so, and they have cars nearby, that might be an option. There's usually an annual membership, about £20, then apart from that you just pay when you want to use a car - and you book it online and open it with a card or app, so less hassle than "conventional" car hire. It's not quite as convenient as your own car - you might find all the cars booked when you want to use it, and you have to take your stuff out rather than just leaving it in the car - but not too far off.

Zip car is very good
https://www.zipcar.com/en-gb/pricing
The price covers of fuel, insurance and the Congestion Charge
I have used their vans before but not a car, but it works the same way

[James]

it was realizing that it was five months since I'd last filled up the tank, that's what surprised me. We deliberately cut back on using the car and this reinforced how successful we'd been. Sadly, £20.00 is just about a quarter of a tank of fuel, not a 'fill to the brim'.

Will need to give serious thought to car ownership, as we're inside the M25, and the car is diesel Having been a driver all my life, it would be a major change, to abandon car ownership, yet avoiding car tax and insurance costs every month would be tempting, as long as hiring a car occasionally didn't become prohibitive.

Pah, I did 13 months on one tank a few years back. No fuel problems. I'm inside London's Zone 2 so don't have a great deal of call for a car, except for when I do.

It is a bit of a luxury, but I've just spent a week down in the south west. Hiring a car for that trip would have eaten up any saving from not owning a car.

[UncleEbenezer]

It is a bit of a luxury, but I've just spent a week down in the south west. Hiring a car for that trip would have eaten up any saving from not owning a car.

We have alternative means of travel here in the southwest, too.

Though they can get a bit stretched when the railway is out of action.

[didds]

It is a bit of a luxury, but I've just spent a week down in the south west. Hiring a car for that trip would have eaten up any saving from not owning a car.

We have alternative means of travel here in the southwest, too.

Though they can get a bit stretched when the railway is out of action.

Its a bit of a movable feast here in the SW, but if you are relying on bus down this way then DYOR up front... bus services here in central wiltshire are pretty woeful outside of "core" hours - say 0800-1700, and often non existent outside of those.

TBH is appalling on the whole.

didds

[James]

It is a bit of a luxury, but I've just spent a week down in the south west. Hiring a car for that trip would have eaten up any saving from not owning a car.

We have alternative means of travel here in the southwest, too.

Though they can get a bit stretched when the railway is out of action.

Tuesday: London - Bath
Weds: Bath - Tiverton
Thurs: Tiverton - Padstow
Fri: Padstow - London

Neither train nor bus nor Shanks' pony would have achieved that.

[UncleEbenezer]

It is a bit of a luxury, but I've just spent a week down in the south west. Hiring a car for that trip would have eaten up any saving from not owning a car.

We have alternative means of travel here in the southwest, too.

Though they can get a bit stretched when the railway is out of action.

Tuesday: London - Bath
Weds: Bath - Tiverton
Thurs: Tiverton - Padstow
Fri: Padstow - London

Neither train nor bus nor Shanks' pony would have achieved that.

Well, in principle (and these are options I'd consider that avoid nonsense like driving in London or Bath):

Train would do nicely for Bath and Tiverton, but leave a gap for Padstow. Options would be to take your bike on the train to somewhere like Bodmin or Snozzle, or to look up bus options from there. Or indeed take a taxi or hire car for that stretch of the journey.

Or even - given that the train gets annoyingly slow (albeit scenic) as soon as you get west of Exeter - hire car for the Tiverton-Padstow stretch.

[redsturgeon]

I have a plug in hybrid and the petrol tank apparently is better sealed than normal because of the problem of evaporation. I didn't not fill up for several months at the time of the first covid lockdown.]

John