For those who have missed me...

[Captain Jack]

I am back! I haven't been away anywhere, just had a ton of things to do. From the end of January I was offered a new job in London, which I accepted, then declined, then accepted, then declined and then accepted again. The wonders of "contract negotiations".

Due to this, that means that I am now permanently based in London, working in Holborn, travelling by the "tube" (what an odd name) smelling other people's pits. Still, it's better than being stuck on the M25. That means that my 406 is almost permanently parked near my flat. The only time I use it is to go to play badminton - shopping is done "online" now.

Now a fourth week into my job I am getting settled in slowly. Hopefully I'll be around as I still have my '6. Not sure if the diesel is now worth having due to rare town driving. Maybe a 2L coupe would be better? And cheaper to insure in Landan-town.

While I am typing(!), the dashboard yesterday said "top up with oil". I have some Magnatec 10W-40 oil left over from when I serviced my girlfriend's Panda last month - will that be OK to top up my engine with? It doesn't "have" diesel written on it, so wondering if there's any actual difference between the two oil types.

Anyway... carry on...

[eoin27]

from when I serviced my girlfriend's Panda last month

This forum is about cars. Please keep your private life to yourself!!! Ha ha, welcome back cappy!! Glad to have you here. Im back myself since a month ago or so. Bought a coupe

Regarding trading in the HDi for a coupe becasue of town driving, I wouldnt recommend it. The HDi will do nearly 40mpg around town, the 2.0 coupe will do about 23. Huuuuuuge difference!!!! But I still dont regret getting a coupe. Its so smooth compared to the HDi. It is a little more awkward to steer about the place as the Saloon has a higher sitting position. If you really want a coupe then go for it. But if you think you'll be saving money on fuel then don't. Unless you're considering the 2.2HDi coupe......

[Captain Jack]

No HDi coupe, thank you. I dread the day when I get "Anti-pollution fault" on my MFD - pretty much everything in my car is work, except the unexplained aforementioned oil loss and the blasted flexi-hose.

[eoin27]

You can have my coupe for your HDi!!

[Welly]

Hi Cap'n!

I was in London 2 weeks ago and the tube was horrid.

Petrol is prefered for short running about because it's cleaner, warms up quicker, more reliable per-mile etc. but if you've got yours up to scratch then maybe keep it a while (you may find it's value is a bit naff now, they seem to be dropping).

Oil wise if it was me I wouldn't put a 'magnetic' type oil to mix with the other stuff and I'd just get 1ltr of 10W/40 semi-synthetic (of known make like Castrol, Comma etc). Very rare for the HDi to use oil but common to lose it

P.S. sorry to hear about your g/f's Panda - it can't be easy for the both of you, owning a car like that.

[Captain Jack]

Oil wise if it was me I wouldn't put a 'magnetic' type oil to mix with the other stuff and I'd just get 1ltr of 10W/40 semi-synthetic (of known make like Castrol, Comma etc).

It IS Castrol! Castrol Magnatec (not "magnetic") 10W-40. What I was wondering was that Castrol also has a 10W-40 can with "diesel" written on it... any differences?

P.S. sorry to hear about your g/f's Panda - it can't be easy for the both of you, owning a car like that.

I actually quite like it - it has character. It's on 07 plate so no reliability problems and quite a nice thing to drive. Have you tried "city steering"? You can use a feather to turn the wheel!

I also drove a Peugeot 107 during my time in the Polish mountains over Christmas - again, a very good thing to drive and quite chuckable. You don't want a huge wagon driving around the hairpin bends you get on their mountains! Try driving from Wisla to Szczyrk and you'll see what I mean.

[Welly]

I know it's Castrol but I said 'magnetic' like it sticks to things - I've never liked the idea of this sort of oil.

An oil formulated for diesel engines has more detergents but having said that many oil companies make their oil suitable for both petrol and diesel now.

Mixing oil brands is kinda frowned upon if you want to be nerdy and best to top up with whatever was used in the last oil service.

Having said all this, unless you're planning on doing 'times' down at the nurburgring then I shouldn't worry too much about it.

And yes, I had a panda as a loaner 2 years ago and it was fun - 'interesting' doing 100mph on the M1 for 10 miles too. Got some funny looks that morning , and the car was nice and loose when I took it back

[jasper5]

Always look on the container for the spec of the oil, it will read something like API something, then ACEA B3/B4 or similar, whatever these figures are, if they are the same, no matter what name is on the container, it's the same oil.

[Captain Jack]

Sorry Welly, I didn't get your "drift" earlier Got it now. I always thought Magnatec was just a name rather than anything else...

[teamster1975]

Good to hear from you cj!
How are you getting on in the new job?

[Captain Jack]

Not too bad. My boss's boss is a dick but other than that, all OK. I am certainly not minding a 30 minute commute as opposed to a 3 hour drive to Bristol!

[TooT]

Can i recommend a mod for the Panda? viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10228&start=0

If your selling your 406, im sure someone on here has just had a black hdi written off and would love another one especially as yours has the black levvers too