vulgalour Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 This does seem to be something of an oversight by many manufacturers. That or a lot of people who buy saloons new aren't actually bothered about using them for carrying long stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Honda Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 The old cat-flapped GS used to have a folding rear seat option: vulgalour 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overrun Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 The Rover 400 saloon that replaced yours had a middle seat belt which extended from the fixed parcel shelf - yes, even with the seat backrests dropped. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod/b Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 You could do what MG did with the MG6 saloon and install the split rear seat back from the hatch by bolting the fucker in place so it won't fold down. And then fit the seat base so badly it flies off the first time you hit the brakes with aplomb. Worst rental car EVAH Lacquer Peel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 Sunday, a day off, I can do whatever I want... whatever I want... I know, I'll clean the engine bay on the Rover! I'd found a pretty good guide on Youtube last night that I wanted to try out, it's a much better method than I've used in the past for this job and helped tackle what is a fairly messy engine bay pretty easily. All in it took me just under 2 hours which, considering this car is used every day and I think I've lightly cleaned the engine bay once in 2 years didn't seem too bad at all. Here's a before.20170827-01 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr Here's the after.20170827-02 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr That's not bad is it? I was just aiming for clean rather than show car so there's some areas that are difficult to get to that could do with a bit deeper a scrub than they got today. There's also still some weird varnishy residue in places which takes ages to shift, I managed to get it off the brake fluid reservoir which was yellow instead of grey, but there's a few spots like here, on the ICV where it just won't budge without a lot of persistant scrubbing. When I got the car the whole top of the engine was covered in this varnish stuff, I don't know if it's just two decades of dirt and oil or if someone actually painted the engine with a quick-shine product or something that's gone funny with heat cycles, but it's been a right old war to get rid of.20170827-03 by Angyl Roper, on Flickr danthecapriman, Brodders, oldcars and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Well worth cleaning the engine bay, makes doing work a (slightly) more pleasant task and you spot leaks a lot quicker. I always give the brake fluid/PAS reservoirs a good clean, how on earth you are supposed to check them or top them up when they are encrusted in oily shit I'll never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 Agreed, if me or someone else has to work on my car I don't want them to have to fight through all the grot. Hopefully now I can just give the engine bay a quick wipe down when I wash the rest of the car and it'll stay pretty much as it is. I've noticed the bits that were cleaned when the clutch and head gasket were done have pretty much stayed clean bar a bit of road dirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobblers Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Yeah, I've seen that varnish stuff a few times, I think it's some kind of engine lacquer that's been spunked all over the place by car dealers trying to tart the bay up in years gone by. I'm really not someone who'd clean an engine bay to this level but I must admit it does make them a nicer place to be.My cleaning efforts are limited to spraying three cans of degreaser all over the place then jet washing it all off. It helps find the oil leaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilA Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Your "before" picture looks like my "after", so I'd definitely say good job, and agree with the others that it's always much more pleasant not to have to dig through grime or simply not to get gritty oily crap on your hands when doing simple stuff like checking the oil. Tickman, robinmasters, oldcars and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Your "before" picture looks like my "after", so I'd definitely say good job, and agree with the others that it's always much more pleasant not to have to dig through grime or simply not to get gritty oily crap on your hands when doing simple stuff like checking the oil.I was cleaning the 75 at the start of the month. To me it was filthy, chap walked past says "that's come up well". I hadnt started yet, only filled the buckets. Dick Longbridge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJay Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 That's a coincidence, I was watching the exact same youtube vid on Saturday.(I didn't clean my engine, just watched the vid). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Insurance renewal came through. I'm going to have to get on the phone and do it the old fashioned way by the looks of things. Old premium: £276.73Renewal: £382.20Two cheapest online competitors: £379.90Every other online competitor: £700-1200 What the fuck happened? That's quite a hike in price, especially for someone who rather than making claims has had another year of motoring claim-free. I'm used to renewal being daft and switching provider to get a better deal, this time it looks like I can't do that. I mean, that's a 50% increase for no apparent reason. It would suggest something has happened across the board for it to be all providers issuing the same price hike. I'll call the usual suspects - Peter Best, Footman James, Lancaster, etc. - to be told the usual "computer says no" and likely just stick with Tesco. What a frigging ballache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghosty Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 £700-1200 Is what I'd expect to be paying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Not what you'd expect someone with 6 years license, 5 years NCB and nearly 40 to be paying, is it? Fucking daft. Lacquer Peel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Tried directline? Consistently been the cheapest for me for a number of years. Also what's your declared value? If low, bumping it up to around £1k to £2k can seem to make a difference. Insurers only pay what their book says it's worth in the event of an accident anyway. That value number seems to be more "how much is this car worth to the owner?". So I guess if cheap (sub 1k), then likely not cared about, if more than probably looked after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Trust me, I've fiddled about with the various parameters to get the best prices and that's what I'm getting. My insurance has ALWAYS been more expensive than everyone elses and nobody inside or outside of the insurance bizz has ever been able to tell me why. Luck of the draw, it seems. Directline are always one of the most expensive insurers for me. Surprisingly on this round, Shiela's Wheels is one of the cheapest online competitors, which they never have been before. Lacquer Peel and SiC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Does changing profession help? Maybe try something completely different and lower risk to see if that's what is affecting you. If so, then it might be worth describing your job in another way that is a lower risk. Obviously needs to apply still but can do a difference. For me and my profession, Software Engineer, Electronics Engineer, Computer Programmer and Engineer can all have different quotes. Some years, one can be cheaper than another and then another it all flips around. Also try phoning up the company you're with and seeing if they can come up with a better deal. If they ask about is there cheaper elsewhere, I usually say I'm about to but want to know your best price before I try or left the bit of paper elsewhere, etc. Insurance premium tax has gone up a couple of percentage points, so it could be a tad more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Profession, type of cover, mileage (unless I bring it down to 3,000 p/a, which isn't enough), etc. makes no difference to the price. Art is considered a high-risk profession for some reason, and there's not really any getting away from that since that is the field I'm in. The only thing that will make a difference is calling *but* I did this last year and learned that the companies that would insure me couldn't get the price down lower and in some cases told me there was no way they could compete with the lowest quote I had received, which is how I ended up with Tesco. What's bothered me is that it's a 40% (ish) hike in premium price for no apparent reason. That's quite large. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Honda Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 What the fuck happened?The insurer/broker will say 2% IPT increase and change in Ogden rate. The reality will be because Johnny Ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 IPT... Insurance Premium Tax? I always expect that to go up year on year anyway and 2% is perfectly tolerable. They got Mr Ball a new dartboard, didn't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghosty Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Not what you'd expect someone with 6 years license, 5 years NCB and nearly 40 to be paying, is it? Fucking daft. I have 4 years licence, no NCB and I'm almost 22. Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi paul Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 I know the feeling. Put the celica on my policy at first for 28 days,just to pick it up and see. Total cost £16.00 . Rang to pit the corolla on for the same and £68.00. Because "it's a high risk car". It's a fecking 1.3 auto and just because it may be invloved in lots of mini cab accidents the following may apply. I am not a minicab driver and I have 15 yrs no claims bonus. I am going to try and get a classic policy has well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain_70s Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Know how you feel, now I've moved house it costs more to insure the Civic than it used to cost me to insure the whole fleet... Maximum depress.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 Well, this is a turn up for the books. As usual the specialists couldn't help so it was relying on the online stuff and eSure came up trumps with a new, identical policy at £229.37. Amazingly, that's a reduction in policy price at renewal! Get in. SiC, Stanky, Lacquer Peel and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Honda Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 and eSure came up trumps...Get in. vulgalour and SiC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 What... what is Michael Winner doing? Is this from an advert? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greengartside Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 It would also be worth knowing that your credit rating will affect your premium. I did some research on this (as I've not got a great credit history) and it does push the prices up - apparently they (the insurers) run credit checks from time to time on people and go from there. Don't quote me on this though, pardon the pun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 My credit rating is pretty average. Mind you, I've never had a credit card and only ever had 1 small loan nearly 20 years ago which I know can go against your credit rating massively. Great credit for those that borrow a lot, not so much folks like me trying to live within their means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3VOM Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 What... what is Michael Winner doing? Is this from an advert?1. Not a lot these days, he's er, stopped working.2. Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felly Magic Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Insurance is a bizarre thing, I'm sure that they pluck figures from thin air Lacquer Peel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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