MrGTI6

The rear caliper seems to be sticking quite badly on the Sprint all of a sudden. I was going to have a look at it this morning. Been procrastinating instead, and finally accepted that I'm going to continue sunbathing in the garden for the rest of the day. A job for tomorrow perhaps (if I can be arsed)!

ULEZ refugee Merc E430 estate listed in the parts section. Currently at £1,000 with no bids. 11 months' MOT and very apt plate. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225613809735

Would highly recommend a Nissan Note 1.6 auto. Straightforward chain-driven NA petrol engine, old-school torque-converter 'box, and generally owned by OAPs so tend to be looked-after (mechanically at least).

Spotted this on AutoTrader. A Mk5 Golf GTI on a 10-plate!

Picked up our new car today. The reason we got it is because the missus won't drive my 306 and over the last couple of months she's been relying on me to drive her about. Also, the 306 is a three-door which can be impractical at times. She rarely drives so I'll be using it most of the time. But since I've bought loads of cars (and a bike) over the last few months, I thought I'd let her decide what to get. Her parents have a Hyundai Kona and - on that basis alone - she wanted one. I tried to convince her that an older Focus/Astra-type car would be far better value. But she wanted a newer car because apparently it will last longer. So now we have a Hyundai Kona. It's a very uninspiring car but has good spec and managed 52mpg today, despite an hour of stop-start traffic on the North Circular. The lane assist feature can fuck off, however. One particular moment was a bit disconcerting. Driving at 70mph on the M25 I noticed it was picking up speed downhill while in 6th. Looked down and the rev counter was on 0! WTF!? I feathered the accelerator and the engine spun back into life. First time I've known a stop/start system to work on the move in a manual car that's in gear! It must disengage the clutch on its own somehow! I would post a photo but it's so boring that I didn't bother to take any, and probably never will.

Welcome to 2023. Try not to take it personally!

DFSK Loadhopper? I've driven one of those. It was surprisingly nippy and had no power steering.

Sent an email to Triumph Motorcycles last night requesting a certificate of conformity in an attempt to make my newly-acquired 1999 Triumph Sprint ULEZ exempt. A lot of manufacturers seem to charge for this service, but much to my surprise I received an email around midday with the certificate of conformity attached. Even more surprisingly, not only are the NOx emissions stated on the certificate, but they are well below the ULEZ limits. Just forwarded it onto TfL so fingers crossed...

Sounds like a good result! I took my Peugeot to Halfords for an MOT under similar circumstances a couple of years ago. I knew it needed both front tyres, so booked it in for two budget tyres and an MOT. They fitted the tyres, then failed it on having tyres of different sizes on the same axle. These were the two brand new tyres they'd just fitted! In fairness they swapped the offending tyre for one of the correct size, passed it, and refunded me the cost of one tyre and the test. So I only ended up paying for one tyre!

This morning, I've been looking into getting hold of a certificate of conformity to try and make my 306 ULEZ-compliant. Not sure if it will work, and some of the websites seem dodgy, but I've heard others have had success doing this with late-'90s petrol cars. I'm very nervous about clicking on this green button though...

One-owner Mk1 diesel Focus on 65k with a year's ticket. Looks a really honest car. Currently at £920, ending tomorrow morning. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295629420631

Looks good. Fantastic colour! I was driving one of these earlier in the week. It was a 2.0 petrol with the manual 'box, so a very similar setup to the standard GTI hatchback. It went surprisingly well!

Thank you both. Really useful to know what to look out for and how different variants compare. I've found a 2002 Daytona online at a dealer which has piqued my interest. It's up for about £2,500 but it's only done 9k. I've just had a look at a few Sprints and they look like good value. A lot with higher mileage, but that doesn't put me off too much provided they've been looked after. Cheers! 👍

What are people's thoughts on the Triumph Daytona 955i? I'm (still) on the lookout for my first bike and can't help thinking that something Japanese would be a safe bet. Having said that, a bit of online research suggests these Triumphs are pretty reliable and reviews are generally positive. I love the styling and the sound of the triple. Worth a look?

I really appreciate the comments, though it seems I've made myself out to be some sort of caped crusader which is very much not the case! I tend to shy away from confrontation and in this situation for whatever reason I couldn't bite my tongue. The words just sort of came out! I'm looking back on it now and thinking about how I could have got my point across more eloquently. And I'm sure others would have got involved regardless as it really was unpleasant to witness. He's always very vocal about migrants/foreigners/etc. but today was on another level. He certainly wouldn't have behaved in the same way if the five-foot Lithuanian lady was a six-foot Lithuanian bloke. We're desperate to see the back of him, and despite his lack of self-awareness, even he must realise that after today. If he does get handed his P45, no doubt he'll blame "migrants".

A colleague really pissed me off today. He's a racist, homophobic, etc. We keep out of one another's way and don't speak to each other, an arrangement that I'm very happy with. Most other people treat him the same way, as he really is an unpleasant individual. Everyone at work gets on with each other apart from this prick, and no doubt he thinks everyone else is the problem. There's a lady who started on reception today and she was being shown around and introduced to people. She is Latvian but speaks very good English. I've got the utmost of respect for anyone who has taken the time to learn a second language, something which I've never bothered to do. A few minutes later I overheard her being introduced to the bell end and someone else. Matey was repeatedly taking the piss out of her accent and laughing the whole time. The conversation looked very awkward and he was the only one finding it funny. What an appalling way to behave towards someone who is starting a new job. He then said something about her coming over on a dinghy. I'm the last person to cause a scene, but suddenly found myself shouting out "her English is better than yours, you fat cunt" or words to that effect. I think he was just as taken aback as me, and didn't have anything to say in response. It was very out of character for me as I tend to avoid confrontation. A couple of others in the vicinity who overheard also piped up, including a lad built like a brick shit house who walked over to him and said "I dare you to talk to me like that". Later spoke to the manager who was showing her around and apologised for my outburst and bad language. She was pleased something was said and is keen to escalate things over his discrimination, something which I'm more than happy to get on board with. I've had a word with a few other colleagues who also expressed a keen interest in throwing him under the bus. It really angered me at how unwelcome the poor lady at the centre of all this must have been made to feel. There's a fair few of us who are determined to use this opportunity to fuck him off once and for all.

Sorry. Please try again.

Took the Megane 225 for a service today including a new timing belt and water pump. The old (Dayco) belt was 10 years old but still looked like it had plenty of life left in it! Glad it's done though for peace of mind. To celebrate, I took the scenic (pun intended) route back from the garage. What a car! Ferocious grip and properly beefy brakes. I'm convinced this thing must have been chipped/mapped. I can't find anything in the paperwork to suggest that it has, but it goes like fuck! I'm loving this car!!!

I don't think either of you are being an "assh*le" in the above situation. Just to play devil's advocate, look at it from the other potential buyer's perspective. They may have arranged a lift or booked train tickets to come and view the car on Monday. They would be put out if they then received a message saying the car has been sold to someone else. Equally, they may not even bother to turn up. If anything though, it suggests that the seller is probably quite a decent person to be giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Punto looks lovely BTW. Reasonably local to me as well. I have too many cars as it is but would happily have a ticket or two if you decide to Roffle it.

This was from last year selling a Renault 19 on Facebook.

Probably has better build quality than a Tesla.

This is why changing MOTs to every two years is a terrible idea.

I passed my bike test at the end of last year and have so far only ridden three motorbikes. Two 125s (a Honda and an AJS) and my instructor's 650 (Kawasaki). I'm very much a beginner, but for me the difference between the 125s and the 650 was enormous. And that's bearing in mind that a 650 is only really a mid-sized bike! The bigger bike if anything was far easier to ride. Yes it was heavier, but it felt much more settled and planted. I'm guessing that's largely due to the lower centre of gravity. It was also far more relaxing to ride. Much more power and taller gearing meant it didn't need to be thrashed through the gears to keep pace with traffic like the 125s did. Biking may not be for you, but I'd at least have a go on something bigger before you bin the whole idea off. Obtaining my licence set me back over a grand, but once you've done it, you'll never have to do it again!

My boot-scootin' baby is drivin' me crazy...