MrGTI6

The 306 scraped through its MOT this morning, albeit with a few minor advisories. A bit of a relief, as it's my only car at the moment!

Been to Kwik Fit for the first time ever this morning. I received a random email from them last week for a discount code for some budget tyres that fit my car for £20 each fitted and balanced if I ordered two or more before the end of the month. My MOT is due at the start of November and the rear tyres needed replacing, so I thought I'd give them a go. Booked in for 8:30 this nothing, and I turned up a few minutes early. They got straight on with it and it was all done in a shade over 20 minutes. I know Kwik Fit have a bad reputation but I have to say the service was excellent.

I set myself a resolution at the start of the year that I would have a full motorbike licence by Christmas. Being the procrastinator that I am, it's been put on the back burner most of the year and only this morning have I taken the theory test, which I'm pleased to say I passed! Upon arrival at the test centre, for the first time in my life I felt old! While waiting to be checked in, I had a brief chat with a visibly nervous lad who arrived at the same time as me. When the lady at the desk called him over and asked for his date of birth, I'm sure I overheard he said 2005! I thought that can't be right, then did the maths and realised it probably was!

26k-mile Nova for £950. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209240080821

A running 2CV with MOT until May 2023. 18 owners and Cat C but £995. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209220008442

Just got a bollocking from an old bag at the petrol station. There were two vacant pumps, both on the left. She was needlessly waiting for one to become free that was on the right. My filler cap is on the offside too, but I drove round her to one of the vacant pumps, and stretched the hose round to fill up my car. Didn't think anything of it, and as I was paying (at the pump), she stormed over and asked why I was in such a hurry, claiming that I was "jumping the queue"! I explained that the "queue" consisted of just her, and that there was no need to wait as two pumps were available. She then said that it was illegal to use a pump that's not on the same side that you fill up and that I was breaking the law. I told her to phone the police then, and that I'd wait for them to arrive so they could arrest me! She marched back over to her car shaking her head. I could see what I assume was her long-suffering husband sat in the passenger seat looking the other direction. Poor bloke!

Used to happen to me all the time. Hence my pointless collection of wiper blades, aerials, wheel trims, dust caps, tow eye covers, etc. Even helped myself to a spare wheel from underneath a Zafira once!

Hiya Barbie! Hi Ken! You wanna go for a ride? Fuck off.

Had a very odd interaction at Cobham services this afternoon. I was walking back to my car and heard someone saying "I need to borrow your phone". I didn't think it was aimed at me and didn't think anything of it. The guy then repeated his abrupt statement, so I turned round and asked him why. Cue some nonsense about how he needed to create an account/password for a website in order to recharge his electric car. Apparently the battery died on his phone and he needed to login to his email address and wanted to use my mobile to do it. Sounded dodgy and I declined. The chap wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Perhaps it was an entirely innocent request, but something about him just didn't seem right. Eventually I just pointed to the building and said that there were plenty of other people he could ask and that he was wasting his time asking me. I actually had to tell him to move so I could shut my door. If he was polite and courteous I might have obliged, but the more I think of it the more I feel like it was some sort of scam. Is this something anyone else has encountered?

Quite pathetic really that this was the highlight of my afternoon...

Pimp My Ride won't be the same without Tim Westwood ruining 15-year-old Escorts.

Did this once on a Hilux Surf. The previous owner decided to tie some red tape around the negative terminal! I'm sure you can work out what happened next... I've since learnt to always check properly!

Honda Logo listed in the parts section with less than 24 hours to go. Done 49k and MOT'd until December. EML and ABS light on. Currently at £255. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115472280423

That's got to hurt.

I've been using a 22-plate Audi A3 today which is an ergonomic mess.

It's the VW engine (2.0 TDI). The fault code is P0401 (INSUFFICIENT EGR FLOW). What a relief!

Thanks for the replies. Went out in the car this morning. It instantly felt more responsive. I took a detour down a local stretch of dual carriageway and it was spot on. In fact the engine felt very strong and the turbo was kicking in nicely. Better still the EML came up, so I should be able to get some fault codes off of it tomorrow. Thanks again for the responses, much appreciated!

Just got back from picking up a 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander from Devon this morning. I wanted something (relatively) modern and nice for commuting, and to use as a family bus. Found one a long way away but it looked good and well-priced. About 10 miles into my 250-mile drive it suddenly felt down on power. No warning lights or anything, but it wouldn't go above 70mph on the flat, and on steep hills speed started to drop. On one particular (very steep) hill, it went as low as 45mph and I had to drop down a couple of gears. On downhill sections it would get up to 80mph+ and I spent most of the journey trying to carry as much momentum as possible. Acceleration was noticeably lacking on slower roads. It keeps pace with traffic but it's definitely not right. I'm hoping it's something simple but I'm wondering if it's perhaps the turbo. The engine sounds sweet and there's no untoward noises or warning lights. It even managed 44.3mpg. I'm gutted as the car should clean up really well and it's fully-loaded with huge spec. I just haven't got the energy for this. Maybe I'll feel differently in the morning...

Grim (but running and MOT'd) Multipla listed in the parts section. Looks ideal for transporting motorbikes. Ending tonight, currently at £295. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265767625980

I'm sure I must have some mild form of OCD, as I detest speedometers with inconsistent increments. The speedo in the Volkswagen Up I was driving earlier really pissed me off. 0... 10... 20... 40? I kept finding myself bombing along at 40 through 30 zones. Similarly, the Suzuki Ignis I was driving the other day really set me off. It goes up in increments of 20 up to 100, where it inexplicably jumps to 130. And what's that randomly squished between 100 and 130 in a smaller font? That'll be 110, of course. A 120mph speedo would've been fine. Why did Suzuki make such an unnecessary mess of this? I need to go and lie down...

I thought there was a ghostly female figure standing next to the car. Looked a bit closer and turns out it was a log. Just me?

This looks too good to be true for a grand... https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206287256999

Aren't I lucky? I was only trying to sell a car and now I've been offered a job!

Very tempted by this high-mileage 530d for £999. No idea where I'd park it though... https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206196938712

I had to Google that, as I had no idea Les Dawson had died. Saw the photos and immediately realised I was thinking of Les Dennis... 🤣