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Stanky

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Stanky last won the day on October 26 2022

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    Fareham

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  1. I thought there was a thread for 'historic spottings' but I can't find it so I'll put these here My local area in the late 80s, before they put a roundabout in to replace the staggered junction pictured. Some pretty hot chode in those pics! Is the pale green car in pic #2 an Alfa Arna, or a Nissan Cherry? Interestingly* the roundabout has been remodelled again recently.
  2. So I've had the Lexus for a week and a half and have had some time to get to know it better. Headline is that its comfortably the best car I've ever owned! Its well built, comfortable - especially at motorway speeds, and literally everything works. I've only used about 1/3rd of a tank of fuel so far and if the trip computer is to be believed then its returning about 34mpg in mixed use. Today I removed the wheels one by one and gave them a thorough clean with the autosmart alishine cleaner which has brought them up very well. This also allowed me time to inspect the state of the discs and pads (all fine) and also check the operation of the rear caliper sliders. This is a weak spot on the car, and they are prone to seizing the bottom slider pin. The passenger side moves fine, but the drivers side seems a bit stiff, though it was parked close up to a wall so access wasn't great. I plan to strip both sides down and silicone grease the sliders to keep them working as they should, but I didn't have time today. I've also lined up bits for an oil and filters change, pleasingly oil, oil filter, air filter and cabin filter come in under £60 which I'm not grumbling about! I'll get that done after payday and sort out the sliders at the same time. I gave it a quick wash but it really wants a seeing to with the clay bar, there are lots of little tar speckles all over and it just wants a bit of hard work to get it up to top condition. Also, why does no-one ever clean inside the fuel filler flap? The rubber round the filler neck was covered in brown gunge and the rest of it was coated in dried mud, it looks a lot better now! Oh, the only other thing is that it currently wears 4 mismatched budget tyres which are a bit worn. I'll probably get a set of 4 matching midranges before too much longer so at least one rear tyre is at the 3mm wear marker. Surprisingly the road noise isn't too bad on the motley budgets and it handles fine even on greasy roundabouts. I shall end the update by saying that I have missed the best aspect of owning an auto, pulling out onto roundabouts while eating crisps. Extensive testing in a manual car has shown that you need at least 3 hands to steer, change gear and shovel crisps into your pie hole all at once, and this doesn't work and since the crisp-eating bit is non-negotiable then you either end up banging off the limiter in 1st gear or navigating the roundabout more like a hexagon - much to the alarm of other road users
  3. @JJ0063 might be able to help with this. I suspect that the risk profile of an unemployed person is actually surprisingly high, not least because they would be using the car and exposed to opportunity for crashing far more than an employed person who, statistically, is imprisoned for 8 hours per day, 5 days per week. Can you not list your employment as 'farm labourer' instead, since thats what you seem to actually do? (EDIT, Tickman can type quicker than me)
  4. NHS? My wife and eldest daughter go through this hoo-har virtually every time. They have 6-monthly appointments (mandatory, to remain on the books) except 75% of appointments get cancelled, often on the day of the appointment. Then several weeks later they get a new appointment and the merry-go-round starts again. I got so sick of it all I went private about 10 years ago, I have a choice of private practices within a 10 minute walk, I can get appointments within 72 hours if needed, can book months ahead and be assured that the appointment will never be cancelled and I pay no more than they do to be treated like lepers at the NHS dentist - because I only need to go once a year, whereas they must go twice or be struck off. Just tell them to FRO and go private, yeah, we all pay taxes and NHS dentistry should be better than this in the 5th richest economy on earth, but you're only frustrating yourself by persevering with the shit service. Go private and you won't look back. Fully appreeciate it should be better than this, but it isn't, so do something about it. If you're a private patient then tell the practice to FRO and go elsewhere. Money talks.
  5. Glad it got you home safe and sound @CaptainBoom - the seats are very comfy, I've done several Fareham > Manchester runs in it over the last couple of years and its always been entirely pleasant. I think the best I saw was a 49.5 MPG average over the ~260 mile journey coming home late one weekday evening in the summer, I wasn't in a rush and did a gentle 60mph drive, no holdups, no stops for food or anything on a warm summer evening. Very nice it was! I kept coming back to the analogy of an old slipper with the car, its just wafty and comfortable and a little bit shabby. You'll get used to the hand/foot brake pedal (or just become more ambivalent about rolling backwards!) with time I'm sure. It was a bit scary at first but you do get used to it.
  6. And he's on his way! Hope the mercedes is as faithful a companion to you as it has been for me. *Wipes away a tear*
  7. See you shortly! The spitfire is flying from the airfield nearby today so hopefully you should get to see/hear that while you're here.
  8. Mine doesn't have the sunblind, though two that I tested out did have it, its probabaly for the best because my youngest daughter would definitely burn the motors out once she found the button that controls it! its a really impressive touch, and equally impressive that it still functions perfectly on cars that are nearly 20 years old! Wickham is literally 10 miles away from me, I'm just the other side of Fareham - is that Lex-Tech in Droxford? I've heard good things about them if so. I want to drive the car for a bit, then sort out some servicing that I'll probably do myself, I would like to change the spark plugs and use the opportunity to have a good look at the inlet valves for the crud you get with direct injection, which seems to be the only real issue these suffer with. I need a bit of time to go out and play with all the buttons really and get it just right for me!
  9. There is a free version of Tech2 called 'OpCom' available here: https://www.instructables.com/OPCOM-V145-Setup-and-Installation/ And works with any old USB -> ODB2 cable. I used an old VAGCOM cable I had and it would talk to all the modules on my old Saab 9-3 (2004 vintage) There is an official Opcom site where the software download lives. I'm sure it used to be free, but now seems to be £7.99 - I think the instructables link above is free? I think the hardest bit of the setup was getting USB pass-through as I was running it in a Windows 7 VM in Windows 10.
  10. Counterintuitively, the automatic IS250 is comfortably inside the £395 bracket, but the manual version runs into the top tier at £675. I wanted an automatic anyway, apparently (and Autotrader prices seem to bear this out) the manual version is actually way less appealing than the auto.
  11. Yes, this is the same tax as my Mercedes C180 was at £395 for the year. The manual version is the full-fat "I'm funding the NHS and Defence Budget singlehandedly" £675 rate, as was the GS300 I looked at.
  12. My worry about them is trusting people to use them as intended, and no either undo them - or worse do them up - using air tools. I'd rather pay the £7 for 4 normal hex-head nuts to eliminate that as a possible cause of b0rkery. Alos, it means one less thing to think about if the car is in for work at a garage. "Umm, where is the locking wheelnut key, sir?" is a conversation I've had twice now, and can feel the pent up rage of the mechanic on the other end of the phoneline!
  13. both close guesses! I have decided to treat myself to a 'nice' car. I've never owned a car with more than 4 cylinders, and wanted something thats a bit special to look at and to drive. I wanted something that was reliable too. So behold A 2010 Lexus IS250 SE-L. I test drove about half a dozen, and a GS300 for good measure but this one was the 'right' one. Bought from an old guy in Chichester, its got FSH, decent alloys, loads of toys (all working) and is lovely to drive. Its a 2.5L NASP v6 with a 6-speed automatic gearbox. I know its cliched but it feels incredibly well built and understressed. The ergonomics are spot on, everything is exactly where I'd expect it to be. I'm over the moon with it. The only things on the 'to do' list are to get a set of 4 normal wheel nuts to replace the locking ones because they're just a liability at this point, and to get 4 new tyres. The current ones are all OK age and tread wise, but are a mismatched set of 'premium economy' brands - I'd like to make it perfect by fitting a new set of 4 matching midranges. Shall I leave my AS memebership card on the side as I leave, or put it in the shredder when I get home?
  14. Car change time! I've been toying with the idea of replacing the Mercedes for a while, helped* along by work pointing out that its not ideal for client visits and my wife who isn't overly keen on the lacquer peel. My usual reply that either party was welcome to buy me a new car has failed to yield results so I've finally taken matters into my own hands. I narrowed the list down to an executive saloon or estate newer than 2005 and went out visiting. There have been some good cars, some average cars and quite a bit of sewage but I finally found something just right for me on Saturday. I left a cash deposit and I'm going back tomorrow to collect. I've switched the insurance over from midday and will tax it when I'm there then drive back. Its only down the road in Chichester so hardly a collection thread epic, but should do me a good few years. For now, I shall leave you with a review snippet, that declared it 'competent, but a bit soulless' - so a lot like me then!
  15. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grolsch-Spare-Washers-Swing-Bottles/dp/B0026WZB7W Also available in silicone for approx £6 for 25, the Homebrew shop in Aldershot sells them individually in case you don't want to order from Amazon/have loads of spares.
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