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Memoirs from the Hard Shoulder: bASeman's Spot of the Year award.


BorniteIdentity

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39 minutes ago, jumpingjehovahs said:

TopGear magazine are currently running the spiritual successor to that Focus (and the bASe?) on a long term test.

Boggo basic, base red and with only 85bhp

http:// https://www.topgear.com/long-term-car-reviews/ford/focus/10-ecoboost-85-style-5dr/report-1




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Cheers for the heads up on that!  I'll read that later!

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On 2/15/2019 at 6:28 AM, Zelandeth said:

Guess it does show that being really unlikely doesn't necessarily mean impossible.

 

I don't know why, but I still keep a tiny hope alive that my first proper car, a very early Snapdragon Yellow MiniMetro HLE, NSA240W will suddenly reappear somewhere. Sold it in 2004-ish and it promptly disappeared without trace - have always assumed for scrap despite being a clean example. Still kick myself for selling it, and know I'll never manage to get another as prices have gone mental now.

 

If I found it though...yeah, I'd struggle to justify not buying it!

 

She was one that really liked to run on - had to stall it on quite a few warm afternoons after a long run.

 

I've still never even driven an original Mini though somehow!

I hope you dont mind but curiosity got the better of me and I shoved it into my "Invalid vehicle research tool"

no scrapped marker which is always a good sign! :) 

but weirdly an export marker from the 24th of the 6th 2002, which is also when the 5th keeper acquired the vehicle

the extra weird thing is the export marker does not show up on the DVLA checker itself, so I don't know why my tool thinks it was exported then!

also looks like it was a bit of a hot potato during its last years!

image.png.a4f77ffc2465bbdd1df35b422a5c0800.png

and the last V5 was issued on the 16th of April 2002 according to the DVLA checker

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9 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

I hope you dont mind but curiosity got the better of me and I shoved it into my "Invalid vehicle research tool"

no scrapped marker which is always a good sign! :) 

but weirdly an export marker from the 24th of the 6th 2002, which is also when the 5th keeper acquired the vehicle

the extra weird thing is the export marker does not show up on the DVLA checker itself, so I don't know why my tool thinks it was exported then!

also looks like it was a bit of a hot potato during its last years!

image.png.a4f77ffc2465bbdd1df35b422a5c0800.png

and the last V5 was issued on the 16th of April 2002 according to the DVLA checker

Hmm...DVLA are a bit confused then... consulting my photo library shows that the last photo of it in my ownership news taken on the 6th November 2003, so it definitely wasn't exported then!

Looks like whoever bought it from the trader I sold it to either still has it or has unofficially scrapped it then.  Given the tiny mileage it had on it and the negligible value of them in comparison I'd be somewhat surprised if the engine wasn't now in a Mini...especially as it dropped off the grid so soon after I sold it.

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MIL had a W-plate Focus 1.4 CL for quite a few years, it was a Lex Vehicle Lease car when new so it was fitted with A/C and heated front screen from the factory. It managed to do 180,000 miles before it got traded in for a Mk7 Fiesta Diesel, which is turning out to be the biggest heap of shit she’s ever owned. The Focus had a party trick of blowing the fuel pump fuse at random intervals. It used to do it with such regularity that she would carry a bunch of 10 amp fuses with her in the glovebox and would jump out, change the fuse, then drive away in less than two minutes.

@LightBulbFun that previous owner change date program looks absolutely brilliant. It’s a shame that’s not available commercially as I am desperate to piece together my dad’s potted history of cars. I actually know he wrote off his Peugeot 504 30 years to the day. I was in the car with him and remember being thrown from the back seat into the dashboard. Not pleasant. R.I.P SNG 696R, U R MISD EVRY DEY.

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Just now, greengartside said:

MIL had a W-plate Focus 1.4 CL for quite a few years, it was a Lex Vehicle Lease car when new so it was fitted with A/C and heated front screen from the factory. It managed to do 180,000 miles before it got traded in for a Mk7 Fiesta Diesel, which is turning out to be the biggest heap of shit she’s ever owned. The Focus had a party trick of blowing the fuel pump fuse at random intervals. It used to do it with such regularity that she would carry a bunch of 10 amp fuses with her in the glovebox and would jump out, change the fuse, then drive away in less than two minutes.

@LightBulbFun that previous owner change date program looks absolutely brilliant. It’s a shame that’s not available commercially as I am desperate to piece together my dad’s potted history of cars. I actually know he wrote off his Peugeot 504 30 years to the day. I was in the car with him and remember being thrown from the back seat into the dashboard. Not pleasant. R.I.P SNG 696R, U R MISD EVRY DEY,

Hope you don't mind me asking but how did your dad write off his 504? Must have hurt hitting the dashboard though. 

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4 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Hope you don't mind me asking but how did your dad write off his 504? Must have hurt hitting the dashboard though. 

He slid on a very muddy road, caused by tractors driving along it. There was a Mk2 Escort estate coming the other way and couldn’t stop due to the mud, and went up the bank on dad’s side of the road. My dad went and hit the lady head on at about 25mph. Wrote both of the cars off. I still remember waiting in the car with my cousin whilst dad went to find a phone. I had a very nasty cut on my head, I was five years old at the time!

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52 minutes ago, greengartside said:

@LightBulbFun that previous owner change date program looks absolutely brilliant. It’s a shame that’s not available commercially as I am desperate to piece together my dad’s potted history of cars. I actually know he wrote off his Peugeot 504 30 years to the day. I was in the car with him and remember being thrown from the back seat into the dashboard. Not pleasant. R.I.P SNG 696R, U R MISD EVRY DEY.

well thats the thing, it IS a commercial tool in the truest sense, its not really meant/suited for personal use sadly (down to the bit where you have to plead your case to them, they say its read by humans, but seeing how quickly i was let in Im not 100% sure!)

and even tho its only 15-12 pence per lookup (or cheaper depending on the tier your on!) the minimum "entry fee" is £50 for example, so even once your past the pleading your case bit, its not very cost effective if your just running 1 car or something

but I have run about 1500 cars well mostly invalid vehicles :) , so it works very well for me!

 

sadly the details for your dads 504 is pretty sparse

just says 7 total keepers and that the 7th keeper got it on the 13/02/1987, no details on any previous keepers sadly

curiously enough, it does not have a scrapped marker, i guess whoever scrapped it never sent off the V5!

Last V5 was issued on the 26th of oct 1988

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25 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

well thats the thing, it IS a commercial tool in the truest sense, its not really meant/suited for personal use sadly (down to the bit where you have to plead your case to them, they say its read by humans, but seeing how quickly i was let in Im not 100% sure!)

and even tho its only 15-12 pence (or cheaper depending on the tier your on!) the minimum "entry fee" is £50 for example, so even once your past the pleading your case bit, its not very cost affective if your just running 1 car or something

but I have run about 1500 cars well mostly invalid vehicles :) , so it works very well for me!

 

sadly the details for your dads 504 is pretty sparse

just says 7 total keepers and that the 7th keeper got it on the 13/02/1987, no details on any previous keepers sadly

curiously enough, it does not have a scrapped marker, i guess whoever scrapped it never sent off the V5!

Last V5 was issued on the 26th of oct 1988

Yeah it seems like a very useful tool indeed.

And my dad was the 7th owner and indeed purchased it on 13th February 1987, I found the receipt for it in amongst mum’s things. I can’t remember what he paid but I think it was something like £625. The October 1988 V5 change was when we moved house in the May of ‘88. Yeah it was transported to the scrap man’s home and left in his garden. I remember going to collect some bits from it in my dad’s new car, a 1981 Talbot Alpine. That must have been early in January 1990 as he bought that car just before Christmas 1989.

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Back on topic, and there’s something else joining the fleet in the next couple of weeks. Sadly, it’s not the pink Breadvan from the tat thread (the one with the rosé interior and original main dealer branding) as that strayed north of £1000.

I really don’t need another car - and I don’t really want another car - but peer pressure and the fact I find a bargain irresistible mean that I’m in. 

A lot of the time, people on here say “I wish I had a garage to store these cars in”. For me, I simply wish I had enough understanding friends who’d like to drive a free car around on my behalf. 

It’s a bland but very “me” acquisition - and it makes sense. If the Avensis ever dies, then this is ready to take over. I doubt that’ll ever happen, so let’s just see how we go. 

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12 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

 Sadly, it’s not the pink Breadvan from the tat thread (the one with the rosé interior and original main dealer branding) as that strayed north of £1000.

Back to £200 now.  Just sayin’.

AC70257F-3C86-414A-955E-3E5F40BA0CE5.thumb.jpeg.dfb5fda50fd070e95c2fea4178c4e23f.jpeg

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F184051842331

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On 11/30/2019 at 10:10 AM, Skizzer said:

Different car, but preferable price tag. Sold for just over £400.

Just waiting on my new acquisition to get an MOT then it’ll be collection time. I’m jokingly giving it to my wife for Xmas, so also need to source a giant bow ? ?

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On 11/21/2019 at 8:25 AM, jumpingjehovahs said:

TopGear magazine are currently running the spiritual successor to that Focus (and the bASe?) on a long term test.

Boggo basic, base red and with only 85bhp

http:// https://www.topgear.com/long-term-car-reviews/ford/focus/10-ecoboost-85-style-5dr/report-1




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

boggo base- pah its got alloy wheels & a rev counter ffs

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On 11/29/2019 at 4:29 PM, LightBulbFun said:

 I have run about 1500 cars well mostly invalid vehicles :) , so it works very well for me!

I don't suppose I could be cheeky and ask of you could run my Marina for me please? It was off the road from 1981 until I bought it and I don't really know much about its history. I think it may have changed keeper in the late 70s but I really don't know. 

The reg is PEB762R. Thanks. 

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3 hours ago, trigger said:

I don't suppose I could be cheeky and ask of you could run my Marina for me please? It was off the road from 1981 until I bought it and I don't really know much about its history. I think it may have changed keeper in the late 70s but I really don't know. 

The reg is PEB762R. Thanks. 

sure no Problem :) sadly the keeper change date history is a bit patchy, I wonder what the 3rd (4th and 5th) keeper change was about if it was off the road since 1981

image.png.dbcc91ff8e92815c8b106070ab2527a1.png

im not sure why some date have dates and others dont, for example John the keeper of REV between 2000-2019 is not listed, but the 2nd keeper (Dennis webb) is listed, he had it between 1985-2000, and of course im the 4th keeper :) 

image.png.28eda4b6490f1181e8a4207f8129bb5c.png

maybe it was just down to how whoever handled the keeper change on the DVLA/DVLC end at the time entered the data into the computer?

(its worth noting the tool just puts the date of first registration for the first keeper)

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Thank you for doing that, that would explain why I'm listed as a the 6th keeper on the V5 then, annoyingly as I bought it after the GDPR changes I don't even have the last keepers details on the current V5. 

I suspect the 2nd keeper is the one who took it off the road in 1981 and its then been transferred to either other family members or the family have moved address but the cars stayed in the same council lock up so each time they have updated the logbook it's shown as a new keeper, sadly the V5 was missing when I bought it so I'll never know now the fully story behind it. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
13 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Base 3-door 1300 on a Suffolk 'DX' plate here:

IPSOCScan-3119 Lady Lane  1990s

Did reasonably well, making it to 2002.

That’s made me disproportionately happy. For reasons unknown I always get a bit homesick at this time of the year; it’s lovely to see such a photograph! 

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Today saw me breakdown, albeit briefly, in the ever dependable Avensis.

Sad as I am, I wanted to drive the new stretch of the A14 which first involved me driving the old A14 (now signposted A1307). 

The approach road was flooded on the inside, and i was unable to pass wide due to a vehicle turning right. Now, the Avensis has never really liked getting wet. Hammer through rain and the PAS will stop working for 20 seconds, and sometimes the car can hold back as the lights dim briefly.

However, today it just proceeded to die. I dropped down a gear hoping to hop it back into firing but nothing. 3rd? Nope. I just cruised to a halt. 

Plenty of grunt to crank it, but no dice. It briefly ran at the 4th attempt as steam came from the bonnet. After it dried out for a few minutes, it started - cleared its throat - and off we went. 

Any ideas? I probably went through 2” of water at about 30 mph.

Ps. The A1307 was the weirdest experience. When it was the A14 you clung onto the wheel and hoped for the best- it was manic. Now? Like dystopian end of world stuff. I wasn’t overtaken for 8 miles. It was like driving on Christmas Day. Never made the new A14 because the exits are really limited and there’s only W/B access at Papworth. 

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