Datsuncog's Heaps: Sept 2023 - Another Year's T-Met Exemption Certificate...

[AlsoMike]

Unfortunately we've kind of got stuck on insurance here - no matter how we tweak it, a quote of under £500 isn't forthcoming. Which is a fair whack for a car we don't actually need, and in addition to the ones we do need.

 

I had one of these a couple of years ago (bug-eye, 1.3, 5 door) and struggled to get a decent insurance quote too, pretty much doubled my premium no matter where I looked. Really not worth it for the vehicular equivalent of a sensory deprivation chamber.

[Datsuncog]

On 5/12/2018 at 10:51 AM, AlsoMike said:

I had one of these a couple of years ago (bug-eye, 1.3, 5 door) and struggled to get a decent insurance quote too, pretty much doubled my premium no matter where I looked.

Really not worth it for the vehicular equivalent of a sensory deprivation chamber.

It's really strange - I'd thought these 1.3 Corollas would have been a doddle to insure, because relatively slow and unappealing. Ver' strange.

Having said that, the only person I knew who owned one was a friend who began driving later in life, and had a number of prangs in it before writing it off in a smash.

Maybe it's the default choice for an underconfident driver?

 

On 5/11/2018 at 7:53 PM, Dirk Diggler said:

Have you got an Irish address you could use?

ETA I could insure that Corolla for 230 yo-yos if it's 20, 5000 mile limit

Well, we're currently considering some sort of scenario involving a cousin who's a student at UCD but based in Cavan, and actually is in need of her own transport... we've no desire to own a Corolla long-term, Mrs DC just fancied driving one around for a week or two to sate the childhood desire. So looking into the viability of maybe gifting it to her cousin, assuming it wouldn't be prohibitively crippling for her to register/insure over the border...

Out of interest, what's the craic with insurance on older cars in ROI suddenly becoming Very Expensive for some reason - wasn't there someone on here whose brother had seen the insurance for their c2000 Mk1 Yaris in Dublin quadruple on renewal this year, simply because it was now considered 'too old'?

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I think whatever the road tax equivalent is proves scary for cars that aren't newish but aren't old either?

 

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[Datsuncog]

^^^ Could well be that - seems a bit strange, but there we have it...

Just as an amusing exercise, we spent last night having a look at some other car insurance prices using a well-known online comparison site, just to see how the quotes vary... and it was quite peculiar.

Firstly, everything was a good bit dearer to insure than her current Yaris. Like, double her current premium.

Secondly, there was virtually no difference in price between wildly differing cars -  a quote for The Shadow's rather nice grey Citroen AX, and then a quote for a rather tasty 2004 Mercedes E500 V8 that R9UKE has up for grabs at the minute, differed only by about four quid. In the Merc's favour.

It's considered marginally less of a risk for her to pilot a firebreathing 5-litre Mercedes V8 than a flimsy 1.0 Citroen rollerskate. Go figure.

Seems that if either of us do fancy something to play with, it may have to be an ak-chew-al cla$$ic that can be punted onto an appropriate policy. Which is mildly annoying.

But! Not the end of the world.

 

CarParts4Less' courier's tracking system reveals that the springs for the Subaru are still kicking their heels in a warehouse in Brum, so no real progress there.

To make up for it, I had a bit of a hoke under the bonnet on Saturday, and was mildly discomfited to discover that there was now no engine oil whatsoever registering on the dipstick.

Previously, I'd had a look and could see that some oil showed at the bottom of the stick and it was low-ish, but as a full service is on the cards, it didn't worry me a lot.

Now, I'm worried.

About a litre of 5w/30 was required to bring it back up to full level. The oil looks so thin compared to the golden syrup I'm used to throwing into in my assorted heaps. I've now bought a small (2l) bottle of oil to keep in the boot.

So that's something I'm going to have to keep a close eye on... not sure whether the boxer engines are renowned for using a bit of oil, but naturally my automotive hypochondria's chosen to kick in big-time that the piston rings are gone, the bores are knackered and all the seals are leaking...

I also finally found a working tyre pressure machine on a garage forecourt, which confirmed that all the tyres were cheerfully out of whack.

Now, the little tyre pressure plate on the driver's side doorframe gives the correct pressures in Pascals, which seems a very funny measurement to me... some rough and ready conversions seems to put the front tyres around the 29psi mark, and the rears at 28. Sounds about right, I suppose.

The measurements for each tyre taken at the forecourt machine were:

Front n/s: 46psi

Front o/s: 38psi

Rear n/s: 28psi

Rear o/s: 14psi

Plainly, this was far from ideal... they're now all equalised, but that's something else to keep an eye on. Not sure if the rear o/s has a slow puncture, or just has been allowed to deflate over time... again, this is why I'm keen to get under this yoke and see what the gearbox and differential levels are like. Whatever repairs may have been carried out recently, indications are that this L'il Subaru has not been especially fastidiously maintained.

It's also now encrusted with bird droppings, as down the side of the house appears to be the preferred route of a squadron of starlings keen to re-enact the RAF's campaign on Dortmund c.March 1945. Lovely.

On the upside, I'm pleased to note that with a smidge under 200 miles completed, the fuel needle's only just dropped below the halfway mark. I'd heard rumours of terrible fuel consumption on these, but if I'm looking at around 400 miles out of a full tank, that's more than I was getting out of either Laguna (£50 of unleaded generally bought me only 300 miles in either Renner; £58 filled the Sub's tank from near-empty).

And even that's after Mrs DC's Argentinian-style road test.

So it's the watching and waiting game, from here on in...

EDIT: oh yeah, plan is to take L'il Thunder down to Tattersall's International Horse Trials just outside Dublin the weekend after next, which will be the Subaru's first major outing... let's hope with slightly more success and slightly less drama than when TAZ drove the same route (see Post #1 of this thread for details...)

[Split_Pin]

If its not smoking or leaking profusely, it could just be a different level surface that the car is parked on?

 

My Vauxhalls use none for months and suddenly there will be a drop in the level for no reason at all!

[Datsuncog]

^^^ It's certainly possible - though I want to move the Sub later and have a close look at where it's parked, just in case there's summat leaking... certainly no smoke, anyway. When I checked the level before, it was on the flat - but parked on a (very slight) incline over the weekend.

I seem to recall my dad's Citroen Picasso (new) requiring regular top-ups of >1 litre at a time; main dealer reckoned that was about right. Just not something I'm used to!

Does sound a bit happier with the oil level bumped up, though.

A quick check on ECP reveals that standard filters etc don't seem too heinous, so may order up some bits and get that job done over the weekend. Only thing is I need to measure up the oil filter, as there's two different fitment sizes - and I think I can only access it via a hatch underneath...

[Split_Pin]

There's always 2 different sizes, its never that easy!

 

I reckon the little Fast_ate is absolutely fine.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

My merc used a litre in the first week I owned it, whigh alarmed me greatly. I done an oil change and it hasn't used any since....

 

Mine had been sat up for a while before I got it, what about the sub?

 

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[Datsuncog]

^^^ The fella I bought it off had been using it as a replacement for 6wks, while his BMW was away getting bodywork repairs after someone drove into him (or so he told me...) - but if he was just driving it around the Old Park Rd area, it probably wasn't getting much of a run... hopefully a full service will be carried out this weekend, then we'll see what's what! It was deffo low when I got it; maybe it really hadn't dropped that much at all.

You all know by now how much I enjoy a good worry!

[Guest Hooli]

Older turbo engines often use a bit of oil, it can get by the turbo seals & burn. I'd just monitor it & get used to topping it up.

 

If it's burning lots I'd add washing the intercooler out to the list of jobs you won't get around too, I plan to do it for the Saab this year as a just in case thing.

[Datsuncog]

^^^ Yup, once I've got it so's I know all levels are to manufacturer spec, I'll be sure to keep a close eye and see how it changes in use... hopefully it won't be all that dreadful for slurping oil. My knowledge of turbos and their quirks could be better - this is my first non-diesel turbo, so it's all new...

[Zelandeth]

The only cars I've ever had that don't use *any* oil as far as I can tell so far have been the 107 (always still looked like new when drained too), the Activa (okay, only seven months in...but she ain't driven sedately!) ...and somewhat astonishingly, the Lada once I fixed all the leaks. Hasn't used a drop since.

 

Seem to recall the Impreza a colleague had used to use a bit, never caused them issues though. Just make sure it's part of the walk-round checks.

 

Still don't know why more cars aren't like the Xantia and have oil *level* warning lights as well as pressure.

 

...even if the light in both Xantias I've had does occasionally cry wolf.

[Datsuncog]

^^^ It's a really useful function to have, an oil level gauge - my Laguna 1s also had them; on the bASe model, the temp gauge lit up behind and gave an oil level reading for 10 seconds after starting before falling back, and on the RTs the digital odo gave a display of 0-5 bars for the same period. So simple, yet so effective! Really surprised they're not more common.

 

And on the subject of the Activa... did the Bburago 1/43 model arrive with you safely?

[Datsuncog]

Ok, well  - looks like yesterday afternoon's statement that my rear springs were hanging around a warehouse in the West Midlands wasn't 100% correct.

I've texted Mrs Lovely next door and she's agreed to sign for them, which will hopefully avoid several weeks of driving up and down to Coleraine or something in an increasingly futile attempt to get the parcel released from the clutches of their depot...

- "Sorry sir, we need to see your long birth certificate to release this parcel... that's your short birth certificate. And your seven passport-sized photographs need to be 8% bigger. And this Marks & Spencer triple-fudge layer cake is a little scanty on the chocolate frosting. Try again next week, sucka."

Fingers crossed.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I guess given your recent adventures with oil consumption* you are right to be wary...

 

 

*not sure it counted as consumption with the renner, given it just fell out

 

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[Eddie Honda]

Out of interest, what's the craic with insurance on older cars in ROI suddenly becoming Very Expensive for some reason - wasn't there someone on here whose brother had seen the insurance for their c2000 Mk1 Yaris in Dublin quadruple on renewal this year, simply because it was now considered 'too old'?

Two main players the other year stopped quoting for new business on 15+ year old cars (and any existing business jacked up the price).

 

Stuff between 10-15 gets surcharged a bit I've found. There are insurers of 15+ stuff around, but there isn't really any competition anyway.

 

tl;dr: CARTEL.

[Lacquer Peel]

It's happening in the UK too, I've had a right war getting the 17yo Bora insured for a reasonable price. In the end I had to go for a quite unreasonable quote. 8 points doesn't help, but I have 4 years no claims.

I think the main issue is the car's low value.

[Datsuncog]

^^^ That makes sense - cheers for that!

Well, I mean it doesn't make sense in a logical way, but it does explain what the issue is. Insurers are not terribly shite-friendly at the best of times... I'm not liking the way this is going, either north or south of the border.

Though I am still surprised that the Subaru was only £70 more than the Laguna to insure. Leaving the performance aside, the Forester does still have some actual value, despite its age, whereas the Lagunas were only ever bangers and would always have been write-offs at the merest bumper-tap.

 

Other news: phone call from Courier Matey just after 11:

- Eh, take it you're not at home then?

- No. No, I'm in work. Like yourself, funnily enough. Like most people.

- No-one around to take it this here parcel, then?

- Well, I'd put a neighbour's address down as my preferred alternate option on the website - is there no-one there either?

- No, well, sure, I've left it down the side of the house behind the car, is that okay?

- YES!!! That's all I've ever wanted from a frigging courier, rather than participating in a tiresomely protracted game of cat-and-mouse in multiple escalating levels of frustration over a period of several weeks, that usually concludes by re-enacting a Cold-War era handover operation at stupid o'clock in the morning in some abandoned industrial estate about forty miles from where I actually live - and all "for my convenience".

 

Okay, so I might have only thought the last bit rather than said it, but I feel my point is still valid.

Here's hoping the springs are still there by the time I get home...

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Making the assumption you are of similar vintage to myself, I think once you get well beyond 25 or so the insurance starts being less about the car itself and more about you and your postcode.

 

I've found I can insure almost anything for around the £4-500 mark. That seems to be my magic number regardless of the car being a metro or a mercedes.

 

Being a father and owning a house seems to convey an image of boring sensibility which for once is working in my favour.

 

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[The_Equalizer]

Making the assumption you are of similar vintage to myself, I think once you get well beyond 25 or so the insurance starts being less about the car itself and more about you and your postcode.

 

I've found I can insure almost anything for around the £4-500 mark. That seems to be my magic number regardless of the car being a metro or a mercedes.

 

Being a father and owning a house seems to convey an image of boring sensibility which for once is working in my favour.

 

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You'll probably not remember, but I'm just around the corner from you in Whiteabbey. I suppose being a middle-aged fart with a wife and kids might well bring it down, but despite living in a less salubrious part of NI (just on the edge of what used to be Europe's biggest housing estate) and only driveway parking I get quotes for some quite bananas motors at very reasonable money. The current soft top CLK comes in at about £250 and I've tested the water with silly things like a 90s E55 Benz - £330 - and total pie in the sky 90s Bentley Continental R at £350. Point being is postcode can't be the deciding factor. It's probably the history of claims on similar cars in the area so perhaps pick something total bonkers and get relatively cheap insurance!

[Datsuncog]

It does underline just what a farce the whole system is... we'd been of the mind that as we both insure our own cars (Mrs DC's Yaris = approx. £240 for fully comp/ business use/ protected15 years NCB: my Forester XT = £370 for same but 19 yrs protected NCB - both driveway parking only) it might have been a wee bit less again to insure a 1999 Corolla 1.3 - but instead it was nearer the £500 mark, as a second car.

But then everything we checked seemed to weigh in around the £500 mark, whether it was a 1.0 AX or a 5.0 E-Class.

Moral of the story: don't bother with a Citroen rollerskate, buy a Mercedes V8.

Or a Bentley Continental R.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

It does underline just what a farce the whole system is... we'd been of the mind that as we both insure our own cars (Mrs DC's Yaris = approx. £240 for fully comp/ business use/ protected15 years NCB: my Forester XT = £370 for same but 19 yrs protected NCB - both driveway parking only) it might have been a wee bit less again to insure a 1999 Corolla 1.3 - but instead it was nearer the £500 mark, as a second car.

 

But then everything we checked seemed to weigh in around the £500 mark, whether it was a 1.0 AX or a 5.0 C-Class.

 

Moral of the story: don't bother with a Citroen rollerskate, buy a Mercedes V8.

 

Or a Bentley Continental R.

Don't forget your NCB is tied up on other policies if the corolla is a third car. Makes a reasonable amount of difference.

 

XM was on a classic policy at £140 fully comp though limited mileage. Something like the shadow's AX is probably doable on classic, granted its not a corolla

 

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[Datsuncog]

Well, okay then.

Springs have indeed arrived.

And they look... like springs. I haven't a clue whether they're correct or not, but hey - it's a step in the right direction, yeah? Probably.

[Guest Hooli]

Hurrah for the the last intelligent courier left out there.

[320touring]

Glad they came through £30 more for the fuel tank!

[They_all_do_that_sir]

DIY or do you have a trusted mechanic?

 

If not Johnny who runs autoworx behind the fortfields petrol station on the belfast Road is easy to pay, I use him for stuff I'm not equipped to do myself

 

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[Datsuncog]

I'm way too scared of springs to risk DIY (plus, incompetent in general) - so it'll be a garage job, I think... used to take all my cars to Wilson's just on down from Fortfield, but they've got rather pricey of late (£200 to do two brake hoses on KAZ, and I supplied the hoses...) - so that's excellent, I'll give him a bell! I prefer going on personal recommendation - thanks for that!!

[Dave_Q]

Genuine video of an insurance company determining premiums.

 

[YouTube]https://youtu.be/wz-PtEJEaqY

[warninglight]

 

 

This is The Knockagh. The foothills of the Antrim Plateau, with a thin ribbon of road wending its way across the top, via various layered hairpins and exceedingly tight bends. That little chimney you can see at the top? Yeah, that's a 110ft tall war memorial.

 

knockagh-monument.jpg

 

It's also the road where I crashed the Yaris into a verge on a snowy morning a few years back. It's a bit of a bugger, all told.

 

 

I used to do a loop up and over Knockagh regularly, when I stayed in Whiteabbey as a student, 2009-2013, normally in this:

 

 

That would have been early 2010, during one of the many brief periods where the was 1100 working, rather than in Banbridge in 300 pieces.

 

I once set up a route for the uni Motor Club which included the run over Knockagh, as a navigation thing. On a midnight recce a couple of nights previously I managed an average of 35mph, in that 1100. On the evening of the run one of the freshers stuffed his MG ZR into a river running off the hill. Going up from the Carrick side (and working from memory as it's a few years since I was over) there's a tight right hairpin, followed by a slightly gentler left hairpin over a bridge. Well he went straight on through the gate and down a good 6 foot drop into the river which flowed under said bridge. It was lifted back out the next morning by Agnews and he spent the rest of the week getting hold of a bumper and some lights so it was back in one piece without his parents finding out at the weekend.

 

Turned out he shouldn't have been driving anyway, as he was getting around with crutches having not long had his cast removed after he overloaded a dumper truck and tipped it on the family farm.

 

Good times though!

[Datsuncog]

^^^ Aaaah, brilliant!!!

Yes, I remember seeing that wee 1100 zipping about the odd time, with a young fella driving - often on the Westlink, for some reason. Didn't know that was you. Fantastic!

Are you still local to SE Antrim - and do you still have the 1100??