The new news 24 thread

[DodgeRover]

Ah but after the interview they'll just expect to renegotiate all those things...

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Driving to work yesterday morning in the Rover 600, it's the first of March and I hadn't taxed it yet. Crawling along in the Derby commuter traffic, what's this in the lay-by? Only a friggin 'DVLA TAX CHECKING' van with a couple of cameras on its roof. Sure enough as I pass, a car pulls out of the lay-by into the traffic a few cars behind me. Thanks to the chronic congestion I manage to lose him and get to work where I sorted out the tax online! 'AVE THAT LOSERS.

 

Remember this? Specially the 'ave that losers' bit. Well i got a fine through the post the other day for THREE HUNDRED AND FIVE QUID!!!!! Where the fuck does that number come from? Nothing about paying any back tax or breakdown of what it is, just a demand through the post for for £305.

 

I SORN'd the gooner at 11pm on Sunday 28th Feb and taxed the 623 at 9.30am on Monday the 1st march on my works computer. Got 'busted' at 9.00 am on that Monday driving to work with no tax. I will send them my proofs of SORN and Taxage and see what they say, hopefully i can convince them that I have not actually welched out of paying anyone anything that i owe them! We all know what they are like though so who knows where it will lead.

 

FFS I think I would rather take the easy option of killing myself in preference to handing over £305 to the DVLA for absolutely nowt!

[vulgalour]

£305?

 

[cort1977]

That is pretty unlucky mr. B.

 

I would hope that a polite, reasonable letter would be enough to deal with the issue assuming there are still reasonable people with some discretion at Swansea and it hasn't gone too 'computer says no'. Even if they reject your justification keep pushing it up the chain, worth a try and less messy than suicide.

[Ghosty]

LET'S TALK CR-V

 

So, not had a drive of this (yet?), but had a ride in it with Old Man and we've both had a right laugh, it really is crap compared to what we're used to.

 

It's a 2004 Honda CR-V 2.0 i-VTEC SE Executive. That gives you pretty much all the toys - leather, heated front seats, all round electric windows (but only the driver's is one touch), climate, cruise, sunroof, steering wheel controls, heated power folding mirrors... also has the optional 4 speed auto (typical Honda auto 1-2-D3-D4... except the lever only has 1-2-D4, and D3 is on a button on the end of the lever. Weird). With column change! Well sort of, the gear lever just sticks out of the dash next to the wheel. Despite appearances, and the legend suggesting so, the lever doesn't have a straight throw, it's one of those where you move it to the side to get it out of park instead of pressing a button. You find that out the first time you pull down on it, and nothing happens. 

The 2.0 i-VTEC lump puts out a respectable 148bhp, however it's just not enough - this thing just doesn't go. Put your foot down and nothing really happens. To add insult to injury, the trip computer tells us we're averaging 21.8mpg. There's a bar graph for a live readout too, but I wasn't paying too much attention to that.

Ouch, even the Cooper S (and the V6 A4!) can manage 30, and it's faster too. It also doesn't like hills much. Low end torque is OK, but for a supposed off-road vehicle (ha) it's not great.

Ride is odd. It's smooth, yet agricultural, I don't quite know how to describe it. You know you're going over bumps and the like, but the suspension takes them reasonably well. It doesn't know what it's trying to be. Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of body roll, a very wallowy ride. Not uninspiring though, combine it with the lacklustre performance and it's actually pretty comical. It's softer than the average Honda, and while not quite at Rover levels of spongy, it's not bad. It's not going to do your back in like a "luxury" spec Defender might.

...or is it? Interior comfort is another factor, and, well, there isn't any. I have an iffy back, and it was starting to feel a bit dodgy, even after only 12 miles. I wouldn't like to travel any distance in that thing... The seats might be leather and heated, but they're still manual adjust, and there's no lumbar support. They're also devoid of shape or bolsters, which are much needed actually - I found myself siding about on them a fair bit, thanks to the body roll. On tighter corners I could feel it trying to deposit me in the void between the front seats... They certainly weren't doing my iffy back any favours either, far from comfortable in fact, just hard slabs. It's not like the smooth, supple leather of the Cooper S which is a genuine pleasure to sit in much like leather interiors of old, albeit less cracked - these seats were that hard, almost shiny leather(?) you'd expect to find in an identity crisis-riddled car such as this. Seats you sit on, not in. However, both front seats get an armrest, and space aplenty, which is something. There's a big gap between driver and front passenger, in it is a little table with cupholders and such, or can be folded to one side to leave a big gap in the flat floor, in absence of a centre console, conventional gear lever or handbrake. You could seat five with not too much issue and all with proper belts and legroom, whether they like the seats is another matter. The rears slide forward and back too, in 60/40 parts, which is a nice feature.

The cabin is well insulated, decently quiet, and being a Honda, solid and well put together (let's ignore the fact it's a bit muddy and full of dog hair), with decent quality plastics to boot.. Buttons have a nice feel, everything (except the gear lever and maybe the handbrake) is intuitive, and there are plenty of cubby holes and whatnot - even a cool box in the centre of the dash that you can activate/deactivate, basically using the a/c to make a mini fridge. It all works well - nice and simple as Honda do best. The doors, however, are far too light, and fly open almost too willingly. I think it'd be all too easy to accumulate many a parking ding getting out of it. It's the polar opposite of the massively weighted, quality feeling doors of Binis. Considering the size of the bloody things, you expect a certain degree of heft to be present, and it just... isn't. It's weird.

The boot is pretty big, there's nothing to say about that really.

Overall... it's a Honda, it'll be bombproof mechanically, and there's lots of toys... but that's it. Fuel economy isn't great, it's not comfortable, it's slow, and doesn't ride all that well.

 

WOULDN'T.

[Kiltox]

I would love to know if you would still have got that letter had you taxed it at 8:50, Nutz

 

Surely their systems don't actually sync up that quickly even though there's little reason not to these days

[SiC]

I wonder if they capture all the plates for the day and then process them in the back office later on to see which infringe. Or they may just have a mobile link and ping it through that way.

 

Iirc the traffic police cars have a database that is updated every so often on the MID. So if they pull someone they have to verify that they haven't or have actually got insurance by phoning up the insurer on whoever they claim to be insured by.

[r.welfare]

Overall... it's a Honda, it'll be bombproof mechanically, and there's lots of toys... but that's it. Fuel economy isn't great, it's not comfortable, it's slow, and doesn't ride all that well.

There's a lot of truth in your summary, but for a lot of people (myself included, as I've probably had 150k of drivers seat time in a Prelude, Civic and two Accords of this era) the first two outweigh the latter four.

[dave21478]

Jeez Bollox, luck isnt on your side this month, is it?

If you have to pay their arbitrary fine, plus the pez incident a few days ago, thats nigh on 400 sheets down the flusher.

Could have bought a nice car with that.....

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Tell me about it.

 

I can't believe that I will have to pay £300 when I can show I have not actually has a single day 'untaxed', it just doesn't seem plausible. I shall write them a polite letter and see where I get to.

[dave21478]

300 Seems massively punitive. Granted it was years ago and times have changed but when I got caught without tax...a few months without, I was a naughty boy.... I only had to pay the back tax and I think about a 40 quid fine.

 

Good luck with it.

[richardmorris]

Is it all a fine, or made up of fine + tax for the year (that they think you haven't paid?).

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I have no idea, its just a postal demand for £305

[strangeangel]

205CJ MOT status: ACHIEVED. First time of asking too!

 

On the downside there were advisories on front and rear suspension bushes, which our man reckons will need doing next year. Is this a bad job?

[cort16]

That Rover has so far cost you more than it's purchase price in unfortunate incidents. I'd get rid before you discover 20g of plutonium in the boot and you have to pay 1.1 million in fines as your works car park now has a half life of the dinosaur extinction period.

[SiC]

That Rover has so far cost you more than it's purchase price in unfortunate incidents. I'd get rid before you discover 20g of plutonium in the boot and you have to pay 1.1 million in fines as your works car park now has a half life of the dinosaur extinction period.

To be fair, I don't think the poor old car can be blamed here.

[anonymous user]

Not sure if of interest, but I was in Lidl earlier and they had chain hoists on offer (1000kg lift)

[gm]

the mx5 PASSED its mot retest today (with a catalyst borrowed off a mate) the CO emissions were still just within limits but a pass is a pass and I'm happy with that.

 

next year, I'll plan ahead and take it to the mx5 specialists down in Newcastle (ak automotive) and I won't have all this does it / doesn't it need a cat test nonsense.

 

the borrowed cat will be coming off asap, the car sounds and drives crap just now, she'll be roaring again by next week

[BorniteIdentity]

the mx5 PASSED its mot retest today (with a catalyst borrowed off a mate) the CO emissions were still just within limits but a pass is a pass and I'm happy with that.

 

next year, I'll plan ahead and take it to the mx5 specialists down in Newcastle (ak automotive) and I won't have all this does it / doesn't it need a cat test nonsense.

 

the borrowed cat will be coming off asap, the car sounds and drives crap just now, she'll be roaring again by next week

What a load of nonsense and faff.

 

Sadly, the weather doesn't look great but enjoy it nonetheless.

[fraser.innes.3]

 

I just landed a job decommissioning submarines with a 15 year contract..

 

Sent from my F5321 using Tapatalk

If that is Rosyth, then a lot of them were recommissioned in the late 90s, but never left the docks. At a price of 50 million each. Used to drive past them all when I went to visit my staff there.

 

Sent from my HUAWEI M2-A01W using Tapatalk

[fraser.innes.3]

I don't want to cast aspersions on your new mates memory, but if he paid £11,000 for it, he was robbed.

I would have thought more like list of £8.5/9 , I'm sure £11k would have bought an RS Turbo!

My mate paid 11.5k for a 1.6 orion ghia in 86, so not too far off.

 

Sent from my HUAWEI M2-A01W using Tapatalk

[DodgyBastard]

If that is Rosyth, then a lot of them were recommissioned in the late 90s, but never left the docks. At a price of 50 million each. Used to drive past them all when I went to visit my staff there.

 

Sent from my HUAWEI M2-A01W using Tapatalk

It's Rosyth but I used a random pic from Google of a submarine.

There's 7 subs at Rosyth and another 20 at Devonport.

 

Sent from my F5321 using Tapatalk

[Kiltox]

Busy day tomorrow - offloading some shite and taking on some new

[taxi paul]

I have mine and my daughters car on a multicar policy with admirall. Renewal price £1;923.00 for both. Rang them today and said " I have been with you for five years now and Direct line can do the same cover for £200. Less. Can you match it ?" . Straight away a few adjustments and a loyalty discount and et voila new price £1,702.00. I rang aviva ,who sent me a letter saying car insurance from £196.00 per annum fully comp. My price for 52 yrs of age with 17 years no claims an eye watering £976.00 . How old are these low price drivers and where do they live.

[DodgeRover]

It's Rosyth but I used a random pic from Google of a submarine.

There's 7 subs at Rosyth and another 20 at Devonport.

 

Sent from my F5321 using Tapatalk

Do you think you could sneak one out the back doors when nobody is looking, I bet there's a good market for slightly used nuclear subs...

[Craig the Princess]

I have mine and my daughters car on a multicar policy with admirall. Renewal price £1;923.00 for both. Rang them today and said " I have been with you for five years now and Direct line can do the same cover for £200. Less. Can you match it ?" . Straight away a few adjustments and a loyalty discount and et voila new price £1,702.00. I rang aviva ,who sent me a letter saying car insurance from £196.00 per annum fully comp. My price for 52 yrs of age with 17 years no claims an eye watering £976.00 . How old are these low price drivers and where do they live.

Bloody hell, do you live in Mosul? I know a 17 year old would need to pay through the nose but I can't believe you would need to pay a grand. What do the meerkats say?

[Guest Hooli]

 How old are these low price drivers and where do they live.

 

40 years old & near Doncaster, £173 on the Saab 9-5 2.3t.

[garbaldy]

I have mine and my daughters car on a multicar policy with admirall. Renewal price £1;923.00 for both. Rang them today and said " I have been with you for five years now and Direct line can do the same cover for £200. Less. Can you match it ?" . Straight away a few adjustments and a loyalty discount and et voila new price £1,702.00. I rang aviva ,who sent me a letter saying car insurance from £196.00 per annum fully comp. My price for 52 yrs of age with 17 years no claims an eye watering £976.00 . How old are these low price drivers and where do they live.

45 postcode TD12 4JD

Lancer £240

Pug 206 £145

Tiger 800 £128

Classic colt and rangie* £205

Mini 1600 daughters car £1144

All the above are fully comp with zero voluntary excess and the daughter passed her test last week and has her own insurance.

 

Postcode really is the key

 

* Cough cough don't tell anyone.

[Kiltox]

Prepped* my quality* used car for collection by removing 3 months worth of general litter from the back

[Kiltox]

I was paying £1700 a year for road risks only trade cover, third party only. Now £550 for the Duster on its own fully comprehensive with a £250 excess because I have 0 private no claims