The new news 24 thread

[richardmorris]

54 minutes ago, egg said:

Xtriple to the 'don't do it' telephone please!

My mechanic friend rick has just messaged me.  

Apparently he was involved in some r&d on parts with them, and thought them lovely to work on. Thinks it’s lovely modern classic. 

Then threatened me not to buy it.

 

apparently I have a zero missing from the end of my income- annual bills about £2000, major service £4000.

[alf892]

6 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

My mechanic friend rick has just messaged me.  

Apparently he was involved in some r&d on parts with them, and thought them lovely to work on. Thinks it’s lovely modern classic. 

Then threatened me not to buy it.

 

apparently I have a zero missing from the end of my income- annual bills about £2000, major service £4000.

Ignore him.......buy it!

that merc is clearly getting unreliable.

[richardmorris]

Aghhh, will the voices in my head stop!

[alf892]

11 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Aghhh, will the voices in my head stop!

Just do it......people pay more than that for secondhand German chavwagons!

(above statement does contain some irony)

[richardmorris]

2 minutes ago, alf892 said:

Just do it......people pay more than that for secondhand German chavwagons!

(above statement does contain some irony)

That’s exactly what is tempting me. Sadly common sense is about to come knocking on the door.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

2 hours ago, richardmorris said:

The Mercedes paint shop I’ve used for a few years has just put this up for sale on their Facebook page. It’s hideous and magnificent at the same time. I’m also fed up with the Mercedes’ swimming pool imitation at the moment. It’s got me looking at others and likely garage bills.  Common sense will kick in tomorrow when I’m sober I expect.

That might end up in the Hanwell showroom. 

[320touring]

Have you bought it yet? Only about a years rent surely;)

[Yoss]

The first major job took place on the new drive today. To those that warned me of jacking on new tarmac note the precautions. 

A big sheet of metal to spread the load. 

The job in hand was to replace the back box on Felicia. Technically a simple job, one clamp and one rubber mount, but we all know how exhausts can fuse together. And other times you wiggle them a bit and they just separate and you never know what you're going to get until you get under there. 

Well this one fought me all the way. 

The new one is unfortunately slightly shorter than the old one (note also the seam separating on the old one, I think I got my moneys worth out of that). 

I guess that's what you get for buying the cheapest one off eBay. But it was only £27 delivered (from Poland, I discovered after I'd ordered it) so even if it bugs me too much and I decide to replace it it won't have cost me much. This is the first piece of exhaust I've had to replace in the seven years I've had it. I don't think you can get anything cheaper to run than these old Skodas. 

[brownnova]

11 hours ago, nigel bickle said:

Popped up to Blackpool for this

 

 

 

 

‘Vendor’ offering it free- to a good home, with no other takers! He was going to scrap it! 

How is it I never see stuff like this!! I’d have taken that on for sure! I love the Espero, many fond memories of playing with the car configuration machine in Halfords when they sold them there. My ideal colour for an Espero that one too! 

There are two festering on driveways near me which tempt me regularly... one day I’ll rescue them... 

[brownnova]

In other news... is there something wrong with me..? 
 

Ive just finished watching the film Atomic Blonde, in which Charleze Theron gets her knockers out (multiple times) and has a lesbian ding dong with a French lass... 

However the highlight of the film was the fact that as it was set in East Berlin in 1989 there was an awesome selection of Wartburgs, Barkas’, Ladas , Skodas and even a Dacia Duster!!! 

[wuvvum]

Been a bit of a frustrating day today.  I went out this morning full of enthusiasm to get the brake pads done on the Sonata so it can go back in for its retest.  Getting the caliper off was a bit of a chore as the top bolt is awkward to access and there was a bit of a lip on the disc so I couldn't pull the caliper off the disc until I'd opened it up a bit, which again was awkward due to lack of things to lever against.  Got it off eventually, then realised that the pads I've bought are the wrong ones for the car.  They looked right in the picture on the eBay listing - but I missed the bit where it said "photo for illustrative purposes only". 

So I went back on eBay and found a listing where the photos show the actual item for sale, and ordered them - problem is this means I'm going to have to do the pads after work in the dark (and no doubt cold and pissing rain) as the car needs to go back in this week to qualify for a partial retest.  At least with the caliper off and the piston and sliders pushed back in it should be a quick enough job to finish once the correct pads are here. 

Then this evening I went into Norwich in the Elantra, buzzed the window down to operate a car park barrier and it wouldn't come back up again - or rather it would, but only part way.  Pulling the trim off and shining a bicycle light down the gap revealed that the glass had come out of its channel at the front and was catching on the door.  So when I got home, I had to take the door card off (in the dark, cold and pissing rain) and then bugger about trying to relocate the glass - which was a pain in the arse as even with the door card off there's very little access to the inside of the door - most of the gap is covered with a bloody great metal plate which holds the window motor.  The window now shuts, but I ran out of patience before I'd put everything back together, so the door card is in the kitchen for now.  At least the car's back to being usable again - although I might open the door at car park barriers in future as I've lost confidence in the window...

[wuvvum]

14 minutes ago, brownnova said:

is there something wrong with me..?

Nah, you're just being careful what you say because you know mrsbrownnova reads these pages...

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, 320touring said:

Have you bought it yet? Only about a years rent surely;)

...but yer man's rent might go up if his landlord sees him going about in that!

[320touring]

11 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

...but yer man's rent might go up if his landlord sees him going about in that!

He's probably too busy worrying about some interviews the now..

[richardmorris]

2 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

...but yer man's rent might go up if his landlord sees him going about in that!

Nowhere near the rent thankfully- my place is small.

even if I did buy it, it would still be the cheapest car round here.

and Ed is the posh neighbour, not Andy.

 

oh and common sense came and hit me over the head with my wallet.

[dollywobbler]

Those Bentleys are nice, but by heck the interiors feel shoddy compared to the earlier models. Too much BMW switchgear.

[TataBobu]

On 11/17/2019 at 10:58 AM, Lacquer Peel said:

I take it this isn't a 3 pot.

[anorak] 3 pot diesel was only fitted to Getz, Accent, Matrix, i10 and i20. [/anorak]

On 11/16/2019 at 11:22 PM, wuvvum said:

Another weekend, another shit diesel Hyundai. 

I actually meant to buy this one though.  It's going to take over daily duties from the 75 over the winter.  It's rough as a badger's arse, the clutch is tired, 4th gear synchro is MIA and it has a selection of ABS / traction control related lights on the dash, but it goes, it's decent on fuel, the heater works and my pushbike fits in the back so it meets the Wuvvum WBOD criteria.  

This one also has wood* as well as leather*, for the full luxury* experience.  And it was dirt cheap, and only in Downham Market rather than bastarding Congleton like the Sonata was. 

Watch out for handbrake cable snapping, and handbrake drum-in-disk shenanigans. Other than that, I rate them as good cruisers. Only had petrol and sedan, none of that hatch (belive it or not, it's called Elantra GT) diesel thingy.

[wuvvum]

I can confirm that the handbrake is thunderously shit.  In fact the whole thing is a bit shonky, but it's not without its charm (possibly because it is a bit rubbish) and for what I paid for it I'm not going to worry too much.

[beko1987]

Just park it in gear and never touch the handbrake again, problem solved! 

[wuvvum]

That's pretty much what I've been doing - hill starts can be a twat though.

[vulgalour]

Almost got the Princess running today.  Only held up by waiting for parts to arrive now.

[xtriple]

22 hours ago, richardmorris said:

The Mercedes paint shop I’ve used for a few years has just put this up for sale on their Facebook page. It’s hideous and magnificent at the same time. I’m also fed up with the Mercedes’ swimming pool imitation at the moment. It’s got me looking at others and likely garage bills.  Common sense will kick in tomorrow when I’m sober I expect.

That's one of the ones you DEFINITELY DO NOT BUY! Spares for those are seriously rare and expensive and if it is the BMW engined one (which it looks like) then the electronics are a nightmare being neither 'fish nor fowl' In short, just don't.

[xtriple]

I awoke this morning (which I find is a good start) to sunshine and a lack of rain. As this is obviously a mirage, I went back to sleep.

When I awoke a little later this morning it proved to be no mirage and actual real reality, so I got my arse into gear and took the dog out. It was so pleasant I did not wear a jacket! Once home I turned the car around so it was facing the wrong way on a one way street, put the passengers side wheel on the kerb turned the wheel hither and yon to find the best position and then set to trying to repair the cracked front bumper. The fact it's been cracked for a while and not bothered me because I didn't know is of little regard 'cos as I have known since Friday it has driven me effin' mad thinking about it!

I had brave ideas of taking wheel arch liners out but that requires taking the wheel off so I abandoned all  pretence of doing the job right and went and got a super size bottle of Nescafe to prop the under tray out of the way while I wodged (technical term) a piece of mesh liberally covered in Araldite (like an inch thick wodge...) between under tray and under side of the bumper. I did hold it all together at the front with liberal applications of masking tape first - proper job! Amazingly, it worked! I did spare a tiny amount of skill and patience on it, mainly getting everything in the correct place and only getting a few liquid ounces of Araldite shit on my hands  I hate the stuff: it smells horrid and goes black and you have to wash, then scrub all the flesh from our paws.

To be fair to myself, I did an excellent job, using much skill and talent and as it is underneath the car, a totally invisible repair.

 

[320touring]

18 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Nowhere near the rent thankfully- my place is small.

even if I did buy it, it would still be the cheapest car round here.

and Ed is the posh neighbour, not Andy.

 

oh and common sense came and hit me over the head with my wallet.

I know all that

 

Bought it yet?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about now?

[richardmorris]

3 hours ago, 320touring said:

I know all that

 

Bought it yet?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about now?

No, but have staked an interest in a traction that should be the right price and new clutch with a high compression ds engine. Main negative is the  colour - two tone green.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

12 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

..... Main negative is the  colour - two tone green.

Pretend you're moonlighting for Harrods.

[richardmorris]

I expect I’ve a photo of it somewhere. It’s been at trips I’ve attended. Will look later. Could be original paint- a two owner car.

[320touring]

Sounds ace:)

Just get red lensed glasses, should make it yellow when you look at it;)

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Your shopping list for 2020 haz bin released:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/slideshow/unicorns-rarest-cars-british-roads#69

[Aston Martin]

I was planning on diddling my servix history on the Cacti. 

However they sent a random email last night. "As your car is due back soon. We require service book and invoices"

Their FAQ lists a missing service manual as a £100 fine. It cant be that easy? I'm not going to lob it into a fire...

It's booked in for a service and MOT on Saturday with its enormous 13,235 miles. ?

 

...

 

Alessi Insurance is the 1st. Alessi tax is the 1st.

4x4 needs the same, around the same time.

 

As I'll be using Hastings for both. I'm hoping for a decent multicar discount.