The new news 24 thread

[Bear]

  On 08/04/2025 at 21:17, wuvvum said:

I can't be the only one who is astonished gutted at how long you have kept this car instead of passing it on for peanuts so everyone can enjoy it.

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[Bear]

  On 08/04/2025 at 20:16, HMC said:

Trundled down to Weir Quay this evening as part of a shakedown before going to France in it this weekend…

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Calendar shot for sure, no?

[Ghosty]

  On 07/04/2025 at 10:45, richardmorris said:

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Gordon Murray Automotive T.50

 

[wesacosa]

MOT for the C180K daily today 

It passed but only just, I suspect this is likely its last MOT without major work  .  Back end of sills into arches likely to need sparkly stick action soon and subframe has some corrosion which I need to check if just rub down and treating will suffice.  Some of the suspension bushes seen better days too but hanging on in the right side of the pass/fail line for now . Shame as it still drives nice and looks well, arches aside 

 

 

[egg]

Fancyplates doing 10% discount.

[wuvvum]

I've had two emails from credit reference agencies today - one from Experian to tell me my credit score has gone down, and one from Equifax to tell me my score has gone up.

🤷‍♂️

[vulgalour]

After a MONTH of things not going quite right I finally got the Princess windscreen fitted today.  There was no way I could DIY it, even with two experienced fitters it wasn't an easy one to do at all.  Hopefully I never have to remove it again.  Quite remarkable how bad the old screen really was in comparison, even with storage and fitting dirt the new screen looks clearer than the old screen did after the most thorough of cleanings.  Driving at night might actually be tolerable for the first time ever.

[barefoot]

Well, that's cheered me up. 

[richardmorris]

[JJ0063]

Time to add another one to the fleet @wuvvum?

[wuvvum]

  Fuck me that's cheap!!

[brownnova]

Considering the car had half an exhaust at 8am today… it did alright in the test in the end!

Advisory for car seats fitted and a spot of corrosion on the top mount, but the tester had left for the day when I picked it up so not 100% sure exactly what he’s seen. I was feeling very pessimistic about this test for some reason, so very pleased with that result! Drove home with the roof down in celebration! In fairness the roof has been down most journeys lately it’s been that lovely! 

[Split_Pin]

  On 09/04/2025 at 18:45, brownnova said:

Considering the car had half an exhaust at 8am today… it did alright in the test in the end!

Advisory for car seats fitted and a spot of corrosion on the top mount, but the tester had left for the day when I picked it up so not 100% sure exactly what he’s seen. I was feeling very pessimistic about this test for some reason, so very pleased with that result! Drove home with the roof down in celebration! In fairness the roof has been down most journeys lately it’s been that lovely! 

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That will be the bracket that the damper attaches to. Very common for them to corrode or snap. They bolt on though so are replaceable.

[lesapandre]

Parking charges...

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/apr/10/price-of-parking-rises-steeply-due-to-english-councils-clean-air-surcharges

[Lord Sterling]

I may have mentioned sometime back that a (former) colleague of mine (he has moved departments) drove an MG BGT:

I was asked by another colleague from my old department if I knew anyone else who had an MG BGT as there was another one. 

Turns out MG chap had sold his blue one and bought another one!

However, I'd just finished work and was about to waft home in the Jag when I noticed this MG parked on the side of the road. Yes it's my former colleagues' new MG BGT.

I was introduced to it as it was at the side of the road having broken down. I ooffered my assistance but chap had already called the AA out who were on their way.

MG lad isn't a mechanically minded guy. The Blue MG was his first car despite having passed his test sometime back. He hadn't had the need for a car at the time and it was only after lockdown that he bought the blue MG. 

[lesapandre]

Today:

Rare buy 1 - Corgi Citroen Chapron 'Le Dandy'.

Rare buy 2 - 1989 French motorway guide.

Rare spot : 1930 Waldron 'Wayfarer'.

The story of this extraordinary one-off car is here:

https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/40-1930-waldron-wayfarer/?lot=9657&sd=1

https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/20144/lot/565/1928-waldron-wayfarer-saloon-chassis-no-101-engine-no-101/#photos

[Yoss]

It's not often you see an ex postie van that someone has taken the trouble to polish. The ghost signage was still visible but only just. 

I know for a fact that Vauxhall paint pogweaseles far more than Peugeot paint, all our Vauxhalls are as pink as a pink thing so there's no way this thing left Royal Mail service looking like this. Interestingly we still have several vans at our office older than this. Despite the fact we got five new Pug Experts last year we still have the two 08 reg Combos that look much much worse than this one. 

They've blacked up the bumpers too. 

Can't help thinking that if they'd left the logos on they wouldn't have got a parking ticket. We park anywhere we like without hassle. 

[richardmorris]

  On 10/04/2025 at 19:31, Yoss said:

It's not often you see an ex postie van that someone has taken the trouble to polish. The ghost signage was still visible but only just. 

I know for a fact that Vauxhall paint pogweaseles far more than Peugeot paint, all our Vauxhalls are as pink as a pink thing so there's no way this thing left Royal Mail service looking like this. Interestingly we still have several vans at our office older than this. Despite the fact we got five new Pug Experts last year we still have the two 08 reg Combos that look much much worse than this one. 

They've blacked up the bumpers too. 

Can't help thinking that if they'd left the logos on they wouldn't have got a parking ticket. We park anywhere we like without hassle. 

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Wondering about that Northumberland police crash, does the post office still self insure or did that go when privatised?

[richardmorris]

Chester standard 1984

[stuboy]

Driver training... i could wait 2 hours and battle back to base in rush hour.. from ebbsfleet to ashford... or take the other vehicle they use... ii thought why not..... get on to the A2 and up pops the amber light of hope and dreams... so when i returned this morning.. I told them about it and they said oh yeah we was told told too ignore that... I thought as it was renault in a vauxhall coat and 'tadts' ...

[Yoss]

  On 10/04/2025 at 19:54, richardmorris said:

Wondering about that Northumberland police crash, does the post office still self insure or did that go when privatised?

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I've absolutely no idea how Royal Mail manages to insure it's vans, have you seen the state of most of them? 

[catsinthewelder]

  On 10/04/2025 at 21:21, Yoss said:

I've absolutely no idea how Royal Mail manages to insure it's vans, have you seen the state of most of them? 

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In fairness they are still in better condition than most of their competitors,  Amazon vans seem to suffer worst of all (much to my delight).

[Metal Guru]

  On 10/04/2025 at 21:21, Yoss said:

I've absolutely no idea how Royal Mail manages to insure it's vans, have you seen the state of most of them? 

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They seem to be much older than the delivery company's vans. Our local Royal Mail depot has some 13 plate vans.  Our  local Asda replaced their 65 plate vans in 2020 because they were knackered.

[dean36014]

There's a Peugeot/citroen/Vauxhall expert/dispatch/vivaro they use around here with the side loading doors taped up with gaffer tape. All around the seams and cris  crossed for good effect, it's a 72 plate too.

[comfortablynumb]

  On 10/04/2025 at 19:31, Yoss said:

know for a fact that Vauxhall paint pogweaseles far more than Peugeot paint,

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When I worked for a body shop, we had a MK2 astra come in with front end damage, was fairly new then, wings, bonnet, headlights etc.

When repair was completed and the owner called to collect, she played merry hell that 'the paint didn't match'

She went on about it so much, the insurance company paid for several hours labour to mop & polish the whole car!

She definitely knew what she was about!

 

[Yoss]

  On 10/04/2025 at 23:46, Metal Guru said:

They seem to be much older than the delivery company's vans. Our local Royal Mail depot has some 13 plate vans.  Our  local Asda replaced their 65 plate vans in 2020 because they were knackered.

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Yes I agree, Amazon in particular seem to manage to get their vans in to the same state as ours in record time. So they were all still nice and shiny but beaten to buggery. 

  On 11/04/2025 at 06:17, dean36014 said:

There's a Peugeot/citroen/Vauxhall expert/dispatch/vivaro they use around here with the side loading doors taped up with gaffer tape. All around the seams and cris  crossed for good effect, it's a 72 plate too.

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We use black and yellow hazard tape on ours so it stands out more. We had one of the side sliding doors actually fall off. Fortunately* it was still in our yard not out on the road. They managed to lift it back it on to the runners, taped it shut with the hazard tape and told the poor postie to carry on. Having to work entirely from the back door is a complete Pita. 

Also one of the Combo's lost it plastic wheel arch surround so that was replaced with hazard tape to highlight it. That was a good look. 

[catsinthewelder]

  On 11/04/2025 at 06:54, Yoss said:

Also one of the Combo's lost it plastic wheel arch surround so that was replaced with hazard tape to highlight it. That was a good look. 

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Well they were experimenting with hi viz stripes in different places to improve safety a while back!

[BorniteIdentity]

  On 10/04/2025 at 07:39, lesapandre said:

Parking charges...

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/apr/10/price-of-parking-rises-steeply-due-to-english-councils-clean-air-surcharges

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This really is top drawer, premier league cuntery.

  Quote

In Westminster, a clean-air policy introduced last year encompasses electric vehicles, which are charged an additional parking levy according to battery size. The fees are to reflect the carbon footprint during construction and the wear and tear of the extra weight on roads.

The council said the surcharging policy was made clear on signs in parking areas and the revenue raised was spent on highway and environmental improvements.

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This is like Diesel all over again.  People are encouraged to "do the right thing" and are then penalised for doing the very fucking thing that was sold to them as "the right thing".  It makes my piss boil over.

Let's just have it right.  You want to fuck everyone over, and you'll just write the narrative accordingly?  Petrol? Smoky.  Diesel? Cancer.  BEV? Earth rapist.  

I genuinely reckon they'll come for bicycles eventually.  When we're all on foot, they'll ban smoking everywhere. 

Shitehawks.

[New POD]

  On 10/04/2025 at 23:46, Metal Guru said:

They seem to be much older than the delivery company's vans. Our local Royal Mail depot has some 13 plate vans.  Our  local Asda replaced their 65 plate vans in 2020 because they were knackered.

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We had to have an DAf XB back for some warranty investigation by the factory, with about 600 miles on the clock.  The paint damage to the cab looked like it had been driven through a forest in the dark. That's Royal Mail for you. 

[New POD]

  On 10/04/2025 at 21:21, Yoss said:

I've absolutely no idea how Royal Mail manages to insure it's vans, have you seen the state of most of them? 

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Is royal mail still owned by the government?  Don't government agencies self insure, underwritten by the treasury....? 

I know NHS company vehicles definitely are.