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32 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

I don't know anything about your background or work history, obvs, but from personal experience working on/with motors full-time is very different from being a hobbyist.   It can be interesting, but it stops being fun.  And the work gets harder and more unpleasant as you get older.  Not many people seem to realise this.  I'd stay as you are TBH. 

This, absolutely this 

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2 hours ago, mintwth said:

Jalousie replaced, shifter light fixed so I can see what's selected in the dark, fasten seat belt sign fixed, crap hoovered out from under gear surround, all the leather in reach of the driver's seat cleaned, t3 bulbs ordered to fix unlit switches that should be lit and 264 bulbs ordered for footwell lights. Service kit arrived. 

Several steps forward with the saab....only flies in today's ointment are that I discoverd both outside rear light clusters leak in the rain and the heated seat switch retaining lugs are very very brittle

 

Jalousie..... 🤔

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If you want to leave your insurance job, that’s fine.  But I don’t think this recovery job is the replacement you should be looking for.  You’re in for a huge shock with regard to the hours you’ll be asked to work and not a huge uplift in salary.

Stay where you are, bide your time and wait for something that’s a better fit.

And this is from someone who drives trucks!

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I currently have a 35 hour a week job, working from home probably most of the time from now on and I wouldn't change it for anything just now.

Work life balance is great, cars remain a hobby and I get every weekend and evening off with an hour for lunch.

Plenty you can do to mix things up, start going for a walk at lunchtime, do a tinker on the car at a quiet time between your calls, do different stuff in the evenings.

From the tales of Barry Cade, plus my own mate who was an AA Patrolman for many years, I do not fancy the job.

Also, having to tighten a loose ratchet strap on a Portakabin on the back of an ERF E8 parked half way into lane 1 on the M9 in 1998 was enough to put me off ever being near fast moving traffic like that again. Seeing cars coming right towards me at 70mph+ was like  nothing on earth.

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@JJ0063 I think you already know that this would be a bad move. It sounds a hard, sometimes dangerous and poorly paid job with a shit  work/life balance. If you want the experience and are prepared to move on in a short time, fine. 'Cos from the sounds of it, it's not a job that many people settle into for the long haul.

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@JJ0063 It looks like you'll be doing double the hours for what, hopefully, an extra £250 a month, there are much better, safer class 2 jobs out there. I understand the urge to try something new, particularly something you've always fancied, but try it part time if its possible alongside your current job, then you'll not look back in the future thinking what if. But a recovery driver doing the hours you currently do in the insurance game would be classed as part-time. It really will be a shock to the system and this is no reflection on you, I did it for a bit years ago, only had an hours kip, tough luck, jobs are coming in, hoping to knock off in the next 10 minutes, tough luck this recovery needs driving 2 hours away, its a very hard way to make a living.

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9 hours ago, DVee8 said:

Look at this heap that has turned up in the works carpark20211004_122327.thumb.jpg.e5e92a5a95cdf3173724125f8e86ad65.jpg

Now look at the right handside of this wheel

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considering that @DVee8is employed in the automotive industry and this heap of shit is parked in the works car park suggests that at least one of his co-workers is quite seriously under qualified ! 

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@JJ0063

I do a lot of work with guys who are hgv on call recovery / maintenance lads, they're all on significantly more than 27k(~50% more for PAYE, contractors/self employed are double and triple it) and they're all absolutely fucking sick to death of it. A few fresh lads pretend that they relish "being out on the road" but they soon burn out.

The guys on really good money doing mega hours are especially miserable. They've got all the nice toys - cars, bikes, nice house etc but no time to enjoy any of it. I'm in that situation to an extent - I've just moved to a nice house in the peak district, we've been there two weeks and I've still never seen the garden in daylight.

In your position I'd stick with the existing job and find some other way to earn a few grand a year on top. 

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Thank you everyone for the wisdom and telling me what I was trying to avoid admitting to myself.

I think although this quite literally the job I’ve wanted to most of my life and having spent a fair amount of money getting the license etc, I’ve got it so cushy at the moment it’s going to be harder to make the leap. 
 

Had a lengthy chat with the mrs and gave her a few scenarios ie. How would she feel if I got a call out at 8am then was at work until 11-12 at night, on the regular etc. 

Shes very supportive and was actually quite upset because she knows I’ve worked towards this stage for a while so was quite pro me trying it but did admit herself that she knows the work life balance I have now is what’s kept me in such a boring job for a decade.

Having slept on it, I’m going to give them a call and withdraw my application. I’d rather that than an awkward phone call of being offered it and having to say no thank you.

Im quite keen on avoiding work like mulitdrop pallet type jobs but I might look into something like the 8 wheel tippers doing aggregate or something like that where it’s still local and more set hours. I live near a couple of quarry’s so might be worth a look.

 

Thanks again everyone 👍

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20211001_165055.thumb.jpg.caf84b32409744e4c43417d72b8fe176.jpg

Audi dropped off at the garage to have the exhaust sorted out. Hopefully my veritable bric-a-brac of pipes, sleeves, gaskets, bolts and hopes will mean that something can be cobbled together. I even supplied a straight part of a Rover 75 system which I cut down yesterday, as the pipe is a slightly larger diameter than the Audi's so could potentially sleeve over part of it.

 

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10 hours ago, sdkrc said:

I really regret sacrificing time for money.

You become dependent on the salary and build yourself into a small, mental trap where you think you can't leave.

@JJ0063, if this was the right job you wouldn't be in any doubt about jumping

Personally I think this is really important and overlooked. Some people only figure this out when it's way too late and their life is mostly behind them. Time is invaluable.

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I'm not sure I ever built myself into a trap, or became dependent on the salary.  One thing I did learn though is - no matter HOW much you earn - you will  spend it.  You just grow into it.  I've been doing this job for 18 years now and earn a decent amount of money (without being either vulgar or vague I am a higher rate tax payer) and I've never felt richer than when I was 20 years old, earning £18k a year.

It sounds like you can't really lose @JJ0063- just make sure you don't die wondering.

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1 minute ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I'm not sure I ever built myself into a trap, or became dependent on the salary.  One thing I did learn though is - no matter HOW much you earn - you will  spend it.  You just grow into it.  I've been doing this job for 18 years now and earn a decent amount of money (without being either vulgar or vague I am a higher rate tax payer) and I've never felt richer than when I was 20 years old, earning £18k a year.

It sounds like you can't really lose @JJ0063- just make sure you don't die wondering.

I understand this too, with the right mentality and attitude you can live like a king for not very much at all. Much of life is just about perspective. Not that I advocate for a second the absurdly low pay people are struggling with for doing skilled jobs in this country - that needs to change asap. The fact you can work a full time job and still not be able to afford the basic necessities shows how utterly fucked this country is IMO.

I'm probably on half or less what you are, but I'd take a pay cut in return for even more time off if I could. I really, really hate working unless it's for myself or those I know.

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1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

 I've never felt richer than when I was 20 years old, earning £18k a year.

 

Damn right! When I was at uni I got a student loan plus about £800 a month for working weekends in a warehouse and I was a rich man! It's been downhill ever since, but I suppose a lot of that is not being surrounded by drunk 18 year old girls.

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Jay has owned this Aygo for 4 years and we found the chassis damage over 3 years ago but the mot testers only just caught up....

Battery and tray out then gearbox mount removed gives you the best view of the damage. I made a C channel shaped plate and welded her up on sunday afternoon but cannot find the after pictures on my phone.

Still being used at least 4 nights a week for takeaway deliveries.

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4 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

One thing I did learn though is - no matter HOW much you earn - you will  spend it.  You just grow into it.  I've been doing this job for 18 years now and earn a decent amount of money (without being either vulgar or vague I am a higher rate tax payer) and I've never felt richer than when I was 20 years old, earning £18k a year.

Definitely this.  I'm now earning nearly triple what I was earning at 20 (not that that's saying much - I wasn't on £18K at that age) but I still somehow seem to have less disposable income.  The worrying thing is that I can't immediately see how that has happened.  Yes I live in a bigger house now and I'm a bit less lackadaisical about such niceties as VED and utility bills, but I still pretty much spend all I earn and I certainly don't have triple the amount to show for it...

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I think you’re all right with what you say. The issue I have is at the moment I personally don’t think I earn enough at approx 24k for the time I’ve been at the company however I also appreciate the fact I have a very easy job, good hours, no weekends, flexitime, work from home etc so it’s swings and roundabouts.

Ultimately I’m bored, I didn’t want a career in an office job, I wanted something field based/hands on/driving. Like someone has mentioned further up the thread, I don’t want to die wondering but at the same time after leaving my current job 5/6 years ago for a few months to work at Autoglass, I’m very once bitten twice shy as they were an awful company and I know I couldn’t come back to my current employer for a second time!

I think I’ve come to the realisation that although I love the idea of a recovery job, the lifestyle that comes with it is a big sacrifice and I’m better off where I am - a decent set up, loads of spare time but performing a boring role. 
 

Im going to keep looking at other options as ultimately I’ve spunked a load of money getting the license and I still want to drive for a living but clearly I need something other than recovery work.

Thanks again for the advice guys, I feel I’ve probably dodged a bullet.

 

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1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:

I think you’re all right with what you say. The issue I have is at the moment I personally don’t think I earn enough at approx 24k for the time I’ve been at the company however I also appreciate the fact I have a very easy job, good hours, no weekends, flexitime, work from home etc so it’s swings and roundabouts.

Ultimately I’m bored, I didn’t want a career in an office job, I wanted something field based/hands on/driving. Like someone has mentioned further up the thread, I don’t want to die wondering but at the same time after leaving my current job 5/6 years ago for a few months to work at Autoglass, I’m very once bitten twice shy as they were an awful company and I know I couldn’t come back to my current employer for a second time!

I think I’ve come to the realisation that although I love the idea of a recovery job, the lifestyle that comes with it is a big sacrifice and I’m better off where I am - a decent set up, loads of spare time but performing a boring role. 
 

Im going to keep looking at other options as ultimately I’ve spunked a load of money getting the license and I still want to drive for a living but clearly I need something other than recovery work.

Thanks again for the advice guys, I feel I’ve probably dodged a bullet.

 

Class 1 is where it’s at. Easier work and usually more money 

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20 minutes ago, Spurious said:

24hrs to fix a Jimny gearbox. I'm on my way to collect it now didn't expect it back so soon really. A1 Transmissions in Bolton if anyone's wondering, one man show place seemed like alladins cave 

Huddersfield train station. Not too bad. And an actual locomotive pulling a passenger train. Not a measly DMU. Nice 

 

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