The new news 24 thread

[Split_Pin]

It doesn't bear thinking about

[Metal Guru]

18 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Next logical step from cat theft, innit. 

Never heard of cat burglars? 

[RoverFolkUs]

5 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Never heard of cat burglars? 

@barefoot to the beige phone please

[wesacosa]

Do you still have that lovely Panda 30 @Kiltoxas someone over on the Classic Panda Facebook forum has been looking for one for a while and I remember you had it for sale at one point 

[Rust Collector]

Today I learned that if you're fitting a brake switch to a Discovery 3 and during the process you decide to press the pedal down to make it easier to fit into place, the switch gets damaged internally.

A trip to work and back on the bump stops was enjoyed* as part of the learning process, and a new part ordered.

New part on order, and next time I'll fit it with the pedal in its resting position.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

My partner's Dad is a jammy sod.

He's been faffing about for ages looking at cars and wanting the Moon on a stick.  A good-condition Alfa for less than 4K, of a certain age, etc.

Git only found himself one.  One of his mates found an '06 Plate 147 Lusso with the 2.0 Twin Spark available for sale near to where he lived.  For 1,700.  With 65K miles on it.  With a clean MOT and full service history.

I'm not sure whether to be happy for him or deeply irritated that he's actually found what he wanted because he's been messing us around for months looking at cars and we've tried to talk him into something more realistic and been met with vague excuses and total nonsense.  Only for him to actually get what he wants, which will reinforce his warped World-view!  Jammy sod.

[junkyarddog]

Think I'll have to change my user name to Workshop Cat 🤣

This is Peep he's a Feral,and he has made his home here for the foreseeable. 😁

He loves nothing better that to curl up and sleep somewhere in my shed,apart from being fed of course.

[Supernaut]

9 hours ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

My partner's Dad is a jammy sod.

He's been faffing about for ages looking at cars and wanting the Moon on a stick.  A good-condition Alfa for less than 4K, of a certain age, etc.

Git only found himself one.  One of his mates found an '06 Plate 147 Lusso with the 2.0 Twin Spark available for sale near to where he lived.  For 1,700.  With 65K miles on it.  With a clean MOT and full service history.

I'm not sure whether to be happy for him or deeply irritated that he's actually found what he wanted because he's been messing us around for months looking at cars and we've tried to talk him into something more realistic and been met with vague excuses and total nonsense.  Only for him to actually get what he wants, which will reinforce his warped World-view!  Jammy sod.

An '06 will even have the 6 speed box, too!

It might not be screaming its head off at 70mph like the '05 one I had.

Jammy git indeed.

Don't worry though, being an Alfa it'll soon break in some interesting and amusing way.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

18 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

An '06 will even have the 6 speed box, too!

It might not be screaming its head off at 70mph like the '05 one I had.

Jammy git indeed.

Don't worry though, being an Alfa it'll soon break in some interesting and amusing way.

Unfortunately there’s a very good local Alfa specialist he can go and annoy…

[loserone]

Sounds pretty fortunate for you

[w00dy]

Rectified another of BMW's mistakes

Family hatch

Sports coupe

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Probably the wrong thread for this but testing the waters.

There's a Ford Focus MK2 1.4 Studio going to be available fairly imminently.  It had welding last year on the front of the sills and has been fairly unloved.  MOT'd until February but will need a bit to get through another one.  It is the billy boggo base model.  Was thinking about 350?

It's not with me at the moment and needs a good clean and once it's had a clean I'll have a better idea of condition.  Had dry joints in the dash soldering fixed on Monday at a local place.

[stuboy]

23 hours ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

My partner's Dad is a jammy sod.

He's been faffing about for ages looking at cars and wanting the Moon on a stick.  A good-condition Alfa for less than 4K, of a certain age, etc.

Git only found himself one.  One of his mates found an '06 Plate 147 Lusso with the 2.0 Twin Spark available for sale near to where he lived.  For 1,700.  With 65K miles on it.  With a clean MOT and full service history.

I'm not sure whether to be happy for him or deeply irritated that he's actually found what he wanted because he's been messing us around for months looking at cars and we've tried to talk him into something more realistic and been met with vague excuses and total nonsense.  Only for him to actually get what he wants, which will reinforce his warped World-view!  Jammy sod.

some pics?

[Gaffer]

Ultimate Copart bingo shiteing? Completed it mate 😅

[GrumpiusMaximus]

23 minutes ago, stuboy said:

some pics?

Haven't got any at the moment but the next time I go over to their house I'll snap a few.  Apparently it's light blue.  I haven't seen it, my partner went over to pick it up with him.  In Forest Row.

And ended up in a private garage, talking to a mechanic who was restoring something from 1898...

[Rust Collector]

8 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

In Forest Row

Was just saying to my mum this eve about the fact that I had a run of about 2 or 3 cars in a row out of Forest Row at one point 😅 last one was the flat 6 legacy outback.

[richardmorris]

I'm in Slough. This electric 500 abart is £40,000!

[richardmorris]

[320touring]

They certainly know how to charge*

 

Apologies in advance, after the fact

[SiC]

Probably one of the very few modern electric cars that are designed to be good fun to drive. 

[richardmorris]

The outcome from this morning’s visit ( apart from nice biscuits, but no coffee machine) was that the faulty indicator needs a new headlamp. They have put the warranty claim in action and ordered the replacement but there’s no eta. I did not point out that they had one TIPO in the showroom, and two on the forecourt to borrow a headlamp assembly from. They are not exactly selling like hotcakes. The white one with red door mirrors and seat stiching looked quite good.

they did wash and vacuum the car though. Must have played with it as the fault was cleared when I got in and the indicator worked on the way home ( doesn’t now though). I had a nose under the bonnet and they’ve had the connector apart and pulled some wiring loom tape back that I can see.

how these places support the staff though I don’t know. For an hour I was the only customer in there, and six sales people and reception staff had absolutely nothing to do- I’d be bored to death. Nothing pro-active either along the lines of “while you’re here can we get you into a new car, upgrade to an Alfa or anything”.

girl I spoke to was pleasant enough though.

now I’m home and the electronic apocalypse keeps coming - my (it turns out 13years old) pure chronos dab no longer picks up Scala radio and is not upgradable to dab+ and my broadband is down. Have plenty of GB left on the mobile allowance and connecting to its mobile hotspot only tool an hour to workout.

[Rust Collector]

4 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Nothing pro-active either along the lines of “while you’re here can we get you into a new car, upgrade to an Alfa or anything”.

The sales manager would always say speak to the customers in the service waiting room, and it was a task you'd actively avoid as almost nobody in for service wants to buy a car but will want to talk to pass the time and then you're trapped - you're better off hiding in the tea room and sprinting out when you see a giffer turn up in a Rover 75 they've owned from new, much better return on your time invested.

Poor show that they didn't have a coffee machine though, that's the best part of working in a main dealer.

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, Rust Collector said:

The sales manager would always say speak to the customers in the service waiting room, and it was a task you'd actively avoid as almost nobody in for service wants to buy a car but will want to talk to pass the time and then you're trapped - you're better off hiding in the tea room and sprinting out when you see a giffer turn up in a Rover 75 they've owned from new, much better return on your time invested.

Poor show that they didn't have a coffee machine though, that's the best part of working in a main dealer.

I don’t mind that they didn’t, I wasn’t in the mood, happened last time I was in the merc dealer in ascot. I’m just amazed surprised that there were probably 100 fiat 500s and three tipos outside and no one thought to sell me one. I couldn’t see jeep or Alfa, but they may have been somewhere else as I’ve not been to the place before.

 

 

edit, actually, they’re a block down the road!

[reb]

I remember taking my Golf to a main dealer to be rinsed for a second key.

I was nosing about a brand new GTI, I made a critical error in that I said "I have no money" so they left me alone and I didn't get a shot of any of the shiny new cars.

[richardmorris]

11 minutes ago, reb said:

I remember taking my Golf to a main dealer to be rinsed for a second key.

I was nosing about a brand new GTI, I made a critical error in that I said "I have no money" so they left me alone and I didn't get a shot of any of the shiny new cars.

Mercedes ascot were very good when I used them with the 25yr old coupe. Friendly and happy to help get parts although thinking about it, no one in sales spoke to me then either. How do they sell cars if they don’t approach customers in the actual sales room looking at their products? Are they supposed to be proactive go-getting sales specialists? It’s the exact opposite of my mentality so I don’t understand really.

[stuboy]

nothing too exciting just spent 3 days on a course with a Rospa trainer, training to be a level 2 driving assessor for work,  having too read and write as an adult !! paperwork all done and to be sent off,  now have too wait weeks too find out if i passed.

[High Jetter]

Fingers X, too many oo's though. Didn't know Rospa was still going, passed my cycle proficiency test a while back 52 years ago

[RoverFolkUs]

5 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

you're better off hiding in the tea room and sprinting out when you see a giffer turn up in a Rover 75 they've owned from new

You've just described me in the workplace. 🤣

[Snake Charmer]

Purchased my second Mercedes last night, road trip this evening with @bobdisk to rescue said purchase.

Unavoidably hit a small deer with my car adding to the Audi incident damage. Stopped to check Waze directions in a muddy lay-by that happened to contain a burger van, Bob burgered, I had the roadkill mystery meat kebab.

Collected the car which has a completely dead dash from Portsmouth  the dash is darker than a dark thing on a dark night. The Command radio CD satnav unit works so I had sounds. Whatever tells the car it is dark needs comforting by the dashboard as the radio display was Texas summer brightness on the A3 so no sounds. The car also has an SBC fault absolute result as the SBC charged up as I unlocked the car so I had full brakes and cruise control most of the way back until the M25 then it was first and second with limited braking.

Bob with my Tanzanite blue E320cdi.........

 

 Bob with my other Tanzanite blue E320cdi.......

[RoverFolkUs]

3 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Mercedes ascot were very good when I used them with the 25yr old coupe. Friendly and happy to help get parts although thinking about it, no one in sales spoke to me then either. How do they sell cars if they don’t approach customers in the actual sales room looking at their products? Are they supposed to be proactive go-getting sales specialists? It’s the exact opposite of my mentality so I don’t understand really.

I think a lot of people wandering around main dealer showrooms are just window shopping, hence sales staff often don't bother approaching them. I do agree it doesn't seem very proactive but I think that's just how it is. Quite often I've been in main dealers for parts and I've had a nosy around for the sake of it, obviously never intending to buy anything. 

Part of the reason I believe is that they could approach someone who isn't serious and waste a considerable amount of time with them and then miss out on a serious customer that happens to walk in 5 minutes later and ends up making a purchase. 

If they concentrate on appointment bookings then at least they may have more confidence in the buyer's intentions and that some fruition may come of it