The new news 24 thread

[wuvvum]

12 hours ago, Twin-Cam said:

Recently went to look at a Rover 200vi that was for sale. It was essentially brand new, and the clocks read 18,000 miles. I didn't buy it because I suspected OMGHGF, but I felt the need to play the part of 'careful summer use, some shows', rather than my real ambitions of *treat it like a bloody car!* 

I had a 200vi.  One of the best sleepers I've ever owned - apart from the exhaust they look just like your great grandma's 214Si.  Mine died of HGF in the end - I was hoping to get it sorted but the root cause of the HGF was a leaking water pump and I didn't get around to sorting it before the council started moaning about it being on the car park with no MOT.

[Marshall2810]

This arrived yesterday 😍 

[wuvvum]

15 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

A reminder to all that playing the ‘mental health’ card is no excuse for being thoroughly shit human being. 

The bloke was a charlatan, a coward and a scumbag. He will only be inside for a year, but I hope that Deborah feels that justice has been served - and that everyone who enabled that little weed thinks hard about doing it again. 

What a rancid little prick. 

Not sure he will find prison porridge quite as enjoyable to have sex with as a trifle, but hey ho.

[Stinkwheel]

1 minute ago, Marshall2810 said:

This arrived yesterday 😍 

You lucky man, much much want

[Twin-Cam]

53 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I had a 200vi.  One of the best sleepers I've ever owned - apart from the exhaust they look just like your great grandma's 214Si.  Mine died of HGF in the end - I was hoping to get it sorted but the root cause of the HGF was a leaking water pump and I didn't get around to sorting it before the council started moaning about it being on the car park with no MOT.

I love them, think they're fantastically understated. Plus, K-Series best series (when working).

[Joey spud]

I bunged an alternator and a set of belts on a MK1 CRV at the weekend 

And i found this chunk of imitation grass to lay on. It was so comfy I could of nodded off.

HRW,head lights and blower fan running and it was charging really well even at idle.

Nice old thing with one owner for the last 17 years and zero rot underneath.

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, Joey spud said:

i found this chunk of imitation grass to lay on. It was so comfy I could of nodded off.

My spannering mat of choice also.

[beko1987]

[wuvvum]

I've done 2,200 miles in the last week in the Rover and it hasn't used any oil or coolant at all, which is reassuring.  It did use rather a lot of diesel - it averaged about 42mpg, which isn't great - but there was a fair bit of mountain driving involved and that's always going to kill the fuel economy on a heavy automatic.  Here's the old girl in the Black Forest:

And parked outside the house we lived in in 1993-4, just outside Grenoble:

It wasn't entirely problem free - it developed a small diesel leak from the pipe into the secondary fuel pump somewhere in Germany (it's more of a weep than a leak, it isn't dripping onto the road, but as the pump is right next to the cabin filter it does mean I got a whiff of diesel when sat in traffic with the fan on), the front brake squeal that developed on the way to Dover came back occasionally throughout the trip (it's not binding on noticeably, but the offside wheel is appreciably warmer than the nearside after a long motorway run), and it's now missing a section of the offside front wheelarch liner after the retaining clips (which were a bit knackered to be fair) objected to my 120mph Autobahn run and gave up the ghost - which resulted in the slightly embarrassing scenario of having to crawl under the car in the Nürburgring car park to tie the remaining bit of liner back on with a random bit of wire I'd found in the boot, to stop it hitting the wheel every time I turned left.  It also had a brief FTP in a Belgian motorway services, although that turned out to just be a loose battery earth connection.  Overall though it did bloody well considering I'd given it zero preparation (I was intending to take the Merc right up until the last minute).

This will probably be its last big overseas trip though - partly because, at 21 years and nearly 200K miles, it's starting to show its age, but mainly because there are so many low emission zones springing up in Europe now that it's becoming something of a pain in the arse to actually get anywhere in a Euro 3 diesel, which are banned from pretty much all the zones.  I've previously mentioned having to park in Germany to go into Strasbourg, but also the only day I could go and see my brothers in Grenoble was Saturday (the zone there doesn't run at weekends), and I had to do a big detour to avoid the Rouen LEZ on the way back to Calais.  And I couldn't go anywhere near Paris, not that I'd want to anyway.

Things I've noticed about driving in Europe, in no particular order:

-Belgian roads are shit.

-The traffic in Brussels is absolute fucking pandemonium.

-Lane discipline is better on the continent than it is here, but still not great.

-The absence of a speed limit on the Autobahn is, most of the time, largely theoretical.

-Diesel is no cheaper on the continent than it is here, disappointingly.  Petrol is significantly more expensive.

-Driving through rural France is nowhere near as enjoyable as it used to be.  More traffic, more dawdlers, and lower speed limits which everyone seems to keep to.  There is also far less chod on the roads now than there used to be.

-DHL drivers drive like cunts whichever country you are in.

-Audi     "               "          "         "                 "                    "            "        "    "

-Google Maps thinks that all rural French roads are still limited to 80km/h, even though a lot of them have been put back up to 90 - I thought online mapping apps were supposed to keep up with this kind of thing.

-The Germans really are good at English, at least the younger generations.  I stopped at an Avia petrol station in a little village somewhere in the Black Forest, and the cashier spotted my UK plates and spoke to me in English as soon as I walked in to pay.

-The French really are shit at English, but that's less of an issue as I can still just about remember how to speak French - my German was rubbish 30 years ago and it hasn't got any better in the meantime.

-Most French fuel pumps now have voice instructions, which automatically switch to English when they detect a UK payment card.  Which is quite clever.

[Split_Pin]

I got a bit of money for my birthday.

So I bought a big Lego Technic set, which I finished yesterday.

 

 

 

[loserone]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

My spannering mat of choice also.

I thought that was the kind of droplinks which @Cheggersspotted in @New POD's place earlier 

[artdjones]

On 30/09/2024 at 04:20, somewhatfoolish said:

Bing is a scots word for a slag heap. 

It is used for that, but also for other things, as it can be used for any heap or pile.

[HMC]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

I've done 2,200 miles in the last week in the Rover and it hasn't used any oil or coolant at all, which is reassuring.  It did use rather a lot of diesel - it averaged about 42mpg, which isn't great - but there was a fair bit of mountain driving involved and that's always going to kill the fuel economy on a heavy automatic.  Here's the old girl in the Black Forest:

And parked outside the house we lived in in 1993-4, just outside Grenoble:

It wasn't entirely problem free - it developed a small diesel leak from the pipe into the secondary fuel pump somewhere in Germany (it's more of a weep than a leak, it isn't dripping onto the road, but as the pump is right next to the cabin filter it does mean I got a whiff of diesel when sat in traffic with the fan on), the front brake squeal that developed on the way to Dover came back occasionally throughout the trip (it's not binding on noticeably, but the offside wheel is appreciably warmer than the nearside after a long motorway run), and it's now missing a section of the offside front wheelarch liner after the retaining clips (which were a bit knackered to be fair) objected to my 120mph Autobahn run and gave up the ghost - which resulted in the slightly embarrassing scenario of having to crawl under the car in the Nürburgring car park to tie the remaining bit of liner back on with a random bit of wire I'd found in the boot, to stop it hitting the wheel every time I turned left.  It also had a brief FTP in a Belgian motorway services, although that turned out to just be a loose battery earth connection.  Overall though it did bloody well considering I'd given it zero preparation (I was intending to take the Merc right up until the last minute).

This will probably be its last big overseas trip though - partly because, at 21 years and nearly 200K miles, it's starting to show its age, but mainly because there are so many low emission zones springing up in Europe now that it's becoming something of a pain in the arse to actually get anywhere in a Euro 3 diesel, which are banned from pretty much all the zones.  I've previously mentioned having to park in Germany to go into Strasbourg, but also the only day I could go and see my brothers in Grenoble was Saturday (the zone there doesn't run at weekends), and I had to do a big detour to avoid the Rouen LEZ on the way back to Calais.  And I couldn't go anywhere near Paris, not that I'd want to anyway.

Things I've noticed about driving in Europe, in no particular order:

-Belgian roads are shit.

-The traffic in Brussels is absolute fucking pandemonium.

-Lane discipline is better on the continent than it is here, but still not great.

-The absence of a speed limit on the Autobahn is, most of the time, largely theoretical.

-Diesel is no cheaper on the continent than it is here, disappointingly.  Petrol is significantly more expensive.

-Driving through rural France is nowhere near as enjoyable as it used to be.  More traffic, more dawdlers, and lower speed limits which everyone seems to keep to.  There is also far less chod on the roads now than there used to be.

-DHL drivers drive like cunts whichever country you are in.

-Audi     "               "          "         "                 "                    "            "        "    "

-Google Maps thinks that all rural French roads are still limited to 80km/h, even though a lot of them have been put back up to 90 - I thought online mapping apps were supposed to keep up with this kind of thing.

-The Germans really are good at English, at least the younger generations.  I stopped at an Avia petrol station in a little village somewhere in the Black Forest, and the cashier spotted my UK plates and spoke to me in English as soon as I walked in to pay.

-The French really are shit at English, but that's less of an issue as I can still just about remember how to speak French - my German was rubbish 30 years ago and it hasn't got any better in the meantime.

-Most French fuel pumps now have voice instructions, which automatically switch to English when they detect a UK payment card.  Which is quite clever.

What a fantastic road trip! Im hoping the 75 features in a .fr chod spotting thread

[Wibble]

2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I've done 2,200 miles in the last week in the Rover and it hasn't used any oil or coolant at all, which is reassuring.  It did use rather a lot of diesel - it averaged about 42mpg, which isn't great - but there was a fair bit of mountain driving involved and that's always going to kill the fuel economy on a heavy automatic.  Here's the old girl in the Black Forest:

And parked outside the house we lived in in 1993-4, just outside Grenoble:

It wasn't entirely problem free - it developed a small diesel leak from the pipe into the secondary fuel pump somewhere in Germany (it's more of a weep than a leak, it isn't dripping onto the road, but as the pump is right next to the cabin filter it does mean I got a whiff of diesel when sat in traffic with the fan on), the front brake squeal that developed on the way to Dover came back occasionally throughout the trip (it's not binding on noticeably, but the offside wheel is appreciably warmer than the nearside after a long motorway run), and it's now missing a section of the offside front wheelarch liner after the retaining clips (which were a bit knackered to be fair) objected to my 120mph Autobahn run and gave up the ghost - which resulted in the slightly embarrassing scenario of having to crawl under the car in the Nürburgring car park to tie the remaining bit of liner back on with a random bit of wire I'd found in the boot, to stop it hitting the wheel every time I turned left.  It also had a brief FTP in a Belgian motorway services, although that turned out to just be a loose battery earth connection.  Overall though it did bloody well considering I'd given it zero preparation (I was intending to take the Merc right up until the last minute).

This will probably be its last big overseas trip though - partly because, at 21 years and nearly 200K miles, it's starting to show its age, but mainly because there are so many low emission zones springing up in Europe now that it's becoming something of a pain in the arse to actually get anywhere in a Euro 3 diesel, which are banned from pretty much all the zones.  I've previously mentioned having to park in Germany to go into Strasbourg, but also the only day I could go and see my brothers in Grenoble was Saturday (the zone there doesn't run at weekends), and I had to do a big detour to avoid the Rouen LEZ on the way back to Calais.  And I couldn't go anywhere near Paris, not that I'd want to anyway.

Things I've noticed about driving in Europe, in no particular order:

-Belgian roads are shit.

-The traffic in Brussels is absolute fucking pandemonium.

-Lane discipline is better on the continent than it is here, but still not great.

-The absence of a speed limit on the Autobahn is, most of the time, largely theoretical.

-Diesel is no cheaper on the continent than it is here, disappointingly.  Petrol is significantly more expensive.

-Driving through rural France is nowhere near as enjoyable as it used to be.  More traffic, more dawdlers, and lower speed limits which everyone seems to keep to.  There is also far less chod on the roads now than there used to be.

-DHL drivers drive like cunts whichever country you are in.

-Audi     "               "          "         "                 "                    "            "        "    "

-Google Maps thinks that all rural French roads are still limited to 80km/h, even though a lot of them have been put back up to 90 - I thought online mapping apps were supposed to keep up with this kind of thing.

-The Germans really are good at English, at least the younger generations.  I stopped at an Avia petrol station in a little village somewhere in the Black Forest, and the cashier spotted my UK plates and spoke to me in English as soon as I walked in to pay.

-The French really are shit at English, but that's less of an issue as I can still just about remember how to speak French - my German was rubbish 30 years ago and it hasn't got any better in the meantime.

-Most French fuel pumps now have voice instructions, which automatically switch to English when they detect a UK payment card.  Which is quite clever.

Was the street light through the roof an option? You seem to have it wherever you go?🙂

[richardmorris]

5 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Was the street light through the roof an option? You seem to have it wherever you go?🙂

Explains the steamed up windows.

[Lord Sterling]

2 hours ago, beko1987 said:

YES, YES I AM, AND NOT ONLY THAT, I'M PROUD TO USE MATS 😢 🫡

 

🤣

[beko1987]

30 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

YES, YES I AM, AND NOT ONLY THAT, I'M PROUD TO USE MATS 😢 🫡

 

🤣

A new clean one every 2 weeks 😂

[Lord Sterling]

3 hours ago, wuvvum said:

And parked outside the house we lived in in 1993-4, just outside Grenoble:

Nice! I used to live on the same continent but much further up in Brussels at the same (1993/1994)

3 hours ago, wuvvum said:

...there are so many low emission zones springing up in Europe now that it's becoming something of a pain in the arse to actually get anywhere in a Euro 3 diesel, which are banned from pretty much all the zones.  I've previously mentioned having to park in Germany to go into Strasbourg, but also the only day I could go and see my brothers in Grenoble was Saturday (the zone there doesn't run at weekends), and I had to do a big detour to avoid the Rouen LEZ on the way back to Calais.  And I couldn't go anywhere near Paris, not that I'd want to anyway.

Agreed, I can't be arsed with the straying into the zone and getting a fine thing. It's why I was glad to be rid of my 407 and buy these two bastard things instead:

Both are ULEZ friendly (just) and both are amazing motorway cruisers. I've been to Belgium in them both since I've owned them (Vectra in April and Jag recently in August).

3 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Things I've noticed about driving in Europe, in no particular order:

1. Belgian roads are shit.

2. The traffic in Brussels is absolute fucking pandemonium.

3. Lane discipline is better on the continent than it is here, but still not great.

4. Diesel is no cheaper on the continent than it is here, disappointingly.  Petrol is significantly more expensive.

5. Driving through rural France is nowhere near as enjoyable as it used to be.  More traffic, more dawdlers, and lower speed limits which everyone seems to keep to.  There is also far less chod on the roads now than there used to be.

6. DHL and Audi drivers drive like cunts whichever country you are in.

7. Google Maps thinks that all rural French roads are still limited to 80km/h, even though a lot of them have been put back up to 90 - I thought online mapping apps were supposed to keep up with this kind of thing.

8. The French really are shit at English, but that's less of an issue as I can still just about remember how to speak French - my German was rubbish 30 years ago and it hasn't got any better in the meantime.

Point by point;

1. Yes, Belgium roads are utterly shit because of my trips between here and Belgium, I'm suprised my wheels and suspension parts haven't already disintegrated.

2. As Belgium is a pass through for a lot of countries, this is very true. The good thing is, is that I retain my UK driving "skills" to circumvent the dawdling brainless twats who'll block a whole lane to try and join an already busy blocked up lane.

3. Agreed about lane discipline. It's refreshing to see people using an overtaking lane and then actually going back into the right* (*continental Europe here)  rather than cruising/trying to be some entitled road captain.

4. Agreed, thus has been the case for a while, all a way of "encouraging" the continentals out of thier diesel cars into electric or newer registered petrol.

5. Same could be said for Brussels. There is probably double the amount of people there used to be. Whenever I have to go into Brussels, I just find it a fight. The Jag does help to keep me calm as it glides along.

6. Oh yes, but that includes most delivery drivers, especially GLS.

7. Whenever I drive through France Google Maps forgets to update the speed limits. I got flashed by a bridge camera somewhere near Dunkirk.

8. Yes, absolutely. Not only that, they are utter twats about how you speak their language. There are times I've had to remind them that a) I'm a foreigner b) I'm having a conversation, not a lesson on how to speak French. I don't mind being corrected, but when they try to turn it into a lesson on how to speak French properly etc... 

The Belgians are far more forgiving thankfully. 

[Lord Sterling]

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

I'm gonna be completely honest, when I saw this photo in passing, I thought the brown stuff was dogs' arse logs. 

[N19]

Do the LEZ/ULEZ zones work on foreign plated vehicles? I had assumed that they didn't, or weren't enforced. There are quite a number of foreign plated, clearly non ULEZ compliant, vehicles knocking around this corner of north London.

[richardmorris]

Nasty accident on the m3 here this evening. Seems a car has left Portsmouth road and landed on the southbound carriageway. All roads around are very busy,

[brownnova]

So I thought today was going to be a collection thread day… 

I’d bided my time following selling the Saab ‘vert wanted to try and find the right car. When a really good example of a car that I’d always promised myself I would own one day came up, 4 miles from home, and for a very reasonable price. I was excited to go and view after work. 

 

Impressions were good, it was in very good condition bar one or two disclosed faults.  

Such as that exhaust!

But… I drove it and have to say I felt entirely underwhelmed. It drove very nicely, but I just didn’t particularly like it to drive. I then remembered a previous one I drove a couple of years back, and recall feeling the same about that one, but concluded about that one that it was a bit tired.  But this one was less than 60k and well cared for. So I can only conclude that despite wanting to love the 75 that maybe they’re not for me! I’m quite disappointed about this… 

[Lord Sterling]

30 minutes ago, N19 said:

Do the LEZ/ULEZ zones work on foreign plated vehicles? I had assumed that they didn't, or weren't enforced. There are quite a number of foreign plated, clearly non ULEZ compliant, vehicles knocking around this corner of north London.

It depends entirely on where the vehicle is registered. If you're entering say a Belgian zone in a non-compliant vehicle that is registered in France or Germany, because they are part of the EU and thus within the agreement of information sharing (where and what they can), you will very likely receive a fine from the Belgian authorities on your French or German doorstep. Old Fatha_Sterling received a parking fine from France on his doorstep in Belgium once he returned from France.

However, with places like the UK, I don't think it is easy to enforce, especially if you're taking your car over only once. The ULEZ sites of various countries like France and Belgium state that if you are caught driving a non ULEZ compliant vehicle, you will get fined as alluded to above. However, for UK vehicles I think it's harder to enforce due to Brexit.

Case in point:

This 2008 UK-reg'd non-compliant Astra Diesel lives here in the centre of Brussels in a place called 'St Jose' and has done for several years. Presumably it moves and is driven about as I do see it parked in the street but in other spaces. It's been on a SORN since about 2014 when it last had an MoT.

So presumably, this has been someones almost free transport for about 10 years. Now if this was stopped by the police, most likely it would be found to not be compliant, however how they would go about this is beyond me. 

There is of course then the questions of; If I enter the zone several times (at a cost of 35€ per day) will this be known at the border in Calais/Dunkirk? Will there be any attempt to seize my car? Etc...

Probably not, but personally, I'd not want to run the risk just to save a few quid on fuel.

[JakeT]

33 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

Point by point;

1. Yes, Belgium road are utterly shit because of my trios between here and Belgium, I'm suprised my wheels and suspension parts haven't disintegrated.

2. As Belgium is a pass through for a lot of countries, this is very true. The good thing is, is that I retain my driving "skills" to circumvent the dawdling brainless twats who'll block a whole lane to try and join an already busy blocked up lane.

3. Agreed about lane discipline. It's refreshing to see people using an overtaking lane and then actually going back into the right* (*continental Europe here)  rather than cruising/trying to be some entitled road captain.

4. Agreed, thus has been the case for a while, all a way of "encouraging" the continentals out of thier diesel cars into electric or newer registered petrol.

5. Same could be said for Brussels. There is probably double the amount of people there used to be. Whenever I have to go into Brussels, I just find it a fight. The Jag does help to keep me calm as it glides along.

6. Oh yes, but that includes most delivery drivers, especially GLS.

7. Whenever I drive through France Google Maps forgets to update the speed limits. I got flashed by a bridge camera somewhere near Dunkirk.

8. Yes, absolutely. Not only that, they are utter twats about how you speak their language. There are times I've had to remind them that a) I'm a foreigner b) I'm having a conversation, not a lesson on how to speak French. I don't mind being corrected, but when they try to turn it into a lesson on how to speak French properly etc... 

The Belgians are far more forgiving thankfully. 
 

I agree with all of the above. Continental drivers don’t get so upset when you flash them out of the way if they are dawdling, either. My German is poor, but the Germans don’t get too uppity about it. The French are sodding awful, and the Belgians don’t care. Scandi folks know nobody speaks their language so don’t try with anyone foreign sounding.

 

If you do manage to escape the traffic, it’s still lovely. Even Belgium is good, the E42 being a favourite of mine. In the less populated areas of France and Spain traffic is still very light too, and the roads enjoyable.

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, Lord Sterling said:

I'm gonna be completely honest, when I saw this photo in passing, I thought the brown stuff was dogs' arse logs. 

Given that those drop links had apparently been fitted less than a year previously, I think dogs' arse logs would have proved more durable...

[New POD]

3 hours ago, loserone said:

I thought that was the kind of droplinks which @Cheggersspotted in @New POD's place earlier 

To be fair I've never seen any that bad. And I live near the sea. 

[artdjones]

1 hour ago, JakeT said:

I agree with all of the above. Continental drivers don’t get so upset when you flash them out of the way if they are dawdling, either. My German is poor, but the Germans don’t get too uppity about it. The French are sodding awful, and the Belgians don’t care. Scandi folks know nobody speaks their language so don’t try with anyone foreign sounding.

 

If you do manage to escape the traffic, it’s still lovely. Even Belgium is good, the E42 being a favourite of mine. In the less populated areas of France and Spain traffic is still very light too, and the roads enjoyable.

Everyone thinks that "we do things better here", but the French seriously believe it about every possible detail of the French way of life. Even though they seem to be the most discontented people in Western Europe.

 

[artdjones]

1 hour ago, brownnova said:

So I thought today was going to be a collection thread day… 

I’d bided my time following selling the Saab ‘vert wanted to try and find the right car. When a really good example of a car that I’d always promised myself I would own one day came up, 4 miles from home, and for a very reasonable price. I was excited to go and view after work. 

 

Impressions were good, it was in very good condition bar one or two disclosed faults.  

Such as that exhaust!

But… I drove it and have to say I felt entirely underwhelmed. It drove very nicely, but I just didn’t particularly like it to drive. I then remembered a previous one I drove a couple of years back, and recall feeling the same about that one, but concluded about that one that it was a bit tired.  But this one was less than 60k and well cared for. So I can only conclude that despite wanting to love the 75 that maybe they’re not for me! I’m quite disappointed about this… 

I wanted to love them, but like you, when I finally got around to driving one I wasn't particularly impressed.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, N19 said:

Do the LEZ/ULEZ zones work on foreign plated vehicles? I had assumed that they didn't, or weren't enforced. There are quite a number of foreign plated, clearly non ULEZ compliant, vehicles knocking around this corner of north London.

It depends how they're enforced.  If it's entirely by camera, as in the UK (and Brussels), then you have nowt to worry about.  However in France, plod can pull you over if he spots that you don't have a Crit'Air sticker in your windscreen, and can then issue a hefty on-the-spot fine if you car is non-compliant.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, brownnova said:

I drove it and have to say I felt entirely underwhelmed. It drove very nicely, but I just didn’t particularly like it to drive. I then remembered a previous one I drove a couple of years back, and recall feeling the same about that one, but concluded about that one that it was a bit tired.  But this one was less than 60k and well cared for. So I can only conclude that despite wanting to love the 75 that maybe they’re not for me! I’m quite disappointed about this… 

There is something seriously wrong with you.