The new news 24 thread

[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]

22 minutes ago, 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. 

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]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

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

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

[catsinthewelder]

1 hour ago, 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? 

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]

2 hours ago, 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? 

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]

11 hours ago, Yoss said:

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

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]

6 hours ago, 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.

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. 

22 minutes ago, 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.

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]

29 minutes ago, 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. 

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

[BorniteIdentity]

On 10/04/2025 at 08:39, lesapandre said:

Parking charges...

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

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.

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]

9 hours ago, 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.

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]

11 hours ago, 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? 

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. 

[horriblemercedes]

8 minutes ago, New POD said:

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. 

Not for about 25 years now.

[EyesWeldedShut]

9 minutes ago, New POD said:

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. 

NHS (like Plod) are exempt from third  party insurance (see Sec 144 RTA) - ditto councils and the like. RM are not exempt there but they (most likely) go down the 'lodge a security' route whereby you give a bung to the govt. in return for being third party exempt.
I think London Transport used to do the security thing but TfL these days actually have a policy? Large payouts could be the cause of that one.

On another note - our Postie is now driving a hire van, the 13 reg Partner seems to have collapsed.

[Yoss]

40 minutes ago, New POD said:

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. 

I think that's what @richardmorris was asking. We've been a private company since 2006 and will soon (maybe by the end of this month) be wholly owned by a Czech billionaire. I'm just a lowly postman so I've no idea how the insurance works now. 

[New POD]

42 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

Not for about 25 years now.

That will explain why they are so efficient. 

[cort1977]

1 hour ago, New POD said:

That will explain why they are so efficient. 

Indeed, it really vindicates the Friedman / Thatcher philosophy of privatisation and paved the way for other resounding successes with electricity and water.

[chaseracer]

On 19/03/2025 at 21:18, stuboy said:

thank you,  weeks annual leave going too waste, so far

If you're sick, you're entitled to claim back the relevant amount of leave entitlement.

[loserone]

2 hours ago, Yoss said:

just a lowly postman so I've no idea how the insurance works now.

That's interesting, is it not the responsibility of the driver to ensure that they are legally insured?

[lesapandre]

1 hour ago, loserone said:

That's interesting, is it not the responsibility of the driver to ensure that they are legally insured?

Interesting legal point. As the driver is responsible for the vehicle should they do a basic check before driving off?

Hardly anyone will. Could say the same of hire cars. I mean who would open the bonnet?

[Yoss]

1 hour ago, loserone said:

That's interesting, is it not the responsibility of the driver to ensure that they are legally insured?

 

15 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Interesting legal point. As the driver is responsible for the vehicle should they do a basic check before driving off?

Hardly anyone will. Could say the same of hire cars. I mean who would open the bonnet?

I don't currently drive, I have a trolley, but I think I can safely say everybody just assumes the company have got the insurance sorted. We are supposed to do a van check each morning to ensure it is roadworthy (which of course means checking that the tape holding the doors on is fit for purpose). We do get reminded of this on a fairly regular basis but insurance is never mentioned. 

[horriblemercedes]

The thing is, how would you do it in practice?

 

You can look on AskMID and see if the vehicle is insured, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are insured to drive it.

 

In a business like that, vehicles will be under a common policy that has certain exclusions (age, health, convictions for example. These specifics will vary).

 

So should you every day demand a copy of the fleet insurance documents and pore through them, just in case there has been a change since yesterday and you are now excluded?

[comfortablynumb]

Technically, @horriblemercedes, yes.

 

[barefoot]

As some of you may have a minor inkling, I despise the naming of vehicles but today I collected the bay of lasting joy* from the gariage 

I'd like to hope that you all appreciate the brand new rear bumper, which in reality is the correct colour and finally replaced the last remaining original panel.

*the exception which proves the rule.

[barefoot]

Fuck me, that rear numberplate's in the wrong spot!

[Split_Pin]

Gave this a polish and wax after work this afternoon after going at some scratches with Farcela G3. I also got the badly tarnished tailpipe looking a bit better.

Have to say it came up really well. Front bumper needs a repaint though.

[SiC]

Beautiful day down in the west country today.

Spitty looked decidedly dirty from the Midget filler dust getting everywhere. Plus sand from when it got left out the other week for a week and it rained.

I really must sort this crusty bit sometime before it gets worse. The painted filler falling off will be a handy paint swatch too. 

Jizzed.

Then pressure wash and hand bucket washed. 

Went to a local seafront for a gander this afternoon after my gym session as I had the day off.

Warm enough today to not even need a jumper when driving! Shame it's not lasting.