The new news 24 thread

[Cookiesouwest]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

On Friday I got a call that lifted a massive weight off my shoulders - following an interview I got a new job.

Nightmare over, here's to the first sound sleeps since January.

Congratulations

All the best for the new job

[RoverFolkUs]

6 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Just sent the xsara picasso off for its 3rd MOT in my ownership, expecting a pass, doesn't seem to have anything up with it. I was that confident in it I stuck a set of 4 new tyres on it a couple of weeks ago 😃

What a car 😂 - straight pass, no advisories 

[lesapandre]

Bought this earlier.

Packed with beautiful period photos.

 

[clayts450]

Our local Tesco on Saturday evening:

Our local Tesco at 6.30am today

Oh dear...

[stuboy]

plans of oil changes, and spark plugs been delayed due to new death 24 hrs in bed 

[clayts450]

Update on the Doblo of Doom from my tame mechanic. This is the van that has had not one, but two replacement turbos due to varying degrees of ineptitude. It seems they failed again.....

[clayts450]

4 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Looks like the giant laughing woman's fault..

Or dangerously under-specced by the architect*. If they have a lot of this type in their building estate they have some serous issues to tackle.

Tesco expanded very fast. They will need to look at their whole estate pronto.

They won the worst building in Britain award in 2014 - The Carbuncle  Cup - for this doozey in Woolwich. 

*latter more likely.

They had to build ours over a river, hence the need for the "two floor superstore on stilts" look. They also had to re-align the river slightly. Ever since when, it floods. Repeatedly. But not in the car park, of course.

Not at all suspiciously, they had moved all the merchandise from floor 2 to floor 1, apparently to rent out the top floor to a gym or somesuch bollox. Within a week, the cracks started appearing. The local Facebook Incident Investigation Team are pointing the finger at the resident pigeon - yes, he used to fly around inside the store.

Shop scheduled to reopen on Saturday. Lots of hard-hatted gents with clipboards standing around pointing at things earlier, apparently.

[Markeh]

1 hour ago, clayts450 said:

Lots of hard-hatted gents with clipboards standing around pointing at things earlier, apparently.

I assume a similar conversation to this was had (I have had this sketch in my head ever since seeing this on the news, but as yet have resisted the urge to go and see how bad it looks in person)

[Split_Pin]

So now I've got a new job lined up I can start buying the bits needed for the E46 . If you remember it kept going into limp mode pinging up the EML, traction control light and yellow handbrake light.

Now ever since my old A8 gave a flashing glowplug light which was to do with a knackered turbo actuator (I.e. nowt whatsoever to do with the glow plugs), I've always tried to 2nd guess rogue symbols. 

I also got these codes 

I know the ICV is fucked because the idle is wonky and the revs are a bit erratic at other times as well. So I started off by getting a new one of those. The part that arrived was a bit fucking shit-looking tbh and it left a random sliver of metal in my finger. It also didn't rattle when I shook it which it should do. Anyway, fuck it, on it went. 

Started up OK and I'll take it for a drive at some point this week to see what codes come back before buying anything else.

[Popsicle]

1 hour ago, clayts450 said:

Update on the Doblo of Doom from my tame mechanic. This is the van that has had not one, but two replacement turbos due to varying degrees of ineptitude. It seems they failed again.....

Bastard ungrateful van or useless previous garage? Whichever it is I hope you can get it sorted and be out earning again mate.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, stuboy said:

plans of oil changes, and spark plugs been delayed due to new death 24 hrs in bed 

This is serious, we need to help. What ailes thee, sire?

[Metal Guru]

Driving down the A1 past Newcastle yesterday. Seems to be the capital of debadged BMWs posing as M cars.

If you fit a body kit and bigger alloys, but leave a poxy little exhaust, you’re fooling no one .

[SiC]

11 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

So now I've got a new job lined up I can start buying the bits needed for the E46 . If you remember it kept going into limp mode pinging up the EML, traction control light and yellow handbrake light.

Now ever since my old A8 gave a flashing glowplug light which was to do with a knackered turbo actuator (I.e. nowt whatsoever to do with the glow plugs), I've always tried to 2nd guess rogue symbols. 

I also got these codes 

I know the ICV is fucked because the idle is wonky and the revs are a bit erratic at other times as well. So I started off by getting a new one of those. The part that arrived was a bit fucking shit-looking tbh and it left a random sliver of metal in my finger. It also didn't rattle when I shook it which it should do. Anyway, fuck it, on it went. 

Started up OK and I'll take it for a drive at some point this week to see what codes come back before buying anything else.

You really could do with INPA and a DCAN lead. It's the only way to fully reset the adaptations on many of the ECUs. Lead is like £25 off Amazon/eBay and then just need an old laptop.

[Split_Pin]

2 minutes ago, SiC said:

You really could do with INPA and a DCAN lead. It's the only way to fully reset the adaptations on many of the ECUs. Lead is like £25 off Amazon/eBay and then just need an old laptop.

Cheers, I may need to go down that route, it depends on my patience though! I'd also need to get an old laptop which adds another £50 or so. I've already spent about a grand on this thing, gotta stop somewhere, plus there will be no more BMWs after this one 😂

[clayts450]

15 hours ago, Popsicle said:

Bastard ungrateful van or useless previous garage? Whichever it is I hope you can get it sorted and be out earning again mate.

Useless previous garage.

[richardmorris]

Getting a bit common now.

[wuvvum]

Thereifixedit.com

It's not quite finished yet - I need to secure the bottom of the bumper a bit better given that the undertray sadly passed away in the accident, and I ideally need to give the paint a polish where I rattle canned over the scuffs.  It's also far from perfect, there are still a few wonky bits and a split in the top of the bumper in the middle which isn't really visible with the tailgate closed.  It looks OK from a distance though, and it means the car looks properly roadworthy for the first time since the accident.

[S2000]

Last week my BMW told me it needed coolant partway through a 120 mile trip, checked it at home and topped up maybe 200 ml. Checked the level 2 days / 10 miles later and it’s back to where it was, no drips on the garage floor, expansion tank not cracked and no signs of residue/fluid near the cap…. Gonna be seriously fucked off if it’s OMGHF at 26K on the clock. Now got the fear to drive it in case it goes pop 🤔

[Split_Pin]

I took the E46 on its inaugural drive after fitting a new idle control valve and it immediately felt like a different car. Revs return to idle when driving and you lift off, like an auto should. Before, they would blip up about 200 rpm before erratically falling. The most annoying thing it used to do (other than bloody limp mode!) was that once you had reached your cruising speed on the motorway, the revs would suddenly rise about 200 rpm and stay there. Now they stay steady and when you lift off they fall smoothly. It feels faster and smoother too. No lights or limp mode.

So far so good then, a few more miles and I'll be comfortable to call it fixed.

One of my old cars that I liked very much has come up for sale so I need to have a bit of a think whether I'm keeping this or not, but at least I now won't have to take a bath on it if I do sell.

[stuboy]

On 17/03/2025 at 20:10, stuboy said:

plans of oil changes, and spark plugs been delayed due to new death 24 hrs in bed 

god sorry all i was still delrious...  i meant 24 near death with this viral illness going around

[SiC]

14 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I took the E46 on its inaugural drive after fitting a new idle control valve and it immediately felt like a different car. Revs return to idle when driving and you lift off, like an auto should. Before, they would blip up about 200 rpm before erratically falling. The most annoying thing it used to do (other than bloody limp mode!) was that once you had reached your cruising speed on the motorway, the revs would suddenly rise about 200 rpm and stay there. Now they stay steady and when you lift off they fall smoothly. It feels faster and smoother too. No lights or limp mode.

So far so good then, a few more miles and I'll be comfortable to call it fixed.

One of my old cars that I liked very much has come up for sale so I need to have a bit of a think whether I'm keeping this or not, but at least I now won't have to take a bath on it if I do sell.

Have the O2 sensor errors come back? I know some have said that resetting the adaptations can sort efficiency errors as they age. (Need INPA for that)

I know these cars are a PIA but once you get them running well then :chefkiss:

There are not many big engined RWD vehicles left in this world that aren't expensive. 

Also right now the parts for stuff like the E46/E9x are still readily available cheap in both second hand and new. Fitting most of them aren't a massive issue for access on this age either. It's just you have to put up with the occasional malaise or de-snagg a bunch of them if enough haven't been sorted by previous owners - problems that are knowingly known and not. Hopefully you've got through the worst of them on your 330Ci. 🤞

[Split_Pin]

46 minutes ago, SiC said:

Have the O2 sensor errors come back? 

Nothing yet! I am hoping that the ICV jamming up has caused some other downstream paraphernalia to do a funny.

I startled myself at lunchtime coming out the petrol station as it is now so responsive!

It does sound nice and handles well even on mixed budgets😂

I'm taking it to College tomorrow which is a decent run with mixed motorway and town driving. If it's still OK then it can stay for now...

[PhilA]

14 hours ago, stuboy said:

god sorry all i was still delrious...  i meant 24 near death with this viral illness going around

I had that. Wasn't nice. Still feeling the effects 2 weeks on.

Speedy recovery

[wuvvum]

I've done the sums for the repair costs to the Ampera and the grand total comes to £61.57.  That's for a secondhand replacement bumper crash bar, a rattle can of colour matched paint, new number plate, new bulbs for the fog and reversing light and a bulb holder for the reversing light, and a lens repair kit for the reversing light lens. 

I've not included the cost of the reversing camera (which hasn't been delivered yet) as the original camera didn't work so that counts as betterment.  I do still need to secure the bottom of the bumper underneath the car, but I should be able to do that with bits I already have.

I just find it odd that the insurers would choose to write off a car for such minimal damage.  OK the back of the boot well has a couple of small dents / scrapes where the bumper crash bar dug into it, but they don't affect anything - once I've sorted the bumper fixings the car will be just as usable as it ever was.  I'm not complaining mind, I'm basically back to where I was before the accident but with a few more quid in my pocket (didn't stay in my pocket for long though, but that's a story for tomorrow).

[JJ0063]

6 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I've done the sums for the repair costs to the Ampera and the grand total comes to £61.57.  That's for a secondhand replacement bumper crash bar, a rattle can of colour matched paint, new number plate, new bulbs for the fog and reversing light and a bulb holder for the reversing light, and a lens repair kit for the reversing light lens. 

I've not included the cost of the reversing camera (which hasn't been delivered yet) as the original camera didn't work so that counts as betterment.  I do still need to secure the bottom of the bumper underneath the car, but I should be able to do that with bits I already have.

I just find it odd that the insurers would choose to write off a car for such minimal damage.  OK the back of the boot well has a couple of small dents / scrapes where the bumper crash bar dug into it, but they don't affect anything - once I've sorted the bumper fixings the car will be just as usable as it ever was.  I'm not complaining mind, I'm basically back to where I was before the accident but with a few more quid in my pocket (didn't stay in my pocket for long though, but that's a story for tomorrow).

It’s mad I know but if you look at it from their POV

Hire car for a week

Brand new insurance approved bumper, crash bar, camera, reverse lense, number plate, reverse camera, good few hours labour, paint etc 

What costs you or I £61.57 to a level we’re happy with, would probably end up being £2000+ to repair ‘properly’ and with the other associated costs 

[SiC]

1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:

It’s mad I know but if you look at it from their POV

Hire car for a week

Brand new insurance approved bumper, crash bar, camera, reverse lense, number plate, reverse camera, good few hours labour, paint etc 

What costs you or I £61.57 to a level we’re happy with, would probably end up being £2000+ to repair ‘properly’ and with the other associated costs 

Plus any other problems found during repair that wasn't picked up by the assessor which could blow the budget even more. 

Then all the staff time costs to process a claim that takes longer. 

[Volksy]

I've probably mentioned this before, when one of my Company Merc A200's got rammed into the assessor missed a load of stuff. It really should have been a total loss, but they went for a repair. 

It was in the bodyshop for about 6 months in the end. As many parts were on back order, they then painted it the wrong colour, plus numerous other issues. 

Throughout this time the Insurers supplied me with a courtesy car. Like for like I got an A200 from Enterprise. 

When I returned it, I asked the chap what rate it had been hired on, turns out it was on a day rate of £62.00 per day. So the total bill just for the hire car was £11,656.00

I could have bought another A class with that. 

[SiC]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I'm taking it to College tomorrow which is a decent run with mixed motorway and town driving. If it's still OK then it can stay for now...

With the nicer dry sunny weather (at least down here), at least owning a nice sounding convertible is a bit more rewarding. 

I did read that the Idle Control Valve on the M54 also isn't just idle and deals with sub 2k rpm throttle control. Which would make sense if you're finding it drives better now. Plus if the old one was sticking open then it'd been effectively having an intake leak. If so then hopefully that's possibly why the O2 sensor cat efficiency codes have tripped and fingers crossed might self fix now. 

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

It’s mad I know but if you look at it from their POV

Hire car for a week

They did actually offer me a hire car, I turned it down because I was just using the Merc.  I did wonder though whether that was a mistake and whether forking out for a hire car might have focused their minds a bit and avoided the buggering about.  Probably not though, it would probably have just resulted in the management company dragging things out even more to milk the car hire.

[Markeh]

My friend managed to luck out when an attempted break-in happened on her 2008 - they'd bent the rear door back and smashed the window to gain access to the inside of the car. If they'd just tried the front door, there was an annoying pre-existing fault with the door wiring we believe that led to the driver's door not locking off the central locking, then they'd have got in without damage. We spent ages trying to find that fault and her garage had replaced modules and all sorts all without luck.

Lo and behold, the central locking was working when the car was back from being repaired!