The new news 24 thread

[richardmorris]

[wuvvum]

Ooh, is @Six-cylinder branching out into the funeral business?

[Six-cylinder]

2 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

Eight years ago! This is why we generally leave catering to the Scotoshite Volvo Massive...

Oh yes, breakfast with the Scotoshite Volvo Massive, so tasty.

[reb]

👀 

Which particular scottish turquoise 850 is this I wonder 

[busmansholiday]

In June 2025, the UK is implementing changes to driving license weight limits, allowing holders of a standard category B (car) license to drive electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles with a maximum authorized mass (MAM) of up to 4,250kg. This increase from the usual 3,500kg limit for petrol and diesel vehicles will apply to various vehicle types usually driven on a category B license, including cars, SUVs, vans, and small trucks. 

 

Key Changes:

• Increased MAM for Zero-Emission Vehicles:

  Holders of a category B license can now drive electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles with an MAM of up to 4,250kg. 

   
• All Vehicle Types Covered:

  The increased weight limit applies to all vehicles that can normally be driven on a category B license, not just goods vehicles. 

   
• No Additional Training:

  The previous requirement for five hours of additional training for drivers of zero-emission vehicles up to 4,250kg has been removed. 

   
• Towing Allowed:

  Drivers can tow a trailer with an electric or hydrogen-powered vehicle up to 4,250kg, as long as the combined weight of the vehicle and trailer does not exceed 7,000kg. 

   

Impact of the Changes:

These changes are expected to benefit individuals and businesses who use electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles, allowing them to drive heavier vehicles without needing to upgrade their licenses. The removal of the training requirement and the inclusion of towing allowances further simplifies the process. 

[Split_Pin]

MOT pass for the ex Northernmonkey A4

Needs the front wheels swapping to the back as those tyres are new.

Just as well as Mrs_Pin is driving the 75 and the interior is getting a bit damp in places as both sunroof drains are blocked solid at the bottom end, despite me cutting the duck bills off to ease flow a few years ago. I'll need to get the arch liners off to unblock them from the bottom.

[BorniteIdentity]

4 hours ago, wuvvum said:

It also means of course that I'm going to have to sell lots of vehicles fairly quickly, which is probably going to be a tall order given that I'm just barely managing to sell a few vehicles very slowly. 

Stuff is very much selling in the real world, on the open market, away from weirdos who already have too many cars.

On the last page of this very thread was an article about record lows of new cars being manufactured.  Anecdotally, I see more and more people running older cars these days and just keeping them running which warms my cold dead heart.  

If you've got anything that's under 20 years old with a nice long ticket you WILL sell it.  

As for a smaller fleet? I'm now running just three cars for the first time in 10 years and I still ponder about flogging the Sierra and buying a van instead.  My head is a lot clearer and it won't be long until my finances either improve or I end up buying another hopeless old nail and setting myself back five years.  

Good luck man.  Less can definitely be more.

[chadders]

5 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Just had my insurance renewal through.  It's more than doubled since last year.  Which isn't entirely unexpected as I've had two accidents (although only one was my fault), but it means that realistically it's no longer affordable.  And it's not the sort of policy where I can just go online and compare meerkats to find a cheaper option.  So looks like it might be the end of an era.

This may not be a bad thing as I spend far too much time and money buggering around with cars and a reduced fleet would be more sensible, but I'm going to need to decide what I'm going to keep and how I'm going to insure it.  With no NCB and an at fault accident on my record premiums are going to go up anyway, although on the plus side I have a clean licence, I'm middle-aged and I live in a low risk area.

It also means of course that I'm going to have to sell lots of vehicles fairly quickly, which is probably going to be a tall order given that I'm just barely managing to sell a few vehicles very slowly.  I can probably get away with SORNing them and dumping them on the car park for a month or two, but test drives for potential buyers would then become rather awkward.

Harrumph.

I've lost track of just what cars you do have.

For those on here with fading memories like mine is it worth putting a list of them as a signature to your posts so it might trigger 'I want one of those' thoughts?

[wuvvum]

13 minutes ago, chadders said:

I've lost track of just what cars you do have.

For those on here with fading memories like mine is it worth putting a list of them as a signature to your posts so it might trigger 'I want one of those' thoughts?

That might be an idea, although I have for sale threads up for most of them on t'other side.

Current list is as follows:

 

2012 Mitsubishi i-Miev - for sale @ £1800

2007 LDV Maxus - shortly for sale @ £1500

2006 VW Eos 2.0 TFSI - for sale @ £600

2005 Mercedes C320 CDI estate - for sale @ £1500

2018 Nissan Leaf - Not currently for sale

2003 Rover 75 Tourer - Not for sale

1996 Toyota Carina E - Never for sale

1993 Innocenti Mini - Not for sale

1972 Renault 6 - Never for sale

1972 Volvo 164 - Not for sale

 

[wuvvum]

Just been on the Adrian Flux website.  WTF?!

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

2 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Just been on the Adrian Flux website.  WTF?!

IME a bunch of Bananas would be a better insurance broker than Adrian Fucks-it-up have become.

[Spottedlaurel]

@wuvvum I have a multi vehicle policy with FJ, which covers the RX as my daily driver (which earns NCB) and then the LS400 and Laurel. The latter two are more like classic cover with agreed value, no-cost retention of salvage etc, but it's all with one company (Zurich this year).

Annoyingly they won't cover the Carina E (I have to use RH for that one), and I haven't yet asked about its replacement. When I had the fleet of five including  the Camry they accepted them all when I went through the private clients department. 

[wuvvum]

Thanks, I'll give them a try as well.

I actually got some pretty decent individual quotes for the Renault 6 and the Volvo through comparison sites, but none of them recognises the Innocenti so I'm going to need a more specialist approach than the meerkats / Welsh opera bloke I think.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

weirdos who already have too many cars.

[Stinkwheel]

6 minutes ago, Tayne said:

Does anybody on here have a car first registered in Aberdeen that's perhaps not in the first flush of youth?

 

This was on an 07 plate with less than 90k on the clock and has had no mention of corrosion on the last 5 Mots.

 

That’s quite drastic, hope you and yours all OK

[Stinkwheel]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

Just been on the Adrian Flux website.  WTF?!

I spy AI generated BS that a human didn’t check very well 

[lesapandre]

2 hours ago, Stinkwheel said:

I spy AI generated BS that a human didn’t check very well 

Got a comma problem too.

[catsinthewelder]

8 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

In June 2025, the UK is implementing changes to driving license weight limits, allowing holders of a standard category B (car) license to drive electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles with a maximum authorized mass (MAM) of up to 4,250kg. This increase from the usual 3,500kg limit for petrol and diesel vehicles will apply to various vehicle types usually driven on a category B license, including cars, SUVs, vans, and small trucks. 

 

Key Changes:

• Increased MAM for Zero-Emission Vehicles:

  Holders of a category B license can now drive electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles with an MAM of up to 4,250kg. 

   
• All Vehicle Types Covered:

  The increased weight limit applies to all vehicles that can normally be driven on a category B license, not just goods vehicles. 

   
• No Additional Training:

  The previous requirement for five hours of additional training for drivers of zero-emission vehicles up to 4,250kg has been removed. 

   
• Towing Allowed:

  Drivers can tow a trailer with an electric or hydrogen-powered vehicle up to 4,250kg, as long as the combined weight of the vehicle and trailer does not exceed 7,000kg. 

   

Impact of the Changes:

These changes are expected to benefit individuals and businesses who use electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles, allowing them to drive heavier vehicles without needing to upgrade their licenses. The removal of the training requirement and the inclusion of towing allowances further simplifies the process. 

I think this is necessary for vans and not just electric ones but fuck allowing SUVs to get any bigger and uglier.  There should be legislation to try and reverse the bloat of modern cars.

[lesapandre]

Fleamarket find. Kenning Motor Group brochure circa 1980. 

[Snake Charmer]

2 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Fleamarket find. Kenning Motor Group brochure circa 1980. 

Loving the Metro tailgating the SD1. 

[EyesWeldedShut]

18 hours ago, Stinkwheel said:

I spy AI generated BananaS that a human didn’t check very well 

FTFY?

[artdjones]

18 hours ago, Tayne said:

Does anybody on here have a car first registered in Aberdeen that's perhaps not in the first flush of youth?

 

This was on an 07 plate with less than 90k on the clock and has had no mention of corrosion on the last 5 Mots.

 

What I'd expect, judging by the state of the underneath of the 12 year old 205 I owned that came from there. Solid but fixings all corroded, and the boot floor covered in thick red surface rust.

[Bren]

My lads astra is having it's MOT on Monday.

An advisory on the last one related to the front pads so I had a look - they still have plenty of material and would probably last another twelve months with my lads' driving style. It was obvious fairly quickly that the brakes had not seen any attention for a while - the outer pads were stuck in their carriers and were awkward to remove. So I stripped and cleaned everything up. So much for the previous owner having it serviced every year as her father had claimed.

I noticed one of the tyres was dated week 45 of 2002. I looked at the rest - the youngest was ten years old and one had what I can only describe as gouges all the way around it's circumference. To me it looked like it was going to leave the chat -  the previous owner obviously preferred part worns.

I told my lad. A mobile tyre fitter is booked for tomorrow - he is paying for four new boots. The joys of buying sub £2k cars.

[ruffgeezer]

20 hours ago, Tayne said:

Does anybody on here have a car first registered in Aberdeen that's perhaps not in the first flush of youth?

 

This was on an 07 plate with less than 90k on the clock and has had no mention of corrosion on the last 5 Mots.

 

That's usually the rear axle bushes that fail rather than outright rot.

[comfortablynumb]

And someone who just carries on regardless.

How long would that have been knocking it's tits off before it actually failed?

[WillCarter]

So I seem to own this now.

[beko1987]

1 hour ago, Bren said:

My lads astra is having it's MOT on Monday.

An advisory on the last one related to the front pads so I had a look - they still have plenty of material and would probably last another twelve months with my lads' driving style. It was obvious fairly quickly that the brakes had not seen any attention for a while - the outer pads were stuck in their carriers and were awkward to remove. So I stripped and cleaned everything up. So much for the previous owner having it serviced every year as her father had claimed.

I noticed one of the tyres was dated week 45 of 2002. I looked at the rest - the youngest was ten years old and one had what I can only describe as gouges all the way around it's circumference. To me it looked like it was going to leave the chat -  the previous owner obviously preferred part worns.

I told my lad. A mobile tyre fitter is booked for tomorrow - he is paying for four new boots. The joys of buying sub £2k cars.

If he gets the miles out of those boots though it's £200 well spent 🤷

I rarely include tyre costs on cheap car running math's, assuming I'm confident enough the car will do the 15/20k until the fronts wear out again 

[Rust Collector]

13 minutes ago, WillCarter said:

So I seem to own this now.

That’s beautiful. There was a Barkas B 1000 for sale locally a while back, it was knackered but I still regret not going for it.

[Honey Badger]

Another 12 months MOT for the Honda Legend.

 

MOT tester said it's spotless underneath apart from some slight crustiness on the rear springs.

[wuvvum]

23 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

@wuvvum I have a multi vehicle policy with FJ, which covers the RX as my daily driver (which earns NCB) and then the LS400 and Laurel. The latter two are more like classic cover with agreed value, no-cost retention of salvage etc, but it's all with one company (Zurich this year).

Annoyingly they won't cover the Carina E (I have to use RH for that one), and I haven't yet asked about its replacement. When I had the fleet of five including  the Camry they accepted them all when I went through the private clients department. 

Just got off the 'phone to FJ.  They won't cover the Carina E until it's 30 (so next year), but they will cover the Rover 75 as a classic.  Even so, a policy to cover all five "old" cars (Rover, Toyota, Volvo, Renault, Innocenti) comes in at under 500 quid.  So that's pretty decent.