The new news 24 thread

[DeanH]

9 minutes ago, Wibble said:

I went for an eye test today, not news worthy I know but it’s been a while. They asked if I drove, yes but then asked if that was just my own car, or also company vans? I just thought later, what the fuck does that matter? Surely your sight is good enough to drive, or it isn’t? Just struck me as an odd question later.

Possibly angling at the employer having a responsibility to pay for the eye test?

[Wibble]

1 minute ago, DeanH said:

Possibly angling at the employer having a responsibility to pay for the eye test?

Nope, we’d been through all that already.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Wibble said:

I went for an eye test today, not news worthy I know but it’s been a while. They asked if I drove, yes but then asked if that was just my own car, or also company vans? I just thought later, what the fuck does that matter? Surely your sight is good enough to drive, or it isn’t? Just struck me as an odd question later.

Odd one, not been asked about works vehicles in my regular 2yr tests.

[Popsicle]

8 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

It is but add 62 years and 9 of those as a taxi and things are not as good as they once were.

It also had a few years in your loving care, it'll be fine mate.

[Popsicle]

On 03/08/2025 at 18:07, Popsicle said:

I'm an unashamed Mann filters fan, I don't buy any other filters. I'm also a sad twat that keeps details of what my vehicles cost. 

There's some good prices at GSF via Ebay at the mo on fuel filters, with an extra 20% off with the code JULYPAY20, I've just give £56.96 for 5 Mann fuel filters, £11.32 each. They're normally around the £22-£25 mark.

Should see the van right till next summer. Oddly air and oil filters are currently cheaper directly through GSF than via Ebay.

 

Cheap Mann fuel filters turned up today, very good service from GSF as I only ordered them Sunday evening.

I change the fuel filter every 20k, next due at 435k, so 435, 455, 475, 495 and 515k, that should see me through to, hang on I'm going to have to take my shoes and sock off to work this out..... I reckon next May, mind you lazy Christmas period, make that June, also I sometimes go a bit over, so say July 2026.

[SiC]

10 hours ago, Wibble said:

I went for an eye test today, not news worthy I know but it’s been a while. They asked if I drove, yes but then asked if that was just my own car, or also company vans? I just thought later, what the fuck does that matter? Surely your sight is good enough to drive, or it isn’t? Just struck me as an odd question later.

Don't HGV licence holders have special requirements for their driving test?

I have 20:20 vision but a slight astigmatism and slightly long sighted. So I have a set of optional glasses that help reduce glare and eye strain. Because of the shape of my eye any oncoming headlight hit the back of my eye in the wrong place causing it to scatter and harder to see/more eye strain. I learnt that after my last eye test.

[EyesWeldedShut]

Dear GSF,
Do you have a rear hub unit for a 15" rim on a Boxer?
Yes.
Are you sure? These also come in 16" rims - bigger hub.
Yes, this is the smaller rim.
Great, please send me one then,

Balls.

 

[Rustybullethole]

Only had a quick wash since we got it so thought id treat the Panda to some polish. Considering there's a fair bit of peel on the clear coat it's come up well.

[Christine]

Painted my new Civic wing in the garden ,base and 2k clear i had mixed last week .  ..Only one fly  in the clear coat .. gone on bloody well  for rattle can  job , eh? 

 

[HMC]

Ive bought such an awful passat b5 estate that my girlfriend refuses to sit in it. It was very cheap but its also hanging. 278k not out. Latterly used as a builders van- intended to be used as a dog car by myself.

Hopefully Dobby wont object to it.

[Christine]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

 

Hopefully Weird Car wont object to it.

 

[Schaefft]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Ive bought such an awful passat b5 estate that my girlfriend refuses to sit in it. It was very cheap but its also hanging. 278k not out. Latterly used as a builders van- intended to be used as a dog car by myself.

Hopefully Dobby wont object to it.

Can't wait to see it!

[stuboy]

4 members of staff called in sick.. so I hit the road transporting patients..

Seems I was not smiling.. lol

[wuvvum]

A few weeks back I fitted a new set of plugs to the Toyota in an attempt to cure an intermittent misfire when warm.  It didn't solve the issue, so today I treated it to a new set of HT leads.

Took it for a drive and that hasn't fixed it either.  Bollocks.

Next in line to change is the distributor cap - which would be an easy job were it not for the fact that one of the bolts holding the cap on has sheared (the joys of steel bolts screwed into aging Japanese alloy) so I'm going to have to take the entire distributor out and drill out the broken bolt, which I could really have done without.  But then the only other possible cause that I can currently think of is an injector wire breaking up, and that's going to be even more of a faff to sort if it is that.  If it was though I'd expect the car to be throwing up a fault code, and it isn't.

I've ascertained (by unplugging one injector at a time) that it's #1 cylinder which is misfiring, but until I have time to do some more involved dismantling I'm not going to get much further in diagnosing the problem.  The car is going in for its MOT on Monday so the timing is less than ideal - I'll just have to hope that it doesn't bugger up the emissions test.

[artdjones]

The Doblo departs for ever.

[bunglebus]

I don't really follow social media trends, but it's been pretty hard to avoid "final Ibiza boss" that's been doing the rounds

[Dick Cheeseburger]

16 hours ago, stuboy said:

4 members of staff called in sick.. so I hit the road transporting patients..

Seems I was not smiling.. lol

 

Why do all modern steering wheels look like this fella?!

[SiC]

Civic FTP last week. Second time in our 3.5yrs ownership of it. Even Hondas can break.

Anyway exactly the same issue as 2yrs ago, misfire and coil pack failure. When it failed that time I only replaced the one coil. Everyone said Honda coils never failed! So decided I didn't fancy my chances on the bathtub failure curve replacing them all.

I didn't go genuine Honda as they wanted £250 a coil. Instead went with a Hella at £35 a coil. But as they took a few days to get ordered in, I put a spare new in the boot as an insurance policy.

That time it failed after a 500+ mile journey to Norfolk and back. It kindly decided to choose to fail only 5 miles from home and so we limped it back. This time it failed 100miled away but just as my wife was pulling into the carpark of the theatre house she was going to with friends.

I wasn't there so could only do limited assistance. Told her the breakdown details and said for her to contact them. But also said she could replace it if she wanted it to be quicker. I didn't want to have a 3hr round trip to spend 2 mins replacing something when we had recovery. Anyway she trotted down to Screwfix to buy a socket set.

While over a WhatsApp call, with her friends and herself all dolled up to go out, they popped the bonnet and replaced a coil pack! With no code reader it was a guessing game which one it was. Thankfully it was pot luck it was coil 1 and the first one replaced!

Mrs SiC expression when restarting it, the misfire gone and realisation she's just fixed her own car was funny. Like she didn't realise it was possible to sort. 🤣

Got home just fine after that. However I decided that I probably should replace the other coils as a precaution. I couldn't get Hella again but found NGK. At £70 each they were more expensive but hopefully good quality. The two good replaced units are now living in the boot just in case...

Looking at those old coils, I couldn't see any manufacturer marking on them? There is just a printed part ID on one side. Usually I'd suspect they'd been replaced with aftermarket. However all the history previous to us was a Honda dealer. So must be genuine parts surely?

I have no idea what they should be like tbh. But I'd thought they'd have something like Denson or Honda printed on them at least.

[SiC]

This arrived today. Over the next few months/year I've got to digest this all and take exams on it all.

After years of wanting to learn to fly and debating about if/how I can afford it, I've also finally booked my first lesson for next week. Really excited! 

So providing the good weather reports hold out I'll be having a play with this.

Probably my last post in here on this as it's not exactly car related. Pondered about making a thread on my inevitable trials and tribulations.

[nomiST]

Yes, please do. 

[junkyarddog]

I think it would be interesting. 

[paulplom]

On a customer's drive today.

A V8 with drum brakes?

[Hawkeyethenoo]

Had been using the BMW CE-04 for work today, scooting aboot all over the place. Went to leave work. Hit the ignition button, nothing happened only a red flashing light in the left hand corner of the dash. Eh? WTF?

Could it be the battery? Was over 50% charged though. Sod it plug it in and see what happens. Sure enough starts charging nae bother, but still no ignition. Feck it under warranty will phone BMW it's THEIR PROBLEM! It was then I knew I'd fecked up further as once the charging cable is connected it cannot be removed without turning the ignition on! FECK! I've made it worse!

I wander back into my office to pick up my office keys to leave and walk hame like some kind of peasant.










 

 

Then I spot the BMW keys hanging on the wall.

Key not in range so of course it won't start you BALLOON. 

Sorry bike for doubting you and thank feck I didn't get as far as phoning BMW assist or I'd have been their numpty of the week for sure! 

[nomiST]

Must be a BMW bike thing, I cursed my F800 when the key stopped turning in the ignition.

Turns out it was the key for the Peugeot van I'd hired that morning that almost fitted. 

Idiot. 

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, SiC said:

This arrived today. Over the next few months/year I've got to digest this all and take exams on it all.

After years of wanting to learn to fly and debating about if/how I can afford it, I've also finally booked my first lesson for next week. Really excited! 

So providing the good weather reports hold out I'll be having a play with this.

Probably my last post in here on this as it's not exactly car related. Pondered about making a thread on my inevitable trials and tribulations.

Funny way to spell Geoffrey! Flightshite sounds a good idea.

[Hawkeyethenoo]

[stuboy]

Nothing exciting,  bar knock on works door asking if any of my acas have a toyota priest, I said no why?, foreign hgvs park outside the industrial estate waiting there turn to be loaded/unloaded.. but one has tapped the car outside on private late and sodded off...

 

But fortunately someone saw it happen and took pictures 

[reb]

We've got to move these refrigerators...

[Metal Guru]

4 hours ago, Hawkeyethenoo said:

My first reaction was “surely Richard Osman can afford a rent increase?”, second was “they must bring back Yes Minister, the scripts would write themselves”.

[andy18s]

11 hours ago, nomiST said:

Must be a BMW bike thing, I cursed my F800 when the key stopped turning in the ignition.

Turns out it was the key for the Peugeot van I'd hired that morning that almost fitted. 

Idiot. 

I know someone who left their Ducatis' key at home,but only found out after stopping for fuel a good few hundred miles away. .