Ask a Shiter

[adw1977]

Shame that Cazana is less useful now. I use surething.co.uk to get the date of the last keeper change.

[Pillock]

Insurance question.

 

I know, I know...... YAWN. That's why it's in here.

 

It's seemingly two years since I sold my Saab to njgleeds and the insurance lapsed. If I remember rightly, it was Feb time I sold it but I took the car off the policy and left the policy to run out in April without a car on it (effectively insuring thin air) as it was cheaper than cancelling.

 

So I think I need to insure another car before April so I can keep my NCB - it's 2 years normally you can pause it isn't it?

 

My question is, do I need to insure something all year? I've got 10 years NCB right now, if I insured a car for 1 month and then cancelled (knowing I'll take a hit on the cancellation fee) will I then have 10 years NCB paused for another two years? Or do I need to add another year to it for it to keep running?

[Mally]

Dunno sorry, but the question made my head ache.

[Guest Hooli]

Dunno either, it's a good question though.

[Dave_Q]

I imagine it varies from one insurer to another how long you can pause for, but I think you'll need to take out a policy and keep it.

 

Find a tame shiter with something like a classic mini or some 60s or 70s shite parked up somewhere and insure that, should be less than £100 for a year I would have thought?

[Guest Hooli]

Talking of which, if you insure anything classic ask them to lodge your NCD. It doesn't work on the policy but keeps it live.

[beko1987]

I imagine it varies from one insurer to another how long you can pause for, but I think you'll need to take out a policy and keep it.

 

Find a tame shiter with something like a classic mini or some 60s or 70s shite parked up somewhere and insure that, should be less than £100 for a year I would have thought?

Just ask six_cylinder if you can insure one of the permanent features in the field of dreams? Or dollywobblers spares invacar?

[Kiltox]

Don’t think Autoaid will cover my van - anyone know a cheap provider that will?

[twosmoke300]

Green flag seemed to be the only ones that would cover my l3h2 Ducato

[Mally]

AA will, not cheap, but they recovered our tranny.

[Kiltox]

Wonder if my insurer will do it

[Kiltox]

With this new instant cherished transfer online system, does your old number plate drop off the face of the earth instantly?

 

Going to swap the van onto a private plate but it’s parked on the street and knowing my luck it’ll be clamped by the time I walk to it with the new plates

[Tickman]

With this new instant cherished transfer online system, does your old number plate drop off the face of the earth instantly?

 

Going to swap the van onto a private plate but it’s parked on the street and knowing my luck it’ll be clamped by the time I walk to it with the new plates

I believe that they allow you some time to be able to order the plates and then get it swapped over.

[scdan4]

Disconnected abs, yellow abs and red brake warning lights on the dash.

 

Mot fail for sure?

[Kiltox]

Disconnected abs, yellow abs and red brake warning lights on the dash.

 

Mot fail for sure?

100%.

[Mally]

I believe that they allow you some time to be able to order the plates and then get it swapped over.

 

Yes its not a set time, but they overlap the numbers for 2 or 3 days.

Need to tell insurance as well.

[DodgeRover]

Don’t think Autoaid will cover my van - anyone know a cheap provider that will?

Cheapest way for me was a nationwide flex plus account and keep £3k in there meaning it costs about £6 a month after the interest is taken into account. Loads of other extras including travel insurance too.

 

Plate transfers the old one drops off the system straight away so keep your documents in the vehicle, our insurance said both plates would be on the database for a while though.

[Pillock]

Talking of which, if you insure anything classic ask them to lodge your NCD. It doesn't work on the policy but keeps it live.

 

That's highly useful information, thank you.

[uk_senator]

Something thats been playing on my mind for the last few years, even though I`m not intending to do it...

My pointless concern is this.. Never UK sold, post March 2001 imports, how does the Doovla know what tax band to put them in? Do they just guess based on engine size or are they actually scientific about it?

[SiC]

What ever happened to RichardK?

 

Not seen him on for quite a while.

[Fabergé Greggs]

I'm sure this has been answered a million times, but how strict is the French CT test vs MOT?

 

Like if I buy something with a fresh CT is it highly likely to pass an MOT or not?

[SiC]

I seem to remember someone saying a lot less strict. Might have been Dave-with-numbers.

[DodgeRover]

I'm sure this has been answered a million times, but how strict is the French CT test vs MOT?

 

Like if I buy something with a fresh CT is it highly likely to pass an MOT or not?

Not, structural wob is fine......

[Fabergé Greggs]

Not, structural wob is fine......

Oh balls. 

[cobblers]

Structural wob is fine on the UK mot too, there's no magnet in a test kit. 

[Hendry]

Discussing the purchase of a Vectra C with a mate and we got talking about where they were built, turns out, which i didnt know before, they were built as Ellesmere Port alongside the Astra, anyone know how long they were built there for? Was it for the full lifespan of the C? 

[dave21478]

the Ct is mechanically like-for-like with a UK MOT regarding balljoints, shocks, brakes etc although they are much more strict about tyre sizes and other petty bullshit but as said above, structural rot is not an issue....currently.

 

I will cut n paste this from a PM I wrote as its worth putting on the forum....

 

However - all this is changing in April. The CT is tightening up further and corrosion will be a fail from then on and require proper welded repairs like the UK. Nobody is prepared for this...any garage in UK from fast fit chains down to dodgy back street bodgers are equipped and able to weld to MOT standard.....its pretty rare to even see a MIG welder in a french garage and people just dont have the habit of getting old cars welded. I think the next two years from April will see a massive cull on the roads here as most cars that have rust will be uneconomical to get welded by garages that will likely be charging a fortune. LeBonCoin is already starting to turn up with cars advertised with corrosion that the owners think will fail after April, which is only going to get more common and likely drive prices down.

This is obviously good for those of us who can weld/get welded, but its likely to be the final nail for interesting cars in France....shite-worthy spots are already massively outnumbered by leased modern toss and this will only continue, which I suppose is the whole idea of it....get the peasants out of their C15s and into a leased Cactus.

[dave21478]

Can anyone edumacate me on 90s Fiat immobilisers? I assume they have transponder chips in the keys? whats all this red key/blue key bullshit? is there a Fiat equivalent of Citroens "unplug the numberpad while the engine is running" removal method? or will I have to do the usual and tape the key to the receiver and shove it up behind the dashboard?

 

Its for swapping a complete engine, ECU etc into a different car, by the way.

 

 

[wuvvum]

Not an expert but I seem to recall that the transponder in the red "master" key is different somehow and will allow you to "reprogramme" the immobiliser.  If the ECU goes out of sync with the keys and you only have the blue keys, you're generally stuffed.  Although there are lots of places advertising online who will bypass (as in permanently knock out) the immobiliser on Fiat ECUs, it seems to be quite a common problem with them.

[SiC]

Yes. The master key is for reprogramming the immobiliser if you need a new key ever and the other keys for general use. So in theory if you've lost the master key you're stuffed.

 

However it's now 2018 and the immobiliser system has well and truly been cracked. You can either send the ECU away (or get the tools) to have the immobiliser disabled, or use aftermarket tools to program an additional key on.