Saabnut Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 And yes, AS is to blame. As a result of a thread on here, I may* have bought another car. So far, I know no details except it has covered somewhere between 200k and 300k miles. I have not even seen a picture of the car in question. I have spoken to the seller (seems a nice bloke) and the car is approximately 600 miles away. Tomorrow, I am despatching my brother on a train to go and look, and almost certainly buy it for me, where I will tax it and insure it so he can drive it home. He then gets the pleasure* of driving it up to me. What could possibly go wrong? This surely counts as social distancing with a gap of 600 miles, so sure no rules are being broken! Cavcraft, Dan_ZTT, Jim Bell and 18 others 10 1 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busmansholiday Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Another SAAB, or something erotic like a Ovlov ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddlethumper Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 I hope it's a Roller with doors that need fixing. Tickman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saabnut Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 Not a Saab this time, a newer version of one of the fleet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayne Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Is it another Discovery? Or the other right hand drive Holden Suburban? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddlethumper Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 54 minutes ago, Saabnut said: Not a Saab this time, a newer version of one of the fleet. I didn't know they did a newer version of a green goddess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leanycan Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 It's not by any chance the C8 that has been listed for sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayne Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Is it a TX2 taxi from London? LightBulbFun 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chancer Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 London TX2?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catsinthewelder Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Bini floppytop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Pissrat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 68 Galaxie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saabnut Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 Lasted longer than most on here, but guessed correctly in the end. It is indeed a TX2 to keep the FX4 company. The seller has 8 or 9 left, so my brother is going to inspect and hopefully buy the best for me. loserone, Cavcraft, LightBulbFun and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 So glad you took the FX4s feelings into consideration when you considered your next purchase. Hope they get on well. Cavcraft and Saabnut 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavcraft Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 37 minutes ago, sutty2006 said: So glad you took the FX4s feelings into consideration when you considered your next purchase. Hope they get on well. Even better if they breed! Good luck Saabnut, hope it turns out well. 600 miles in a TX2 is surely going to win your brother some sort of 'badge of honour'. Possibly from the asylum, if not certainly from AS. cort1977 and Fumbler 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saabnut Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 In true Saabnut fashion, having basically agreed to buy one and organised my brother to do the deed, I have just looked at his advert again and they are not actually TX2s. They are in fact TX4s which pleases me mightily as it will go better with the FX4. Sad, I know. When I spoke to my brother earlier, before I gave him the details, I started with the question "What was the worst delivery run you have ever done for me?". His instant response was "The Taxi" which made me grin and him worry. I think he is regretting telling me he was bored...... Vantman, dome, LightBulbFun and 7 others 3 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Oooh that'll look lovely parked next to the other one! Dare you to get the other one running and driven out for a photo op! LightBulbFun 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saabnut Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 34 minutes ago, beko1987 said: Oooh that'll look lovely parked next to the other one! Dare you to get the other one running and driven out for a photo op! Challenge accepted! It may be a month or so before the latest one makes it up here though. LightBulbFun and beko1987 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogchod Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 8 hours ago, Saabnut said: be a month or so before the latest one makes it up here though. Are they that slow ? Custard, beko1987, dome and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saabnut Posted October 6, 2020 Author Share Posted October 6, 2020 Well, this is the weirdest collection I have ever done! Spoke to my brother just before he left home and he has spoken to the seller who has a choice of 8. Rob should be on a train/or tube across that there larndarn and he will give me a call on facetime or whatever it is called once he has had a look around and narrowed it down a bit! Collection from my sofa, I could get used to this, time for a brew! Cavcraft 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Don't forget to tell him to pick the best one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saabnut Posted October 6, 2020 Author Share Posted October 6, 2020 Sadly it is not to be. Brother inspected the 8, one had no keys!!, of the remaining the older ones had rust or damage and the newer ones had engine problems. He did not rate the chances of any with a decent body making it to his, never mind to mine! Information gleaned is that the big clear out is not to do with ULEZ but Covid! These have all been hired out to drivers, but as no one is going to work, no one is taking a taxi, so the self employed drivers have cancelled the lease and returned the cabs. My seller agreed to let my brother know if another batch comes in with one in better condition, but I am not holding my breath. Shame really, I was looking forward to having a cab again, so I guess I will have to pull my finger out and get on with recommissioning my FX4. Cavcraft, yes oui si, davehedgehog31 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairnet Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 i think he said that then bought one for himself :D Saabnut and chaseracer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_al_granvia Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 basically they have been thrashed into the ground and are goosed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 You want a Metrocab - plastic body and Transit DI engine, nothing to go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 6 hours ago, big_al_granvia said: basically they have been thrashed into the ground and are goosed ...and are probably on their way to Belfast shortly, the final stop for terminally fucked ex-London taxis held together only by their advertising wraps... (no upper age limits, or specific emissions requirements, plus some highly questionable licencing practices - plenty of unbelievably rotten TX1s on R and S plates still doing the rounds). Jerzy Woking and The_Equalizer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Equalizer Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 39 minutes ago, Datsuncog said: ...and are probably on their way to Belfast shortly, the final stop for terminally fucked ex-London taxis held together only by their advertising wraps... (no upper age limits, or specific emissions requirements, plus some highly questionable licencing practices - plenty of unbelievably rotten TX1s on R and S plates still doing the rounds). When I first turned up in NI in 1998 I was amazed at just how knackered black cabs here were. So much so, I went in one just to quiz the driver about the history. Obviously I didn't state this was my intention. For the uninitiated, they start their life in London followed by either somewhere like Manchester or Glasgow only finally rocking up in Belfast. By this point they are quite literally are falling to bits. Are they actually legal? Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 1 hour ago, The_Equalizer said: Are they actually legal? Erm... on paper, yes. In reality... well, the story goes that one of them is legal. But it never carries any passengers, since it spends all day driving up and down to the PSV test centre on the Boucher Rd, wearing the plates from the other taxis. Ring-a-ding-ding. According to a colleague who formerly worked in the taxi licensing section, the hackney trade in Belfast is rather over-represented by gentlemen who - how shall we put it - are able to add a certain lively first-hand knowledge when conducting tours of 'Troubles Sites' for tourists. The West Belfast Taxi Association, the body which operates black cabs and their drivers in the city, also enjoys remarkable latitude in terms of self-regulation, such as securing an agreement for no upper age limit on cabs, which I'm sure is in no way linked to their knowledge of where licensing officials live, and where their kids go to school... Every now and then the police do carry out a sweep to weed out the most flagrantly unroadworthy cabs. According to one (possibly apocryphal) tale, PSNI officers stopped three taxis at the bottom of Donegall Pass one Saturday night - and the drivers just ran off, abandoning their cabs and bemused passengers. Cursory checks revealed the licencing plates didn't match the number plates, and the number plates didn't match the chassis numbers... while the names and addresses of the registered keepers didn't exist... The_Equalizer, puddlethumper, dome and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightBulbFun Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 10 hours ago, Saabnut said: Shame really, I was looking forward to having a cab again, so I guess I will have to pull my finger out and get on with recommissioning my FX4. am sad to hear the TX4 did not work out, but yes please on the FX4 recommissioning Saabnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Equalizer Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 5 hours ago, Datsuncog said: Erm... on paper, yes. In reality... well, the story goes that one of them is legal. But it never carries any passengers, since it spends all day driving up and down to the PSV test centre on the Boucher Rd, wearing the plates from the other taxis. Ring-a-ding-ding. According to a colleague who formerly worked in the taxi licensing section, the hackney trade in Belfast is rather over-represented by gentlemen who - how shall we put it - are able to add a certain lively first-hand knowledge when conducting tours of 'Troubles Sites' for tourists. The West Belfast Taxi Association, the body which operates black cabs and their drivers in the city, also enjoys remarkable latitude in terms of self-regulation, such as securing an agreement for no upper age limit on cabs, which I'm sure is in no way linked to their knowledge of where licensing officials live, and where their kids go to school... Every now and then the police do carry out a sweep to weed out the most flagrantly unroadworthy cabs. According to one (possibly apocryphal) tale, PSNI officers stopped three taxis at the bottom of Donegall Pass one Saturday night - and the drivers just ran off, abandoning their cabs and bemused passengers. Cursory checks revealed the licencing plates didn't match the number plates, and the number plates didn't match the chassis numbers... while the names and addresses of the registered keepers didn't exist... Cheers for the extra info. To say I am completely surprised would be a fib, but that's blatant. The quickest of Googling filled in the gaps. They were/are proper sheds. Haven't looked too closely these days as there is no call to go to that part of town. Did like the story of abandoned cabs. Again back in 1998 when I was studying there was a lovely chap from Bray. His appearance, being tall, stocky and rough looking was at total odds with the man himself who was gentle and very intelligent. Anyway, his Mum had come to visit him so he thought he would take her on a black cab tour of Belfast. The driver must have either had a very good evening or, more likely, a very good morning and obviously wasn't in the mood to work. The most memorable bit of the tour was going past St. George's Market where the drive said, "This is St. George's Market. They sell fish, meat, peas, carrots, turnips, onions, runner beans, apples, pears ..." Supposedly he got a good five minutes out of this and repeated large chunks several times. Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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