Warren Works... An MG6. In for test. It fails. NOW PISTONHEADS APPROVED CAR!

[chancer]

@warren t claim how has work been? What is the night life like where you are? Up here in Glasgow its been utterly decimated. Even in the run up to xmas it was quieter than expected. We had a really good fare increase this year, but takings are only just on a par with the previous year. Ive jumped from working nights to days so back in a TX4 for the foreseeable future. 

[warren t claim]

Cruise control has just stopped working.

I thought I'd have a play with the sat nav earlier today. The screen doesn't display the 2015 speed limit although there's a feature on the small screen between the speedo and rev counter I can scroll to that'll display the current vehicle speed along with whatever the limit was back in 2015.

"My" MG6 was built just before MG updated the nav system so lacks a touchscreen meaning that I have to use a wheel to scroll through various options. Sadly, none of these options offers me the option to enter a postcode, only town, street and co-ordinates. Even my 2007 Avensis had the feature to input the first five figures of a postcode. 

The points of interest preloaded is like a trip down memory lane featuring long gone restaurants and plenty of petrol stations that are now Albanian hand car washes.

[warren t claim]

2 minutes ago, chancer said:

@warren t claim how has work been? What is the night life like where you are? Up here in Glasgow its been utterly decimated. Even in the run up to xmas it was quieter than expected. We had a really good fare increase this year, but takings are only just on a par with the previous year. Ive jumped from working nights to days so back in a TX4 for the foreseeable future. 

Xmas was shit. Even the always reliable busy Boxing Day was fucking dead. 

Our latest hackney fare rise, which makes us the most expensive in the Greater Merseyside area, doesn't start for another month. 

Best of luck with the TX4. Manual or auto?

[warren t claim]

On 10/01/2024 at 23:06, chancer said:

@LightBulbFun in reality, side opening doors are actually worse than rear opening. I have no end of problems trying to find somewhere suitable to load and unload wheelchairs in the taxi. Streets are just so congested that I end up abandoned on a corner hoping that the plod dont rock up. If i had rear loading i could stop anywhere, whack the hazards on, and lift the tailgate. Even for yourself, disabled parking bays, although much wider, wont have near enough width to put the ramp down and unload a chair or scooter. At least a rear access you could reverse into a bay with a walkway behind as most carparks have and be able to unload the scooter. I echo the sentiments above, get any car you feel comfortable getting in and out, and get some miles under the belt. Who knows, the freedom of the car might actually negate the need for a scooter for a fair amount of your journeys. Only trial and error will help you along the road. We all mean well here, nobody wants to see you wrong, but you desperately wanted your licence to get some freedom, and have yet to realise it

Many councils won't approve rear loading WAVs due to the risk of the Joey getting trapped in the back after a rear collision. 

In reality, I've never had a problem with loading from the side in my E7. A long ramp gives the chance to reduce the incline. Sadly, the TX has a shorter ramp meaning either a steep push or having to get the ramp extender out of the boot. Still better than the Vito hacks that don't have any built in ramp meaning the driver has to take them out of the boot and unfold them.

[chancer]

1 minute ago, warren t claim said:

Xmas was shit. Even the always reliable busy Boxing Day was fucking dead. 

Our latest hackney fare rise, which makes us the most expensive in the Greater Merseyside area, doesn't start for another month. 

Best of luck with the TX4. Manual or auto?

That echoes what is happening here. I worked the fri/sat before xmas and new year and it was like a ghost town. I reckon our tariff here makes us almost as expensive as London. Cost of going out in town plus cab home is keeping people away. Daytime is different. Benefits money just keeps rolling in, so rank outside an Asda and they just keep a coming.....cracking tips as well for helping in and out with bags. We have the school contracts throughout the day to keep wheels turning as well, albeit at slightly discounted rates. Beats fighting drunks or hosing out vomit though

[chancer]

1 minute ago, warren t claim said:

Many councils won't approve rear loading WAVs due to the risk of the Joey getting trapped in the back after a rear collision. 

In reality, I've never had a problem with loading from the side in my E7. A long ramp gives the chance to reduce the incline. Sadly, the TX has a shorter ramp meaning either a steep push or having to get the ramp extender out of the boot. Still better than the Vito hacks that don't have any built in ramp meaning the driver has to take them out of the boot and unfold them.

100% agree with what you are saying. For us as cabbies a side load is best. I was trying to show LBF that whats best for us most of the times might actually not be best for him. He shouldnt rule out rear loading conversions. Should he have a rear end shunt then he would be in the drivers seat anyway. I can see why thats not good for someone confined to a wheelchair and strapped in the back. But for LBF loading the scooter in and then gettin in the front to drive it would be fine

[chancer]

15 minutes ago, warren t claim said:

Best of luck with the TX4. Manual or auto?

Manual box on this one

[warren t claim]

2 minutes ago, chancer said:

That echoes what is happening here. I worked the fri/sat before xmas and new year and it was like a ghost town. I reckon our tariff here makes us almost as expensive as London. Cost of going out in town plus cab home is keeping people away. Daytime is different. Benefits money just keeps rolling in, so rank outside an Asda and they just keep a coming.....cracking tips as well for helping in and out with bags. We have the school contracts throughout the day to keep wheels turning as well, albeit at slightly discounted rates. Beats fighting drunks or hosing out vomit though

I work our local Asda rank when I'm on days and it surprises me how many jobs are less than a quarter of a mile. It still clocks a fiver though. If it was me I'd just take the trolley home. Our current tariff is a £3.60 flagfall which literally only gets them as far as the end of the car park before clocking up at an alarming rate. 

It may surprise you to learn that I get very little shit from drunks, although a lot of that is down to me having to open and close the E7 doors meaning that I can act as a bouncer on my cab and refuse entry to those who look like trouble. I actually don't mind the pukers, £40 soiling charge and all cleaned out for a £2 jetwash!

[chancer]

2 minutes ago, warren t claim said:

I work our local Asda rank when I'm on days and it surprises me how many jobs are less than a quarter of a mile. It still clocks a fiver though. If it was me I'd just take the trolley home. Our current tariff is a £3.60 flagfall which literally only gets them as far as the end of the car park before clocking up at an alarming rate. 

It may surprise you to learn that I get very little shit from drunks, although a lot of that is down to me having to open and close the E7 doors meaning that I can act as a bouncer on my cab and refuse entry to those who look like trouble. I actually don't mind the pukers, £40 soiling charge and all cleaned out for a £2 jetwash!

Sounds familiar. Our flagfall is £4.00. That pretty much gets them loaded with shopping and down to the traffic lights. It then goes up in 30p increments quicker than you can blink. I work in the shadow of Celtic Park, and on matchdays you can be at a tenner within ¼ of a mile. 

I also get very little shit from drunks either, and I hadnt thought about it before, but i am also used to getting out the cab to open/close the doors (but mostly to kick the bastard electric step in). Maybe just the fact the driver isnt locked in puts them off acting the cunt? 

[warren t claim]

2 minutes ago, chancer said:

 

I also get very little shit from drunks either, and I hadnt thought about it before, but i am also used to getting out the cab to open/close the doors (but mostly to kick the bastard electric step in). Maybe just the fact the driver isnt locked in puts them off acting the cunt? 

BOLLOCKS!!!! That reminds me that one of my electric steps doesn't work and has had to be locked half out! I'm surprised that the other one still works due to Wirral's chunkiest munters using it as a springboard to get in. I was told that it's road salt that fucks them up. I've been meaning to fuck them off and replace them with running boards all year.

[chancer]

11 minutes ago, warren t claim said:

BOLLOCKS!!!! That reminds me that one of my electric steps doesn't work and has had to be locked half out! I'm surprised that the other one still works due to Wirral's chunkiest munters using it as a springboard to get in. I was told that it's road salt that fucks them up. I've been meaning to fuck them off and replace them with running boards all year.

Hahaha ...glasgow has only just allowed us to use running boards. The nearside step on the procab totally fucked up last year. Allied wanted stupid money for a whole new unit. 4 figures stupid money. Local company showed the bearing that had worn out and bust that was available for pennies. Half an hour labour and all was good. Think it cost about 60 quid

[mk2_craig]

10 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

 

That's for all MG6 models, registrations stopped in 2017 and the downward plunge seems to be accelerating?

That's an interesting profile, natural attrition starting to kick in but probably broadly as you would expect.

It's the dip in taxed examples circa mid 2012-mid-2013 that's intriguing, not matched by a spike in SORN. And not outweighed by new registrations either. Did a whole batch get exported off somewhere? Are there dozens of ex Avis examples rattling round Malta or Cyprus?

[EyesWeldedShut]

7 hours ago, warren t claim said:

That may be due to the somewhat limited parts supply causing perfectly good MG6s getting scrapped over something trivial like a windscreen.

I was wondering if there's an export market too? There's not enough SORN each quarter to make up the difference between the drop in vehicles being taxed from the peak number. Either that or their getting scrapped?

 

8 hours ago, High Jetter said:

To be unnecessarily pedantic, or dietetic, a plunge is likely to be descending, and gravity has an effect

As in 'plunge' bra I guess?

[EyesWeldedShut]

41 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

That's an interesting profile, natural attrition starting to kick in but probably broadly as you would expect.

It's the dip in taxed examples circa mid 2012-mid-2013 that's intriguing, not matched by a spike in SORN. And not outweighed by new registrations either. Did a whole batch get exported off somewhere? Are there dozens of ex Avis examples rattling round Malta or Cyprus?

There's that drop in registrations that comes after the dip in licences which is weird - possibly a batch of company owned ones that 'went away' in preparation for a re-launch? 
Maybe a whole fleet of ex-CI ones that didn't come to the UK but went off to Malta like you say? India?

[mk2_craig]

Channel Island cars don't show up on the UK totals (howmanyleft etc) and I'm fairly sure Isle of Man cars don't either. Having said that, I would be almost certain that there's never been an MG6 ever registered in Jersey, don't know about Guernsey. 

 

Might be a few in Ireland? 

[EyesWeldedShut]

1 minute ago, mk2_craig said:

Channel Island cars don't show up on the UK totals (howmanyleft etc) and I'm fairly sure Isle of Man cars don't either. Having said that, I would be almost certain that there's never been an MG6 ever registered in Jersey, don't know about Guernsey. 

 

Might be a few in Ireland? 

🤦‍♂️Duh - typical, my brain still in the throes of caffeine deficiency there, stoopid.
If they need a NOVA to register on the mainland then they're not going to be in those totals . Jersey 1 Mainland Nil.  

[horriblemercedes]

13 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

 

That's for all MG6 models, registrations stopped in 2017 and the downward plunge seems to be accelerating?

I think the downward line from 2017 is the sort of trajectory you'd expect. It'll accelerate until it plateaus at a low number.

 

As said, the drop around 2012-2013 is interesting

[alcyonecorporation]

1 hour ago, horriblemercedes said:

As said, the drop around 2012-2013 is interesting

AROnline's early adopters' medication finally wore off. 
Foem, foem, foem...

[warren t claim]

Vehicular confidence level has increased to putting £16 in the tank at a time. 

[quicksilver]

6 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

There's that drop in registrations that comes after the dip in licences which is weird - possibly a batch of company owned ones that 'went away' in preparation for a re-launch? 
Maybe a whole fleet of ex-CI ones that didn't come to the UK but went off to Malta like you say? India?

I wonder if that early drop was a batch of prototypes/development cars that SAIC took off the road once their work was done.

[AnthonyG]

On 11/01/2024 at 16:34, Sheefag said:

Not surprisingly, vehicle details ‘could not be found’ according to DVLA.

[alcyonecorporation]

Oh, good, it's finally dead. 

It didn't go down well in an interview for MG Enthusiast when I said that people should 'buy an Octavia instead.' 

And if any ex- or current foamers want to give me grief, you didn't have to drive the fucking thing for work, not knowing whether you'd arrive at your destination.  May I remind you all that, at the time, said MG6  was a BRAND NEW CAR. 

I had utterly fucked sub-£500 Peugeots at the time that were more reliable than that MG6;  people expected me to overlook such glaring issues (visible from space as if someone had painted bollocks on the Great Wall of China) as otherwise I was 'letting the UK down by bad-mouthing MG'.

Anyone who bought one of these new was soft in the head. 

[Rod/b]

You know what sort of person likes MG6s?

 

 

[Sheefag]

One misses the heady days of the Longbridge sales team, re-writing the rules of marketing with promotional pictures like this...

[EyesWeldedShut]

3 minutes ago, Sheefag said:

One misses the heady days of the Longbridge sales team, re-writing the rules of marketing with promotional pictures like this...

Looks like a fight over the keys? 
It's yours, No - it's yours. No you have it. No ...... No .....

[mk2_craig]

Just now, EyesWeldedShut said:

Looks like a fight over the keys? 
It's yours, No - it's yours. No you have it. No ...... No .....

But which one’s the salesperson? 
 

 

Another one that’s mysteriously disappeared (or had the plates changed )

[Sheefag]

3 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Looks like a fight over the keys? 
It's yours, No - it's yours. No you have it. No ...... No .....

They'd be better off fighting over a steam iron.

[EyesWeldedShut]

2 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

But which one’s the salesperson? 
 

Guy with the black shirt. Older guy is the gardener, was walking past and got reverse-mugged. No cost- high liability.....

[LightBulbFun]

9 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

But which one’s the salesperson? 
 

 

Another one that’s mysteriously disappeared (or had the plates changed )

Morbid curiosity got the better of me

tis still going as R3DGL!

https://www.freecarcheck.co.uk/free/UjNER0w-MTcwNTA5MTEzOA/

 

not a single keeper change! Giffer owned maybe?

[EyesWeldedShut]

Just now, LightBulbFun said:

not a single keeper change! Giffer owned maybe?

I go for Giffer The Gardener - his hip replacement meant he could no longer struggle with the Longbridge Heavy so had to accept his doom.

He's had the car nearly thirteen years and, despite not doing any maintenance - not even changing the tyres* - it just refuses to die. This year he's really going for it and is planning to skip the annual service and see if that does it in.

*MoT history suggests it's likely still on the originals.

Checkout the high mileage