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76

General Car Chat / Re: Its That Time of Year Again - Breakdown Cover

« on: 12 December 2023, 17:30:20 »

You need to see their small print before you buy, because many of them have a very different idea of what constitutes a breakdown, recovery, potential repair, nearby garage or even just answering your phone call than you do. The less you pay p/a, the bigger that difference is. You can get an example of the actual service provided by the cheaper firms by smashing your head against the roughest brick wall you can find until you can't feel the pain.

But even the nastiest company is preferable than the bloody RAC

No, that's just a mild taster of what you can expect.

77

General Car Chat / Re: Its That Time of Year Again - Breakdown Cover

« on: 12 December 2023, 16:46:57 »

You need to see their small print before you buy, because many of them have a very different idea of what constitutes a breakdown, recovery, potential repair, nearby garage or even just answering your phone call than you do. The less you pay p/a, the bigger that difference is. You can get an example of the actual service provided by the cheaper firms by smashing your head against the roughest brick wall you can find until you can't feel the pain.

78

General Car Chat / Re: If JLR go under...

« on: 12 December 2023, 16:39:31 »

Used to be able to get into and start my old flat mates Capri with a broken chip fork 

Don't believe you.  Nobody ever had a Capri that could actually start

Out of the eleven(I think) that I've owned, only one of them didn't start. Fitting an engine would have improved that fault.... Most of them had a fair amount of rust, but that's true of pretty much any car built in the 70s/80s - the local scrapyards put rusty BMW and Mercedes on the bottom of their piles because they knew they were unlikely to sell any of the parts.

79

General Car Chat / Re: If JLR go under...

« on: 12 December 2023, 12:13:44 »

Nick what?

The rusty Renault 5 or the crooklock.

That's a difficult question, as it's almost impossible to decide which is more useless. Now that cordless angle grinders are so ubiquitous, it's not worth getting the Leatherman out if its holster to remove a Krooklook.

80

General Car Chat / Re: Age old question....

« on: 11 December 2023, 14:25:41 »

RWD
Auto

Last time I bought a RWD it was only 600cc and and had some cylinders missing, did have Merc written on the tiny engine though. 

On a more serious note, I wouldn't rule out a Lexus model, I ended up by accident driving about in a  run around iS200 for over a year,  and have to admit it did change my views on them, OK, So there's the Name involved, but they are basically a well designed Toyota with all the useful bits added on,  and have bloody good reliability, no experience of the Diesel versions though.

I very nearly bought an iS200 several years ago.  I like the look of them, and some of them are pretty rapid, and the handling is not to shabby.  But I found them far too narrow inside, my passenger (the owner) was having to lean against the door so I wasn't doing man-touch every time I chagned gear.

Give it a few more months and you'll be old enough to appreciate the appeal of an LS430(460? 1564748? whatever they are now) Get one in gold with the age-appropriate diarrhea coloured interior for the full effect

81

General Discussion Area / Re: I Rarely Have A Drink

« on: 10 December 2023, 20:31:49 »

I was a bit of a boozer in my youth, but rarely drink these days unless I go out.

Can't cope with the hangovers any more. 

So you now just go out 30 times a month .... 

Is that out, or out out?

82

Omega General Help / Re: cambelt 3.2 elite gates

« on: 10 December 2023, 13:30:24 »

The belts are used for several other models ,so probably manufactured recently
the Gates I recently purchased  doesn't look "old"
obviously ,like tyres etc ,there is "new old stock" being sold too

I wonder if the belt is only used on GM V6s? The Renault 24v V6 cam drive is very similar for instance. That would make recently manufactured parts more likely.


I've had some bad experiences with genuine NOS rubber parts like hoses, belts and seals and now my preference is for up to date  stock whenever possible. One forty year-old genuine Girling master cylinder(for a single circuit, non-servo Avenger, so a very limited use part ) bought from a specialist supplier was supplied with the advice "it comes with a pack of new seals, and we strongly recommend you use them".

83

General Discussion Area / Re: Dolting along

« on: 10 December 2023, 12:36:49 »

There's a country B road near here which has two very long straights and is actually a Roman road, its as wide as any other country B road but has no markings.

I was following a van along there last week at a respectable distance and every time a car came the other way he braked hard!  I discovered that VW 'T' vans do in fact have quite good anchors and a couple of times he nearly had a Ford Mondeo in the back of his van!     

Then there are the 'drivers' that need a confidence dab on the brake pedal each time they pass a road sign. My mother was bad for this, although she got a lot better after an eye test and new spectacles. The speed awareness course I did included a quick test using the standard eye chart, and it was suggested that half the people there should consider an eye test ASAP.

84

General Discussion Area / Re: Dolting along

« on: 09 December 2023, 16:25:52 »

I came across the phrase aimers and steerers on another forum which I think is descriptive. These are the 'drivers' whose last thought about their driving was just before the examiner told them they had passed. They're the one who do stupid things like 27point turns-in-the-road instead of three left(or right ) turns around the block, ensure that all four corners of a junction have a 2.5tonne 4x4 parked on them when the primary schools kick out, live main roads but never back into their drives, just stop whenever they see an emergency vehicle without realising they've actually blocked the lane, overtake on blind corners or opposite junctions yet sit behind slow moving traffic on straight stretches, wait at giveway signs for seemingly hours before pulling out in front of a truck(schoolbus for extra points) moving fast enough to scare them,  turn on the rear fog lights whenever it rains but never slow down when the visibility is bad, just manage to get onto an exit slip after cutting across 3 lanes of traffic yet trundle down the on slip at 30mph and just merge into the inside lane when the slip runs out, etc etc.

85

General Car Chat / Re: Its That Time of Year Again - Breakdown Cover

« on: 08 December 2023, 22:36:55 »

When i finally killed off my Desmond, my breakdown cover covered it being brought back to my home. Then the scrappie picked it up from here. 

That would be quite funny. Onward travel, we will take you and your car anywhere in the UK. Where would you like to go? The scrapyard, please 

I've done that - it was reported as an underbonnet fire, but was a total burnout by the time I got it. I dropped the owner in Sittingbourne, and the car went to Ridham Dock. A nice £150 tip

86

General Car Chat / Re: Age old question....

« on: 08 December 2023, 10:13:16 »

  The last of the XJs had an arse even a mother couldn't love. 

That was a traditional Jaguar styling idea. Look at a mkX, mk2, 420G or E-type

87

General Car Chat / Re: Its That Time of Year Again - Breakdown Cover

« on: 08 December 2023, 10:06:13 »

Probably one for Nick W - if I wanted a tow for, say, 200 miles, how easy is that to arrange from the side of the road, and what sort of cost? Couple of quid per mile? £5 per mile?

Seven years ago, we were charging £1.50 a mile. Roundtrip, on top of the call out charge. Plus VAT. And any special equipment required to load the car. Trailers are extra.


You're asking for a 400mile job which isn't possible legally, so it wouldn't happen. Add in the practicalities of knowing who to call, and the better known providers are still a good deal even if their prices are getting closer to what they should have been twenty years ago.

88

General Car Chat / Re: Age old question....

« on: 08 December 2023, 09:57:22 »

Perhaps I am

I get that a Yaris or Aygo or Adam might be considered a shit box and uncomfortable to get to the end of the drive, and you'll note that I didn't suggest such a car... the Camry isn't a small car.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312054561267

Without prying, (we all have issues), and bearing the above in mind...I don't understand how wwd is health related 

As an aside, SE spec BMWs are notably softer than the M Sport/full fat M siblings.

Quite an imposing car in an 'ugly as f*uck' sort of way. :)

Christ! That grille. 

Have you looked at a recent BMW, Ford or Audi recently?

89

General Car Chat / Re: Its That Time of Year Again - Breakdown Cover

« on: 08 December 2023, 09:54:20 »

I used to alternate between AA and RAC.  Because she is on the motorway every day, I don't want any breaks in cover.  You know it will be the law of sod!

AA new customer is quoting me about £125 .  Renewal is over £150.  This year was under £90.

Sir Tig's suggestion looks good aside from a clause that if it can be repaired locally the next working day, they will tow to local garage - not too happy about that, as that means if it broke down on a Friday, they could potentially leave us stranded until Monday night.

Alb's suggestion has a clause that needs clarification over as well.

What they mean is it will take them a working day to make a decision about your 'recovery'. And then you'll find the joke really is on you, because that decision was always going to be 'NO'. You would be better off putting the membership(a lie just like football 'clubs') fee in an envelope in the glovebox, to use as a bribe to persuade the person who felt sorry enough to pick you up as a hitch-hiker to actually take you home.


You should also consider that anything that might go wrong with your car can be repaired. That doesn't mean you actually would.....

90

General Car Chat / Re: Annoying little shits.

« on: 01 December 2023, 13:02:31 »

Two boxed traps not triggered.......but all the poison taken again. 

What does it take to kill these little f*uckers.

The traditional English solution is a couple of Jack Russels roaming the property, although other terriers can be as good.