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General Car Chat / Re: New UK car sales for September 2025
« on: 16 October 2025, 17:17:12 »
Suspect a huge chunk of those EV sales are Salary Sacrifice deals.....
- 09 November 2025, 19:40:38
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2
General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 10 October 2025, 17:11:20 »
I'm also going to go untethered, so that I could easily replace the cable if damaged. My understanding is tethered, if damaged/driven over etc, harder and more expensive to fix.
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 10 October 2025, 16:19:34 »
He implied the control box would go directly underneath or to the side of the meter box as it cannot go inside the meter box itself.
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 10 October 2025, 13:58:09 »Octopus hated by decent electricians as they do the cheapest easiest installs with terrible workmanship - CU's installed outdoor or in the meter cupboard (not your property - belongs to the DNO), incorrect RCBO's etc etc.
I found that its totally dependent on who does the install, mine is not an Octopus charger (its Shell) but the installer was still crap.....it was improved by me running the cable (under the floor boards rather than half way around the house).
Be aware that the property owner owns and is responsible for the meter cabinet and can install whatever they wish within that space as long as it is compliant to regs......however, the DNO may refuse to work on their part of the install if the space is compromised as a result......which is where it becomes a grey area
So my chap was saying he does not put anything in the meter cabinets any more, at least here he was instructed not to put anything inside the cabinet as the provider owners that. For things like extra meters that may need to go in etc. He would install it outside the cabinet on mine
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 10 October 2025, 09:35:42 »
Interesting to know, another friend had an EV charger installed by their Salary Sacrifice provider. They had no option, had to be them (not sure who) and they did a poor job.
Electrician I've been using always does a top jobs, so will get him in next month.
Had a build date confirmed with BMW, should be here mid-December
Electrician I've been using always does a top jobs, so will get him in next month.
Had a build date confirmed with BMW, should be here mid-December
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 06 October 2025, 08:48:49 »…….
Towbar mounted racks look much easier and also don't have to keep a roof rack on there all the time. Fitting roof rack takes time, hammers mpg when not in use etc.
……..
Ah, guess you’re talking about this type of rack, not the type with the arms.
https://youtu.be/zfnbvkxsfNU?si=UlsTSRuMIrNT1AXb
Yes that rack, I've seen them or though not that specific model for a more reasonable ~£100-200 ish second hand. Depending if I get 2,3 or 4 bikes. Looks much easier for the odd trip out with the kids.
Good choice of car as well, the M50
Don't see many of the M60's yet but it's only been out a few months.
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 04 October 2025, 23:35:08 »
Yes N55 lump, can generally squeeze ~30mpg on the work run, that includes much stop/start work.
440i would be the B58.
I am biased, but the N55 I think sounds a bit better.
440i would be the B58.
I am biased, but the N55 I think sounds a bit better.
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 03 October 2025, 16:21:22 »Nice choice.
You'll soon be known as Tunnie Two Coupe's then.
Sadly the 435i will need to make way for the M60
Ah, my mistake, I thought you were keeping the 435i and getting rid of the other one, but that makes sense now.
It will be for sale soon if you are interested, honestly nothing wrong with it and it goes rather nicely!
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 03 October 2025, 16:20:46 »Nice choice.
You'll soon be known as Tunnie Two Coupe's then.
Sadly the 435i will need to make way for the M60
Ah, my mistake, I thought you were keeping the 435i and getting rid of the other one, but that makes sense now.Mostly ticked for the bike carrying option, we have a roof rack for the Zafira, but lifting bikes up there is a pain.
Towbar mounted racks look much easier and also don't have to keep a roof rack on there all the time. Fitting roof rack takes time, hammers mpg when not in use etc.
Bonus is I could rent a trailer locally for camping trips and take a load more stuff!
I use Thule Wing Bars for the Roof Box and Thule 598 quick release cycle carriers for the bikes. Once you’ve set the bars up, fitted the fitting kit to the threaded holes under the roof flaps, you’re good to go. Probably takes around ten minutes for the bars and bike carriers once you get used to it, and then the bikes, which isn’t too bad as the 4 Series is low. The Thule 598’s just slide into the T Tracks in the bars and clamp down wherever you want them.
I never really took to my towbar cycle carrier as I needed to fit my trailer board as the tail lights were partially obscured. As you say though, the towbar will always come in handy.
Pros and Cons of towbar mounting :
Pros : Less height to lift them. No height restrictions when parking. No wind whistle. Quick to remove when not required.
Cons : Awkward to fit some bikes. Men’s bikes are easy but women’s/Childrens bikes sit at an awkward angle due to the down tube, thus obscuring tail lights which then necessitates a trailer board, which adds time. They also need strapping on. The bikes will bounce with road imperfections and road humps.
Pros and Cons of Roof Mounting :
Pros : More secure during transit. You can (allegedly) travel at high speed when they’re on the roof.Quick and easy to fit in the racks if you’re able bodied and takes seconds to strap the wheels. You can stagger/alternate bike directions to get more bikes on the roof bars.
Cons : Obvious height restrictions when parking. Takes a few more minutes to fit the roof bars. Square roof bars can whistle, whereas Aero Bars are quieter. Some may struggle with the extra height required to lift the bikes. Takes a bit longer to remove when not in use.
This is one of my big issues, with the Zafira already being a tall car. Entering car parks is a pain, there is one near my I use with the kids and I have to park up outside the carpark. Take the bikes off and then drive in.
First world problems!
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 03 October 2025, 14:48:15 »
Sadly, LEX, I need to source my own 
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 03 October 2025, 13:28:14 »Nice choice.
You'll soon be known as Tunnie Two Coupe's then.
Sadly the 435i will need to make way for the M60
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 03 October 2025, 13:22:03 »Check carefully as most sparks cannot install chargers (requires C&G 2921 or equivalent, and some specialist test kit) and many of the charger suppliers require a certificate to enable the smart capabilities and warranty on them
He is fully authorised and mentioned how they now check every single install. He stopped doing them for a while, because they kept changing the rules.
Other option is getting it via Octopus, I need to check actually if they allow another company to do it.
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General Car Chat / Re: Milk Float Ordered
« on: 03 October 2025, 13:19:48 »No long then
Our delivery date got moved around a fair bit but was on a much longer timeline than yours to begin with (c9months iirc). I'm also intrigued what you're planning to tow. 0-60 tests with the caravan attached?
Mostly ticked for the bike carrying option, we have a roof rack for the Zafira, but lifting bikes up there is a pain.
Towbar mounted racks look much easier and also don't have to keep a roof rack on there all the time. Fitting roof rack takes time, hammers mpg when not in use etc.
Bonus is I could rent a trailer locally for camping trips and take a load more stuff!
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General Discussion Area / Re: Shed Project: Suspended Railway
« on: 03 October 2025, 13:18:18 »The old ring field motors never work well (and were pretty poor when new), I have re-wound a few over the years and even then, they are not great, even if you fitted uprated magnets as well!
You can fit a CD player motor in there which is ten times better
Yes, I've seen the CD motor swap out, might try that on another.
I should also add, make sure the wheels where the pickups are, are super clean and shiny, also consider adding a bit of weight over the pickup wheel sets to improve contact (a bit of roofing lead, freely available if you look around, works well)
I did polish the pickups with T-cut as well, might give them another go as well.
Annoying I chucked some led from the extension build, should have kept it.