Car (or bike) Chat!

[Ninanina]

I know where you're coming from, but if those are the new rules, then you just have to be prepared. If you take your car to be MOT'd at a garage that regularly services your car, then they'll almost certainly do their best to store your car, if the necessary work for it to pass can't be done there and then.

That would certainly be the scenario for me, or they'd lose my future business!!

However, 9 times out of 10, my car sails through its MOT, as I keep on top of anything that's needing done, certainly anything obvious, such as tyres.

Marco.

Absolutely Marco

There is a lot to be said from always using one garage for both your MOT's and services, like we do with our Toyota's

There is also a lot to be said for having your car in otherwise tip top condition before putting it in for a service or MOT

[walpurgis]

It's another bit of nonsense legislation, the implications of which have obviously not been thought through.

We had the same with the requirement for an annually repeated SORN, needing vehicle collectors to re-do this for each vehicle every year. Fortunately, common sense eventually prevailed and the annual SORN was replaced by having to do it only once.

[Marco]

It's just common sense for me, Bev, rather than using some 'faceless' MOT station, where you're not known from Adam. In the worst scenario, with the garage I go to, I'd be given a courtesy car to use until mine was ready.

That's where it pays to build good relationships with people.

Marco.

[Ninanina]

It's another bit of nonsense legislation, the implications of which have obviously not been thought through.

That it is Geoff

[Ninanina]

It's just common sense for me, Bev, rather than using some 'faceless' MOT station, where you're not known from Adam. In the worst scenario, with the garage I go to, I'd be given a courtesy car to use until mine was ready.

However, I appreciate that sometimes for others that won't always be possible.

Marco.

Asbolutely Marco... I am quite sure that these MOT stations offering 'cheap' MOT's are just after your business for 'extra' work

We always get a nice new courtesy car from Toyota

To be honest we thought that these 'plate glass' Toyota dealers were just after our money but our local Toyota dealer has been absolutely nothing like that and have been very fair and priced very competitively

Colin had an MOT failure last year due to very worn brake discs, calipers and pads on the front, bare in mind that these are massive due to the vehicle weighing 2.5 ton... the quote from Toyota was about £2.5k which also involved using a local welder to remove the locking wheel nuts as the original nut removal tool had been lost by a 'back street' garage..

Toyota have this scheme to keep older Toyota's on the road so the bill was reduced to a mere £600 'ish for new front discs new calipers and new pads... a bit of a bargain and that included the welder to remove the locking wheel nuts

[Pigmy Pony]

I finally found out today what my surprise 60th birthday treat from my daughters is.

It was a few laps in some fast cars. Wahaay!

I got to drive an Audi R8 (didn't know it was a car, thought it was a scouse greeting), a Ferrari 458, and the star (for me) a Lamborghini Aventador, which has 700 bhp, top speed 215mph and 0-60 2.9 seconds (not with me driving though).

My first drive out had the instructor a bit worried, not because of my excessive speed, but because I was suffering with "cone confusion". I'm glad they had a word for it, shows I'm not alone. It would have been easier if they'd had MORE cones (that way I'd be more inclined to go round them, and not between them!)

I doubt I went over 80 the whole time, for fear of binning a car which was worth more than my house, but still good fun.

I finished with a "hot lap" as a passenger in a Vauxhall VXR8. Now that was scary fast, but then these guys do it every day (for wages, what a crap job eh?)

My daughters took me for a nice lunch afterwards, then it was time to race home in my Honda Civic 2.2 litre single turbocharged diesel with front wheel drive and a heady 140bhp on tap.

If I flogged all my Hifi I could probably stretch to a lambo steering wheel, then I can sit at home with the wheel, making engine noises, almost like the real thing.

[Firebottle]

..... almost like the real thing.

Excellent, really pleased for you.

[Pigmy Pony]

Thanks Alan.

Oh by the way, I tried a pint of that 'Sneck Lifter' today. Lovely and smooth, I could get through a few pints pretty quickly.

But judging by the colour and 5 or so percent, more than a couple of pints would have looking for the door on my hands and knees, and a bad head to look forward to. But who knows, when you get "the flavour", common sense goes out the window

[gninnam]

This weekend I upgraded the head unit in my Audi TT Mk1 as I will be keeping it for some time and miss some of the modern options you get in todays cars so went from the single DIN Concert head unit (I did add an XCarlink unit which allowed for hands free calls and stream music from buetooth) to a double DIN Android based unit (Andriod 8, Octo-Core processor with 4Gb RAM and 32Gb Rom).

Not taken out for a spin since the install but everything works so very happy (and the sound is excellent - better than the original HU) - a few pics:

[rmcin626]

I have changed my car, to an Audi Q5, and my normal music source, my tried and trusted 5th Gen IPod classic is not supported. I have music on my IPhone but would rather have a dedicated player/source for the car.
So do I go for a new player, or use an usb stick or SD card?
All suggestions welcome