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Post by racingteatray on Aug 16, 2021 18:50:26 GMT
Ah shame! We are in St Tropez, just above the Pampelone beach. Due to be here until Weds and then stopping off with other friends in Portofino for a few days en route to my in-laws.
I say “due” because today a strong mistral wind has got up and this evening a wildfire has started up somewhere upwind at a guess just the other side of Port Grimaud. Everything already stinks of woodsmoke.
Working on assumption it’s far enough away with water between it and us but this is a promontory and I wouldn’t like to get stuck here!!
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 16, 2021 18:16:44 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 16, 2021 18:14:52 GMT
It was a 2018, so what I’d get if buying used.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 16, 2021 17:45:26 GMT
So on holiday in south of France staying with friends. Their mother, our hostess, has a Macan GTS. Being a very generous lady, she insisted I take it out for a spin.
In short it solves everything I felt was wrong with the S version. It’s much snortier and drives extremely well.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 10, 2021 14:23:49 GMT
Yes, well I wouldn't have one of those either.
I just don't like the new 1-series. Does nothing for me at all. I liked the last two generations because they were different and quirky, and could be had with a straight six. This new 1-series just flatlines from an interest perspective as far as I'm concerned and I don't like the styling.
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Dents
Aug 10, 2021 11:46:09 GMT
Post by racingteatray on Aug 10, 2021 11:46:09 GMT
This was the side with the worst three dents - looks pretty flawless now:
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Dents
Aug 10, 2021 11:44:21 GMT
Post by racingteatray on Aug 10, 2021 11:44:21 GMT
And the dent on side of bonnet (didn’t have a before of this one but there was a dent where marked with the second red ring above the scratch). Both scratch and dent were caused by a neighbour’s 5yr old hitting it with the handlebar of her scooter - wobbled as she was passing car and fell sideways onto it. This is the one he had to use the glue gun thingy to fix and I must say I can’t see it any more.
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Dents
Aug 10, 2021 11:40:14 GMT
Post by racingteatray on Aug 10, 2021 11:40:14 GMT
Very hard to photograph (couldn’t get the ones on the flanks to show up for love nor money) but here is the pin dent before and after:
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Dents
Aug 10, 2021 11:32:05 GMT
via mobile
Post by racingteatray on Aug 10, 2021 11:32:05 GMT
The bonnet dent on the side was in a tricky place but he dealt with it using a some sort of glue gun.
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Dents
Aug 9, 2021 21:31:54 GMT
via mobile
Post by racingteatray on Aug 9, 2021 21:31:54 GMT
To be honest I simply googled “Dent Removal Ipswich” and they were one of the top hits. Liked what I read and they were very quick to respond. I enquired on Friday evening via an online form and a locally based chap got in touch first thing this morning and was able to fit me in after 4pm same day.
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Dents
Aug 9, 2021 20:31:59 GMT
via mobile
Post by racingteatray on Aug 9, 2021 20:31:59 GMT
Very pleased. After four and a half years, the GC had accumulated a number of dings and dents, the most annoying of which was a biggish shallow vertical crease in the front passenger door of the sort caused by the careless opening of someone else’s car door. That side of the car had two more smaller creases (one also on the front door as well as one on the rear door) as well as a pin dent on the rear corner above one back light. The other side had a parking ding under the drivers door handle and dent on the side of the bonnet caused an errant scooting child. Finally there is a stone chip above the bonnet badge big enough to be a dent.
They are now all gone thanks to an excellent mobile dent remover chap from Dent Devils who turned up this afternoon and got rid of the lot for what felt like a thoroughly reasonable £120.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 9, 2021 20:01:44 GMT
I suppose a 128ti is a competent device but I just wouldn’t.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 9, 2021 14:02:48 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 9, 2021 10:04:39 GMT
I'll leave the road suggestions to others who know them better than me. But I'd take the Boxster - I drove up to Islay about a decade or more ago in the Z1 and it was great having a small roadster up there.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 9, 2021 9:57:53 GMT
I'm loving the practical beige interior on that!
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 9, 2021 9:56:13 GMT
Talking of monster avian droppings, I noticed yesterday morning that overnight some sort of flying behemoth had done such a vast crap on the bonnet of mum's Countryman that it had not only splattered her windscreen but also the bonnet of my car parked alongside an open car door's width away. It is one of the occupational hazards of living near the sea.
I didn't have time to deal with it straight away but then mid-afternoon there was such a monsoon-esque deluge that it effectively jet-washed both cars and all sign of the turd from on high has gone.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 9, 2021 9:50:09 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 7, 2021 23:08:20 GMT
My wife, when the occasional urge to change her car flits into her head before rapidly vanishing again, has commented that she’d like a small SUV next time because, only mildly ironically, she increasingly dislikes driving around London in a tiny car on roads clogged by behemoth SUVs. She feels at risk of being squashed.
This had made me think that a Puma wouldn’t be a bad shout but I simply can’t get my head around the prices of cars these days. Plus I just hate all these identikit dreary all-black and plasticky interiors - they are just so soul-shreddingly dull. What is wrong with a bit of colour, a bit of creative spark, a bit of bloody pizzazz?
It’s what I have against modern Audis, especially any of the S or RS versions that I would want - the choice of interior is usually black, black or possibly paedo’s shoe grey, with interior trim in saucepan-silver or cretin-fibre.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 7, 2021 22:51:04 GMT
I was merely thinking of things that weren’t obvious and therefore might not be caught up in the current pricing silliness.
I’ve had a 308 as a hire car and my sister in law has an estate one. Yes a Golf is nicer (your model or older that is), but there’s nothing actively horrid there in my view. Unlike the new Golf 8 which is pretty grim.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 6, 2021 17:41:21 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 6, 2021 17:29:35 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 6, 2021 10:05:04 GMT
I could see it being a great toy for your average billionaire's Caribbean island retreat - think the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair...
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 6, 2021 10:03:22 GMT
Doesn't look bad and is quite competitively priced. Might take a closer look next year when the Ioniq goes back. Agreed on both counts.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 1, 2021 21:55:46 GMT
You can PCP a used car but the interest rates are outrageous. I don't mind paying a couple of % per annum - say up to 3% or so. But, and I speak as someone who does debt finance for a living, more than that just annoys me - there's no justification for it in a world where base rates are at or around zero. Mind you some of the carmakers' own PCP rates on new stuff are pretty outrageous. VAG will charge you 6-7% on a new car but its auto finance arm will be borrowing the money from the debt capital markets at not much more than 1-2% if that. It's easy to assess - the bonds issued by auto-captives (the term for the finance arms of carmakers) are usually listed on major stock exchanges and therefore the details (including the rates they pay) are publicly available. See here for, for example, VW Financial's borrowing rates: cbonds.com/company/36025/
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 1, 2021 17:22:13 GMT
Some very interesting ideas there. Although the XFR looks amazing value, I suspect it would be too expensive to run and I lean more towards small and agile than big and brutish. The same goes for the S5 and Stinger (although I do have a soft spot for them). The 2 series is actually just the about the only BMW that appeals to me and on paper an M235i/M240 looks good value. Some conflicting reviews on ride and handling though. There is no substitute for going and trying one yourself. Only you will know what you think of the ride/handling and whether it suits your driving needs/style.
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Post by racingteatray on Jul 30, 2021 23:21:08 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Jul 30, 2021 23:18:31 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Jul 30, 2021 23:06:19 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Jul 30, 2021 23:03:09 GMT
Does the GT86 have rear seats? Apparently it does and they’re within budget. Good shout but I think I’d make mine a Subaru BRZ, just because it’s little more left field.
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Post by racingteatray on Jul 30, 2021 17:30:56 GMT
I certainly don't find driving the i-Pace to be an anesthetised experience: you know where the wheels are pointing, feel what the suspension is doing and are pretty much involved if you get in to any spirited motoring. I also get a great smile when I hit the loud pedal with the acceleration and the cornering speed and the balance are remarkable - you do feel what it is doing on the road. OK it doesn't have a sound track to go with it but I never feel short changed stepping out of the i-Pace after any spirited drive. I think I have said before that the max regeneration provides really good stopping power on a country road and once you get yourself synced with the car, you can come up to a corner really quickly and judge your "braking" by how much you come off the accelerator and then gently squeeze it again to rocket out of the corner - it is different but it is also equally enjoyable. So would you swap your M5 for it?
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