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Post by Martin on Jun 3, 2022 15:25:38 GMT
I’ve had 3 in total, 2 from a scamera and 1 from a policeman and a gun, which was both lucky and annoying. Lucky because I was only 2mph under going to court and annoying because the car behind me, which made me decide to go faster, didn’t get pulled over. It was quite a big operation, multiple police cars at the ready and space to book 6 cars at a time, but the guy was very friendly and was chatting away as he wrote out the ticket, telling me about the fastest speeds that day and a commentary on what speeds people were getting caught and whether they’d being going to court or not.
Two of them were in 60 zones and the last was a 70.
I’ve been pulled over in France for speeding on the Autoroute, 185kmh apparently. I had loads of time and was pottering along on the cruise control at 120kmh, they got quite aggressive when I pointed that out. Wanted cash there and then or it would be a visit to the station. I asked for and got a receipt, but when I’d calmed down and looked at it properly (after they’d left), it didn’t have any contact details or useful information on it.
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Post by Martin on Jun 1, 2022 9:42:33 GMT
It would just be yet another reason to leave the UK. Having watched the Harrison Metcalf vid in his 930 in central Spain I must say the draw to that part of the world for Petrolheads is pretty strong. Won’t everywhere in the EU be pushing people into hybrids / electric vehicles? Italy have been penalising anyone who wants a decent engine for years and even when you look further afield things are changing eg US manufacturers dropping V8s for turbi 6 pots and doing strange things like fitting 4 cylinder hybrids to Lincolns…. Although thankfully they are still doing a few crazy things. The roads in central Spain are fantastic though, my parents are there for a couple of months and have sent some great pictures. My Dad wishes he’d taken his Boxster years ago, but my mum (who generally liked the car) wasn’t keen on long distances in it.
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Post by Martin on May 26, 2022 15:37:53 GMT
All good with Sixt this morning. I got exactly what I booked (X1 Auto or similar), an X1 XDrive 18d M Sport Auto. Couple of options as usual, Leather / Parking Cameras / HUD / bigger wheels etc. Good to be back with iDrive actually, so intuitive and far better using the controller than a touchscreen. All I can say about it at the moment is you feel every pothole but it rides nicely on the motorway, it’s super economical (easy 60mpg+ on the motorway, 53mpg overall today), plenty of space for 3 and our luggage (which still includes a pushchair) and the performance is fine for the roads I’ll be driving on. Getting something small was the right thing to do as well, the roads around here are quite tight in places and I’d forgotten how poor the driving / motorbike riding is in Italy.
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Post by Martin on May 25, 2022 10:51:38 GMT
Have you checked that you can take the French registered hire car (I think you're in France?) into Switzerland? I seem to remember you had to make sure that you had the OK for that. And if you wanted to drive in Switzerland you had to hire from the Swiss side of Geneva airport and for France from the French side. They did say something to me last week about that. I’ll look into it and drive north anyway, as Annecy is in the same direction and is supposed to be nice. If I can’t get in to Switzerland, I’ll see if I can park at a train station and go across by train or something. You'd also need a Swiss Motorway Vignette unless you were confident you could get in without touching a motorway. Annecy is nice, had quite a few summer holidays there as a kid.
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Post by Martin on May 23, 2022 12:40:03 GMT
Halfords don’t sell the set for the front of my car and most online retailers were out of stock, so I ended up getting them from an Amazon seller. That’s where the Golf wipers are coming from as well as they were cheaper that Halfords / wiperblades.co.uk etc and delivered the next day for free. Halfords wanted £30, I paid £19.21 Forgot about that site! Will peruse Amazon at some point, though if the fittings are wrong, it'll be a major PITA to send them back rather than just walk back into the shop! First-world problems, eh? Use the Bosch site to find the right code for your car, then use that code to search for the cheapest seller.
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Random
May 23, 2022 11:27:18 GMT
via mobile
Post by Martin on May 23, 2022 11:27:18 GMT
I can't think of anything that gives you a better cost-benefit ratio than a brand new set of wipers. I bought a set of Bosch Aerotwin + Bosch Rear for my car as the old (original) wipers were smearing a bit and what a transformation! Which reminded me that the Bosch wipers on the Golf have nearly been on for 4 years (replaced the factory supplied ones in the first week of owning the car), so I've just bought a new set. Not got around to that yet, but I did give the blades a properly good clean the other day, which has made a world of difference to the sweep! Never seem to be in the vicinity of the Big Orange Shop when I think about new wipers. Actually, when I think about it, I checked when I first got the car and they didn't seem to list the rear wiper blade at all. I had similar issues with the mighty Skoda's rear wiper too; Halfrauds' listing gave a completely different fitting to the one on the car, and I ended up having to source one from Skoda parts department. Halfords don’t sell the set for the front of my car and most online retailers were out of stock, so I ended up getting them from an Amazon seller. That’s where the Golf wipers are coming from as well as they were cheaper that Halfords / wiperblades.co.uk etc and delivered the next day for free. Halfords wanted £30, I paid £19.21
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Post by Martin on May 23, 2022 8:29:08 GMT
I can't think of anything that gives you a better cost-benefit ratio than a brand new set of wipers. I bought a set of Bosch Aerotwin + Bosch Rear for my car as the old (original) wipers were smearing a bit and what a transformation!
Which reminded me that the Bosch wipers on the Golf have nearly been on for 4 years (replaced the factory supplied ones in the first week of owning the car), so I've just bought a new set.
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2022 12:11:06 GMT
Below £200....I wish! Although mine has come down a lot over the last few years, I was well over £1,000 but last year it had dropped to £682. Just had my renewal through this morning, £651 so going in the right direction but a quick check online showed a couple of polices at £598/£599 and my current provider at £603. Went onto their online chat and they offered £548.72. A little annoyed that I didn't get their best price first time around, but it's much less hassle to stick and it saves £50 over moving so I'm not that annoyed! I do think that's a pretty good price when you take into account the theft risk, £75k value, 20k miles a year and full business use for both of us. Aren't there new rules now that state they must give you their best price on renewal - i.e. the same price they would give a new customer (even though they beat that in the end) That does ring a bell and possibly explains why they were at pains to explain that other/lower prices were due to 'new customer discount', but they weren't so clear why my cost had dropped.
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2022 12:09:29 GMT
Good job!
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2022 7:52:56 GMT
Below £200....I wish!
Although mine has come down a lot over the last few years, I was well over £1,000 but last year it had dropped to £682. Just had my renewal through this morning, £651 so going in the right direction but a quick check online showed a couple of polices at £598/£599 and my current provider at £603. Went onto their online chat and they offered £548.72. A little annoyed that I didn't get their best price first time around, but it's much less hassle to stick and it saves £50 over moving so I'm not that annoyed!
I do think that's a pretty good price when you take into account the theft risk, £75k value, 20k miles a year and full business use for both of us.
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2022 5:56:54 GMT
Lynk & Co is a Chinese brand, part of Geely iirc, so I assume will be similar to Volvo / Polestar.
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 16:06:45 GMT
Don’t doubt that I have myself considered this to be user error but I get the same online, the app and .co.uk in both cases. I assume there is a cookie against my id that defaults to “shit” offering. 😆 Or they assume you’re American. Which is worse?!
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 14:50:25 GMT
That’s strange. I’ve never seen anything other than an excess and unlimited KMs when booking via the Sixt app (without selecting anything during the process) and on the odd occasion I use someone like Holiday Autos it’s been the same. Do you use their US site maybe? As no insurance cover is always something you have to watch out for if you don’t book US car hire through the rental firms UK website? I think it’s user error rather than a Sixt issue!
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 13:08:32 GMT
I’ve had a quick look at my account and over time (quite a few years) I’ve earned / saved £2521.32. Worth having for nothing, although I get less out of it than I used to as spending habits have changed. Airport parking is another area where you can save a reasonable % saving eg 7.87% at Heathrow. Edit: This referral link will give you an extra £10 if/when you make the first transaction. www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/Martin275
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 13:05:09 GMT
Yes I was using Holiday Autos too and could see the excess there, which is what confused me. What is TopCashback? I’ve used Sixt a few times and have always been given an excess, but sounds like it’s something that needs checking. www.topcashback.co.ukGo to the website via the link and after a period of time (it varies by company) the cash back is payable. You can just transfer it to a bank account or get a bit more by putting it onto a gift card
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 12:39:46 GMT
Another who hasn't had a pay rise in 5 years. It seems the modern way that if you want a pay rise you move to a new company. If you want a significant increase then yes, but that’s always been the case for a lot of companies. Only now am I working for a business that pays the right salary for the role, whether you’re an internal or external candidate. If your employer has been really struggling financially, then I understand pay freezes (but not for 5 years), otherwise it’s short sighted as people will leave and replacing them will cost more plus you lose the experience.
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 12:26:38 GMT
1. Yes because their base offering is not excess-based, so you get a headline price which matches or beats Europcar but it's unlimited and your excess insurance will argue that you didn't have an excess, rather a total liability. The first price point for extra (i.e. excess-based insurance) is what you get included with Europcar.
2. I find that the rental station you use is massively variable with Europcar so I don't disagree with your stance. In Nice and in Marseille they're shite: never offer me an upgrade, charged me for an upgrade (which I then got back) and have a poor choice of base cars. In Vienna it couldn't be more opposite. Same staff for over a decade; know me by name; give me double upgrades without asking and just accept the key without looking at the car. We're putting Roadrunner right off, here Talk me through this one again? Sixt are coming up cheapest for a hire in Bologna for once but wary. I’ve looked at booking direct and there was a (high) excess rather than it being unlimited in the quote. But I booked through Holiday Autos as it was the same price, but I got just over 8% off through TopCashback. It’s also very clear that there is an excess on the insurance
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Post by Martin on May 18, 2022 18:57:52 GMT
Good pictures. We went on the 2nd January this year, it was nice and quiet and interesting enough to keep a sub 2 year old happy. Although after being allowed to sit in one car (the one in the 3rd picture), he did want to sit in all the others....
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Post by Martin on May 18, 2022 18:36:10 GMT
Not sure what prompted the thought, but I've just searched again for next weeks trip to Italy. Well worth 5mins, the 7 day cost for an X1/Q3 Auto has dropped from £925 to £675, so I've cancelled and booked again. I could have had an A7/7 Series for broadly the same as I'd paid, or an X3 / 5 Touring for c£750, but I want something fairly small for where we are going. It was only Sixt that was cheaper btw, the other suppliers didn't really have anything I'd want or was a lot more expensive.
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Post by Martin on May 18, 2022 18:30:56 GMT
We gave 3% to salaried colleagues, hourly paid rises varied from 4% to teens% for some Class 1 lorry drivers. Well, the 'pot' was 3%, I gave my team 2.8% for 'B' performance and 3.5% for 'A' which kept me within budget.
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Post by Martin on May 18, 2022 9:30:40 GMT
Quite a difference between the retail and trade price for a lightly used GTS.....
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Post by Martin on May 18, 2022 9:23:30 GMT
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Post by Martin on May 17, 2022 16:06:21 GMT
What a fucking horrible noise though. Isn't it just. I couldn't watch much of the actual driving as it was making my head hurt.
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Post by Martin on May 17, 2022 14:00:26 GMT
I confess do blow very hot and cold on this topic. I've been really pleased with my current car plus it costs me nothing except maintenance and does nothing wrong apart from perhaps being a touch on the low side. Moreover, to date it's been easily the most reliable car I've owned. Over 45k miles and 5.5 yrs, the only thing that's gone wrong with it was a failed bush on the steering column about two years ago (a known fault for the model). Now I've said that, it'll probably blow up tomorrow... It's mainly just an itch to change before the fun police kill everything off. But then equally a lot of the time it would be a waste of time and money. The London Mayor and TFL have lost the plot entirely and made pretty much every road near us and frankly anywhere within central London a 20mph zone, and I shouldn't have to drive slower than the cyclists are permitted to cycle on frankly anything other than a residential side road or going past a school. 30mph on main streets was fine for years without entire classrooms of toddlers being mown down on a monthly basis - why is it suddenly not now? Going along the Embankment at 20mph is just mind-numbing and the the West Way, where the A40 goes into central London is now 30mph despite being an entirely inaccessible elevated dual carriageway. At the risk of sounding like Jeremy Clarkson (not that I disagree with him on much), I'm convinced it's just more evidence of the pernicious "health and safety" plague afflicting metropolitan officialdom these days. With those circumstances, what's the point of 440bhp and a large monthly payment? Just in case any of you thought that what with being a perennial Boris-bashing Remainer, I might be some sort of closet lefty... That does sound equally pointless and horrendous. I think I’m having a bad day of my door to door average speed starts with a low 4!
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Post by Martin on May 16, 2022 17:46:36 GMT
Much too much. Yes, sticking with Macan for time being. Crunch decision time on that is not until the autumn, unless production takes an unlikely leap forward, with a car key not materialising in my sweaty paw much before early 2023. My order is currently circa £76k OTR. Less well-specced nearly-new Gen 3 Macan GTSs are on the Porsche Approved site for over £90k! I was in my local dealership last week and they have a late Turbo in a not particularly special spec or low mileage up for £101,500!! Although it was in the showroom, it's officially a demonstrator and I was told they don't want to sell it right now....I guess that's the case with some of the new GTSs that are being advertised. Even at £76k, I'd guess the cost per month is over £1,000 on a PCP (inc deposit) at 6.9%. Better to think of it being over £300 a month less than a 4 series, makes it feel like a real bargain! Edit: Having seen one now, I'd seriously look at the gloss black exterior trim pack on the GTS. There's a huge amount of unfinished black plastic on the front otherwise, which looked a bit cheap to me.
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Post by Martin on May 16, 2022 17:26:27 GMT
Coming back to this...just for completeness, I had the quote from Sytners... £88k OTR, 6.2% APR, £20k deposit, £950pcm and a balloon of £36.6k. Lovely car though it is, that pricing is just not happening, not by a long way. For comparison, when it was new, my car was £39k OTR, 2.9% APR, £6k deposit, £390pcm and a balloon of £17.4k. That is an awful lot for a 4 series (£1350 a month) but I suppose is to be expected for one that is nearly £90k. It is double the cost new of your current car, has a much higher spec and you wouldn't get a new 440i for £39k, as the discounts aren't there now (5-6% at best). A new 'like for like' replacement would be £60k after discount, so the monthlies would be double that you paid on yours with the same £6k deposit. Perhaps a fairer comparison is an M3 xDrive, which would be £750 a month with a £20k deposit and a small discount. The APR doesn't help, that's c£260 a month in interest. Although BMW are up at 4.9% and Porsche want 6.9%....it's easy to start getting to figures of over £500 a month interest on a 911. Are you sticking with the Macan you've ordered?
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Post by Martin on May 14, 2022 8:43:22 GMT
What time is the flight?!
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Post by Martin on May 11, 2022 16:36:42 GMT
That looks better and will fit through narrower gaps!
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Post by Martin on May 11, 2022 15:11:32 GMT
€1.94 a litre here today for regular diesel when I filled up. Can you put high performance diesel into a regular diesel tank? Must look and see if my car can do that. I’ve found the more expensive diesel to be a waste of money, tried it in the 535d and current car. But yes, you can put it in any diesel fuelled car.
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Post by Martin on May 11, 2022 15:09:20 GMT
That is amusing!
Made me think about a situation a couple of weeks ago on the M5. I could see an Ambulance slowly catching, but there was a long line of middle lane hoggers in front nose to tail so I spotted into a big gap on my left. The guy clearly wasn’t paying attention as when he woke up he got very angry, waving / gesticulating/ shouting and then threw his car out into the 3rd lane to pull alongside and shout at me some more. I was trying to let him know to look behind his car…. He eventually realised he had slowed an ambulance down and it was sitting on his rear bumper. I let him in of course, then he didn’t make eye contact as I went back passed!
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