The Car thread - The Bear and Badger

tigersgogrrr

Snorkels out

Kow

Here's my question again as it got moaned off the page.

Kow wrote:

Has anyone managed to get rid of those vertical side window streaks like in the picture (it's not my car)?

I believe they are light scratches cause by dust in the seal at the bottom of the window. There are plenty of Youtube videos claiming various polishes will get rid of them but has anyone here successfully dealt with them? No amount of wiping with windows cleaning stuff will shift them.

HawBawJaws

Kow wrote:

Here's my question again as it got moaned off the page.

Kow wrote:

Has anyone managed to get rid of those vertical side window streaks like in the picture (it's not my car)?

I believe they are light scratches cause by dust in the seal at the bottom of the window. There are plenty of Youtube videos claiming various polishes will get rid of them but has anyone here successfully dealt with them? No amount of wiping with windows cleaning stuff will shift them.

Only other thing I'd suggest would be using whitening toothpaste on them, same with the headlights if they're dull.

Kow

Does that actually work? Sounds like some urban legend.

poprock

It can work on headlights, but headlights are plastic. Dunno about glass windows. Only one way to find out …

Unlikely

You can't fight a car.

b0r1s

Ryu and gang would disagree.

Unlikely

I accept your rebuttal.

Kow

Unlikely

On a mercifully rare visit to Aberdeen the other day I noticed "LEZ" painted on the road. I'd heard that this was coming so thought I'd find out if any of our cars will be OK to drive. Mazda is fine, no surprise, as its road tax is only £30 a year. The C-RV is also fine, which was a surprise, as the road tax is over TEN TIMES that of the Mazda. The S2000, obviously, is not exempt, except wait, it is. What? So I'm not sure what thresholds are being set for this LEZ but they seem pretty lax.

poprock

Same standards in all Scottish cities they introduce it for. My MR2 is allowed in as well. Something about the manufacturers stated emissions at date of registration. So an early-2000s Japanese two-seater (like both our daft cars) are just fine. Small-ish petrol engines from clean-ish manufacturers.

Hilariously my TVR is also allowed in, because it’s over 30 years old. Emissions be damned.

GooberTheHat

I don't think it's much stricter in London, so a lot of these outraged blade runners are just knobheads.

poprock

It’s diesel owners who got fucked by all the LEZ schemes. Ours was an eco-friendly two litre twin turbo that we only paid £20 tax on per year, but it wasn’t permitted in the LEZ. Had to sell it.

Wookienopants

Right, decision made.
Fuck messing around with second hand vauxhalls with 80-100k on the clock because that's all I can afford.

We're going for a brand new all electric MG4 through my work salary sacrifice scheme.
It includes tax benefits, all insurance costs, road tax, all services and maintenance and all MOTs etc for £280pm.

I worked out I'm spending out about £180pm on insurance, road tax and RAC breakdown cover (that's I've used waaaaaaay too much) plus about £120pm on petrol (shit inefficient engine) so the £280pm is a no brainer for peace of mind of having a new car and all the insurance, tax and maintenance taken care of.

Plus with how little milage we do a week it's looking like charging costs could be as little as £10 per week (that's also with the fact that a large part of electricity bill is covered by solar panels.

Fuck, I'm excited

GooberTheHat

Sounds like a sensible decision. Having to worry if your car is going to get you to work or not is a worry best avoided if possible.

Wookienopants

GooberTheHat wrote:

Sounds like a sensible decision. Having to worry if your car is going to get you to work or not is a worry best avoided if possible.

Yea it's been the cause of so much stress.
Plus ive just paid £350 for new tyres only for it to break down and be a possible £600/700 bill to get back on the road.
That's after paying out £1000 last year in repairs.
And £200 plus for new brake pads....

b0r1s

Nice one Wookie. MG4 reviews very well and yes, salary sacrifice is the way to go with EVs. That's a bargain.

Wookienopants

And my Zafira will net me £760 for scrap

HawBawJaws

The mg4 is nice, think my work was considering switching to them, but our daily mileage is so high it'd make them impractical. Used to manage cleaning in a couple mg garages, was mightily impressed by the mg4 when it came out, I think even the top of the line model is sub 30k, but still has more extras than Ben hur.

RamSteelwood

Wookienopants wrote:

Right, decision made.
Fuck messing around with second hand vauxhalls with 80-100k on the clock because that's all I can afford.

We're going for a brand new all electric MG4 through my work salary sacrifice scheme.
It includes tax benefits, all insurance costs, road tax, all services and maintenance and all MOTs etc for £280pm.

I worked out I'm spending out about £180pm on insurance, road tax and RAC breakdown cover (that's I've used waaaaaaay too much) plus about £120pm on petrol (shit inefficient engine) so the £280pm is a no brainer for peace of mind of having a new car and all the insurance, tax and maintenance taken care of.

Plus with how little milage we do a week it's looking like charging costs could be as little as £10 per week (that's also with the fact that a large part of electricity bill is covered by solar panels.

Fuck, I'm excited

Well jel. Same car on our work scheme i think came in nearer £400...not a surprise that our company picks the scheme that benefits staff the least!

GooberTheHat

I've got an MG4 as my work run around. It's decent. I still don't trust the lack of an on/off button though.

Wookienopants

Yea fuck it, having run the numbers and just having a quick call saying that a family member left me some money in the family trust fund, I'm ordering it

Wookienopants

Just realised the connotations between trust fund and wanker.
It's not anything substantial, it's just a little token something left by a grandparent in a will. So yea, not a trust fund rich boy by any means.

I have informed my wife that after debts are cleared I'm leaving a little aside in a small fund called "DAY ONE SWITCH2"

Wookienopants

Great. So the new car order has been delayed and told that a week after I put the paperwork in, it's only now just being processed before they order the car from the manufacturer.

Then I'm told there's a lead time of 2-8 weeks until delivery.

In the meantime my wife is now angry and hitting me with "but we CANT be without a car for weeks!! How will I get to work?! You need to fix this!!"

How sweetheart, how?

We have a car with a fucked clutch that will cost £900 to fix and needs scrapping anyway.

I have ordered us a brand new car that will be reliable and all maintenance covered and insured.
I can't help it if theres a longer wait than planned.

I'm so fucking sick of cars and my wife making me responsible for everything

regmcfly

LivDiv

I love, love, love that "swing it round" gag.

GooberTheHat

Is it possible to get some sort of corporate rental/pool car in the interim?

Wookienopants

GooberTheHat wrote:

Is it possible to get some sort of corporate rental/pool car in the interim?

We have a rental for two weeks that was supposed to cover this waiting period but that cost £400. Can't afford to get another two weeks.

Wookienopants

regmcfly wrote:

Best movie. Just love that

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