Your fleet running reports

[Beany]

I think most E9x 335i models fall under 225g/km CO2 so wouldn't be in the higher bracket. Quite a few coupes and convertibles on Auto Trader from sub-£5k and don't even look like total sheds. IIRC they do like to break things like the high pressure fuel pump regularly though.

Nice cars; I test drove a 2008 335i Coupe in 2010 and I liked the way it drove. Quite mature, so buying it for the power and performance is probably a bit pointless.

I believe most of the issues with the fuel pumps etc were on the N54 twin turbo, and were fixed on the N55 twin-scroll single turbo (because the N54 was the first petrol turbo BMW had made in yonks) so a later one would be better I guess. I'm sure the N55 has it's own issues, of course.

I do quite like the idea of an E91/F31 (wagon) 335i in a subtle colour with the wick turned up. That'd require a loan to cover the difference though which I'm a bit wary of, even though I probably shouldn't be any more

[Sundayjumper]

I'm browsing Hiaces now. Check out this beauty

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285031347868

[Rich B]

Like.

[nuttinnew]

Presumably you class that as dark silver, but it's not awd ?

[Jobbo]

SJ, you’re going to have to use a black light as part of your usual inspection routine.

[Mito Man]

Seedy.

[DeskJockey]

SJ, you’re going to have to use a black light as part of your usual inspection routine.

Why bother? Just douse the whole thing in chlorine!

[Sundayjumper]

SJ, you’re going to have to use a black light as part of your usual inspection routine.

Ah, the old CSI spunk torch. It’ll look like a scene from Avatar in there

[MikeHunt]

Can anyone please help me with the law and legal plates, google seems to be full of blurbs on sites selling plates and Im not sure what to believe.

I have owned a private plate for years (don't judge me), its a short plate eg "M1 KEH" and because it contains only a single thing number, I can legally put this on a much shorter than a regular 520mm wide plate. The plate predates all the rules around safety marks and postcodes etc, its not one of those 34d gel plates or anything like that, but looks clean and tidy and as I paid for a quality plate 10+ years ago, I won't need to pay again for a new one.

Am I allowed to fit this to my new car registered in 2022 or am I asking for trouble?

[mik]

Can anyone please help me with the law and legal plates, google seems to be full of blurbs on sites selling plates and Im not sure what to believe.

I have owned a private plate for years (don't judge me), its a short plate eg "M1 KEH" and because it contains only a single thing number, I can legally put this on a much shorter than a regular 520mm wide plate. The plate predates all the rules around safety marks and postcodes etc, its not one of those 34d gel plates or anything like that, but looks clean and tidy and as I paid for a quality plate 10+ years ago, I won't need to pay again for a new one.

Am I allowed to fit this to my new car registered in 2022 or am I asking for trouble?

See gov page here with a link to the INF104 document.

My understanding is that you are fine with a shorter plate, but a car registered in 2022 needs to have a plate that complies with all current regs - if you want to use plates you had made some time ago which don't contain safety marks and plate manufacturer postcode they are not compliant.

edit: a pair of high quality legal (shorter) plates can't be more than £40 Shirley?

[Sundayjumper]

The regs specify the size & font of the letters, the gaps between letters & between the two groups of letters, and a certain minimum amount of space between the outside of the text & the edge of the plate. As long as those requirements are met the actual dimensions of the plate don't matter.

If it meets those requirements and has the BS mark and the name & postcode of the manufacturer you're all good.

The only recent change I'm aware of is that the national symbol is now "UK" rather than "GB", if you're the kind of person that has that on their plate.

[Sundayjumper]

The plate predates all the rules around safety marks and postcodes etc

I missed that on first reading. It needs to meet the regs in effect on the date you put it onto the new car.

[Jobbo]

Plate stuff has already been answered above, but I also have a 5-digit plate and I had a short one on both my import MX5s, so it fitted nicely in the rear space without using motorbike sized characters or two lines. So I got a front plate made to the minimum legal size to fit the characters too:




The front one often had people commenting that the front one wasn't legal but it met the construction and spacing requirements with the minimum border size. What it didn't have either front or rear, and I never had problems with, was a BS mark and postcode. Passed MOTs without issue each year. I have a suspicion that MOT testers are getting stricter about this requirement but the need for a BS mark and postcode came in mid-2001, so a plate which could have been issued in 1991 on a car from the 1990s isn't going to be a problem - they don't know that the plate was physically made in 2009 since it has no date on it.

Since the BS mark and postcode are so unobtrusive if I were to have a new one made up to the small size now, I'd get them included anyway; if it's otherwise legal then there's no point giving the police or MOT testers reason to find fault. Note that it is the date the plate is made, not the date the registration was (or could have been) issued, which is the key factor.

[Jobbo]

The plate predates all the rules around safety marks and postcodes etc

I missed that on first reading. It needs to meet the regs in effect on the date you put it onto the new car.

The physical reg plate needs to meet the regs when it is made, but if you have a good condition legal plate which you had made up in the 90s then you can still put it on a new car - even if it's the old larger font. [Edit - may be out of date; see below]

ETA: the Gov.uk guidance now says 'fitted after 2001' rather than made, so perhaps the law changed with the most recent updates: https://www.gov.uk/displaying-number-pl ... ber-plates
I shall do some more digging.

[Jobbo]

I've had a look at the law here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/200 ... line=false

There was a change for cars registered from Sept 2021, or new plates fitted from that date. The requirement for a postcode was added into the statute, so for recent cars that's unarguable. For cars registered from Sept 2001-2021 the requirements were a bit more vague; see schedule 2 part 1 para 1(b). There's room for argument; that paragraph refers to the plate being made of "retroreflecting material which, as regards its construction, colour and other qualities, complies with the requirements of— (a)the British Standard specification for retroreflecting number plates published on 15 January 1998 under number BS AU 145d" - that only states that the material it is made of must comply with the standard, not the markings.

Of course, if you fit an older set of plates to any post-Sept 2001 car after Sept 2021 (and there will be evidence of the date of the registration being transferred to the vehicle, so you can't get away with saying it was fitted earlier to your recently acquired 2020 car) they do need to comply with schedule 2 part A1 which is more prescriptive about the markings.

[Swervin_Mervin]

330i in for MOT this morning.

Already had a text to say it's passed.

No advisories.

[MikeHunt]

See gov page here with a link to the INF104 document.

My understanding is that you are fine with a shorter plate, but a car registered in 2022 needs to have a plate that complies with all current regs - if you want to use plates you had made some time ago which don't contain safety marks and plate manufacturer postcode they are not compliant.

edit: a pair of high quality legal (shorter) plates can't be more than £40 Shirley?

Thanks, will order a new plate then. I know its not a lot in the scheme of things, just didnt want to pay for something worse if i can help it. Still £40 is better than a £100 fine and then having to buy plates.

[MikeHunt]

Of course, if you fit an older set of plates to any post-Sept 2001 car after Sept 2021 (and there will be evidence of the date of the registration being transferred to the vehicle, so you can't get away with saying it was fitted earlier to your recently acquired 2020 car) they do need to comply with schedule 2 part A1 which is more prescriptive about the markings.

Thanks

[MikeHunt]

Actually cost £18 and was quicker than typing the question above.

[MikeHunt]

Nice MX5 @Jobbo, I havent seen this mentioned before. I had an M reg about 16 years ago and yours looks less rusty now than mine did then.