OV9

davecG60 wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 12:04 pm

DeskJockey wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 3:41 pm Can anyone recommend an online number plate place? Plates on the Galaxy are looking distinctly tired and the rear one is curving out.

Similar to this, does anybody have any experience / links to replace old dealer branded plates ? Want to tidy up an old Volvo as the plates are milky and cracked but don't want shiny new non logo'd stuff

Try your local Volvo dealer. Porsche OPC will order/make plates for your Porsche at a reasonable cost. I think they were £20 a pair circa 2013.

I need to do some heavy towing with the Defender over Easter so it's time I ordered it a new battery so that I don't get stranded and some new brakes so I don't die. I am impressed with the OEM battery as it has lasted 11 years so I looked on the JLR website and they want over £300 for it. Some further Googling told me that it's just a Varta Leisure battery which is £150 online. Annoyingly my Edge browser tells me the same battery was £106 5 months ago. That 10% inflation is a bitch.
Anyway whilst on the JLR parts website the 'Upgrade Parts' list caught my eye.

The rears not much cheaper. About £7000 to change the lot. Wonder how much it would be with labour and brake fluid!

Anyway... What is up with ECP this year, seems twice as expensive as other places online. Used to not mind paying a bit more for the convenience of not waiting for a clueless delivery driver to mess me about all day but they're useless now.

Mito Man wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 8:10 pm I need to do some heavy towing with the Defender over Easter so it's time I ordered it a new battery so that I don't get stranded and some new brakes so I don't die. I am impressed with the OEM battery as it has lasted 11 years so I looked on the JLR website and they want over £300 for it. Some further Googling told me that it's just a Varta Leisure battery which is £150 online. Annoyingly my Edge browser tells me the same battery was £106 5 months ago. That 10% inflation is a bitch.
Anyway whilst on the JLR parts website the 'Upgrade Parts' list caught my eye.

The rears not much cheaper. About £7000 to change the lot. Wonder how much it would be with labour and brake fluid!

Anyway... What is up with ECP this year, seems twice as expensive as other places online. Used to not mind paying a bit more for the convenience of not waiting for a clueless delivery driver to mess me about all day but they're useless now.

IIRC new discs and pads with fitting on my XF was the thick end of £2k through JLR in 2021.

Explosive Newt wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 7:58 am

Mito Man wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 8:10 pm About £7000 to change the lot. Wonder how much it would be with labour and brake fluid!

IIRC new discs and pads with fitting on my XF was the thick end of £2k through JLR in 2021.

Honda main dealer quoted £370 to change the front pads on my mum’s Jazz. Not discs+pads. It's a single-sliding caliper setup, and a decent-brand pads cost about £30 from independents like ECP.

A full set of rear pads and disks cost me £74 for the Mondeo from ECP, piss easy to do myself (crusty stuck bolts aside). £2k for brakes is insane

tim wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 8:56 am A full set of rear pads and disks cost me £74 for the Mondeo from ECP, piss easy to do myself (crusty stuck bolts aside). £2k for brakes is insane

It's one of the joys of running an ordinary car & spannering it yourself, just how cheap it all is (not a dig at the Mondeo, btw, the MINI & the Compact are common as muck too).

2 new boots on superb, nothing too fancy, a set of Nexen's which are apparently a good mid range boot - Kumho were my previous go-to.

Swapped backs to front mit balance and car is transformed. Old ones had a few (1) mm left but nearside was showing signs of cracking and made a pleasant wop wop wop at low speed. Noise gone and now drives like it's on rails - 4 wheel alignment not gone that long ago.

Car continues to be great family / commute wagon. Keep looking at something a little more exciting but prices put me off (340, Leon 300, Gtiii).

I'm not sure if I can class a single car as a "fleet", but so far I am loving owning the Porsche

A lovely drive to and from Eastbourne yesterday for one year old's birthday party

And while it wasn't all that warm, it was sunny, so the whole thing was done, wrapped up, with the roof down

I'm aiming to drive it as such, as much as possible

Even just pootling around it feels very special, being out in the elements, taking things in around you (like hearing birds singing)

And the whole time, it sounds and feels "alive", the engine snuffling, and burbling away constantly, even with the valves closed

And with them open, it makes a wonderful "crack" when shifting up from 1st to 2nd

I've ordered an Android Auto/Car Play module which I'll hopefully get installed at the weekend - it looks like a neat piece of kit - a new circuit board that you add into the existing head unit, the whole thing then just connects to the existing cabling

Fingers crossed I don't kill it!

DaveE wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 1:19 pm I'm not sure if I can class a single car as a "fleet", but so far I am loving owning the Porsche

A lovely drive to and from Eastbourne yesterday for one year old's birthday party

And while it wasn't all that warm, it was sunny, so the whole thing was done, wrapped up, with the roof down

I'm aiming to drive it as such, as much as possible

This has to be the correct approach if you own a soft-top.

PS: <cough> e-start video <cough>

mik wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 1:24 pm

DaveE wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 1:19 pm I'm not sure if I can class a single car as a "fleet", but so far I am loving owning the Porsche

A lovely drive to and from Eastbourne yesterday for one year old's birthday party

And while it wasn't all that warm, it was sunny, so the whole thing was done, wrapped up, with the roof down

I'm aiming to drive it as such, as much as possible

This has to be the correct approach if you own a soft-top.

PS: <cough> e-start video <cough>

I'll probably kill my clutch

DaveE wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 1:19 pm And while it wasn't all that warm, it was sunny, so the whole thing was done, wrapped up, with the roof down

Roof down motoring is especially with a decent engine/soundtrack to back it.

*Especially* when it's cold and sunny. Don't know why, maybe it's for the same reason that people bang on about cold showers, maybe it's because everyone else has their hood up, but sunny winter days were always the best.

Matty wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 7:34 pm

DaveE wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 1:19 pm And while it wasn't all that warm, it was sunny, so the whole thing was done, wrapped up, with the roof down

Roof down motoring is especially with a decent engine/soundtrack to back it.

*Especially* when it's cold and sunny. Don't know why, maybe it's for the same reason that people bang on about cold showers, maybe it's because everyone else has their hood up, but sunny winter days were always the best.

Having never owned a convertible before, I'm actually quite surprised how pleasant it is inside, even with the roof down on a cooler day

My hands get cold, but it's OK if I can keep them inline with the heater vents (i.e. if I drive at "ten to two" I'm fine)

DaveE wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 8:08 pm

Matty wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 7:34 pm

DaveE wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 1:19 pm And while it wasn't all that warm, it was sunny, so the whole thing was done, wrapped up, with the roof down

Roof down motoring is especially with a decent engine/soundtrack to back it.

*Especially* when it's cold and sunny. Don't know why, maybe it's for the same reason that people bang on about cold showers, maybe it's because everyone else has their hood up, but sunny winter days were always the best.

Having never owned a convertible before, I'm actually quite surprised how pleasant it is inside, even with the roof down on a cooler day

My hands get cold, but it's OK if I can keep them inline with the heater vents (i.e. if I drive at "ten to two" I'm fine)

With electric seats on, I found you could have the roof down in pretty much any temperature in mine. It's a great feeling!

The driver’s door speaker was making an awful buzzing noise, which I assumed meant it was toast. In the past I’ve had magnets fall off the back of a speaker so I assumed the same.

Nope. It turned out a previous owner or maybe a “specialist” had taken the panel off in the past and then trapped the cable in front of the cone when putting it back together Also one of the screws at the bottom was falling out and scratching the kick plate, and there was a screw totally missing in the middle.

So now the speaker is fine but the door rattles. It didn’t before. Two steps forward one step back….

Explosive Newt wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 9:48 am

DaveE wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 8:08 pm

Matty wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 7:34 pm

Roof down motoring is especially with a decent engine/soundtrack to back it.

*Especially* when it's cold and sunny. Don't know why, maybe it's for the same reason that people bang on about cold showers, maybe it's because everyone else has their hood up, but sunny winter days were always the best.

Having never owned a convertible before, I'm actually quite surprised how pleasant it is inside, even with the roof down on a cooler day

My hands get cold, but it's OK if I can keep them inline with the heater vents (i.e. if I drive at "ten to two" I'm fine)

With electric seats on, I found you could have the roof down in pretty much any temperature in mine. It's a great feeling!

Neck-warmers in the SLK were brilliant too - if it have had a heated steering wheel too? Would have been usable at the south pole.

Day 31 of the X5 being in with BMW for repair. Still no sign of it returning...

scotta wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 3:46 pm Day 31 of the X5 being in with BMW for repair. Still no sign of it returning...

WTF? Warrantied?

Jobbo wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 3:48 pm

scotta wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 3:46 pm Day 31 of the X5 being in with BMW for repair. Still no sign of it returning...

WTF? Warrantied?

Yes Still under warranty. I have put about 2000 miles on the 220i GC they've loaned me.

What's wrong with it? I'm sure you posted at the time but it's so long ago I've forgotten.

Sundayjumper wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 9:56 am The driver’s door speaker was making an awful buzzing noise, which I assumed meant it was toast. In the past I’ve had magnets fall off the back of a speaker so I assumed the same.

Nope. It turned out a previous owner or maybe a “specialist” had taken the panel off in the past and then trapped the cable in front of the cone when putting it back together Also one of the screws at the bottom was falling out and scratching the kick plate, and there was a screw totally missing in the middle.

So now the speaker is fine but the door rattles. It didn’t before. Two steps forward one step back….


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Given how many vehicles you own, you need to specify which one the above refers to.