OV9

scotta wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 11:22 am

Rich B wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 10:06 am ha! i’ve ordered one - i quite enjoy a job like that though, you get a chance to learn about another section of the car and how it goes together.

i wish there (is there?) was a Haynes manual for the car, i seem to spend a lot of time googling how to do stuff.

https://elise.bidouille.info/docs/Lotus ... Manual.pdf

Excellent - i’ll be having a wade through that! sometimes it’s just nice to see a cutaway of what’s there before getting going!

I’ve used a lithium battery in the golf for the last 14 years, I’m on my second as the first one failed sometime over winter. Went for a noco nlp14, was on sale at Amazon for £90 and does the job perfectly.

Good news - I have an email telling me that I'm being paid for the car.

Bad news - it's "faster remittance" which sounds like one of those payment systems supported by chewing gum and bale twine so it probably won't clear for three days (certainly hasn't yet)

Fingers crossed I'm wrong.

Also excluding running costs, the purchase price vs settlement difference?

£193

If only there were a more convenient way of selling oil but I guess some problems are too difficult to solve.

I hope they're recyclable.

You can get Castrol Edge M Power in 4 or 20l cans!

Actual car updates (MX5 edition):
- when I met up with Mike I noticed a worrying dribble and pool of water below the NSF wing/door area. Did the Car Wizard taste test and it was just water. So I’m assuming it’s the air con condenser water. No coolant issues anyway.
- at one point yesterday the brakes lost their usual excellent initial bite. Not sure why because I’d not been using them much beforehand. I think it may have been electronics related - triggered a stability thing which altered the brake feel maybe?
- today I encountered a rather uneven road surface at some pace and sideways load which made the car feel out of sorts. Not uncontrollable but odd. I wondered if a wheel was loose - I did torque the nuts up properly but forgot to check them before leaving home. I have two diagnoses; one is electronic intervention again, the other is that the alignment is a bit out after the lowering springs were fitted and I found its limitations. The latter should be resolved when I take it to Dan next week anyway. I’ve driven it plenty since so confidence and trust is still there.
- when parking in Ullapool there was a sudden graunching noise. Since I didn’t hit anything or kerb a wheel I can only assume the tyres do rub slightly

All good anyway, as you’d expect. Economy is getting worse. Average speeds may be higher.

Carlos wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 7:56 pm You can get Castrol Edge M Power in 4 or 20l cans!

The BMW stuff was cheaper this time round.

Mito Man wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 8:14 pm

Carlos wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 7:56 pm You can get Castrol Edge M Power in 4 or 20l cans!

The BMW stuff was cheaper this time round.

I predict a litre of ullage after you’ve used all of them….

mik wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 9:25 pm

Mito Man wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 8:14 pm

Carlos wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 7:56 pm You can get Castrol Edge M Power in 4 or 20l cans!

The BMW stuff was cheaper this time round.

I predict a litre of ullage after you’ve used all of them….

today i have learnt a new word.

Rich B wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 10:31 pm

mik wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 9:25 pm

Mito Man wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 8:14 pm

The BMW stuff was cheaper this time round.

I predict a litre of ullage after you’ve used all of them….

today i have learnt a new word.

Me too! The word I never knew I needed but am now desperate to use in a sentence.

scotta wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 7:35 am

Sundayjumper wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 7:30 am Oh, how much is the discount ? I need a battery too.

10%. Decent discount. It’s through the number 27 YouTube channel.

It only gave me 5% but it all helps And it has arrived already this morning ! Brilliant service.

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri May 09, 2025 8:21 am And it has arrived already this morning ! Brilliant service.

And don't they package them nicely too?

I've used them for years, but a couple of months back I was idly wondering how big their setup is, so had a quick snoop on companies house - turnover in 2022/2023 was £21million/£25million, so - they clearly aren't just a little shop.

mik wrote: Fri May 09, 2025 8:28 am

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri May 09, 2025 8:21 am And it has arrived already this morning ! Brilliant service.

And don't they package them nicely too?

I ordered another charger from them at the same time and it came packed exactly the same way as the batteries do. Seems excessive for a charger but I shan't complain. So I've got two nice cardboard boxes with nice padding in them. Added to my increasing mountain of "might be useful" random tat.

Rich B wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 10:31 pm

mik wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 9:25 pm

Mito Man wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 8:14 pm

The BMW stuff was cheaper this time round.

I predict a litre of ullage after you’ve used all of them….

today i have learnt a new word.

Very important if you buy very old vintage wine - for most other people, not so much

I have been paid and am temporarily a Rich Bitch (no shorts though)

Currently weighing up options, as I rather need a car due to where I live and how rough my back is walking a mile up a steep hill isn't something I can reasonably do right now) I'm tempted by the option of hiring a car locally, dropping it off about five miles from where the car is and then driving it back

Especially as due to the desire for shiny, transporting the car itself at such short notice would be about £500 and a hire car would be about £100 (cheaper if I got a big high roof commercial van but that might be a pain in the town of the drop off point).

Still, got work to do so best get that sorted first.

Mito Man wrote: Thu May 08, 2025 6:25 pm If only there were a more convenient way of selling oil but I guess some problems are too difficult to solve.

To busy ploughing money into the design department so they can achieve marginal gains on designing the world's most gopping grilles.

Glad to hear the money's come through Beany.

Beany wrote: Fri May 09, 2025 10:10 am I have been paid and am temporarily a Rich Bitch (no shorts though)

Currently weighing up options, as I rather need a car due to where I live and how rough my back is walking a mile up a steep hill isn't something I can reasonably do right now) I'm tempted by the option of hiring a car locally, dropping it off about five miles from where the car is and then driving it back

Especially as due to the desire for shiny, transporting the car itself at such short notice would be about £500 and a hire car would be about £100 (cheaper if I got a big high roof commercial van but that might be a pain in the town of the drop off point).

Still, got work to do so best get that sorted first.

Do it. Best way to gel with a new car and identify any potential areas for immediate attention is to get it driven over a good distance. I drove my E91 back from just past Exeter - took a few miles to get used to not driving a hot hatch (as I'd been doing for a decade by then!).

Honestly, there's not much choice in the matter - train would be £120 and 6 1/2 hours, and transportation options are all £400+

So renting a car seems most sensible

BOY IT'D BE NICE IF INSURANCE HAD LET ME USE A RENTAL CAR TILL I WAS MADE GOOD WOULDN'T IT???


*incoherent screaming*

Ugh, enterprise are being prissy about same day bookings without a credit card (Which I don't use). FFS, you'd think this'd be the easy part