You Know I said

[gremlin]

I was saying at the end of last year I'd be glad to see then end of it and then this year didn't get off to a particularly good start well...
My car went for an MOT yesterday and failed so this morning Clive took it to work to start getting it fixed, except on the way the bonnet flew open, smashed the screen, wrecked the bonnet and the bonnet stays and hit the roof. The MOT guy hadn't put the bonnet down properly:thumbsdown: The pull thing has to be pushed back in before dropping the bonnet so I guess he didn't bother and just dropped it. Luckily Clive managed to stop the car and managed to avoid hitting oncoming traffic as he skidded all over the road. The screen failed in the MOT due to a crack in it and I was on the phone arranging to have it sorted while Clive was trying to ring me to say don't bother. I don't know how we stand, Clive has had a go at the garage and they said they'd claim on their insurance, but I'm expecting them to try to wriggle out of it. I doubt they'll pay for the screen as it was already damaged, I've told my insurance people to hold off for now.
Looking on the bright side, he's ok if not a little shaken and sore, he'd just been at physio having traction for a slipped disc so it's not helped, the downside is I may have a written off car:cry:

[utopia]

Sorry to hear that but, well...Its glass half full vs half empty perhaps.....if the bonnet catch was dodgy then maybe you're lucky it didn't blow open on a fast motorway, or miles from home, or something. At least no-one got hurt.
I must admit that my car maintenance is nowhere near as meticulous as the treatment that the bikes get. I too, had a dodgy bonnet catch, which I neglected/lived with for a while, but I eventually got round to tightening and oiling the release cable before I suffered the same fate as you have, so I can sympathise with your situation.

Its all good though.....better than pushing up daisies. Keep smiling.

[gremlin]

Bonnet catch worked fine, and had passed MOT so it was just down to muppetry. The guy apologised profusely and garage has said they'd sort it. Don't know how long I'll be car less, I'll have to share the Landy as we have no buses and I'm not up to biking at the mo, apart from the fact I can't do the shopping on the bike! The funny thing is I was thinking of changing the car as he's so expensive when stuff goes wrong, so if he is written off I'll probably get an old Landy. To replace the front wheel bearing was £298 for my car but only £11 for the Landy, and bearings seem to go quite regularly and my car wouldn't even go up the drive in the snow it was so useless whereas Tilda the Landy just lumbered through with no probs. People whinge about 4x4s but out in the sticks they really are a must have to survive with the roads being like dirt tracks and no grit in the winter, and it helps to have something to off road to collect firewood as oil is horrendous price now.

[Mr Cake]

Clive took it to work to start getting it fixed, except on the way the bonnet flew open, smashed the screen, wrecked the bonnet and the bonnet stays and hit the roof. The MOT guy hadn't put the bonnet down properly The pull thing has to be pushed back in before dropping the bonnet so I guess he didn't bother and just dropped it. Luckily Clive managed to stop the car and managed to avoid hitting oncoming traffic as he skidded all over the road.

A likely story! Is he sure he wasn't pulling wheelies in it when it happened???

Cover the Lanny in winches and get mud-pluggin'!

Cakey

[gremlin]

Lol, don't think Skoda Fabias are renowned for their wheelying capabilities!

[gremlin]

Been loooking at prices for Landys as I was thinking about getting a Defender 90 or something that I wouldn't feel to prescious about if I went off into the wilderness, but they seem to really hold their price, I couldn't get anything newer than A reg really basic farm type for what my car is worth but I could get an R reg Disco. It doesn't make sense, I may be better off with a Disco comfort wise and it would be better if I have to go anywhere in a dress, although I do love seeing women in posh frocks scrambling out of ratty old Landys, there's something a bit anarchic about it, and I have been known to calve down a cow in evening dress and wellies before now! Ho hum, until I know what the outcome will be on the car front it's all a bit acedemic. Our Disco has been pretty awesome off road and we get loads of wood in the back when we go logging. The only downside is if the gear box goes they are mega bucks.

[He11cat]

Maybe in a funny way (not for Mr Spankey ) its fate paving the way for a landy ... stranger things have happened.. you'd be happier with a landy makes more sense for you!!

I hope my Jinx has not been passed to you:(
I hope Clives ok..bless him.
I hope you have dosed him with Arnica.

[utopia]

One thought led to another, as they do.
........a 2CV van.
Granted, thet're not so butch.
Handy for transporting wood though...and eggs.
I've always liked their corrugated-steelness.
And the air of inspector Clouseau.
Suspension on them is superb for rough ground, and loads of ground clearance.
Dunno what prices are like over here, but one could .......
Book a cheap, french holiday on the bike/s, buy one out of a local newspaper somewhere and drive it back with a bike in the back of the van.
Sounds like a top plan.
I might just do it myself.
Paint it a tasteful shade of red oxide.....maybe a little stick-on carbon fibre, for grins.

Front wheel drive though (??), so still cr4p in the snow, but the thin wheels are said to cut through to find traction.

[gremlin]

One thought led to another, as they do.
........a 2CV van.
Granted, thet're not so butch.
Handy for transporting wood though...and eggs.
I've always liked their corrugated-steelness.
And the air of inspector Clouseau.
Suspension on them is superb for rough ground, and loads of ground clearance.
Dunno what prices are like over here, but one could .......
Book a cheap, french holiday on the bike/s, buy one out of a local newspaper somewhere and drive it back with a bike in the back of the van.
Sounds like a top plan.
I might just do it myself.
Paint it a tasteful shade of red oxide.....maybe a little stick-on carbon fibre, for grins.

Front wheel drive though (??), so still cr4p in the snow, but the thin wheels are said to cut through to find traction.

What an awesome idea, must admit these days I'm more Clouseau than Kato! It would have to be either dark purple or black though. They do quite well in snow apparantly so that would be fine and I guess they'd also be ok in mud for same reason. I've watched the saloon version racing at Snetterton and cringed watching the wheels bending going round Russells. They are a hoot.
Could easily get a bale of straw or two in the back, don't know how comfy it would be over a long journey though and I'm not sure how they'd cope with the potholes around here, they were probably partly responsible for my MOT fail as the suspension bushes had gone again, the stealth ones are the worst ones they lurk under puddles and get you!
We also have those little cuts in the verge which can rip suspension off if you go in one. You have to know where they are as they get covered in grass so when an oncoming car forces you on the verge you have to watch it. I ended up in one in autumn and had to be rescued.

[He11cat]

Rat Rod it.. :) rub down bits red oxide ..... jobs a good un... Some of the very old classic Citroens have really nice styling I really like some of the very old models... and some of the old saabs too :)

[utopia]

Assuming the suspension is the same as in the cars, the potholes will not be a problem.
I used to have one, and lived up a similar, potholed, farm track. ...Driving the escort I previously owned, hitting the big potholes would feel like the whole car was being pounded to instant destruction, and my teeth were loosened. In the 2CV though, I used to specifically aim for the worst potholes sometimes, just to be amazed one more time at how you just couldn't feel them.
The design brief was apparently "must be able to cross a ploughed field with a basket of eggs on the back seat, without breaking any". They really are superb.
Black and/or purple .....sparkly even...? (see He11cat's paint..!!!)
For me, I'm afraid it might have to be........allegro brown.
Or how about like Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters Hippie Bus colours. Think of all the old paint you could use up. What's "Further" in french ?
Glad you liked the plan.

[He11cat]

Yes that true about the eggs..
My little bike has been Mr spankey'd hasn't it :) squirted with day glow orange paint and an apt sticker...made me laugh :)

Painting party with beer... can you imagine.

If I had a big old cool car that would be a plan.. get lots of spray paint have a party get hammered then everyone has to paint something on it .... I would actually let people do that .. but in polite language as I work in edumacations id be hung if I parked at work in car (rare) with obscene stuff all over it..fun and creative freedom is good.... I used to love painting huge canvasses a car would be funny..
Trouble is I have a sneaky suspicion with people I know the remarks would be way worse then when top gear drove through the deep south....