Rich

I had an email back from more than today confirming I need to send the details, it's the underwriters requesting it. I also had a letter in the post about it.

I could but I pay for the year upfront so that means the hassle of getting a refund, searching for new quotes and cancelling the breakdown that was included. It's hassle either way but probably easier to give them the info. I won't be renewing though unless it was an exceptionally good price!

Well the email says some customers will be subject to extra routine checks. I guess it's to make sure you've told the truth about where the car is kept, points/convictions etc.

I renewed the Accord insurance last month with more than. Tonight I got an email asking me to send a utility bill, copies of all named drivers photocard licenses and a copy of the DVLA record for both, plus the original copy of my proof of NCB. The last one will be difficult as it was emailed. It's definitely a legit email as it says my name, policy number and comes from an rsagroup.com address. They include a check form and ask to post everything or email it. What a faff! In 25 years of driving I have never been asked to do this but if I don't they'll cancel my insurance. Anyone else had this?

I've seen it suggested on a few forums before but yeah it's probably not a good idea! Caravan frame probably is alloy thinking about it, the chassis is definitely steel though as it's rusty. I'll get some new bags and try them, I've had mine a few years now. Do they have a shelf life?

I dry them in the airing cupboard or radiator but have never felt they work well when I've used them in the cars before. We've been using trays of salt in our caravan over winter for 25 years and never had issues with rust inside. The salt absorbs the water and this is collected in the tray. It's not like it will be in direct contact with the metal. Having said that I may get some cat litter as that does the same job. I'll be checking the car when I get home from work. With the rain we've had I'm hoping it'll be dry. I sealed the window again but it's the drivers floor I'm concerned about now. The seals all look fine and there doesn't seem to be any gaps between them so I'm not sure how the water is getting in. I might just have to cover it up for winter and sort it next year now.

Don't they, that's a shame. I do like Toyota/Lexus and will definitely be considering one for my next car. I did look at the Yaris T Sport after owning the Corolla version but they're a target for CAT thieves around here!

How is salt in trays going to cause rust? It'll just absorb the moisture which will end up in the tray. I already have a few desiccant bags and I've never found them to work that well.

We've had a lot of rain the last few days. Still have a couple of small leaks from the window and have trays on the parcel shelf to catch the water. I'll have to add more sealant over the weekend but there are no longer any large puddles on the floor! It is still wet in the drivers footwell which seems to be getting in from between the door seal and the windscreen one. I'm going to remove them to clean up and check for damage. I may have to replace them if I can't stop it but there's no point putting the carpet back down until I have! I'll need to find some new sound deadening too so I can replace what I had to rip off. I have a big bag of salt to put in trays and leave in the car over winter. Hopefully they'll do the job.

That's why I've kept it for 9 years, I just love driving the car. It's not particularly quick but still pulls well. Considering I paid £2600 for it and probably spent £1.5-£2k on repairs, mainly using Honda parts, it's served me well. The Accord is 20 years old in April, I think it's aged well, same for your Lexus, they're just built to last. It's a shame the rust gets them eventually though. One of my rear arches is very rusty so I have it taped up with duck tape! There is just no point paying out to have it repaired, that would cost more than what the car is worth.

That's pretty good mpg for a 2L petrol in a big heavy car. Why would you go for a Toyota over the Mazda?

I was outside most of yesterday cleaning it up and tiger sealing the bottom of the glass back to the fabric. I contacted the person who fitted the hood and they recommended tiger seal too. The rest of the bonding looks ok but I'll definitely be keeping a closer eye on it. We've only had drizzle rain since bonding it but there were no puddles in the car today. Still alot of condensation with the carpet being wet in places so the car is damp and needs drying out properly. I'll be checking it everyday and will run the hose over it if we don't get any more heavy rain. The guy who fitted the roof doesn't do repairs, I think because it's very time consuming but I have emailed a local company who I saw recommended on pistonheads. They do interior upholstery and have repaired hoods. I was also wrong about the price, a new mohair one is £650, a vinyl one is £550. Alot of money either way but hopefully a repair would be no where near that!

£300 for a dealer service and MOT sounds good. I can't believe the mpg you're getting from this. Maybe one to look at when the Accord does go. Diesel is 25-30p a litre more than petrol around here so unless you're doing mega miles a year petrol is definitely the way forward now. I wonder if they'll keep diesel alot higher now to try and force people to switch over. That's the thing with big wheels, tyres are eyewatering prices. What is the smallest rim available that Mazda made for the car, I assume 17s?

It's a 2.4 petrol automatic so it's never going to be great. I've always got low 20s around town since I got it 9 years a go. I suppose a sensor or two may be old but I'm not going to start replacing parts on a whim. Didn't you have a diesel Accord, not petrol?

It's done 133,000 miles now. The bodywork will be gone before the engine. The tester did say the sills are quite rusty and will probably need work done on them in a couple of years. I won't be paying out for that though as it's not worth it. I used my rotary polisher with some fine polish and fine wet/dry paper to run them down first. You need to add regular protection otherwise they go cloudy again like mine have. You can also buy kits that you use with your drill, which seem to work well. About the same as it used to be, 21mpg around town, slightly more on a run. I use Esso Supreme E0 now and nothing else. It's never been an economical car though and I've only done 2500 miles since the MOT last year so I don't do a lot in it.

I looked at getting a whiteline bar for the Mondeo but decided it probably wasn't worth it for that kind of car. Glad it's made a difference. Yeah the new aircon gas is really expensive. It's annoying when you get it done and then find out you have a leak a few weeks later so lose it. That was with the cheaper gas though!

So! With the mild weather I decided to tax it for another month and use the car during November. I hoovered it out last week and noticed the carpets were damp. After removing the door cards I remembered that the drivers side plastic sheeting had to be taped up a few years a go, this had come off. Taped it all up and I just needed to dry the carpets out - or so I thought!! After all of the rain this week I checked the passenger floor and found it soaked through! I removed the seat and lifted the carpet up to sponge up as much water as I could. The only way to remove the carpet completely is to take the dash out or cut it. After lifting the carpet I was greeted with this! All of the sound deadening had to be removed as it had soaked the water up like a sponge. I checked all the seals and drain holes but couldn't find where it was coming in from. Last night we had loads more rain and this morning I checked the drivers side to find it was also now soaked! Today was spent striping the interior out and propping the carpet up to help it dry. I also removed the parcel shelf carpet to try and help me trace where water is getting in from. Then I found this!! Yes the glass window is no longer bonded to the soft top, more or less all the way along the bottom! I have put some duct tape on it for tonight and tomorrow I'll be putting the cover over the car to try and keep it dry. I'm assuming this is the entry point for the water but I'm not sure how it's finding it's way down to the floor, I can't find any trails where it could be going. Alot of the stitching on the hood has eroded the last couple of years and I had been planning on repairing this myself but I think it's going to take hours sewing it by hand. A new hood is £500 so I will try and tiger seal the glass to the fabric first and see how it goes. Otherwise I don't know what I'm going to do, it's an expense I could do without at the moment.

I did all of the servicing I mentioned above but need to change the gearbox oil again. I had enough left from last time so used that as a flush to do a few hundred miles and then fill with the new oil but I didn't get around to it in the summer! The MOT was yesterday and it passed but with a couple of advisories this time. My MOT garage has a new tester and he's more thorough! A cut in a tyre needs to be monitored. That must've happened on the way there as I removed all 4 wheels on Monday and checked them over. Foggy headlights, so I need to polish them again, it's been a few years since I did those. Front brake pads are low but I knew that anyway. I replaced the discs and pads 8 years a go so will do both again. The discs have a slight lip on them so I don't think it's wise to fit new pads on to them. I had to seal the plastic door lining behind the door cards as they were leaking water in to the footwells but other than that it's been ok. Hoping to keep it going for another year.

Looking clean and tidy. How's the handling after fitting the anti roll bar?

Oops! Easily done though, I have a few things I've been meaning to sort out and still haven't got around to doing. I checked my offers with Santander earlier and the best 2 year fixed rate is 5.89%! ☹️

Sounds like it'll be ok then. I read about them getting stolen in other countries but I'm not sure what year those are, probably older ones. Subarus aren't that popular over here so I doubt if they'd even know the location of them.

That's pretty good considering. Could that be a sign they don't think things will be as bad as they're predicting. Have you just come off a fixed rate deal or have you been on a SVR for a while? Guess it depends what the rate is but I would've thought that'd make your repayments quite high. My fix was 1.89% but the SVR would've been 5% if I left it.

31mpg is decent, I'd be happy with that. Are these Foresters at risk of having the CATs stolen? I think the older ones are.

Well they're predicting a 15% price reduction but that's all relative if it happens and where we're moving to may fall even further. I can fix for 2 years at 4.39% now with a 3% ERC plus a £999 fee. 5 years is 4.14% but the ERC on that is 5%! The whole point of taking the tracker deal was to avoid paying the ERC. If we move within a year the tracker we're on is still better than paying the ERC, plus the extra £999 for changing again. I hate wasting money so the thought of paying another fee and the ERC if we end up going next year doesn't sit well with me. That would be several thousand. Like you say my job is fairly secure here and I can make overpayments towards the capital when I can. This has really buggered our plans though! There's probably not much point contacting my mortgage guy, I doubt he can access any deals better than what my provider is offering.

Wow, what is Truss and the Government up to!! Things are just going from bad to worse. Seems they're predicting the base rate to increase to 6% by next year. I really don't know what to do now. The more I think about it the less keen I am to rent when we move with how things are. I was hoping to move before things got worse. We're planning on going next year but it's trying to get a job and move at the same time that's concerning me. Especially when I haven't really seen any jobs to apply for yet. Or just take a fix now for 2 years, I can get just over 4% and put our move off. But what if property prices continue to rise, we could find ourselves not being able to afford a house we really want and having to settle for something else. If we're moving 150 miles away I'd rather get a house that we're going to love, not just like!