Rich

I think starting a new job in a new area will force our hand anyway as it would depend when the job starts. Plus trying to buy somewhere means we're limited to what is available at that time. At least with selling first and having a good deposit in the bank means we can spend a little time finding something that we like. I've asked my mortgage guy what fixed rates he can get but I think we'll be doing that for the time being and see how things pan out. Trackers seem to be lower than fixed rates ATM but if the base rate rises by 1% or more in the next year they will be alot higher. I'm sure some lenders reduce the ERC when you get close to the end of the fixed term so we might not have to put the move off for that long.

Thanks Adam and Geoff. I've enjoyed looking after the forum. Being a small one it doesn't need that much work really! The forum has been more of a social platform the last few years anyway, rather than business oriented, especially when Tony was no longer at the centre. I've checked when the hosting expires and it's the end of June so we have a couple of months left. There are plenty of forums still using old software so if I can find hosting that's cheap enough I might be able to keep it going a little bit longer. If you have any photos and PMs you want I would suggest you save them sooner rather than later.

Yes that is a concern too and I'm not actually keen on renting TBH. But I think trying to juggle a move and start a new job is going to be too much. If I secure a job but can't sell or find anywhere to buy shortly afterwards I'd have to rent some where short term so I can stay during the week. There's no way I could commute it! People I know who have done this either rented anyway, work remotely, commuted back or were retiring so didn't need to find a job! We're looking to move close to Norwich, unless something really nice further away comes up. So I've been looking for jobs around there. My plan was to get a job, rent nearby and if it works out buy somewhere in that area if we liked it. At least with renting first, if we didn't like the area we wouldn't be tied to it.

Spot on Andy, it can't live forever and I know it'll have to go at some point. From the number of likes it seems most are in agreement. I think Tony did want me to keep it going as he mentioned it a few times but forums just aren't what they used to be. I have to admit this is the only one I really use now. I don't use them like I did 10 years a go. Some of the big ones I'm on are so quiet now. If I can find some hosting cheap enough I'll see how long I can keep it going but I won't be paying to renew the license. I've never heard of Discord so will have a look at that but I'm assuming I wouldn't be able to transfer the database from here to that one so it would mean starting again.

But then what if we sell, rent somewhere first and mortgages start increasing alot making it more difficult to get one. Although with rates rising could we see a housing crash instead and prices start dropping. If only we could predict the future! I really think selling/buying and starting a new job will be too much hassle in one go. I guess we could also stay put for another 2 years and then move when things have hopefully settled down.

If we weren't planning on moving then I would fix it but if I do that and move next year (we are selling and renting to start with) I'll have to pay thousands in early repayment charges. So although a tracker will have higher repayments, in the long term it should save me quite a bit. The only other option is to sell and buy while trying to find and start a new job, which is going to be a pain. But then I could fix it and port the mortgage over assuming I don't need to change the amount.

Next year hopefully but it all depends on what the job situation will be. It could take me a long time to find something. We'll more than likely move to Norwich or ideally just outside of it but the villages are more expensive. As much as I would love to wake up with a sea view I would never buy right on the coast. I don't think the erosion is as bad along that part but I'd still be weary. This is the other end of the Marrams Road where it has started falling on to the beach! Crazy! ☹️

Our fixed rate ends in 3 months so I'm getting options from my mortgage broker to look through. A fixed rate would be nice but it has a 3% early repayment charge. A tracker at the moment would be the same monthly repayment as the fixed rate but the base rate is looking to increase again by the end of this year and again by the end of 2023 to a predicted 2%. So that means my repayments could increase by up to £100 a month by the end of 2023. As we're looking to move soon, some time next year I'd imagine, a tracker is still cheaper than paying the early repayment charge! But that's assuming I can find a job and we do move. With everything else rising I'm not 100% comfortable with going on a tracker mortgage though but then I don't want to pay an ERC. So I need to have a think! My mortgage guy has also recommended I go for a no product fee mortgage with a higher rate, so £30-£40 a month more compared to adding a fee to the loan or paying it off beforehand. Has anyone else been in a similar situation when they were thinking of moving soon, was a tracker mortgage worth it for you?

Another update... Protyre have decided not to carry on using the WIM name and it's branding. They have now taken over the Black boots website, although there are a couple of mentions of WIM this is a mistake as the content was copied over from the other website! So the centre will be known as Blackboots - Team Protyre. When the new signage goes up it will be in the Protyre branding. Joe, who is the last link to Tony and was trained by him is running the geometry side of things and has been given free reign. He has told me he will be running things how Tony wanted them done for as long as he can and is available to give any advice. I have his personal email address if anyone should want it but I won't post it on here so he doesn't get spammed!

It's coming to the point where the forum license needs renewing in a couple of weeks. We can still use the forum without the license but it means I can no longer apply updates, especially security ones or contact the help desk for any issues I can't sort, which has been very few. The license costs $55 for 6 months so about £94 a year. The hosting is also up for renewal in a month's time, the cheapest price for that is £40 a year. I am also trying to get the domain name transferred to me as Tony let the owners of Blackboots handle the renewal so I don't have an access to it ATM. That's only a tenner though. If I can't get it then I would need to transfer the forum to a new domain name. The donations (which have dwindled to hardly anything) covered some of the cost and Tony used to pay the rest but I obviously don't want to pay all of this myself. So I'm after your thoughts. Do you want to keep the forum, are you willing to contribute to the financial costs of running it or shall we let it go with Tony? It's just going to be shame to let 15 years of his work go to waste and all of the information he has built up over the years.

Looks great Adam 🙂 Here's some from Norfolk! Did some walks a long the beach. The in-laws dog enjoyed it too! Erosion is very bad now, this is the Marrams Road and there is more or less no dune left, just a drop down to the beach. I remember 20 years a go these dunes were 30ft high at least. This gate was the start of someone's driveway to their chalet! Plenty of food and drink by the broads, think I overdid it though! 😄 A night at the banger racing. Went to the animal park, the red pandas usually hide so was nice to see them out. A strange chimney stack. I'm assuming the design is just for decoration. Can't beat a Norfolk sky 😀

If you go to account > my attachments you can check the ones you don't want and delete 👍

Having grew up near the sea I've always struggled with living closer to London. Although we have the canal and rivers they're not the same with the number of people who visit them. I will be glad to move. Even if it's not close to the sea, somewhere near the Norfolk Broads will do me. Temperature has been 16-17 degrees but as Norfolk has its own micro climate it feels much warmer! Not rained once which is unusual for April. I do like early morning walks but by the time we're all ready it's more like a late morning one! 😂 I've not been but my FIL did a few weeks work over there before Covid and really liked it. Are you on holiday? Non gold members get 10mb of free upload space. It looks like you've used 99% of yours hence only having 32kb left. You should be able to delete some to free up space.

Looks nice and isolated Geoff 🙂 It can be like that in Norfolk, walk for ages without seeing anyone. I've just taken this on our morning walk. You can see what the erosion has done to the dunes too, right up to the road now!

The ST24 is the MK2 and I'm fairly certain it uses a different sized anti roll bar. Do they still make parts for the MK2, can't be many about now! 😀 I have the front wing from mine behind the shed 😂

Seems strange, maybe the ARB has been replaced in the past for the larger ST220 one. You may need to buy both sizes and return whatever doesn't fit. Have you asked or looked on the talk ford forum?

Tony is WIM, no one comes close to him IMO. Joe is a top guy and I think the only one left that was trained by Tony. I have nothing against him and unfortunately he's probably caught in the middle. It's the treatment Tony received from the company that I have a problem with. The WIM signage had already been changed before the company swapped hands, an attempt I feel to push Tony out. Then when it was sold Tony wasn't moved over to Protyre, so he effectively got the sack. Yet Protyre are still trading under the WIM branding (no new signage has gone up) and Tony's reputation. Even reviews for Protyre say that they've been using them for years, it's the best place to go etc, even though they've only owned it for 2 months! This just doesn't sit right with me and was appualing treatment towards Tony in the final weeks of his life. He was hoping WIM would continue once he had gone but others decided to wipe out 15 years of his hard work 😠

Yes Joe is still doing the geo's there under Protyre.

No problem, align my car is a good place to start. https://alignmycar.co.uk/ AMD Tuning aren't far from you. I've no idea what they're like for geometry but they've competed in the BTCC so should know their stuff!

This thread might help you 🙂

Hi Adi, welcome to the forum. That was Tony all over, he would always help if he could. He didn't have a selfish bone in his body. I'm glad you experienced that even if it was over the phone and not in person. He had worked hard for years building up his reputation as a geometry god and as you saw he is well known on many car forums. I don't know the magic IS200 numbers but I am sure they're somewhere or someone has them. Have you tried LOC? Tony didn't keep them a secret as he wanted everyone who owned the car to make sure they got the best handling and tyre wear they could, whether that be via WIM or another garage using his data.

It was, I loved it! I went to quite a few meets. The MX5 one before the centre had even opened was rammed with cars.

I was in kwikfit the other day and was watching the guy doing a geometry on what looked like a hunter machine, it was kwikfit branded. He was just following the prompts on the screen and making everything green, which is what the majority of these places do. It's going to be difficult finding somewhere that is as good as WIM and Tony. I miss the old days of car meets at WIM, they were always a good turnout.

I only found out about this yesterday and I have been debating whether to post about it. But I have decided I will as I don't want Tony's good name to be tarnished. It seems the owners of Blackboots sold the company to Protyre at the end of January. At the moment they are including the name Blackboots but I suspect this will change in time. They are covering everything from tyres to geometry. So if you go to the centre or book your car in for a geometry please be aware that you will no longer be dealing with WIM and Tony's excellent reputation. I don't know if any of the staff have been kept but I would hate for anyone to go there expecting the WIM treatment and be disappointed. So it's looking like it is the end of an era sadly. As for the forum, it will be staying for the meantime but I can't say for how long 😔

I've done a few tankfuls of Costco super unleaded now and still not seen an increase in mpg. I'm consistently getting 19mpg. It's still cheaper than anywhere else which is the only reason I'm still using it.