Rich
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Posts posted by Rich
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I filled the car up on Tuesday and went for a drive, then took it to work yesterday with no problems. This morning the battery light came on and I just knew the alternator belt had snapped. Pulled over and yep it was on the undertray so that's game over for this year! Luckily I had only just left home so went back for the other car.
The last couple of winters the pulley kept seizing so I think it's probably gone completely now. It's a sod to change cos of the location and one bolt always tends to snap, which is threaded in to the alternator itself. I'll park it up for winter now and do it next year. It also needs a specific alternator compared to the rest of the MX5s as it's not controlled by the ECU but regulates itself.
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Well I put some v power in the car, 24 litres costing £40. I got 95 miles from it which is about 18mpg!
I checked my invoices earlier to see when I gave it a full service with plugs etc, it was in 2014 at 100k miles. It's done 130k miles now.
The plugs should be replaced at 25k mile intervals, the auto gearbox oil at 50k miles or 4 years, so it's 7 years old. Then the air filter and oil. I'm going to order everything and get it done. The first coolant change was also due 5k miles a go so that should be ok. It has been losing it gradually for a few years so I just top it up.
The car has only done 5k miles in the last 5 years so I'm trying not to spend too much on it. Especially when it's only worth £500 now. It won't be long before the tax costs more than what it's worth!
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That's just bonkers! I've only put petrol in the Accord twice since the change and not even a full tank. I do 10 miles a day going to work and back so didn't notice any difference the first time but I did on Wednesday when I was literally watching the fuel guage drop like a stone!
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Would it really drop that much? That's not good in a 2.4L petrol! They are determined to get petrol and diesel cars off the road aren't they.
I've switched to Esso E0 in the MX5 but I doubt it's worth it for the Accord. The extra price paid for Supreme fuel won't give me that many more miles. Maybe I should try a tankful and see though.
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You know what, I can't remember if I actually cleaned the rear brakes up from my last post but they've been fine since!
Passed the MOT on Wednesday. Despite some battle scars on the bodywork he said the car mechanically is in great condition.
I did 155 miles, mainly at 50-70mph on motorways and dual carriageways. This only returned 23mpg, which is down a little. Usually it would do 26-27 on a trip like that. That cost me £40 with petrol now being £1.46 a litre! ☹️
The oil change is due, which I'll be doing in a couple of weeks and I'll replace the air filter. I've only done 2k miles in the last year. I changed the oil to 5w40 last year which has been ok but I'm now going to switch to 0w30. A 20L bottle is just under £70 delivered (with a code) and will do me for 4 years. 5L bottles are £26+, even more from places like ECP, so it'll leave me plenty for top ups too.
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I was taking the car off the road this weekend for winter but I have decided to do it at the end of November now.
Usually I leave the fuel tank empty but will fill it up this time. Do I need to use a stabiliser? These seem to be aimed at cars using E5/E10 fuel but now I've switched to Esso Supreme, which is actually E0 I'm wondering if I actually need it? It will be off the road for 4 or 5 months.
If I do is this one ok or are there better ones?
I didn't get around to looking at the front chassis rails so that will be a job for next year. But nothing is going to stop the rust unless it's cut out and new metal welded in!
The alloys are corroding more so I may get those refurbished over winter or have a go myself. But they're getting bad so may need a professional job done.
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That's what I was thinking so no need for brakes if you can't ride it 😁
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Could you even ride that, the seat looks too far away from the handles!
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Blast from the past! How are you Mark?
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It's America! Looks like the plate is hidden behind the pole. Wouldn't want to be in a rear end crash in that though! 😲
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It's called retro, lots of things from years a go are making a comeback, some under the guise of modern technology 🙂
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The truck is painted on the doors! 😉
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We have a landline, it costs no more to have it so might as well. It's good for emergencies and people who live in rural areas still need them cos of the crap mobile signals!
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5 minutes ago, Tony said:
Really.... So you don't need your mobil on it.
It's just a holder shaped like an old rotary dial phone.
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Very retro, I like that 😎
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It's going to be awesome when it's finished. Not cheap but will definitely be worth it 🙂
How do you insure you ICE, I assume separately from the car or with a modified specialist?
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That really doesn't surprise me! 😂
I'm struggling to understand how it happened in a lodge as you normally don't have locks on the bedrooms. Unless other people were staying in it too like a shared one?
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I went through my AA policy documents yesterday and came across the part for NCB. They accept up to 20 years, so if you're with a company who only give 9 years it's definitely worth chasing them up for a letter stating how many you actually have.
Yes the difference is only 5% between 9 and 20 years but that's better in my pocket than theirs! 🙂
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I emailed Hastings again, seems they didn't explain very well. They uploaded my letter of 15 years to their system, not my online account. Once my policy finishes I need to email again and they'll send me a letter stating I have 17 years.
I renewed the insurance last night with the AA. I'll never understand insurance systems but the cheapest comparison price with just roadside breakdown was £266.
Top cashback offer £45 so I did another quote directly and it was £288 without the breakdown cover!
Then I went through TCB to confused.com and did another new quote which was the same price of £266. They offer £35 cashback.
Clicked through to the AA and checked the details. They had my job title completely wrong so I changed that and the quote dropped to £230 with breakdown. I opted for recovery too which added another £15 but hopefully the cashback covers that. Although it's not tracked yet!
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Have you queried it? How many years did you say you have?
I emailed Hastings my letter of 15 years from 2 years a go. They replied saying they've uploaded proof of 15 years to my account, (they haven't!) and when my policy ends they'll upload another with 17 years. So hopefully they will and I won't have to chase them for it!
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37 minutes ago, SMARTLY said:
With regards to excess I take it you are talking about voluntary excess ?
With regards to NCB do some years the maximum some will use is 9 years, normally on getting a quote you can only select from a list an over 9 years is normally top of the list. If somebody has let you enter 16 years then that’s probably the exception to the rule. Do you have protected NCB on your policy ?
This year my renewal was £245 down from £263 and then £20 off for renewing online 😀
No compulsory excess. I always set voluntary to £0 as increasing it only reduces the premiums by a few quid. I'd rather pay that than risk paying hundreds in excess. Yes I always protect my NCB too.
The car is not even worth £1k so there's no way I'm chancing it with £500 excess. I may get £45 cashback with the AA too so if the quote is similar going directly to them it won't be too bad.
The AA allows you to type in the number of years NCB you have, so I entered 17. Tescos is also the same. There are a few other companies that accept more than 9 years.
Who are you with? I've not heard of anyone giving money off for renewing online 👍
8 minutes ago, SMARTLY said:Just checked my renewal after I had paid, ie insurance for next 12 months and it says NCB 16 years !!!
Is that right then?
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So it's that time of year again. Cancelled the Lexus insurance as the car is going and was on the phone for 30 minutes with Hastings going through everything only for them to give me an even higher quote than the renewal once the claim had been added.
The missus needs to be a named driver on my car although she hasn't driven it for 3 years. The claim for the CAT has increased my premium by £40+, but it's the excess that is shocking. It's gone from £0 to £250+ with the majority apart from the AA, which is £100. Ridiculous that even a named driver can have that much of an affect with a claim.
Before the claim I was going to go with Aviva for £215 and £0 excess. They now want £270 and £500 excess!! 😲
Back on the subject of NCB, Hastings have refused to do a letter stating the true number of years we have. I have 17 years but they will only state 9 or over. If I put 9 years in to the details the quote is £10 more expensive than with 17 years so it obviously makes a difference.
So what am I supposed to do to prove I have 17 years of NCB. What if I make a claim and they ask for proof. It's such a stupid system, wouldn't it be better if all insurance companies just honoured the same maximum amount of NCB.
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I've had my MX5 for 6 years and it's only ever had the Toyos on them. The previous owner had them fitted and I don't do a lot of mileage so they're not even half worn. They are super grippy in the dry thanks to the WIM fast road setup, but then most tyres should be. In the wet it's a different story!
I take the car off the road for winter but from next year I'll be doing more mileage in it and will replace them. As they're 15" rims tyres are fairly cheap, even for something like Michelin Pilot Sport.
Reading a few quick reviews on the T1R they're not any better than the TR1 I have. Is this the first set of Toyos you've had on the car?
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I have the TR1s on my MK2 and they are the worst tyre I've ever used in the wet. I try to avoid wet weather driving now as they're so bad. I've had a couple of scary moments with them. I'm replacing them asap.
If the T1R are based on those then I would seriously consider changing the tyres too. Being a light RWD sports car the more grippy the tyre the better IMO.
Rich's 1999 MX5 1.8i S
in Car Blogs
Posted
I've been doing that the last couple of years, there is probably corrosion between the pulley the mount. It's low down in the engine bay so gets all the crap off the road thrown at it. I'll see if the pulley is spinning when I get home but I don't think it will be!