What made you happy today?

[TdM]

I had access to a fairly empty and extremely slippery field today in the Evora. Traction control off... A huge amount of fun. Made me very happy indeed!

[Gjk]

New carpet set from @Steve V8 arrived today 😎

absolutly superb, can’t wait to fit the set. Top notch stitching on the piping and leather work. 👍

[bogle]

11 minutes ago, Gjk said:

New carpet set from @Steve V8 arrived today 😎

absolutly superb, can’t wait to fit the set. Top notch stitching on the piping and leather work. 👍

I need floor mats in Magnolia (cream/tan).  Any idea where I can find them in the USA?

[Gjk]

Bill, I’m sorry to say that I have absolutely no idea where you could try in the US.

How about getting them made in the UK and get them shipped-don’t use SJ Sportscars though, the colour will not match!

[Gjk]

Bill, your best bet might be contacting @Steve V8 here in the UK for your mat set if you have no joy finding someone in the US.

[Gjk]

Managed to fix a broken drivers seat. The base under the foam of the seat pan had torn away from its 3 rivets that held it to the frame. EBay came up trumps with some upholstery clips enabling me to reattach the base and leather to the frame. No more saggy bottom! 😎

[exeterjeep]

1 minute ago, Gjk said:

No more saggy bottom!

Nobody wants a saggy bottom.

[Gjk]

I just thought it was part and parcel of getting old…

[Kimbers]

Just stop Oil Protestors given 3 years and 2 years 7 months for climbing Dartford Bridge!

Absolutely bloody awesome! About time a judge put their foot down and said enough is enough!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-65263650?xtor=AL-73-[partner]-[BBC+England]-[headline]-[news]-[bizdev]-[isapi]&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_id=E04EED4E-E056-11ED-A435-A6C4ECABB293&at_medium=social&at_link_type=web_link&at_ptr_name=facebook_page&at_format=link&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_origin=BBC_News%3A_East_of_England&at_bbc_team=editorial&fbclid=IwAR1iJm1CWCHX3l1iD10jmGRc8N8tAxzEUq1vkqnzphpSx1hXDKN6Ijp0jxA

[C8RKH]

Maybe now these morons will see that their actions have consequences.

[Sparky]

3 years, eh?  Just Stop Lube.

[Chillidoggy]

With luck, they’ll both be banged up in the same cell as some other double-hard bastard that was caught up on the M25 at the time.

[Dave Eds]

I still think those two should have been glued where they were and left there as a deterrent, not as though trafffic moves fast across the bridge very often and it would have brought smiles to the faces of those drivers that have to suffer the delays day in day out.....😀 

[Painterdave]

With the risk of snow they probably should have run the gritter  past a couple of times 

[NAC63]

At least now they have a fixed address 😁

[Barrykearley]

A fantastic show Saturday night and nice stay in Redditch. Get home today and decide to go and buy a car for the youngest. 

Roadtrip to London in the Evora. 5 hour round trip, a tank of fuel she was absolutely fantastic there and back - only had to stop to swap the clutch once - well everyone knows how problematic they are 🤪

On the M40 I saw a blue Esprit - v8 I think and my first Yellow Emira in the wild. Both on the opposite carriageway - but not the hard shoulder.
 

One car procured - delivery chap arranged for later on in the week all ready for her 17th birthday next month

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

@Barrykearley Nice. I am in the same boat with my first born. What are you arranging for insurance? I haven’t looked into it yet. My wife has a similar 1.0 litre Beats Polo, which will have to be used. It’s the turbocharged model with 95bhp. I read somewhere that insurance companies think that every turbocharged car will crash as soon as a 17 year old switches the ignition on.

[bogle]

I agree - 17 year old and turbos are sometimes problematic especially if they are trying to impress someone.  I can't wait to see my first Emira in the wild here in the USA.  I have a long wait for that!

[Barrykearley]

7 hours ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

@Barrykearley Nice. I am in the same boat with my first born. What are you arranging for insurance? I haven’t looked into it yet. My wife has a similar 1.0 litre Beats Polo, which will have to be used. It’s the turbocharged model with 95bhp. I read somewhere that insurance companies think that every turbocharged car will crash as soon as a 17 year old switches the ignition on.

Use comparethemarket. They can do both provisional and full license policies.

it’s super easy to just change details in just a few clicks. 
 

80bhp polos about £1050 fully comp which this one is. 

95bhp polos which are TSi ones we’re about £1250 full comp.

just done and paid for the provisional policy with me as a named driver £228.

 

seriously I was trying to persuade her to have an UP GTI as they were only £1250 ish - I even gave her the option of a Fiat 595 arbarth since that was £1700….. but apparently this is a car for her not me 😂

 

 

[Kimbers]

Bought my daughter a couple of really good cars like a Seat Ibiza FR & a Polo and she sold them and bought crappy BMW's or Audi's. Thing is £5000 will get you a half decent Ibiza but the Audi A4 6 Cylinder Soft top she bought has 120,000 miles on it and its engine was pissing oil everywhere. £4000 repair bill she scrapped it. So I got her a Polo. A nice one as well from one of my dealers. She sold it and bought a BMW X3. Trouble is the Polo was nice for £3500 trade, but the X3 had 136,000 hard miles on it. Crappy Plastic replacement wing that was peeling, Alloys that were destroyed and tyres that were illegal. Oh yeah and the engine went pop in 3 months.

At that point I stopped buying her any cars and washed my hands of it all. 

Her and her Partner are totally brand orientated. And theres only 2 brands they want. BMW or Audi. Like all who buy those brands they know absolutely nothing about cars!

[bogle]

Not a fan of any BMW except the M1 (wedge shape of course).  As for Audi, I was thinking for a very brief time to get a TT RS (baby R8) but then my friend bought an actual R8 v10 Plus and TT RS idea went bye bye.  

I'm sorry Kimbers that your daughter's brand oriented blindness is costing so much money.  Most of what BMW and Audi produce are sedans/saloons which are just so boring.  It's sad that she didn't want to follow your advice and generosity for a safe and sensible vehicle.  The wife and I chose not to have kids and it's probably the only reason why I can own/drive an Esprit.  If I had kids, it would probably be struggle to own an Elise.

Life's too short to drive boring cars.

[Barrykearley]

Danny picked up a lovely Audi A2 today to flip. Just awaiting a new vac solenoid valve that has been causing the engine light on it to come now. 

[Colin P]

14 hours ago, Barrykearley said:

Use comparethemarket. They can do both provisional and full license policies.

it’s super easy to just change details in just a few clicks. 
 

80bhp polos about £1050 fully comp which this one is. 

95bhp polos which are TSi ones we’re about £1250 full comp.

just done and paid for the provisional policy with me as a named driver £228.

 

seriously I was trying to persuade her to have an UP GTI as they were only £1250 ish - I even gave her the option of a Fiat 595 arbarth since that was £1700….. but apparently this is a car for her not me 😂

 

 

Kids eh. My daughter turned down a late model Alfa Spider (cheaper to insure) instead insisting on a Fiat 500.....

We provide a car for our kids whilst they are in full time education on the basis that they either hand it back or buy it off us when they go out to work. The boys both handed them back - leaving me with having to dispose of them. I was thinking with the Alfa that I may have kept it. C'est la vie.

PS, what made me happy today..... the Alfa Giulia lasted a whole year (very nice car....) but the lure of missing a sportscar meant that it went today (Ouch! 12 month depreciation). New sportscar waiting PPF for collection on 17th May. Unfortunately the current Emira debacle means that the new car is "Lotus like" rather than a Lotus.

[Escape]

"Lotus like", so something like a Radford maybe? 😁

[Colin P]

Comfortable, usable Lotus. Low weight, modest power but a bit bigger than an Elige. Probably what the late Europa should have been. Stick a Lotus Badge on it and no-one would know any better.

Speaking to the dealers half the customer base are, or were Lotus owners. 

Think Norfolk "sur la mer"