GMB

I remember taking my car to a main dealer and I had just topped up the washer bottle to the max. When I got the bill there were lots of boxes ticked ( work really done? - Who knows? ). On the bill was £2.95 for washer bottle windscreen cleaner fluid. I asked how they could fill it up when it was already full. They just knocked it off the bill. Gotcha!😙

Anyway enough of this girly " I've got a sports copulator" malarky. Have you seen this dramatic world shattering news in the Daily expressrag this morning. Forget Gaza, forget Iran, look at this headline today - it's absolutely terrifying. What an awful thing to do and with cheese as well! It does not say what sort of cheese it was but it was probably French. Angry driver throws cheese on neighbour's vehicle from balcony in epic parking row A road user has opened up on a dramatic parking battle between two neighbours which quickly escalated out of control.

Just jealous 'cos you ain't got a Kia C'eed 2010 nutter edition.🤤 Yes Kia c'eed3 SC nutter edition - this is the sports coupe model that Kia imported in June 2010. Only 3 were made and this is the only survivor as the others crashed and burned due to the well known enormous torque steer issue. There is a review in the japanese magazine - "Banzai up yours Tommy". It did the Fuji race circuit in 58 seconds on 3 wheels when one fell off at the first corner. Here's one below. ( A wheel coming off - I mean ) Kia c'eed racing nutter edition

We did NW UK to Portsmouth - Caen - Loire valley - S France - Catalunya - Zaragossa - Andorra -Logrono- Bilbao - Portsmouth - NW UK in a 2010 Kia Ceed. It never missed a beat despite being backed into a concrete column in an underground car park ( no damage to the car! ). Gave 55 mpg average and 130 kph on autoroutes. Over 2000 miles in 10 days. The damn thing is still going very well despite being thrashed daily by my son.

Used to be very reasonable price at Oddbins - no idea now, not seen any in the shops here recently

While you are down there see if you can find some of these -

Yes, Eagles and buzzards are quite partial to a bit of roadkill. I saw an eagle ( I think, because it had about a six foot plus wingspan ) trying to pull a dead deer apart at the side of a road in S France.

Found a good one this time!

Tonight I am drinking this and it gets the same score as the Ramon Bilbao product. I am expecting a more fruity flavour being a bit younger with less bottle age.

Looks like a Cobblathon type holiday. Glad you are enjoying it!😐 Hope you are OK after the dodgy wine. Ramón Bilbao 2004 Limited Edition Tempranillo (Rioja) "Good color and intriguing aromas of baked fruit, tobacco and mint indicate that you're getting some modern-styled ripeness along with traditional Rioja earth, spice and old man's library. The palate is juicy and mildy fruity, while the finish pushes chocolate, vanilla, baking spice and tannins". Drinkable now but will age for another five years without a problem. Unfortunately tasted in 2007 and the 5 yrs they refer to only goes to 2012 and may not be a crianza - so, best of luck with that one. Rioja, Northern Spain, Spain RATING 89 $20 WINERY Ramón Bilbao VARIETY Tempranillo REGION Northern Spain WINE TYPE Red ALCOHOL 13.5% BOTTLE SIZE 750 ml ISSUE DATE 9/1/2007

Let me help with a possible diagnostic/tasting note on this wine: Appearance: Brown Nose/Aroma: Dog's fart Taste: Mouldy cardboard and dead leaves Finish: Yeeeuurgh! Then again it could be marvellous?🫡

Please let us know if it was actually drinkable or what it tasted like.

I did a quick check with honest john and others and the answers varied, but the consensus of opinion is this: If the car was advertised as having sat nav then the sat nav should have all the components necessary to work properly i.e. it should have the correct SD card or disc, just as it should have a screen or any other component. So It's up to Arnold Turpin to supply one as described if that is the case. If it was not advertised as "with sat nav" then it is up to negotiation or finding your own replacement. Hope that helps🙄

Was it D/ck Turpin used cars Ltd ? There should be an SD card in there as standard. You can get one on ebay for 30/40 quid but buyer beware! Genuine Lexus - check the dealer but don't expect a bargain £80 - £160+ anyone?

Probably worth every penny you paid for it then.😏. I agree completely about unexpected survivors although the most likely is the unexpected disasters ( especially French wines ) of which I have experienced many. All you can do is taste it and see - and keep a bottle of something else in reserve just in case.😇

At risk of offending I can give you some background info. It's Ramon Bilbao - not a quality marque. It's a crianza - not a gran reserva which says that crianza wines are for drinking young and not really for keeping. So you are probably right, it will be well past its best. However, if it was kept properly it may still retain some of its character although it is more likely to be oxidised and taste more like sherry. Even a gran reserva is best drunk within 10 yrs, but some exceptional wines can change character and present interesting flavours, not necessarily nice ones. As someone once said " There are no good wines, just good bottles" Info from a good website- for boring mens club members only:- Crianza: The red wines in this classification are aged in oak for a minimum of one year, followed by a few months of aging in the bottle before release. The white wines spend only six months in an oak cask and age for an additional six months in the bottle before release. You’ll likely find plenty of Rioja Crianza bottles anywhere wine is sold, as it’s the most widely-distributed classification. Crianza has an excellent quality-to-price ratio; you’ll get some of the mature flavors of fine Rioja for less than $15 per bottle, on average. Like basic Rioja, however, Crianza isn’t considered an age-worthy wine. You can keep these wines in storage for up to five years, but it’s best to drink them young. Reserva: Producers are highly selective when they pick grapes for a reserva label. This classification is made from high-quality grapes during years when the growing season was favorable. Estates don’t produce a reserva label every year. In addition to selectivity, producers also have to age red Rioja reserva for at least one year in oak and two more years in the bottle. Similarly, reserva blanco must be aged for at least six months in oak and two years in the bottle. For this reason, these wines are potentially worth storing long-term. While not all Rioja reserva will age for decades, most of these wines drink well ten to 15 years after release. Aging reserva comes down to personal preference. If you enjoy fruit-forward, lively wines, try to drink your reserva immediately. If you prefer wines with a bit more complexity, or if the vintage tastes a little too closed-off, try keeping your reserva in storage for a longer period of time. Gran Reserva: This is the highest classification of Rioja and it has the greatest aging potential. Like reserva, gran reserva is made from only the most selective grape harvests. Producers are even more selective when they make gran reserva, however, choosing to label their wine with this classification only if the growing season was near-perfect. Red Rioja gran reserva must also spend a minimum of two years in oak and an additional three years in the bottle before it’s released on the market. Likewise, gran reserva blanco spends six months in oak barrels and an additional two years in the bottle. Estates like Contino, Marques de Murrieta, and Fernando Ramirez de Ganuza occasionally extend this aging process in order to bring out the best flavors in the wine. If you have a bottle of gran reserva in your cellar, treat it like royalty; these wines are exceptionally rare and are only released once every few years, on average. You’ll want to cellar the bottle for a minimum of ten years; however, most gran reserva drinks beautifully 20 or even 30 years after release.

It's obvious innit. Third party is always higher risk thus more expensive. After the first party you are at risk when driving, after the second party you are very much at risk but third party = downright dangerous. Simples.

I had a rattling noise when the fan was on. It turned out that a squirrel had stored some hazelnuts inside the fan housing. I put a wire mesh over the air inlet after removing the nuts. It took hours to get at the heater matrix behind the dash.

OMG what have you done with the dog? I hope this is not where it ended up.🤐

Sure you've not landed in Stephen's driveway in Preston?😚 BTW nicely composed photo with the focal point being the dog's backend😁 nicely balanced by the other mutt on the step.

OK more detail. The 200t reminds me of a car I once loved - a beautiful Audi 200Turbo -(XBA 666X was the number and was a bit of a devil). It has more performance than the Audi, RWD vs FWD, similar turbo lag, a bit less character i.e. more reliable and generally better behaviour. Main difference is that the Audi was more violent - spin the front wheels at 70mph on a wet motorway in kickdown to 2nd gear! 28mpg from the lexus and 14mpg from the Audi. The 200t is quirky, strange auto gearbox behaviour - never a dull moment, fast once it gets going past 40/50 mph. Basically a car which can surprise you with its qualities and its weird driving antics. Quiet, comfortable, no heavy batteries to spoil the excellent roadholding. I know most people don't like them but maybe that's another reason that I like it, a bit like an ugly child? Bottom line - the more I drive it - the more I like it and find it never fails to entertain. I test drove a 300h first and much preferred the 200t's eagerness and character ( 8 speed auto vs CVmushbox ) despite its quirkiness. It gives the impression that it was designed by a bunch of old hooligans rather than a japanese robot. Below is the 200t's Dad. I think I actually prefer the look of the Audi🙃

My thoughts exactly as seen in my previous posts on this page. I will either stick with the IS cars that I have or find an ICE non electric alternative elsewhere, if they will still exist in a few years time. I just hope the isF has another 10 yrs left in it, if so it will outlast me.😉

My twopennysworth - - Turkey is a nice place to go for a holiday but you would not want to live in such a place. They also buy Russian oil cheap and manufacture/export cheap dodgy products sometimes, also have a chequered history of dubious alliances. But, hey, who am I to judge? The people I have met there have been lovely friendly folk. Quote US news: E.U. diplomats believe Turkey is highly unlikely to join the E.U. anytime soon, if ever, saying the country’s standards on the rule of law and respect for human rights have worsened in recent years. Turkey’s hostile relations with its neighbors Greece and Cyprus, both E.U. members, are another major problem. While both countries are NATO members, Turkish officials, including Mr. Erdogan himself, frequently question their common borders and say Turkey is entitled to more territory, to Greece’s outrage. Interesting question to ponder - when Turkey invaded Cyprus and took half of it why did NATO and the EU not intervene at the time? Clue - think Greek political chaos, maybe. Google "Greek coup d'état and Turkish invasion" Turkey will not accept a one-state solution for Cyprus and a “little flare-up” on the divided island could spark a conflict similar to those in Gaza and Ukraine, the leader of the breakaway north has warned ahead of a meeting with the head of the UN. A mistake or misunderstanding such as the shooting of a Turkish soldier on the Green Line that divides the two sides would provoke “a bomb” between the two populations, who have been at loggerheads for decades, said Ersin Tatar.

Yep, and no danger of a short circuit. Well done🙂

Thanks, will bear that in mind if my charger goes kaput.🤔. It's been OK up to now luckily. ( 2 yrs old ).