Nigelw

Just spotted me a set of Insa special track wheels an tyres on an FB selling page for a hundred pound more than a brand new set

I know my main dealer parts guy (Marcel) by name, aparently he has a box of stuff for me when I'm passing next, must be the compass decals I was asking about a few months ago LR main dealers here are scary prices until you get to know the guy behind the desk, I get a 25% discount and if you are attentive with your billing he will even order on email My biggest problem is that everything has to be shipped up from Metz and takes time and even then has to be collected from dealershi(well for a 200Tdi Discovery), ebay etc,. Deliver to your door within 3days! I still don't quite get why second hand prices here are pretty much 80% of new part? Here is my best example of over pricing, second hand 24 spline open diff 150 euro, get three shipped from UK for 15 euro more inc shipping!!!

I got an ANWB(Dutch version of the AA) bill for 100E for roadside assistance when the exhaust flew off the pug, if I'd have needed towed off the motorway then add another 100E, this was middle of the day nice weather!

My god, seen this carp all over FB, too many people take it for granted that any private business must oblige them their services FOC "just because ############" (#= fill in your desired reasoning here). Private businesses are profit making organizations, emergency services are paid for by your taxes! Does this #### mean that when Dynarod come to back flush your drains from the silt post storm and a few days after water subsided you get it for free? Vehicles and equipment cost money, drivers wages comes from companies earnings, ok charitable exceptions can be made but WTF is wrong with people expecting private businesses to do charitable work for free. No doubt the company reimbursed based on the negative publicity, sorry but if it were me I would happily release a press statement telling them to f### off, I run a business not a charity and perhaps they should have thought before they left home, not left home, needed assistance then balked at the bill. WTF is wrong with people? will read second link above when a little bit more calm.

Love the concept but not my personal taste, in my OWN opinion better to build up body panels om à space frame,

Just home from Nissan dealership and I can take a leaf on 3yr lease guaranteed buy back for 189/month including insurance Not much money for a brand new car that I can charge at work and pretty much run around in for free. Teun has a Tesla P85, costs him roughly 10 euro driving here and back from his place, hid D4 consumes some 50 euro diesel for same journey! Then stick the road tax into the equation and the Tesla wins hands down as purchase prices are very similar! !!

My Irish registered Trooper had the seat belt mountings welded over and a steel boxed over rear footwell, at the time there it was once converted it couldn't be easily put back, at my last work place I stripped the rear seats out and put the wood floor in every year for the MOT, then swapped it back again, the heavy tints disguised your rear passengers, rarely got stopped as it was very clean and tidy and driven by a girl, the great art of tax avoidance!

There has been a great demise in the helpfulness of society in general, two weeks ago I winched out a brand new Ford Transit tipper that's a*** end had slid into the drainage ditch whilst being placed on the grass in front of the forecourt, driver error for sure but 10 mins later he was free, they thought they could pull him out with the Ranger but suddenly realized no tow rope meant no towing lol. I pulled in after passing and seeing them struggling, decided to winch it out as didn't fancy churning up the wet grass, rolled up to the curb, reeled out the hook, few mins of pulling him up and out, spool the cable back on and before I was back in the drivers seat the manager came with a big bottle of red wine and 20 euro as thanks. I will help almost anyone as long as they acknowledge liability and assume responsibility in front of others or as recorded on my phone, a great many would be helpers has come unstuck through court cases for damage, myself included!

Happily told by RDW (DVSAin UK) that tints are not enough Have to abide by the rules too as they scrutineer it too!

Voice of experience there so it will be off to the garage in next 2/3 weeks for the head to come off and go away and I will do the timing chest while I wait Oh deep joy, at least it is a fun thing to drive when I'm not spannering on it lol

There was an ebay shop where I saw an enormous selection at not silly prices, or VWP (vehicle wiring products), although when I want just one or two it's just as easy to nip to our local garden machinery man in town, he'll do them less tax too if you pays cash

Whilst pottering tonight I had the engine running and was watching around the HG and at the front edge beneath the thermostat housing I could actually see bubbling God knows what this might mean? Question is now, do the HG and hope for the best, get head off to be skimmed and do it right? The HG was done not so many thousands of Kilometers ago as attested by the sparkly head when we bought it, the rest of the engine looked pretty much like it'd done 300,000+kms. Oh well.....

A lot more than you might think! But that is more to point out that when they want, they will do, not just to show how many cars were put off the road, most were sold on into countries that don't suffer such high taxation on diesels, the rest of us tollerate it for now.

I found my first Land Rover(i dont count my early range rovers as they inspired no affinity) over here in NL, almost 10yrs after selling it on in Ipswich UK, fond memories, but the rose tinted glasses came off and I cancelled my 4000 euro bid.

Petrol @ the pump 148.9 euro cents per liter LPG @ the pump 64.5 euro cents per liter LPG is not so heavily used as a fuel of choice so pump price stays low but the tax is higher, if you payed the same price for LPG as petrol, with the lesser economy of petrol it fast falls out of favour, LPG lower fuel duty but higher tax burden, petrol has higher fuel duty but lower tax burden, swings and round abouts really. Does seem odd though as LPG was pushed as being the cleanest fuel source for private vehicles based on CO2 and NOX emissions, just goes to show that it is about making money and has f*** all to do with impacting the environment.

I vote Snags as our new PM. At last a voice of reason With NLs current vehicle taxation scheme I see the majority of vehicles being small petrol engined, the newer drive has seen increased volumes of hybrid electric, and these last years full electric cars ala Nissan Leaf, Tesla etc are really gaining popularity. older diesels are very rare!!! I recently helped a Finish lady import her 1.9 CDTi Opel Astra estate into NL, tax is 108 euro per month would be half that if petrol engined but the same less 3 or 4 euro if LPG Currently the West is using pollution and emissions of cars to raise taxes in order to head off and rape and pillage the East for resources, nothing new thete really, but there seems to be little thought to the extended future beyond 10yrs where there will be nowhere left to plunder, what becomes of our air quality and pollution levels when we become the third world and are cap in hand to the east where we have spent all of our money supporting and increasing growth in their heavy industry where they simply don't have the nanny state restrictions on emissions. Polititians are mere puppets of big industry, something allowed to happen more than 30yrs ago, all they can do now is dream up ways to make enough money to cover some but not all of the debts, in these times of scare mongering over climate change older diesels are an easy targeted revenue stream and the flip side pushes new car sales and progress in future technologies, but almost all of the flip side plusses aee in favour of Eastern industry not that of the West.

Sorry to say this Ralph, but welcome to the democratic, free market of capitalism, some will recognize the fact that Europe is starting to seem more communist than socialist in it's future policy and member states policing of the dreamt up new rules, sadly, none of it is geared towards saving the current or generating new growth of heavy industry. Sorry Mad Pete, you thought the same as hundreds of Dutch who owned a vehicle older than 25yrs but not 40yrs of age who got a letter on the door mat suddenly making their old timer that was tax exempt yesterday into a vehicle eligible to pay road tax.

Snagger, I already see V8 vehicles selling faster and for more money than a better conditioned diesel equivalent (Defenders excluded as they are stupid money for scrap donors let alone road worthy ones) seems money can't buy tadte Over here petrol is cheapest, if LPG is installed then it becomes same cost tax wise as diesel. LPG 50% of petrol NL and 35% in Belgium.

The Netherlands hates diesels 256 diesel surcharge in the quarterly bill This will be the way they do it, also we have LEZs too where diesels built before 2001 cannot enter, well unless you are a "classic" vehicle over 40yrs old. They can and will do what they want, just like when here in NL they reverted back to the 40yr "classic" (old timer) status from 25yrs, none of this " from this date xxxx" any future old timer status will be granted at 40yrs old" just a letter stating your vehicles build date and your next tax bill. No diesels will never be banned but the governments will find ways to exploit diesel vehicle owners pockets in the name of the environment. Those worst affected will not be those who can afford to buy new but those on lesser incomes where the majority of vehicles will be diesel engined as at that time diesel was the in fashion fuel of choice.

It is possible but you need to get the frames out of the donor vehicle and cut the pressed steel spot welded plate work out of the 200, can be done but reasonable amount of faff to do it, why?

Yes thats true Ed, but then it comes down to familliarity of you and your vehicle, I know my vehicle and have driven similar terrain many times, does that give me an advantage? Of course, but why would I try to drive another vehicle with potentially different suspension, CoG or tyres than my own in exactly the same way?

After the weekend outing with mixed bags of all marques and models, I came to this conclusion. The only thing that makes a difference is drivers. I sailed through everything in the Disco that other drivers were getting stuck in, not due to any type of inferiority, just because they had a different driving style and approach to the obsticals. Drivers make or break this discussion, I think?

Unless your daily drive is a eurobox then forget it, fog lights need to be below the fog to work, a Def bumper is a bit on the high side, other than low level lights you just get white out.

The subject of Jeep Wranglers came up tonight, over here the jeep is very dominant in the off road scene, the 4 of us were discussing merits of all 4x4s and me being green oval two of them jeepers and a zook jimny owner. Jimny, light weight and very commercial with tons of bolt ons and mods available and good quality budget parts. Land Rovers, heavy but becoming a neiche type vehicle due to cost of owning as pretty much the bulk are diesel, tons of bolt ons for all models but expensive. Wranglers, medium heavy but so popular with spares and bolt ons to suit every budget, bit more expensive than a jimny especially diesel but most here are either V8 or straight 6 petrol. the only concession made was that the Land Rover was good out of the box on a set of A/T tyres but even with same tyres the others would struggle. Prepping a vehicle adds costs, seemed like the Land Rover was most expensive to add traction aids to but relatively cheap for suspension, the others were cheap but an engineering excise going SOA then springs to suit if desired except the Jimny had cheap solutions or exotic answers but not being fully conversant in techy Dutch it went over my head Good banter though!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151885086115 Quite fancy this beastie!