oldgregg

I do think the discounts are a big part of it. Why book a long way in advance (and pay full price) when you'll be able to able to pick something up for 30, 40 or even 50% discount nearer the time. It's incredibly short-term thinking, and the end result is the business sells nothing at full price, can't plan their resources, has boats sitting in the yard all season and doesn't have cash in the bank over the winter to pay the wages, build new boats etc. But of course they know best. And yet the biggest fleet doesn't do it and their fleet is often booked solid, particularly the newer stuff. I don't think it's rocket science, is it?

Yeah, it will have done. If you were coming from Germany, the Netherlands etc you'd wait and see what the impact is. It's the same we're seeing in reverse here in the UK and why Thomas Cook are on the brink again.

The trouble with cleaning is it's very subjective, so if the boat is cleaned to the same standard every week then there are no arguments. Yes I agree Brundall is an excellent place to be based. It's easier to get to, is quiet and peaceful and there are several pubs within easy cruising distance for your first night where you'd have to be unlucky not to find a mooring. Not to mention the fact that the Southern broads is quieter and more chilled generally.

There's also a newish outfit called HyperPixel who seem quite switched on. I've met them at some industry events and (more importantly) seen their work and been fairly impressed. At the lower end there is always WordPress.... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

NU Image seem to be popular. There's also Selesti, Further Digital, Soak and a few others I haven't mentioned. Example Marketing and Web Design are based in Dereham and I know one of the founders as they used to work for us. Avoid the ones that offer "PC repair, virus removal, IT support" etc and have a wonky website as 'Clueless' doesn't usually cover it adequately. I don't do private work, before anyone suggests it...

They've been discounting as well. You can get the fleet out but at what cost?

Yeah I guess I am forgetting that.

Well indeed.... But always nice to go down to the pretty side!

They are, but yes the Erne system seemed to have at least 50% German hirers when we were there. Those we spoke to said that they loved the peace and quiet and didn't know another waterway like it. You'd have to say they wouldn't be rushing to the northern Broads in high season if that's what they were after.

Quite right! This year my weeks are May and July. Equivalent hire cost would have been £2500. I will have spent a bit more in fuel than you, but covered a lot of miles.

This is the thing. They and other yards have done it to themselves. Some people do want to book last minute and get a deal, but a lot of people don't. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Well.... yeah building the road properly in the first place would have been preferable I don't understand why the Wroxham road one isn't as yes I've frequently seen it queued back towards Sprowston Manor. Being slightly selfish, it also takes longer to get from the city to the Broads than it used to. Cost would be the reason given, but it'll cost more in the long run having to put it right in 5 years.

I was thinking West Somerton. Haven't been down there for years!

They don't make the junctions safer per se, but if you've travelled the NDR frequently you'll have seen that the average speed is quite high. Part of the problem is that if people are doing 90 and then anchor on they're not going to have the stopping room and while ESP is good it's not magic. If they arrive at 70 then anchor on, they're going quite a bit slower and less likely to swap ends. Traffic lights would not be a bad idea at the Rocky road roundabout, for sure, and probably others.

We got caught out by the road closure and figured it must have been a bad one. Coming back at just before midnight I did notice that the roundabouts have triangular hazard signs, a big roundabout sign, countdown makers and then signage on the actual roundabout. I'm not sure that I really want people who can miss those to have a driving licence. Yes they're slightly offset but how much more warning do people want? I do think the only way the problem is going to be solved, though, is to stick average speed cameras on the whole length.

You'll need to complain I suspect. Hastings Direct (not actually 'direct' despite their advertising, they're just a broker) I remember having dealings with..... Probably best not to say too much more. There is generally a gap between retail and book value, though.

I've done some work in this area that I can't really talk about, and yes it is incredibly complicated. For the Broads, you could derive a forecast from the data but if it has rained hard all week and there's a strong onshore wind at Yarmouth then it'll be completely wrong. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but it's incredibly difficult.

Ours didn't even get recorded, somehow... They weren't the most competent of insurers (not mine, I claimed directly as a third party) so I'm glad they're not mine!

One of our current cars is a write-off, but wasn't when we bought it Some in an Audi pulled out into it and managed to hit the driver's door perfectly. It's a second car that's fairly old and having worked in the insurance industry I knew straight away they'd write it off. After the initial messing about where they assured me they were experts (well they tried to) and that it was repairable, they eventually conceded that yes it was a total loss. I got the car back plus pretty much retail value for it and bought a new door from the scrapyard and got it sprayed to match. That was two years ago and it's shown no other issues since. If I'd have let them keep the car, whoever bought it would have had a bargain...

Robin if you want a proper garage to sort your car out, give Nigel Farrow on Salhouse Road a look. Probably the only garage I know that will tell you that something doesn't need doing. Kwik Fit will sell you work all day long, particularly if it's near to the end of the month and they need to meet their targets...

Yeah I think it's quite a fine line so would prefer to own. Mine has a ding in the A pillar from where a sugar beet broke the screen and bounced off. I didn't notice it for ages and I can live with it really. On a lease car I'd need to sort that or get fined for it, on mine it's not a biggie. I think if you don't know about cars, leasing is better - If you have decent knowledge of what the potential issues are then I think owning works better as you can keep them until you think they need changing.

Mercedes were good until just before the marriage with Chrysler. That and the MK1 A Class were pretty obvious signs that all was not well in Stuttgart.. They started with cutting the costs on the steel bodies, and it went downhill from there. People didn't notice that to begin with of course, but over time realised that the newer models were not lasting as well as the brilliant stuff built in the 80's and early 90's. The MK1 A Class is probably the worst car they've ever made. We all remember that a journalist nearly flipped one, and so they had to go back to the drawing board and add lots of electronics to sort the stability. When you remember that the A class was already dramatically lowering the cost of entry to their range, this was a problem. The only way to avoid a loss on a car full of expensive electronics - And to recoup the costs of development and a delayed launch - was to cut corners. Honest John's guidance on the MK1 was hilarious - Simply "Because of the volume of problems, we recommend you do not buy one". Pretty much sums up the experience of everyone I know who had one.

I think all manufacturers have struggled over the last 20 years because of the increased costs of producing vehicles which comply with safety and emissions legislation. The german brands were stuggling to turn a profit in the early noughties and realised that they could cut costs under the bonnet because people would buy the cars anyway. Stick some fancy trim in the interior, give it some 'high quality plastics' to please the motoring journalists, a fancy stereo (but call it an infotainment system) perhaps with some apps and don't forget lots of talk of 'lifestyle' in the brochure. Stretch out the service intervals to something silly like 25,000 miles in order to please fleet managers and away you go. Should last 3 years / 60k miles on business lease and after that no-one really cares. The warranty companies and dealerships can deal with the fallout. The Golf V is one of the worst cars VW have ever made, but they sold masses of them. It got replaced before its time with a new model because Volkswagen wanted to share their hard work with us Okay, no actually they wanted to replace it with a model that they could produce without making a loss....

Oh I wouldn't disagree, just that the M47 was a bit of a monkey in BMW vehicles whereas the detuned version in the 75 did it some favours. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Indeed. With the exception of the 75, they were not good. That model is something of an oddity and borrows heavily from the BMW design studio as well as their parts bin; I mean why else does it have a transmission tunnel when it's front wheel drive. They also did it a massive favour by giving it the 2.0 BMW M47 diesel then deliberately detuning it so that it didn't compete with the 3 series - Less power but more reliability, as you'd expect.