scaniaman

Yep scrumpy totally agree, Marina, Allegro,Ital, Ambassador,Cortina all kept us poor underpaid mechanics in employment, meanwhile the Fiats rotted away gently in the sun and the lancias returned to iron oxide quicker than it`s 0 to 60 time. My old college lecturer used to say to all the apprentices, "They don`t make cars like they used to and I say thank f*** "! lol Paul

Perhaps you need to buy a breakdown truck with go faster stripes! Paul

Thought the Hadron collider would keep you all warm.

I feel a GOONS song coming on ying tong fiddle I foe.

Perhaps, it needs a benign dictator to ensure good governance?

Good fun innit, life would be so dull without the BA.

And the news is ? you tease you.

Oooh! whats the bike griff ? paul

Used to be a football referee,never had any mates don`t know why? Had my parentage doubted every week.

11m tradition.there are two tamaris have you seen them both? paul

PM have you looked at Le boats brokerage. There`s a connoisseur, tamaris (aquafibre?) and a westward for sale but its France. All 30k ish euros. Paul

Hi Robin, there appears to be a few BMW independent garages around Norwich area, STR , Herring&Palmer and M Kraft all do fixed price servicing.There also looks to be a well regarded garage in Bury st Edmunds called Warnes. may be worth a look it gets a mention in the Beemer user forums. Paul

Might be worth a look at thames boatyards see apollo duck again then click on marinas. Paul

Anything in apollo duck ,click on motorboats,scroll down to more brands then click on whatever takes your fancy. Paul

Is it a Zimmer frame? I see

But answer I will, your family members are most likely using petrol i`m talking about diesel only. this is not a car industry problem its a fuel industry problem which mainly affects high mileage vehicles IE vans & trucks. As a former road transport engineer I used to buy upwards of 50000 litres of fuel per week and in 2001 fuel quality fell off a cliff. Truck fuel pumps and injectors began failing because the sulphur had been removed from diesel.To counter this diesel fuel from most of the manufacturers had additives mixed in. Supermarkets however did not & still do not put them in, leaving cars which do higher mileages and older cars at risk.If you subscribe to the consumers association they have on more than one occasion warned about fuel quality. I fill up at Costco cash & carry which do have additives mixed in but still use lubrizol. Paul Has anybody noticed that Robin has yet again lit the blue touchpaper then gone to bed and left us debating. RASCAL by name RASCAL by nature methinks.

Hi Robin, first a question, given the age of the vehicle, does it still have a warranty in force and if not would it be better to use a BMW independent specialist. Second, most of the trade, including myself, use Brakes international for parts, if you look at their website that will give you a good indication of prices for your model. There are two premium makes of pads and discs, Mintex and Ferodo both will be as good as original equipment [OE] and a dam site cheaper. I use mintex because the pads are slightly softer, giving better brake performance but the wear of the pads is not quite as good. Times should be about half an hour ish for each corner. Watch other makes of pads there are loads of Indian and Chinese sourced out there. Fuel, don`t be mislead by fuel manufacturers claims that their rocket fuel gives better performance than others its not quite true. There are several reports that have been published that dispute the claims.The main benefit of most fuel manufacturers offerings is that they have a lubricant added which gives added lubrication to the internal mechanicals in diesel fuel systems. In 2001 the EU decided that sulphur should be removed from diesel this removed some of the lubrication and this caused several vehicle fuel systems to fail.The fuel manufacturers had to replace this with an additive to counter the problem. Supermarket fuel does not have the additive so lubricants ie redex should be used. I use lubrizol if I have to fill up in supermarkets. electrical, sorry I hit things with big ommers so am no use on lectrics. Paul ps can the right honorable member for Donny not do the brakes(use grease not grout)

It looks as though a rather large worm is turning. Have any of the individual authority submissions been published ? Should be an interesting few months. Thanks Peter. Paul

Why you no risten irreeate

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear Yorkshire roads pah! What about doing the Hardnott pass in the Lake District that`s a good driving test for any discerning X5 captain. Or even the mighty Tiger. Paul

Hi Andy, if you look at the top of the home page you will see a heading "handy information" click on that then look at the mooring tab it may be of some use. Paul.

Welcome aboard Andy, whatever you do DON`T watch the Captains blogs.If you do your wallet and dreams will be in meltdown. The Broad Ambition and Independence blogs are sure to cause you sleepless nights. You have been warned! Paul

Wow! A superb critique of the present situation, a clear view of the way forwards and no direct criticism of any individual. It could not have been stated more clearly and simply. Hats off to James, hope somebody is listening. As a forum/individually do we need to be offering any support to James, should he need it, in the form of funding,verbal or written offerings? Just a thought. Paul

Le boat have a brokerage maybe worth a look

My favourite sedan design has always been the Westward 38 from John Williams, often wrongly called the Westwood 38. It had a proper double bed and a good view when underway sadly, hard to find. paul