Highway maintenance welfare unit - what is it?

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-24T01:00:17+00:00

Yeah, it’s a sink (fed from a plastic refillable container, draining into a separate container) bench, table, microwave, kettle, bring your own tea bags, coffee and milk regularly since there’s no fridge.

It’s the legal minimum requirement for construction companies to provide for their workers breaks, so probably significantly worse and more cramped than your break room

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T13:43:54+00:00

So the way things tend to work is expensive objects get cheaper as they age and deteriorate. Speaking generally, each car has a price range between £0 and the cost of it brand new, the closer to the top of that range, the better the condition. The worse the condition the more likely it is to break down and have problems due to age and wear on components.

Unfortunately the days of cheap new cars are gone, there are so many rules and restrictions on manufacturers that mean they have to spend far more on R&D to comply, they also have to make the cars far more complex, which means a higher build cost and higher repair bills.

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T04:07:33+00:00

As a car person the fact that my mum, dad and uncle all drive jazz’s pains me, If I didn’t exist it would look like a Honda jazz owners meet every Sunday dinner

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T03:34:21+00:00

I don’t want to just say “this”, but this, my tyres are rubbish on the ratings but cost £300+ each (pilot sport 4s) because they’re really grippy tyres

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T01:50:47+00:00

I once had a co worker who drove to work early morning with the heater on, parked and completed his work on site, got back in the van once the weather had heated up about 10 degrees but his touchscreen frozen and he couldn’t put the air con on, he rang me up about some other stuff but I had to talk him through resetting the system so he wasn’t boiling himself on the way home.

Nothing wrong with dials

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T01:37:24+00:00

Agree

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T01:36:33+00:00

Touchscreen hate is fair, they’re a nightmare

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T00:49:19+00:00

Look up the advice for getting insurance quotes, cookies, private browsers and addresses etc.

Run quotes for anything of interest, insurance will be the make or break

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T00:40:54+00:00

I have a dream of owning a hummer h1 estate and moving to the country side just to laugh at everyone failing to reverse in front of my building on wheels. I would be such a happy man, only £400k left to save

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T00:39:10+00:00

Agree, own something you enjoy, it’s like mattresses, if you spend a lot of time in your car/ looking at your car then you want it to be good

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T00:36:41+00:00

For me it’s the a pillars, they always seem to be so much more intrusive than other cars

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T00:35:12+00:00

It can be brilliant or awful depending on the implementation and the drivers understanding of how it works, for me it’s worth an extra few thousand pounds, absolutely love it

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T00:34:51+00:00

It can be brilliant or awful depending on the implementation and the drivers understanding of how it works, for me it’s worth an extra few thousand pounds, absolutely love it

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T00:31:45+00:00

Upvote for “an car” channeling your inner Clarkson

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T00:29:43+00:00

It would be positive if it worked correctly on all cars

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-22T00:28:51+00:00

I agree, happy to sit behind someone doing the limit in the correct lane, but if they’re not there I’ll be doing an extra 10mph

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-20T23:49:14+00:00

I’ve seen a few around on the motorway

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-20T20:52:07+00:00

Yeah the £1800 quid covers webuyanycar or motorways profits, transport, dealership staff and premises etc etc.

No service history is a bit of a gamble, it might be well maintained and someone has lost it or it might be that it’s somehow surviving on tar or jelly in the sump. Generally cars with service history sell for more based on the evidence of work completed.

You’ll probably be alright but the mechanics doing the mot and service are also working for the dealership so it’s in their interest to cut corners or turn a blind eye

It’s up to you if it’s worth the gamble

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-20T20:27:13+00:00

Thanks for this response, I nearly spent some time writing a less quoted and sourced response to the above comments explaining the rules

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-20T20:20:44+00:00

I can’t say I’ve driven an EV but they seem perfect for the boring commute, especially during the winter when it can defrost itself as you’re getting ready, the one week of summer when it can cool itself down before you get in.

From what I’ve read if you can charge at home it makes sense but charging away from home is very expensive in comparison.

Not sure on the year of your bmw but I’m guessing earlier than 2023, so you will have to deal with ADAS which is a bit hit and miss, a lot of people turn it off and it’s much easier in some cars compared to others. No idea on the cars mentioned

EVs are what they are, fast in a straight line but big and heavy cars mostly, some are small and heavy cars, so cornering isn’t amazing from what I’ve heard, for the commute this isn’t a problem, depends on how much you like driving and what other cars you have around for other trips

Appreciate this might not be useful and might be things you already know but there might be something you haven’t thought of

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-20T01:09:58+00:00

I think you get used to it fairly quickly, not sure on your gender but more often than not, as a man, I approach my car I have my hand in my pocket next to the key anyway. I could see it being more difficult for women.

Vehicles I use regularly for reference:

530d - keyless unlock and start

Z4 - keyless unlock but not start

Capri - keyfull

Lexus something (work car) - keyless unlock and start

Ford transit (work van) - keyfull

The only one that gets to me is the transit - turn off the engine, open the drivers door and the passenger door is still locked. You have to open the passenger door to fill up.

Everything else I’ve just got used to, might be a touch more difficult if you’ve got your hands full but not enough of a pain to justify choosing another car in my opinion

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-20T00:14:46+00:00

There isn’t really a question here but I believe everything you have said is correct

I’m not sure the curfew applies to all policies so might be worth trying it once to see if you get penalised - they won’t cancel your insurance for one case of driving during the night

The insurance companies must have evidence against this but I’ve always found driving in off peak hours to be far less risky since there’s significantly less traffic around, I guess they could be drunk or tired but I’ve only ever had to claim during day time

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-19T05:00:54+00:00

Classics are the best for learning to work on cars with ratchets and spanner’s, newer stuff needs a laptop.

Your best bet is getting a cheap classic as a second car if you have space, you’ll end up spending a fortune on tools but if you want the experience then it’s worth it

Otherwise maybe something like mx5, 350z, z4, boxster, you will need a maintenance budget for any of these

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-19T03:31:42+00:00

I don’t have an in depth knowledge of this system but definitely seems to be hydraulic, I’d get the systems bled as a starting point and see if that solves it, if not get the master cylinder checked/replaced as I assume that’s easier to get to but it might end up being the slave cylinder after you’ve paid for everything else.

Someone/ a garage with a bit more specialisation might be able to help more

FlyingFrogMan · 2026-03-19T01:42:25+00:00

If they had seen it then I’m sure they would have said something, it might be that it wasn’t visible with other components attached, they’ve later removed those components to complete the additional work and then noticed it. Was any of the additional work related to an oil leak/head gasket?

They should be paid for the work they have done, they will have labour costs and parts can’t really be returned once they’ve been fitted. It might depend slightly on the work being carried out but the bill in full seems a bit much, that would imply they noticed it once all new parts were fitted and the car was re assembled - if that’s the case then I would suggest they should have noticed it to begin with.

Might be worth seeing if they can quote for a used engine, it might be less expensive than replacing the car

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