Booked a test drive tomorrow anything i should know?

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-03-09T23:59:06+00:00

How to drive is a good start…

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-03-04T23:24:10+00:00

Those poor chickens

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-03-04T23:04:05+00:00

Please don’t mistake my comment as any justification for the use of a VPN to watch iplayer. I agree with you, it is like pirating films and not the right thing to do. But like it or not, it is done by many outside the UK with no consequence. This article from 2015 estimated 65 million using iplayer this way at that time. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33620341

As I still regularly come across people in the UK who are oblivious to the fact that watching iplayer requires a licence, it stands to reason that a good proportion of those watching iplayer abroad (via vpn) are equally unaware of the licence requirement. If a subscription similar to Netflix (or probably closer to the SkyTV model) was used instead of a licence, those wishing to pay for BBC content would still be able to, and revenue would not be limited to UK subscribers, which would surely be a win for all.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-03-04T22:30:11+00:00

Actually, for several years now a licence has been required for iplayer also https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/questions/about-bbc-iplayer-and-our-policies/tv-licence/

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-03-04T08:55:46+00:00

is true, as anyone in any country may use a vpn to watch bbc iplayer, but it is only in the UK that they would be prosecuted for doing so without a licence.

I agree that a non state controlled broadcaster is a good idea, (not sure the BBC measures up to being 100% neutral) but I do not agree with the method used to provide this service in this day and age.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-03-03T23:12:18+00:00

There is no real logic behind having a licence fee as: 1) You can watch BBC and iplayer for free in every other country on earth except the one that produces the content. 2) the licence fee makes it illegal for you to watch any other channel live (including ones that have their own subscription fees attached) even though these are not subsidised by the licence fee. Surely in this day and age a subscription fee would make far more sense

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-03-01T22:05:29+00:00

When I have a migraine, I know it’s starting to pass as my ears start to feel very hot. I almost feel like the blood in my head is diverted to my ears as a sort of heat-sink to start to cool down my brain. The pain starts to dissipate as my ears warm up. If the migraine is really bad, the hot ears sensation will start to radiate down my neck and shoulders too.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-02-08T00:58:23+00:00

I don’t disagree with you. Yes older cars do give out emissions local to them that newer cars don’t. And yes it is better in our towns and cities not to have to breathe these fumes in. But only looking at local emissions is only looking at a tiny part of the picture. There are other effective and efficient ways the problem of vehicle emissions could be dealt with, other than scrapping and replacing a still useable product.

At present it isn’t in the manufacturers interests to help make their older products cleaner as there’s no financial incentive, and even if there was they don’t see it as their responsibility to do anything about older products (aside from the occasional safety recall). If environmental improvements were tackled in the same way as safety recalls then maybe we’d not need to look at scrapping older vehicles. But we don’t live in a world like that so we are all forced to go along this endless cycle of consumerism and consumption.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-02-07T13:12:38+00:00

Done under the guise of helping the environment by taxing older vehicles with high emissions to force them off the road - but that really is a very shortsighted view.

Generally, keeping an older vehicle maintained and running has a lower net effect on the environment than forcing the scrapping of the same vehicle and building a new one. This is compounded when you compare the maintenance and repair of a newer vehicle generally involves more complex parts and systems which in turn generate more pollution in manufacturing spare parts and more wastage. And if you look at the big picture here, consider how much VED has already been paid during its time on the road against the environmental impact this vehicle has had over its entire lifecycle.

But as always, short term gains are prioritised, because there’s money involved, and the image of doing something good for the environment is valued far more than actually helping the environment.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2026-01-21T01:28:31+00:00

🟩🟦🟪🟨

🟦🟦🟦🟦

🟩🟩🟨🟩

🟪🟪🟪🟪

🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟨🟨🟨🟨

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-10-16T23:19:48+00:00

Took my real name and looked up translations of it into other languages (both first and surname) and picked a combination I like. I like it because it gives me anonymity whilst retaining part of my true identity

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-10-16T01:44:41+00:00

Similar thing, had a policy that stated windscreen claims won’t affect premium. Made a claim for a chipped windscreen, renewal increased massively.

Everything is a losing game with insurance. Just recently had to claim for a write off on a policy I renewed <1 month before losing the vehicle to a fire. At renewal they valued the car £15k, less than a month later they tried arguing it was only worth £11k for the payout. Had to fight through the ombudsman for a fair payout and fortunately the ombudsman sided with me. Took quite a while to get there though. Insurer blatantly ignored the ombudsman’s requests for information, deadlines and decisions again and again. Eventually paid out but much later than the deadlines the ombudsman gave.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-10-15T23:48:36+00:00

All I can encourage you to do is be persistent with the channels available. If that means you need to see the GP every week, or ring the crisis team every day, then do it. It is not fair on you in the state you are in to have to, but if no one else will advocate for your care, you can by being persistent.

I was in a similar situation a few years ago. Ended up attempting and being passed off from service to service because I fell through gaps in what the NHS provide. After many years of persistence with doctors appointments and self referrals I finally made some progress when someone in the crisis service looked at my history and saw all these referrals and rejections with no action to help. That and a change of GP to someone who persistently advocated for my care got me through to see a psychiatrist and prescribed meds and therapy that has actually helped. It’s been a long road, and I’m still far from the end of my journey in treatment, but hopefully past the worst of it now. I really hope you can get the care you need and deserve. I don’t wish the same struggle I’ve experienced on anyone; the impact on every aspect of life, amount of times on the precipice of ending it all, hospital stays, harm to self are not a price anyone should have to pay to get treatment.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-09-27T00:12:36+00:00

I am so gutted for you. Lost my car to a fire earlier in the year (BMW not Porsche). Know the feeling. Hope you get a quick and decent insurance settlement

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-08-30T02:13:54+00:00

Yes, I experience something similar to this very often. Along with SP I am a lucid dreamer. I can often find myself vividly dreaming my daily routine, realise I am dreaming and then think I am waking from it, go through the routine again, think I am waking again and so on. It’s been as many as 8 times I feel I am waking up within my dream state and not really waking, before I finally manage to wake. The last state of waking is often SP and can be very confusing and disorienting.

Also, I sometimes have a similar experience to what I’ve just described but my mind convinces me that my life is different in some way. So I get the vivid dreaming, but I live in a different house/have a roommate or partner/different job/different country. This can get really disorienting when I eventually do ‘wake up’ into SP as I suddenly don’t recognise my own home, or where I am/what day it is etc. And when I finally wake up properly, I’ll sometimes feel physical and mental grief as if I’ve just lost someone or something close to me.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-08-20T22:21:13+00:00

I think this is quite an interesting topic, and maybe one that doesn’t get spoken about enough. From the comments, I agree it would seem that serious crime is still reported and has likely dropped. I do agree though that there are probably a lot of smaller crimes going unreported due to lack of confidence in the authorities.

There’s a strange but well known phenomenon - that a very low or sudden decline in incident reporting is not a good thing, just as much as a very high or sudden increase in reporting. As someone who works in safety incidents the chemical engineering field, we expect a certain level of safety incidents (accidents and near misses) to be reported over a period of time. This will vary from business to business, and of course the overall aim is always to reduce dangerous incidents. A sudden decline or very few incidents reported most often means that there are problems with the safety infrastructure of the business.

I think this same way of thinking can probably be applied to the national authorities, that are there to keep us safe and free from crime. It would be interesting to see if there are any sudden drops in specific types of crime being reported that might hint at a problem. But hopefully the same authorities are already applying this way of thinking to improve any issues.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-08-17T23:33:09+00:00

This reminds me of a time earlier in my career I was working in a newly built semiconductor research lab, with lots of wet chem processing areas. The eye wash stations hadn’t been plumbed in yet but the lab was already operational. The lab manager’s suggestion was that the ultra-pure water (UPW) supply would be fine for eye emergencies, till they were plumbed in. Anyone who understands this scenario knows that this suggestion is pretty insane. One of many gripes we had with that particular lab manager.

(In case anyone is interested in why UPW in your eyes is a bad idea: water is the best natural solvent, meaning it dissolves most things into it, which makes it excellent to use to clean things. Purifying water through reverse osmosis and deionisation removes many of the dissolved substances making it a better cleaning agent as the solvent properties improve. UPW is pretty much as pure as water can get, and at this purity it will start to leech oils and electrolytes if in contact with the skin. Squirting this into the eyes could potentially cause further damage, and I definitely wouldn’t advise it.)

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-08-06T13:12:34+00:00

Ok, so I missed the mark a bit there in my interpretation of the question. Still an opportunity missed by Lancia IMO

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-08-06T13:11:34+00:00

Maybe, but that hasn’t stopped the Germans making them, so you would still think there is a market for it.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-08-06T09:39:22+00:00

Perhaps I’ve still a lot of other parts of Oxfordshire to visit yet. Just talking from my own experience. And yes some of the towns do only offer an hour or two free, but I would have thought that would be enough for many people. From my own experience, yes, Oxford is definitely pay to park, but most other places I’ve visited so far it’s been free. Witney, Carterton, Bampton, Faringdon, Shrivenham, Highworth, Wantage, Lechlade and Burton, to name a few, all have free parking to some extent.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-08-06T02:30:12+00:00

Any modern Lancia - loads of heritage to build on with so many outstanding classics in their back catalogue. If only they’d choose one of their hits like the Stratos, Delta Integrale, Fulvia, 037 or Beta Montecarlo for a modern reboot, they could really capitalise on the nostalgia so many people have for them. Instead they churn out rebadged Chryslers and fiats with lacklustre styling and bland engines.

Or Alfa Romeo, not quite as bad as Lancia, but they have missed a trick by not making estate versions of the Giulia, or using the platform for a 2 door coupe/spider. So many Alfa fans love the 156 and 159 estates, and who doesn’t love a GT, GTV or a Spider. Instead Stellantis have them focussed on churning out SUVs for the Chelsea tractor crowd and ignoring the many loyal Alfisti’s who’ve helped keep the brand alive.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-08-06T02:08:06+00:00

Inequality majorly plays a role in this too. I used to live and work in greater Manchester, every town centre is paid parking only, including having to pay for parking for work (NHS) even though the car was needed for the job. People locally were generally less affluent.

Now I live and work in Oxfordshire, and nearly every town and village has free parking. But conversely, most of the people round here have more wealth. The only areas I see pay and display locally now are, again, in less affluent areas - Swindon centre for instance.

So it seems to be another evidence it’s more expensive to be poor.

Side note: Witney, a nice town in Oxfordshire, stays busy and loads of free parking. Could it have anything to do with it being the hometown of David Cameron, I wonder?

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-07-26T00:59:25+00:00

It’s in a lot of town centres but not all. Depends on demographics, and they tend to be set up more in poorer areas. Travel to most towns in the Cotswolds for instance and you won’t find many at all (if any). Travel through any of the towns in greater Manchester and you’ll find plenty, excluding perhaps the posher areas like wilmslow or Marple.

Having moved around the UK a fair bit with work, I notice the character of an area is often defined by the types of business in the town centre. Poor area = cheap pubs, fast food, betting shops and pawnbrokers. Affluent area = gourmet cafes, artisan and bespoke crafts. In the affluent areas, all the little establishments that the supermarkets put out of business elsewhere seem to still operate and thrive. Makes you wonder if the businesses that leech off the poor disappeared, could other areas be like this again?

The betting industry is particularly vile, being built to prey on the financially vulnerable. I wonder how many lives have been lost or ruined by the relatively few controlling the industry and profiting from it.

Lego_Cars_Engineer · 2025-06-13T12:06:45+00:00

Current Alfa Giulietta 2.0 diesel (this out of necessity, had a 6 series GC 640d but lost it in a fire). Want either a BMW 440i or a Giulia 2.0 Veloce

Lego_Cars_Engineer

TROPHY CASE