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Post by valhalla on Mar 28, 2024 23:29:15 GMT 1
A little bit about my (new) Volvo that I have just collected;
The reason I trailered this back was that it has no paperwork. Originally, I was going to train or plane down to West Sussex, and drive it back via a few friends and relatives - make a holiday of it. However, as the time approached in late-February, it became increasingly obvious that this was not going to be possible, and also the trailer-option was the least stressful.
Long story short, which I have been able to establish over the preceding few weeks to this collection, is that the V5C has never been issued to the owner I have just bought this off. He has changed address once in that time as well, but has continued to re-tax it each time on the "New Keeper's Slip" from the back of the original V5C it would have had when he bought it.
It came from a small-time dealer, and it would appear that this "Likely-Lad" has held my vendor to ransom over a Facebook Marketplace review; until my vendor had done this, the dealer was not prepared to send the V5C off - despite being reminded over the 'phone several times. I have verified this, using the online systems available to us in the trade, and the date on the green New Keeper's Slip agrees with the date for last change-of-details for DVLA. That is, either the dealer did not send the paperwork off around the end 2021, or it was lost-in-post before it got to DVLA in Swansea. I think we can all guess which one it was!
Sooooo..... I have submitted a V62 and V890 (SORN) application on this car, and await the outcome. It made sense to just do this from my end, as the number of changes now numbers x3. As I know that the vendor is honest and legitimate (he used to live with me) and we have been able to put-together a Bill of Sale between ourselves, I'm happy that this is no more dodgy after the original dealer's sale.
Several things could have gone badly wrong for my vendor, as the paperwork has just not been in-place for him.......and I suspect that there might be a fair-few tickets on this one for various reasons (not down to poor driving, just lack of attention on MoT-status, and hence RFL-status for last several months - longer story that needs its own telling some other time). Frankly, I'm hoping that the original dealer-vendor has got the lot on his doormat, as he deserves everything coming to him. A failure to submit the change-of-details in a timely manner should warrant a big fine on its own. I have ensured that my vendor is covered in all of our correspondence, as he is an innocent, if somewhat absent-minded, party in this.
I will just have to wait this one out, but there's plenty to do in the meantime to the car itself.
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Post by valhalla on Mar 31, 2024 1:57:11 GMT 1
I cannae believe it, but good-on the old DVLA. The paperwork has come through, almost to the fortnight it went. Not bad, considering.......
Of course, this all nicely times to Monday, when we start a new month, so I should be able to assess the car properly on the roads for the first time with a fresh dollop of road fund license.
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remmington
Apprentice
Owns Spark Eroder
Posts: 4,971
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Post by remmington on Mar 31, 2024 8:11:29 GMT 1
I cannae believe it, but good-on the old DVLA. The paperwork has come through, almost to the fortnight it went. Not bad, considering....... Of course, this all nicely times to Monday, when we start a new month, so I should be able to assess the car properly on the roads for the first time with a fresh dollop of road fund license.
Have you not got a set of trade plates for roadtesting customer and your own motors?
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Post by Roverman on Mar 31, 2024 9:32:48 GMT 1
I have just bought back a Rover 75 from a dealer I sold it to two years ago, I was temporary without wheels, although the car is twenty years old its only done 47,000 miles I know the car inside out I had previously owned it for five years, never failed a mot and in excellent condition, when buying the car the dealer gave me back the log book I had given him, the car had not done one mile since I delivered it to him, it had never be registered to him it was as if he had never owned the car ? can not see me ever selling the car again should have never sold it in the first place I love my Rovers
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Post by rhyds on Mar 31, 2024 10:23:01 GMT 1
I cannae believe it, but good-on the old DVLA. The paperwork has come through, almost to the fortnight it went. Not bad, considering....... Of course, this all nicely times to Monday, when we start a new month, so I should be able to assess the car properly on the roads for the first time with a fresh dollop of road fund license.
I do have to admire the DVLA for being a heck of a lot better than they used to be when it comes to response times and the ability to do stuff online. The only gripe is that for some unknown reason you can't do an ownership transfer after 7pm or before 7am. I can only assume the web servers have a very good union
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Post by valhalla on Mar 31, 2024 22:09:05 GMT 1
I cannae believe it, but good-on the old DVLA. The paperwork has come through, almost to the fortnight it went. Not bad, considering....... Of course, this all nicely times to Monday, when we start a new month, so I should be able to assess the car properly on the roads for the first time with a fresh dollop of road fund license.
Have you not got a set of trade plates for roadtesting customer and your own motors? No - I have never been able to justify a set.....
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remmington
Apprentice
Owns Spark Eroder
Posts: 4,971
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Post by remmington on Apr 1, 2024 8:05:04 GMT 1
Have you not got a set of trade plates for roadtesting customer and your own motors? No - I have never been able to justify a set..... I seem to spend allot of my evenings of late now - roadtesting Euro6 - Adblue/DPF diesel cars after repair or resets. Normal route is King's Lynn to Fakenham - 23miles either way. Total of an hour's running - fuel station at this end of the A148 - fuel station at Fakenham end of A148 at Morrisons. Sometimes I do some food shopping in Morrrisons half way - so not a wasted trip. Route has some hills - so I can get in lower gear and give cars/vans some load.
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Post by valhalla on Apr 1, 2024 22:44:08 GMT 1
I gave the Volvo its first run today - business trip to pick-up some newspapers.
Although it was a short run, it was enough to generate a list of "to-do" jobs that went off the bottom of the page, but nothing too drastic, all very easy. Overall, it runs and drives superbly, far better than the first-gen V70's I have. Fuel consumption over 8miles (difficult to be precise at this stage) whilst hot-engine seems to be circa 32mpg, and that is uphill and over-running on "L" in the gearbox on the way back down again. So not too bad....
As part of my job-list-creation process, I then gave it a double-warm-wash-with-shampoo session, and counted all the bits that fell off, or leaked. It's standard operating procedure on Skye to throw lots of water at a car when it is first-bought, as it's better to find-out in sunshine that the doors/tailgate/plenums etc. etc. leak like sieves. This one doesn't leak a drop, so all is well.
I'm already ticking some of the jobs off the list, as Mrs. V. managed to completely remove the rear, nearside door exterior trim before she had even set-foot in the car. What happened was that I had forgotten to take the Duck Tape off the bottom of the door from the trip homewards on the trailer (I was worried about part of the trims down that side coming loose) and she attempted, quite destructively, to open the front passenger door........ Fortunately it is an easy fix, and the bits are glue-setting in the workshop overnight before they go on in the morning.
Only engine fault (I knew it had a MIL illuminated before I bought it) seems to be a temporary EVAP valve fault, and I suspect that might have more to do with a slightly old fuel-filler cap than anything else, so the code has been cleared; I'll see what comes back.
It does look like the A/C is not going to work, as there's a couple of faults on the pressure-switch plausibility, but that isn't a problem in this neck of the woods !!
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Post by rhyds on Apr 2, 2024 16:22:46 GMT 1
Glad to hear the car seems a viable project!
As for A/C, its definitely a feature I'll not want to give up again. Even in the cold and wet weather of North Wales its great for keeping windows demisted
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Post by valhalla on Apr 2, 2024 20:59:20 GMT 1
Glad to hear the car seems a viable project! As for A/C, its definitely a feature I'll not want to give up again. Even in the cold and wet weather of North Wales its great for keeping windows demisted I'll have to see how important the dehumidifying needs to be; the car seems to be very dry, and very watertight, so I'm thinking it shouldn't get itself too badly steamed-up. Not wanting to point the finger of accusation too closely, but if I could get another of my vehicles, one with a green oval badge 'o doom on the grille, this watertight, it (also) would not be likely to steam-up.
One thing I learned years back was the importance of having a decent glass-cleaner on the interior of the windscreen; this seems to be the biggest determinant to misting. The fact that mist will appear when the car is parked-up, A/C or not, is a big determinant in how long it takes to get driving again once you start it. Hence I don't eat greasy food in the cars....
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remmington
Apprentice
Owns Spark Eroder
Posts: 4,971
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Post by remmington on Apr 4, 2024 7:13:31 GMT 1
Glad to hear the car seems a viable project! As for A/C, its definitely a feature I'll not want to give up again. Even in the cold and wet weather of North Wales its great for keeping windows demisted I'll have to see how important the dehumidifying needs to be; the car seems to be very dry, and very watertight, so I'm thinking it shouldn't get itself too badly steamed-up. Not wanting to point the finger of accusation too closely, but if I could get another of my vehicles, one with a green oval badge 'o doom on the grille, this watertight, it (also) would not be likely to steam-up.
One thing I learned years back was the importance of having a decent glass-cleaner on the interior of the windscreen; this seems to be the biggest determinant to misting. The fact that mist will appear when the car is parked-up, A/C or not, is a big determinant in how long it takes to get driving again once you start it. Hence I don't eat greasy food in the cars.... Never touch the inside of the windscreen with your hands. I would agree with the above - but I smoke and this causes the glass to mist...
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Post by valhalla on Apr 12, 2024 22:44:18 GMT 1
Loads of parts turning-up, but no workshop to fit them, and it's still a bit stormy (outside) to be fitting them on the spread....
Not least one pretty important job, and not one to put-off one little bit; the tailgate struts (up above the headlining) are weak, and the tailgate, never a light component on a Volvo, is liable to come-down and chop anything across the threshold in half - fingers, dogs, etc. etc.
So main priority is to get the tailgate safe - and easy job - and then schedule the ramps for some serious Service-work.
The new tyres have turned-up today, but the wheels on which to mount them are still somewhere between here and Germany. I suspect they are more in Germany than the UK, as there has been zero correspondence since I ordered them! The reason for new wheels and tyres is that the roads around here are just not conducive to running-around on 17inch alloys, and by some mathematical jiggery-pokery, I have realised that the 205/55 R16 standard size for this car actually gives the same rolling-radius as the 17inches that are on there (225/45 R17, off the top of my head) give-or-take a couple of millimetres - about 0.37% error. So going this route gives me 11mm more rubber to bounce before bending the rim, and the rim will now be steel, not alloy. They will look dreadful compared to the decent alloys on there, but life is too short to be admiring the profile of the car in its bus-stop reflection.......
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Post by Joepublic on Apr 13, 2024 8:40:37 GMT 1
Loads of parts turning-up, but no workshop to fit them, and it's still a bit stormy (outside) to be fitting them on the spread.... Not least one pretty important job, and not one to put-off one little bit; the tailgate struts (up above the headlining) are weak, and the tailgate, never a light component on a Volvo, is liable to come-down and chop anything across the threshold in half - fingers, dogs, etc. etc. So main priority is to get the tailgate safe - and easy job - and then schedule the ramps for some serious Service-work. The new tyres have turned-up today, but the wheels on which to mount them are still somewhere between here and Germany. I suspect they are more in Germany than the UK, as there has been zero correspondence since I ordered them! The reason for new wheels and tyres is that the roads around here are just not conducive to running-around on 17inch alloys, and by some mathematical jiggery-pokery, I have realised that the 205/55 R16 standard size for this car actually gives the same rolling-radius as the 17inches that are on there (225/45 R17, off the top of my head) give-or-take a couple of millimetres - about 0.37% error. So going this route gives me 11mm more rubber to bounce before bending the rim, and the rim will now be steel, not alloy. They will look dreadful compared to the decent alloys on there, but life is too short to be admiring the profile of the car in its bus-stop reflection....... My Audi A2 came with 17s with several makes of cheap tyres. I punctured one the first week, no spare and seized inflator in the boot, 7AM after a 12 hour night shift..... Refurbed and fitted 15s with Uniroyal Rainsport 5s, but rather than sticking to standard size I went up one sidewall profile, it transformed the little lightweight car. I'm a big fan of the Rainsports
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Post by valhalla on Apr 13, 2024 21:45:19 GMT 1
The current 17inch alloys are fitted with a variety of "budget" tyres - for that, please read as "Made in China". They are all in "adequate" condition, and don't seem to handle badly at all, certainly not in the dry, but pushing them to the extreme in bad weather (read "Normal Skye weather") might prove to be life-limiting. They are all certainly MoT-compliant, as the car has only just passed its annual test, but one got a mention for being a bit lacking in tread on an inboard edge - I agree with this point, yet I cannot fathom why it has done this, unless it has migrated from the front axle to the back axle (its current position), as the tyres on the front are rubbing at full-lock. This is a well-known problem, and source of much discussion amongst forums.....
I have chosen to go for Michelin CrossCountry2's all round. Not that I'm made of money, but they are supposed to work well on this platform, they have good all-round reviews in ice and snow, are favoured by Volvos in the Highlands, and also were on a bit of a deal through BlackCircles. I toyed with Avon's, and nearly pushed the button on those - they also have excellent reviews for All Season tyres - but £15 per corner extra got me the Michelins, and they are known to work. I cannot afford to buy twice, so I went for these.
The criteria for the tyres was that they needed to be good all-rounders, Summer and Winter, with compliance on the sidewalls enough to take the worst of the pothole misery, yet stiff enough to keep the vehicle in-line for the bends around here - we have a few. These CrossClimate2's are supposed to have extra material in the sidewalls to take a few knocks and bangs, and looking at them in-the-flesh, I think they are a fair compromise. If the roads were better, I'd stick with 17inch alloys......
The alloys themselves don't look too tatty from a distance and at a glance, but they are starting to show a few scabs. They suit the car well, and from a styling perspective, I cannot fault them. Where they let themselves down is that they are too open to the elements through the spokes, and that is never a good thing for brakes around here. The steels are much more covered-up, so what I lose in brake-cooling, I gain in disc-life, that's the theory anyway.
The alloys are also losing pressure on one side of the car. The rear offside loses around 2.5psi each week, the front offside around 1psi per week. As there's precious little air in these tyres in the first place, any leak at the beads and through the alloy is going to be a bad thing - I have scrapped cars for this sort of thing, where I couldn't get decent replacements (Rovers from the 1990's are bad for porosity on the alloys) in steel.
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Post by valhalla on Apr 18, 2024 22:42:29 GMT 1
My wheels are on the way! There is life in Germany after all !
It was also my birthday today, so workshop shut-down to "outside traffic", and I spent a happy few hours just pottering around my new toy. What this car has needed, for a while so it seems, is a really good service. Nothing especially bad has turned-up, but lots of "could do better, sooner" items. Cabin filter was choked with tree-debris, and was back-to-front. In the wrong place. Air filter much the same, but at least the last person had got that more-or-less correct. Unlike the fuel filter, which was the wrong type. Or the oil filter that, like the oil itself, was older than the ark.
I thought I had instilled a sense of "preventative maintenance" into my "lad" that had this for 2years before me. I was adrift of the mark there.....
Given all I have found with the "easy bits", I'm in no two minds about getting the timing belt changed on this, ASAP. I could be wrong, but I might be looking at a 20-year-old bit of belting when I get in there.....
Overall, this car has been caught just-in-time, and is in great shape, so I'm still pretty happy with the purchase. It's in far better condition than most of them out there right now .
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