Filth

[Johnny C]

And I don't mean those kind gentlemen who give out free points for exceeding the posted limit.

The car got valeted at OPC WIlmslow on Tuesday night. As part of the general sales promotion sorry safety check they mentioned I needed new tyres all round as they were now <1.6mm (thought they might last another week but clearly not). So I tootled over to my local tyrefitter yesterday (£540 for Pirelli Zero Rosso all round, somewhat cheaper than the £800 quoted by Autonational Tyres&Autocare!).

As part of My Tyrefitter's service he asked did I want a free carwash, as it looked like it hadn't been done for a while. He was right; I'd done 100 miles since the OPC valet but it looks like someone's chucked buckets of salt and mud all over it, even the mirrors and windscreen are filthy.

Can anyone beat 100 miles bewteen valeting? M62/M6/M58 are the culprits

And if anyone knows somewhere I can redeem the points the kind policeman gave me last year I'd appreciate knowing what I would get for them (apart from an earful from the missus)

 

[Fred Hindle]

Collect another nine points and you can swap them for a free ban! [][]

Cheers,

 

[Johnny C]

I'd rather a set of wine glasses if that's an option

 

[Andy B Aces High]

Johnny C,

Good price for your tyres, are you on 17's or 18's ?

Andy B.

 

[Andy B Aces High]

Thats what I thought Maurice, but was not sure.

 

[Johnny C]

Well spotted Maurice, 17" is correct

Edited to add; the chap was talking to his supplier when I was in. He told him he makes £10/tyre on a fully abosrbed cost basis. His overheads won't be much, it's a tatty garage nowhere near a main road, and he only had one mechanic doing the tyres who looked like his brother so is probably working cash in hand for less than the minumum wage.

I've a card for Maccess car part wholesalers. I noticed that they do tyres now, next time I'm in I'll get a wholesale price on the Rossos.

 

[Johnny C]

If you've just bought it and won't be able to clean it that often (like me!) then have a look at a Zymol kit. You'll need to protect and feed the paint, these are older cars, and 'Halfords' type cleaning products don't do the paint any good. It means that when you do clean it it'll take a bit longer, but 6 good coats of wax throughout the spring/summer/autumn will protect the paintwork throughout the winter. You can't wax it in Winter because the temperature needs to be 16C or above for wax to bond to the paintwork.

Glad you're enjoying it; I've had several porkers over the last 11 years and there's still a smile on my face every time I get in (unless it's on the back of a recovery truck [:-])

 

[Chris_James]

I was lucky and won the 1st prize in the PCGB Xmas raffle which was a full car paint and interior clean from a company called Crystal Clean. I have just picked the car up and they have done a fantastic job. I have had the car from 6mths old (10yrs) (Midnight Blue) and the colour now looks completely different and all marks and swirls completely gone. They spent 9hrs on cleaning (not refurbishing) wheels, and also completely did the interior. They normally specialise on Ferrari and Mercedes and prepare cars to win concours events as that is what some of their customers want.
Having seen the difference this has made I would seriously consider this, and pay for it, as it really has transformed the whole car. I think there may be an article on this in one of the future mags, but if anyone wants some expert help restoring their paint I really recommend them- Crystal Clean, Richard Hutchings
www.crystalclean.ltd.uk 0800 180 4262