Rear nearside tyre on SAAB flat yesterday evening. No visible damage. Tyre/wheel taken to local tyre shop this morning, they confirm there's nothing wrong with the tyre. Must be the rim. Ah, thinks I. I remember a bit of a crash in to a pot hole on a single track country lane the other day, got a bit close to the edge in avoiding oncoming traffic. Blast. Can't remember exactly when or where though, so no danger of claiming off the local authority.
Hopefully I won't need a new rim. Tyre place refitting tyre and testing currently, will hear soon. I'm driving to France tomorrow, 5am start. Gah. One could really go off cars.
Where does one purchase a replacement wheel at the drop of a hat? Of course, I'll never be able to find an exact matching alloy for my SAAB today, an ebay search reveals the nearest to be in Nottingham. So it'll have to be a brand new mismatching wheel, to use temporarily until I get back from France and have the time to locate and arrange delivery of a replacement.
Chuffing blinking blooming blasted goddam damnation.
I could take the Mazda tomorrow, but I've already purchased a European breakdown policy for the SAAB, the Mazda is smaller and it's far thirstier over long distances.
Phooey.
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 3 Jul 15 at 13:04
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>>Where does one purchase a replacement wheel at the drop of a hat?
www.a1groupcomp.co.uk/carspares/
Just by Sindlesham.
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Good call, cheers. I'd forgotten about them.
EDIT. Dunno where the extraneous 'a' came from in the Subject. Fat fingers I suppose. I am not Canadian. Nor Scouse.
Last edited by: Alanović on Fri 3 Jul 15 at 10:38
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>> Dunno where the extraneous 'a' came from in the Subject. Fat fingers I suppose.
Now corrected. Presumably you meant it to go before flat?
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>> >> Dunno where the extraneous 'a' came from in the Subject. Fat fingers I suppose.
>>
>> Now corrected. Presumably you meant it to go before flat?
>>
Only on one of them!
What about the others? Do they have to bear the ignominy of a grammatically incorrect heading?
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>> Do they have to bear the ignominy of a grammatically incorrect heading?
Yep.
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It seems unlikely that the rim has sprung a leak if there is no visible damage, though I suppose it could have cracked a la BMW, and not opened up enough to see.
A third possibility is the valve, and a fourth that somebody let it down.
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...and a fifth that something has disturbed the seal between rim and tyre bead without causing permanent damage. That happened last year to a front wheel on the S60; fixed in 15 minutes with a bit of white sealant by my local tyre shop.
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>>...and a fifth that something has disturbed the seal between rim and tyre bead without causing permanent damage.
Which would be the favourite, I should think.
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>> >>...and a fifth that something has disturbed the seal between rim and tyre bead without
>> causing permanent damage.
>>
>> Which would be the favourite, I should think.
>>
Maybe not damage to the wheel but beware hidden damage to the tyre?
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A resolution, one hopes. A second examination by another chappie has located a small puncture, which has been repaired and the tyre refitted. If I awake at 5am tomorrow to find a flat I will not be impressed.
Now the wife has just rung form home to tell me the freezer's packed up.
ARGH.
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If you were a believer in such things, you might think that Someone was trying to tell you something... :)
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Bad luck comes in threes....
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Off to Argos to get the cheapest freezer in the shop as an emergency measure. No doubt I'll be struck by lightning/blown up by the Oxfordshire Liberation Front on the way.
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>> If you were a believer in such things, you might think that Someone was trying
>> to tell you something... :)
>>
If they are, it's likely to be "don't buy crappy old cars, don't buy cheap second hand electricals off gumtree".
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Do shiny new cars not suffer tyre mishaps, then? FF will be pleased.
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Are you sure the freezer has died? We topped ours up on Wednesday, that and the hot weather put it into a tantrum with alarm buzzers and flashing red lights. A loan of our electric fan and a few hours to recover sorted it out. It alarmed at -11 and reached -10 for an hour or so but is now steady at -20.
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The food's showing signs of defrosting, we have no time to muck about as we're leaving tomorrow morning, 5am. Wife has run off to Argos for a cheapie, can't take the risk.
Thanks for the link NF but no time to mess about on this one. A hundred sheets for a cheap freezer, worth it on an emergency basis. I don't want to come home after two weeks to a freezer whose contents have evolved into intelligent beings, be it our old freezer or some 20-year old one from the WDH. Existing freezer was second hand of indeterminate age and getting rusty too.
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>> Wife has run off to Argos for a cheapie, can't take the risk.
I thought you had to then wait for them to deliver it as they don't keep any in the shop other than display models.
edit - should have checked before posting. They do keep a certain amount of white goods in store for immediate collection, but it varies between stores and items are limited. By the looks of it only a couple of small freezers are available "in house".
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 3 Jul 15 at 16:44
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Never mind, at least you got to see some decent football this week. Wont be getting much of that from the cottage.
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Indeed, Z. The Andorran goalkeepr was most impressive.
Onwards and upwards a the Cottage, no worries there. Lots happening on the transfer front.
Impressed with the crowd at Chateau Hammers last night, shame it's in the middle of a street scene reminiscent of Beirut, circa 1988. Hardly Bishops Park now is it.
Tatty bye, singing off to go and load up the new freezer and pack the car for the morning. Pip pip.
No third crisis has struck, yet................
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The superstitious amongst you can now ponder this: do these things happen in threes, and if so how soon after the third does another thing become the beginning of a new sequence of three?
On the drive to Folkestone I managed to nearly lose a bicycle from the roof of the car. I'd mounted them the night before leaving, and I'd managed to forget the straps which secure the bicycle wheels to the carrier on one of the bikes. The part of the carrier which clamps the bike frame held the bike in place as far as Ashford (Kent), then it let go. My saving grace was the fact that I'd locked the bikes with cable locks looped round the bike carriers, so it did not leave the car entirely, just crashed down and hung over the tailgate. Pulled over to the hard shoulder, inspected the situation and then realised my oversight from the night before. I pulled an elastic belt from a suitcase, secured the bike back on with that and bought some bungees at the tunnel to do the job properly.
The car remained, remarkably, unscathed and unscratched, as did the bike.
On we went and through the tunnel, aiming to get to an overnight stop in Lisieux, dodging the peage at a leisurely pace on N and D roads. However, number 4/number 1 of the next sequence of misfortunes struck soon after. A steep uphill gradient and the car's (auto) gearbox protested the effort near the top by banging harshly in to fourth and throwing a gearbox warning light on the dash. It would then not cycle down to first when coming to a stop, needing to be put in to Park and then back in to drive to get first. The box has since been making some juddery changes, mostly around 3rd gear, and some slippy feeling ones too. The warning light has gone out after about 10 journeys, but it feels very much like a steep hill will bring it back on and I think the box is goosed.
So. 2003 SAAB 9-5 2.2 TiD estate, 132k miles, could sell it for £1500 on a good day, needs what I expect will be a £1500 gearbox. I fear we're into Bromptonaut's recent dilemma re: the old Berlingo. Sell or fix.
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I wouldn't have bought the thing in the first place, and even if I did, I certainly wouldn't be tempting fate by taking it 'overseas'.
:}
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Well it did get there and back, Les Sables d'Olonne area for those in the know. A pretty decent hop from Calais.
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>> Well it did get there and back, Les Sables d'Olonne area for those in the
>> know. A pretty decent hop from Calais.
Done the entire coast from St Jeans de Monts (where lado's then GF copped off with the ice cream seller on the beach) down to Royan over quite a few family holidays. Lost my glasses in a mountainous sea at Saint-Palais-sur-Mer and Mrs Z had her hat stolen and eaten by a Giraffe at Zoo de la Palmyre.
Ah Happy days.
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>>
>> Ah Happy days.
>>
Wait. What sort of a hat?
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>> >> sewknotwrite.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/399931_2988558633578_2129886477_n.jpg?w=225&h=300
>> >>
>>
>> If she's not careful she'll end up with a chip on her shoulder.
You,ve got a right sauce.
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>> >>
>> >> Ah Happy days.
>> >>
>>
>> Wait. What sort of a hat?
A chewed one.
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And I bet you got nothing but stony Gallic indifference when you complained to the information desk.
"Monsieur, zere is nussing I can do."
"I don't like your attitude."
"Eet waz not my 'at 'e chewed, Monsieur. Eet waz yours."
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you lot wouldn't be so quick with the jokes if you had been there dealing with a stony faced mrs z.
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We've been to that zoo too. I remember the first time (2003) being a little alarmed at the platform that allowed visitors to get face to face with the giraffes - although I admit I was more concerned at what the visitors might offer the animals than at what the animals might take from the visitors.
My other memory of that first visit is the squeals of delight emitted by Beestling Major, then 2, at the performances by the sealions. I remind myself of that sometimes when confronted by a huge, sullen teenager. (How did that happen?)
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>> you lot wouldn't be so quick with the jokes if you had been there dealing
>> with a stony faced mrs z.
>>
Normally, in these incidents, you get the hat back about 24 hours later.
From the other end, of course. It may possibly be in need of a wash.
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>> Did you take the dog?
No. Left it with my Mother, Went to spain this year, left the dog with friends in the new forest.
As i said, having a dog doesn't stop you doing anything.
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St Jean de Monts is where we woz based as it goes. 4th year on the trot now. For those of us unable/unwilling to tolerate the Mediterranean sun, but do want moderate warmth and near guaranteed sunshine, it's unbeatable for family hols with children. Mine aren't old enough to be bringing GFs/BFs yet.
I was having the hump with the SAAB shortly after arriving, and I saw a nice looking 2004 Laguna Mk 2 estate winking at me at the local used car dealer's.........
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That's bad luck, Vić. But the gearbox is the last of the three because the bike wasn't a misfortune, it was a mistake and they're counted separately.
I'm sure you can start another thread on the fix-it-scrap-it question, but I hope you'll fix it. It may have that awful engine but it's still a Saab, and the world is a little poorer for each one of those it loses.
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Awful the engine may be, but a long drive on motorways is a reminder that it is best suited to a motorway drive. At 70mph it's no noisier than any other diesel I've ever been in, in fact it's quieter than the 1.9 PDs I had in Touran, Golf and Galaxy. And, even with 4 people, full boot of luggage and 4 bikes on the roof, I was getting nearly 600 miles out of a tank of fuel at an indicated 70.
It's a superbly comfortable and practical cruiser, and the rest of it is in stunning nick for its age and miles. Interior like new, bodywork barely marked, everything electric in working order, aircon ice cold.
It would be a shame to scrap the rest of the car, but it is going to be £1500 or so for a gearbox. Ulp. I do like the thought of a newer one, but they're all 1.9s and those have, damn and blast, cambelts. Twitch. Shudder.
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>> world is a little poorer for each one of those it loses.
Really no.
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>> So. 2003 SAAB 9-5 2.2 TiD estate, 132k miles, could sell it for £1500 on
>> a good day, needs what I expect will be a £1500 gearbox. I fear we're
>> into Bromptonaut's recent dilemma re: the old Berlingo. Sell or fix.
You'll not sell a 130k 12 year old SAAB with a knackered auto box so that should be your starting point. A new box will be about 1800 quid (been here with my lad a couple of years back)
So the question is do you spend 1800 quid on a car you know about (with an engine that is possibly sludging up) or do you chop it in for part ex on another motor.
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The sludging thing only applies to the petrol engine SAABs, pre-2004ish.
But your final question is, indeed, the pertinent one.
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Isn't Murphy's Law along the lines of the moment you pick up a stethoscope and start listening to your testicles that's when the doctor or surgeon walks in?
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Last time I had a puncture,it was on a Christmas Eve afternoon-try finding someone to repair it or even sell you a new tyre.
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>> Last time I had a puncture,it was on a Christmas Eve afternoon-try finding someone to
>> repair it or even sell you a new tyre.
>>
Well, if you had been in the pub, like everyone else then, you wouldn't have had a puncture on Christmas Eve afternoon.
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No,wife had got me dropping off presents to relations!
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Murphy's law, flat tyre a before travelling - No FM2R
