What have you done to your car today?

It's possible it could have been a stone scrape off the motorway given the directionality and lack of dent - The physics checks out so I can't rule that out either, but yes annoying all the same :p

New lenses found too, do i go for a cheap pair at under £30 or Magneti Marelli ones which are £39 each.... The current pair were Depo ones that looked and felt like the original OEM ones and these lasted around 6 years or so.
 
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It is, and 99% of the time I do, either OEM or better than OEM. The only reason I got the depo ones was at the time I could not find the OEM ones in stock and these were ready. Comparing them side by side to my originals they looked/felt almost exactly the same so I thought nothing much more of it.

Thankfully I found the Magneti Marelli indicator lenses which are the OEM, on AutoDoc for £33 and £31 (funny how one side is cheaper than the other...). and some Quidco cashback on top :cool:
 
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Are the headlight lenses easy to swap out on the E46? I’m sure I read somewhere that it was a straightforward process but I’ve never looked into it.

Or is it a case of having to bake it to heat up the glue then resealing it?
 
I replaced both E46's lenses before, the M3 and the facelift 318Ci before that. Takes 30 mins tops tbh. Get the Bosch or Magneti Marelli replacements (they are both OEM), they should still be cheap enough and have the coatings to withstand stone dings etc as well as the filter to improve light passthrough. Make sure not to touch the inside of the new lenses with anything!

That reminds me actually, need to buy a pair of headlight housing weather straps as the rubber on mine has perished at the ends.
 
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Traded it in! 17 plate Seat Ibiza FR 1 litre for a 67 Plate Golf Estate 1.6 litre.

Sidegrade in terms of age, much more practical though as the Ibiza was too small..

My main issue now is I am going from petrol to diesel and I only do 4miles to work! Need to stretch it on the ol' M1 every week or so I guess.
 
Matty8787 said:
Traded it in! 17 plate Seat Ibiza FR 1 litre for a 67 Plate Golf Estate 1.6 litre.

Sidegrade in terms of age, much more practical though as the Ibiza was too small..

My main issue now is I am going from petrol to diesel and I only do 4miles to work! Need to stretch it on the ol' M1 every week or so I guess.
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why did you buy a diesel to do 4 miles :o
 
grudas said:
why did you buy a diesel to do 4 miles :o
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Cause I am a sucker for punishment! I do a 15 mile round trip on school runs and my dad lives circa 20 miles away so I am hoping those runs even it out haha.

Plus since going to petrol I have found the MPG on the things is **** poor. Got a good run to Cornwall coming up too in a few months and no way was I fitting paddle boards, cases and kids in the Seat.
 
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Matty8787 said:
Cause I am a sucker for punishment! I do a 15 mile round trip on school runs and my dad lives circa 20 miles away so I am hoping those runs even it out haha.

Plus since going to petrol I have found the MPG on the things is **** poor. Got a good run to Cornwall coming up too in a few months and no way was I fitting paddle boards, cases and kids in the Seat.
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well diesel is like 20p more expensive/litre now so your mpg may mean very little unless you do 15-20k miles a year where it evens out and actually becomes cheaper. I'd expect a modern 1.0 petrol to be ok on fuel..

I'm sure the golf will be fine but I'd much rather rock a small smooth-ish petrol for those 4 miles.
 
grudas said:
well diesel is like 20p more expensive/litre now so your mpg may mean very little unless you do 15-20k miles a year where it evens out and actually becomes cheaper. I'd expect a modern 1.0 petrol to be ok on fuel..

I'm sure the golf will be fine but I'd much rather rock a small smooth-ish petrol for those 4 miles.
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The petrol was terrible, I would fill up and in 3 miles it would have dropped 30 on the estimate.

Diesel and Petrol I believe are supposed to drop significantly during december but we will see.
 
Dropped the Fiesta in for a service.

Later got emailed with the health check report suggesting I need a new battery (£187), new indicator bulbs as the orange coating is peeling/failing (£35), and wiper blades (£47).
After politely declining, I ordered the bulbs and wipers from Eurocarparts for £36, and will buy a £67 Bosch battery when it actually fails :)
 
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JonRGV250 said:
£35 for a couple (?) of 581 bulbs :eek:
Did they wear a mask and a stripy top when they quoted that?
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Might as well have done :)

It's a garage I've used for a while, and historically have always done a good job, at reasonable prices, and normally can fit me in at relatively short notice.

Lately however seem to have started with the "easy money jobs" that they can likely pull on little old ladies and the like. I suspect probably a change in management at the top as it's got several branches, and probably looking to boost income due to falling car sales / still feeling the impact from covid etc.
 
This week's been ££££££, annual service time. The garage also took another look at my OSF brakes, as in under a year following new brakes, pads, fluid and caliper strip and clean I was getting really bad wheel shake under braking AND horrible squeal and pad rattle in the caliper.

Turns out an 'encounter' with a diagonal drop kerb, when I ran short of talent a few years ago, DID cause some damage. Though miraculously it only bent the wheel hub flange. However, it was enough to cause 2/3 mm of runout on the disc when rotating. Result: disc ruined, caused really bad pickup and gave all the classic symptoms of a 'warped disc' (of course we all know that's 99.9% of the time short-hand for pickup or drag issues).

So the annual service turned into a major service, plus one new wheel hub module, plus opportunistic replacement of failed illuminated door sill kickplates, and readjustment of exhaust on the hangers as it was a bit skewed and smacking against the heatshield at idle. YIKES that was expensive. :eek:

And next month? Two new front tyres (going to get PS5, currently using PS4 - anyone else running PS5 yet?) and an MOT. Thanks to Costco at least for being £20 cheaper per tyre than anywhere else.

Luckily the garage was able to swap the damaged hub unit for a good unit they coincidentally had, as they were using while proof-of-concepting a big brake kit for my model, so only paid labour for that. Still, over £600 later... Oof. I'm thinking of getting a "Parts Cannon Compliant" sticker made.
 
Update from my rear ender. My car's going in on the 21st for repair. Will have it back before Christmas. Boot needed, bumper and the bodywork pulled out.
All under insurance. That's a relief :)

EDIT
In other news, I also just received a speeding fine for going 5kph (3mph) over the limit. Guess the Dutch government need to balance the books for the end of the year and are a bit short :p
 
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BMW in for its EGR recall, all sorted in just over 3 hours.
Had a nice browse round the forecourt, couple of nice M4's in but both priced at over £42k+

Ferrari showroom was next door so it would have been rude not to have a quick look
 
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Armageus said:
Dropped the Fiesta in for a service.

Later got emailed with the health check report suggesting I need a new battery (£187), new indicator bulbs as the orange coating is peeling/failing (£35), and wiper blades (£47).
After politely declining, I ordered the bulbs and wipers from Eurocarparts for £36, and will buy a £67 Bosch battery when it actually fails :)
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Wipers and bulbs (pain in the bum but still) replaced this morning, and battery checked with multimeter (12.2V so not great but certainly not "Urgent Work Required!!!")
 
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