Went up to Lincolnshire yesterday (Sunday) to a reunion of the firm I used to work for. Daughter and son-in-law went with me (son-in-law did all the driving ) We stopped for lunch at the Haycock Hotel, just off the A1 at Wansford, about 10 miles from Stamford. Very pleasant dining room. We all had roast beef and Yorkshire pud. The beef was cut into thick slices, almost like a steak! and cooked to perfection. Roast potato's and four veg. My daughter said it was the best Sunday roast she had ever had. We had one glass of wine each and because the meal was so big, we didn't have pudding, just coffee. I was paying the bill and when it came I thought they had made a mistake. I asked my daughter and son-in-law what they thought the bill was. Daughter said £80, son-n-law said £75. It was £48. I had forgotten about the difference between Berkshire prices and Lincolnshire prices! Really good day too, saw lots of old friends.
Advisory from last year was that the rear brakes are wearing thin.
They've been making a sound on and off recently so I expected them to need replacing.
Tyres also could do with a change, so I was thinking probably £2-300, maybe ?
They just rang me and told me a lightbulb needed doing and they cleaned the headlights and that's it
Advisory from last year was that the rear brakes are wearing thin.
They've been making a sound on and off recently so I expected them to need replacing.
Tyres also could do with a change, so I was thinking probably £2-300, maybe ?
They just rang me and told me a lightbulb needed doing and they cleaned the headlights and that's it
Ker-chingggggg !
I had a very similar situation last week. A couple of days before the MOT was due my better half told me a side-light was out. Next day I bought a pair of bulbs, got home and tried to change them. The problem was a plastic switch I needed to turn to get access to the lamp units had partly sheared of and I couldn't get any purchase. Anyway, I took it in to the garage the following morning fearing the worst for my old-ish and rather careworn car (the flywheel's on the way out, the drive belt's been bodged, the ganglesnoop's had half of it's gangle removed so doesn't snoop properly), and just as I was leaving the office I mentioned the side-light and that I'd left a couple of bulbs on the passenger's seat.
A couple of hours later I got a call to tell me it had flown through the MOT with just one advisory and they'd fitted the bulbs for free.
Result!
I do think I got lucky when I dropped in to book the test last week.
I met the owner whereas previously I'd only met the mechanic, who was a bit of a wide-boy type.
The owner was an older gentleman and we clicked straight away as he remembered the car from last year when I'd also got them to fix an electric window for me. We were chatting about marketing the business and my work - where he happens to know a couple of people - and so on, so I kinda laid the foundations for a long-lasting trust between us, which is good because my previous mechanic was one of my best mates but he's retired !
I do think I got lucky when I dropped in to book the test last week.
I met the owner whereas previously I'd only met the mechanic, who was a bit of a wide-boy type.
The owner was an older gentleman and we clicked straight away as he remembered the car from last year when I'd also got them to fix an electric window for me. We were chatting about marketing the business and my work - where he happens to know a couple of people - and so on, so I kinda laid the foundations for a long-lasting trust between us, which is good because my previous mechanic was one of my best mates but he's retired !
Like they say, it's not what you know ..
Government run MOTs here. NI Direct MOT and Vehicle testing Dept.
All at Amazon Books
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When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney
The Thrones Murders
Funny you should say that as I just found out the council does them here in Southampton.
Apparently you can get them done at their works garage and they're the minimum price, though they don't actually do any work so if you have something illegal (like your brakes are no longer roadworthy) you can't just go and pick it up and say you'll get them fixed elsewhere - you'd need to get it towed away.
rigger wrote:Funny you should say that as I just found out the council does them here in Southampton.
Apparently you can get them done at their works garage and they're the minimum price, though they don't actually do any work so if you have something illegal (like your brakes are no longer roadworthy) you can't just go and pick it up and say you'll get them fixed elsewhere - you'd need to get it towed away.
Bit of a risk !
Here you are covered to and from the test centre, you get a pass certificate or a sheet with faults found. You can take it away there and then. If you then need to take a car to have work done whilst it has no MOT then you can be done.
All at Amazon Books
The Funny Corner
When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney
The Thrones Murders
rigger wrote:Funny you should say that as I just found out the council does them here in Southampton.
Apparently you can get them done at their works garage and they're the minimum price, though they don't actually do any work so if you have something illegal (like your brakes are no longer roadworthy) you can't just go and pick it up and say you'll get them fixed elsewhere - you'd need to get it towed away.
Bit of a risk !
Here you are covered to and from the test centre, you get a pass certificate or a sheet with faults found. You can take it away there and then. If you then need to take a car to have work done whilst it has no MOT then you can be done.
Ah, but Southampton City Council are a shower of complete bastards.
They charge you to park in the city 24/7 so if you go out after 6pm and want to take your car it will cost you £2 to leave it anywhere.
They made £4m in parking charges from the hospital last year - the highest in the UK.
They want to bring in the "congestion charge" to help alleviate the air pollution in the city - in the worst 5 cities in the UK - which is caused by the liners chuffing away all the time they're in port .. which is at least one, usually two or three, at any given time.
) We stopped for lunch at the Haycock Hotel, just off the A1 at Wansford, about 10 miles from Stamford. Very pleasant dining room. We all had roast beef and Yorkshire pud. The beef was cut into thick slices, almost like a steak! and cooked to perfection. Roast potato's and four veg. My daughter said it was the best Sunday roast she had ever had. We had one glass of wine each and because the meal was so big, we didn't have pudding, just coffee. I was paying the bill and when it came I thought they had made a mistake. I asked my daughter and son-in-law what they thought the bill was. Daughter said £80, son-n-law said £75. It was £48. I had forgotten about the difference between Berkshire prices and Lincolnshire prices! 
Really good day too, saw lots of old friends.
