Sorry hit post before I was ready

Tawney hope the pups arrive will they have Christmas winter names? I guess 8 in total 6 dogs 2 bitches.
Tumbleweed I am always duious of advice about cars and check it with my local trustworthy garage.
Sue have a great day yourself.

Hope thats everyone,,,,,,off out now.

Good morning all that been and all to come
Goodness Lynn if it's not one thing it's another do hope ven gets fixed without costing an arm n a leg
TW yea pups due tomorrow few sleepless night till they arrive puppy cuddles without the work load
Kaz lunch sounds yumm is there room for one more :grin
Moyra Griff Losos Nippy LG do hope your all doing ok including dingos
Sue no frost this morning here today washing getting a good blow
Besoeker at least the vicious dog was on a lead
Mandy hope your feeling less blue hugs
Tweed remember only too well having to give the starter motor a good chap when it was stuck hadn't a clue what a starter motor looked like so everything got a good clout thankfully it did start
Nothing really happening here just same old same old
Really strange sky last night looked as if the sky was on fire yellow/orange changing to neon pink quite spooky could be why it's such a nice day windy but dry
Do hope all poorly peeps and doglets get better soon
Have a great day what Ever's in store
Take care stay safe xxxxx

I am officially fed up of it now. Managing to bite my tongue.
After faffing about he went for the garage picking up the van and them sourcing and fitting the battery as well as starter motor so in all total cost with vat nearly or £400. If he did the battery himself it would save him £50. Then he thinks I will source my own starter motor, we would need to buy ramps and he hasn't the proper tools. Plus he will be out in the cold trying to do it.
It could end up less then £400 or more depending how difficult. So now he is moan moan moan about the cost and what he will owe us when back on his feet.
Also he says he is not sure the van is worth it it needs it's mot in Feb and may well need more work.

Kazz your christmas in memory of your dad sounds lovely.
Norma one thing after another now it's turning out not our direct problems are invading my life.
Every year I say I will be glad to see the back of it since 2010 fingers crossed 2017 turns a corner for us all.
Right better get some housework done.

Well as you all know I am the worlds champion sceptic The problem these days is that the old RAC patrol man on a fixed salary no longer exists, I am pretty sure the modern 'RAC man' is on some kind of 'commission' scheme, it's too long a story for now but I was shocked at the AA man when he came to do an inspection on the camper van I was selling recently, didn't impress me one bit

Griff will tell you that car batteries have a life of about 5 to 6 years but they can last longer and there is a proper test that can determine if all the individual cells are OK (Usually it's just one cell that fails)

Going by the efforts your garage man went to with your car I would be inclined to believe him and not the RAC man, just my opinion of course but the garage is there and can't move, the RAC man will be on to the next punter and never seen again See I told you I was a sceptic

Ha ha Harvey. I did speak to Mark about the RAC man last night he didn't try to sell him anything just gave him some garage numbers and distances. He also showed Mark the battery test figures and although it isn't completely dead it isn't pushing out full power but the real culprit seems to be the starter motor.
So if both are renewed he should be ok and fingers crossed its mot bill is very reasonable. Otherwise I can see heads exploding his and mine.

Before Sue and I married I used to work in the evening mending cars in a friends garage. I thought nothing of doing a clutch replacement or fitting new rings on pistons or even fitting new shells on the lower bearings. Of course cars were much easier to work on back then, now everything is controlled by the CPU ( central processing unit ) or even as far as an engine out to repair. Not like when I worked on car engines it could all be done with the engine in situ.

Now even with an electronic diagnostic kit to help fault finding having a good basic knowledge of the workings of a car engine is essential before repairing one.
Have to add I would not touch a modern car engine, too many electronic parts to go wrong

Sadly, starter motors can and do fail...the range rovers discoverys and defenders i dealt with were generally seized... sometimes a tap with a hammer would be enough to get the car going...however, there is plenty of room in the engine bay of those.... they were pretty easy to get out provided you didn't get a seized bolt...if i recall it was only 2/3 bolts and an earth strap...not so sure about an astra though! if ever you need to source parts yourself Lynn, look at eurocarparts, helpful staff, often a local store and prices not too bad!!

Those were the days Barry.
Thanks griff it is going to the garage tomorrow. He is still moaning about how much it will cost.
We went out to look round the range earlier and had some lunch in Dobbies and I suggested if he did some work for us instead of us physically giving him the money we would just pay it back on the card we are lending it from. He is happier about that arrangement.
Plus on the way home he had a voicemail about the job at westfield Next he applied for. They want to talk to him a bit further. He says not to get excited though and the logistics of it will be a nightmare for him for a while until he can relocate back to Essex.

Lynn I know this sounds a bit weird but while the car is there having the battery done before that why not ask them to do a pre mot? then you and Mark will both know what you are facing in regard to exploding heads.....

that is an excellent idea Kazz, they should be able to pinpoint any failures.
Lynn, i am sure next year will come good for Mark and for you as well