Further to my thread about multi car insurance of a few weeks ago, and a couple of small hiccups along the way, we have finally found car for Charlie (my grandson) for his Christmas present.
Off we went on Saturday morning armed with a list of cars both private and trade within a 30 mile radius of home and a budget of around £500 max.
We were both feeling less than confident in the knowledge we had about what to look out for, but we really couldn't put it off any longer.
We had to pass PT Motors who we always buy our cars from on the way out and decided to just call in and have a word with Pete to see if he knew where there was anything for that sort of budget (yes, we are cowards!)
Standing on his forecourt was this
www.p-tmotors.co.uk/3916/ptmotors_stock.htm
It's the red one at the bottom of the list.
We stood and talked about the CRV nd how pleased we've been with it, we reminisced about the two Mondeos and the Xantia we'd had from him before that and then wandered over to the Micra.
He fetched the keys and it started straight away despite the frost and snow everywhere and I think we both knew that we were going to buy it!
We finally agreed on £650 with Pete taxing it for six months for us and as an added bonus we can leave it there until Boxing Day when we need to get it home, for the day after, when Charlie is coming over, With the GSX in the garage and the CRV on the drive we haven't anywhere to stand it as we live on a single track road.
We won't need any extra insurance to get it here and then over to Leicestershire and both justified spending that amount extra on the car.
I know it may not be 'cool' but as he's asked for an XBox 360 game and been told we can't afford that, and has happily come up with a cheaper one, I think he'll be surprised!
It will be parked around the corner, decorated with bows, balloons and a Santa Hat on the roof and be found by a treasure trail of clues.
As always, with our lack of knowledge about cars, we would both appreciate your opinions on our wimpish decision to go back to where we know, without looking at anything else.
Pat
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Sounds like a good dealer which is the most important thing with a car that age.
Let's just hope Charlie dont look in on here ;-)
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A car is a car - far more use than a video console ! Sounds like a good car - he will enjoy it...! Wish I had a gran like you !
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Don't you EVER call me Gran again PU:( Grrrrrr
Pat
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>> Don't you EVER call me Gran again PU:( Grrrrrr
Out of interest, what does your Grandson call you?
I had a sister that took offence at being called Granny when my niece gave birth. Being the sensitive soul that I am, I made a point of calling her it even more ;o)
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>> Out of interest, what does your Grandson call you?
My sister ignored the same question when I put it to her as well ;o)
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Sorry VX, I didn't mean to ignore you, perhaps you should read further down the thread!
Pat
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>> perhaps you should read further down the thread!
I will after I've been to Specsavers.
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Yeah, i wish I had a Gran like you as well !
Only for the reason that I would be about 20 instead of you know what....Grrrrr all you like :-)
Ted
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Looks like a little cracker.
A mate's mum has one of these, same year, same model. They've had it from 3 yrs old. Just clicked over 100k and has needed very little spending on it. Never returns less than 45 mpg either, and fine up to 70-80 on the motorway.
Their only complaint is that Nissan parts (from dealers) are heinously expensive, but then it makes no sense to go the genuine parts route on a car of this age / value.
I hope he enjoys the car. :-)
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A Micra must be the ideal first car at this budget.
Another big plus is the car should be an honest one because Pat has bought it from a known source.
Micras are known to be reliable and cheap to fix.
The one I drove was quite nippy, thanks I imagine to good power to weight ratio.
I'd like to know what the lad makes of it.
There he was, looking forward to spending hours on the sofa with crisps, pop, and an X-Box.
Then Pat goes and gets him a car - no excuse now not to go out and get a job.
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It's an old duffers car, but in VGC - visually.
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Looks a goog 'un, Pat.
BTW, how old is your grandson - and what are insurance costs like (I didn't see your previous thread)?
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Good choice to stay local where you trust the guy and hopefully he will want to keep you happy. At least you managed to resist his Golf GTi for only £200 more!
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He was 17 in September and hasn't passed his test yet. Insurance costs will be enormous but that will be his parents problem to sort out.
On a happier note, I had an email from him this morning telling me he has got an interview for a job he really wants next Wednesday.
It's only £90 per week but he's happy with that as it involves College and a recognised qualification at the end of it.
Pat
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Good decision - there was a recent thread about someone who had bought a Pug 106 from a back-street dealer for the same sort of money and the wheel fell off.......you have obviously found a good honest dealer who you can trust, it's not in his interest to sell you a duffer!
I'd have done the same.
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Looks like an honest car
but
Its a Micra.
No young lad would want to be seen dead in a micra,
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Second class ride Zero, is better than a first class walk!
Pat
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>>
>> No young lad would want to be seen dead in a micra,
>>
A rather unfortunate expression their RF though I agree that it is not a lad's car.
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...No young lad would want to be seen dead in a micra...
I'm not so sure about that.
Some lads look down on Corsas and the little Citroens as chavvy.
And being seen in a Micra is better than being seen on the bus.
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I'm sure he'll be delighted with it Pat. When I was 17 and had passed my test I wanted a Mini. My dad said he would help me find one although I had to pay for it with money I had saved from part time jobs. Anyway, I ended up with a Wolseley Hornet on Colway cross-plys in two-tone green...Just about the nerdiest car available at the time. All my friends had motorbikes and were initially merciless in their comments about my "Noddy" car.
In the end though, I had the last laugh, all my pal's girlfriends wanted lifts home in the car rather than on the back of the bikes. I got to know some of them quite well as a result...
I grew to love that car almost for its incongruity and it taught me a lot about life. If he has anything about him he'll treasure and enjoy it as the first phase in his driving career. Wish someone had bought me a car at that age. I wouldn't have cared what it was. Well done Pat.
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Well, it comes with a Haynes manual so he'll get to know it well enough.
Pat
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Iffy
you don't have a single cool molecule in your body.
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I hope the front cross member's sound.
Not to worry if it isn't, BB likes doing them. ;>)
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My grandad had one which had done about 140,000 miles by the time he died. I remember one of the last things he said to me was it was the best car he has ever had but when you consider his previous cars that isn't saying much!
Then my uncle told me that he bought this old MK3 Fiesta for £50 to replace the Micra with as it is getting on a bit. He just needed to rebuild the cylinder head but the Micra was in much better condition but I think it had been failing on rust.
It depends on his mate etc, he probably will get laughed at but then I bet none of people doing the laughing will have a car. Insurance is going to be horrific though I am not sure if £90 a week would even cover it with other running costs :(.
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...Iffy you don't have a single cool molecule in your body...
The difference is I'm not bothered about it.
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>> The difference is I'm not bothered about it.
>>
Which is the definition of "cool", no?
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Absolutely not
You can only be cool about not being cool, if you are cool.
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My parents had an S reg 1.0 Micra from new IIRC and were very happy with it, despite it not having power steering. I think to some extent they regret replacing it with a new Ka they got earlier this year on scrappage.
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Coolness is instantly nullified, and often reversed, as soon as any degree of effort is applied to it.
Without exception, of the people I know that I would describe as cool, all are either unaware of their coolness or couldn't give a monkey's.
Far more sad are those who seem to live solely to appear cool. These come across "try hards", and therefore desperately uncool (among other things).
;-)
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Pat: don't worry about yr grandson thinking the Micra isn't cool. It is so much cooler having a car that works than, er, not, that he should be properly grateful. Even if some of his friends think fit to tease him, a) he won't mind if they are his friends and b) they will be glad of lifts on cold nights.
I think it's very sweet of you and monsieur Pat to buy the lad such a lovely present. I'm sure he will appreciate it.
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>> Iffy
>>
>> you don't have a single cool molecule in your body.
>>
Why should he? Cool is a poncy metrosexual south eastern state of mind.
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...Why should he? Cool is a poncy metrosexual south eastern state of mind...
Ha-ha.
That rules my molecules out of coolness on every level I can think of.
Or put another way: None of the above. :)
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>> Cool is a poncy metrosexual south eastern state of mind.
OOOooooooooh!
I spy the green-eyed monster lurking somewhere in the recesses of our blunt matelot's consciousness...
You wouldn't feel nearly so left out if you didn't lurk snarling in the remote provinces ON.
Heh heh.
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>> metrosexual south eastern
Hello sailor!
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That woke a few people up ! :-)
I am in the snow inundated remote provinces by choice, and not too remote, I can be in London in a couple of hours if I feel like some pain.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Thu 9 Dec 10 at 15:07
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I couldn't give a flying fig if my first car, given the use of by my parents at 17, was 'cool' or not.
It was wheels, it was freedom (no public transport where I was), it was a passport to so many adventures and experiences, it was ... well we all know why we love cars/driving, don't we?
By the way it was a Minor 1000.
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They were cool in their own way if only due to the very poor heater !
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I bought my first car before I passed my test as I thought it would give me incentive. However with me paying at the time £90 a month for the insurance I could not afford lessons so it was only used each weekend when my mate went out with me on L plates.
At the same time my dad recovered from some horrific injuries and was able to drive again his Escort had been stuck in my grandmas garage for 6 months SORN with no MOT or tax etc so my dad took on my first Fiesta.
I remember on my early days of HJ I was emberassed that I couldn't drive so I never actually mentioned that fact until a thread about driving lessons came up!
We had some fun events in my mates old bangers though and my ex had a W reg Ka which was about 7 years old at the time, it was so rusty you could put your hands through the cross member. We had a lot of fun in that car including getting carried away and getting locked in a car park.
I was thinking we need to cut the chain acting as a barrier but she being a girl had much better ideas. Her idea was to dig a small channel and lift the poles up from the ground and put them back in again! The plan worked and we had escaped.
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>>>all my pal's girlfriends wanted lifts home in the car rather than on the back of the bikes. I got to know some of them quite well as a result...
Sometimes Humph you post comments that could be lifted straight from my own life. I was an early car owner compared to biking/no car mates and my trusty Triumph Herald equipped with Phillips casette player served a very similar purpose :-)
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Wow in an car cassette player - very posh :). Did it have stereo speakers too? I wasn't being sarcastic either btw :).
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>>>Wow in an car cassette player - very posh.
Well it did the job. In that time most folks had a medium wave mono radio in their cars so I was ahead of the game.
Always liked music so spent most of my first months salary from my first job on the Phillips. Yes it was stereo and a thumping 3wpc. Cut the speakers into the rear panels to get a bit more bass than those rubbish standard plastic pod things would give.
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Reminds me of another Moggie Thou moment - the Moggie was a positive earth - most in car audio including a very smart PyE radio/cassette I bought was a negative earth - simples, just wire it in backwards with a fuse - the set was mounted in the cubby hole in front of the passenger. Unfortunately in the middle of "entertaining" a lady friend with selected "airs" recorded from the radio - the radio's metal casing must have contacted the chassis - the result was clouds of noxious smoke from the wiring - not good.
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I changed my Herald from positive to negative earth for car radio reasons.
You took a wire from the battery and dabbed it a few times onto the main terminal on the back of the dynamo.
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>> I changed my Herald from positive to negative earth for car radio reasons.
>>
>> You took a wire from the battery and dabbed it a few times onto the
>> main terminal on the back of the dynamo.
They had a habit of switching back....
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>> casing must have contacted the chassis - the result was clouds of noxious smoke from the wiring - not good.
Shouldn't have had your foot in the glove box then should you ?
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>> the result was clouds of noxious smoke
Can you smell burning rubber?
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Once he's Christened the back seat he'll love the car even more.!!!
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I converted the Jowett and fitted an alternator...a very worthwhile thing to do. I can now have a CD ploayer.
I don't use the glove box, though....it has ankle straps above the back doors !
Ted
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With my MG Midget you had to park by a tree, roll the window down and put your feet on the tree.
To access the wiring in the footwell of course...
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Thu 9 Dec 10 at 17:16
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From what I remember I didn't swap polarity on my Herald. I fitted the stereo to the transmission tunnel which was made of cardboard* so it was all insulated anyway.
*For younger viewers I'll explain the Herald was a steel body bolted to a full chassis. The transmission tunnel was a pressed cardboard/hardboard and only fixed in with big self tappers. To remove the gearbox for a clutch change you just had to take the tunnel off and the gearbox lifted out into the car.
Image of a Vitesse with similar setup...
www.fsck.co.uk/temp/gearbox.jpg
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That guy's got the sense to remove the seats. I didn't bother when I took the gearbox out of my Vitesse - the seats were cream vinyl - big mistake.
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Good little motor them, i used to carry truckloads of them ex lease, more than any other car in this class they were a treat to drive with predictable controls, always good starters and runners too.
Lovely Christmas present.
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I seem to remember reading that although Micras were great at starting from cold, they won't start again if, for example, you start from cold, move it in the drive and switch off. Bad practice anyway but worth warning Charlie.
Good luck with it - a very generous present!
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>> I seem to remember reading that although Micras were great at starting from cold,
>> they won't start again if, for example, you start from cold, move it in the drive and switch off.
>>
I did the same with a Yaris.
The AA man said it is a common problem with many makes.
Frequently it is a case of back it out of the garage for its regular wash ( similar to Avant describes.)
It is, in this ECU age, in effect the equivalent of too much choke in the old days and the engine gets flooded because the ECU gets confused.
He first tried turning the engine over and over again and it did eventually fire just as he was about to search for a way of disabling the fuel pump.
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>> He first tried turning the engine over and over again and it did eventually fire just as he was about to search for a way of disabling the fuel pump.
IIRC, you have to put your foot right down on the throttle pedal before starting the engine.
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The old way to start a flooded engine was to floor the throttle and keep churning the starter.
I've got a few people going that way over the years.
Not sure if the method would work with a modern car.
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>> Not sure if the method would work with a modern car.
It will, hence why I mentioned it.
It does something like telling the ECU to cut off the fuel supply, or some other such witchcraft.
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>> The old way to start a flooded engine was to floor the throttle and keep
>> churning the starter.
>> Not sure if the method would work with a modern car.
Yes it does. Just keep your foot on the throttle and keep churning it over. If it doesn't start first time, keep perservering - it should in the end with a cloud of black smoke.
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Is that not just flooding? You can provoke that on many (most?) petrol cars.
Stand on the door sill, grab the roof, use your whole body to rock the car violently up and down. 30 seconds of that will dump the fuel off the piston crowns and it'll start.
...i think!
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>>Stand on the door sill, grab the roof, use your whole body to rock the car violently up and down. 30 seconds of that will dump the fuel off the piston crowns and it'll start<<
What Planets he on then :)
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>>Stand on the door sill, grab the roof, use your whole body to rock the car violently up and down. 30 seconds of that <<<
Skoda, if I tell a 17 year old that I shall totally lose all my street cred:):)
Pat
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I dunno Pat, i'm keen for a chance to give it a try.
*cough* *cough* *cough*
*cough* *cough* *cough*
Get out, violently rock the car
*cough* brrrmmmm!
Haha :-) I hope it does work, comes from a trusted source that does!
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At the moment it's cool to have a Nan that is/was a lorry driver because he used to come up the road with me on nights out in the school holidays. It's cool to have a Nan that goes to see AC/DC live at Wembley.It's even cooler to have a Nan that has a calender of with Robbie Williams bare bum on it, and still has it hanging on the wall even though it's seven years out of date.
Now, would I really risk all this Skoda? :)
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Fri 10 Dec 10 at 12:02
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>>At the moment it's cool to have a Nan
Gonna change your monicker?
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Fair point pat, you're cooler than my Gran, completely different leagues :-) That being said, I wouldn't trade mine (or her home made scones) for the world.
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I don't 'do' cooking!
Pat
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>> I seem to remember reading that although Micras were great at starting from cold,
>> they won't start again if, for example, you start from cold, move it in the drive and switch off.
The MX-5, and my old 306 XSi used to get VERY upset if you did that. I remember the Pug in particular being an absolute swine to get started again afterwards. The MX-5 would eventually cough into life, but the tiny (32Ah or something equally pitiful) gel battery was feeling the strain towards the end.
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>> >> I seem to remember reading that although Micras were great at starting from cold,
>> >> they won't start again if, for example, you start from cold, move it in
>> the drive and switch off.
>>
mid 90s BMW V8s are also a pig for this. Restart procedure is charge battery overnight, remove 4 spark plugs and pour small amount of engine oil down each bore then replace plugs. Connect jump leads to another running car. Apply full throttle and turn over for approx 5 mins, cylinders will join in one by one. Once you've done this once you never make the same mistake again!
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Hope it works out a good buy for you and the grandson, Pat, but when you go to PT motors can you please suggest he takes the phrase 'vehicle remarketing at its very best' and erm.. put it where the sun don't shine.
And ask him why the number plate on the BMW in is title bar is blanked out, but none of the number plates of the cars he has for sale are ? :-)
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I'll make that suggestion tomorrow morning when I see him:)
Pat
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With our K11 Micra, flooring the accelerator didn't help it start when it was flooded.
I used to remove the fuel pump fuse, turn the engine over on the starter for about 20 seconds, replace the fuse, and then try to start the car again.
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Did it go OK Pat ? - did you buy ?
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Yes we did, but that was in the original post:)
Pat
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>> And ask him why the number plate on the BMW in is title bar is
>> blanked out, but none of the number plates of the cars he has for sale
>> are ? :-)
>>
Because the BMW will now be a sold unit - would you like your car being used on a website?
That reminds me of a story......
There was a man sat in a BMW dealership watching a film on the TV, the film was BMW advertising.
He sat smiling as a M3 was chucked around a track at high speed, cornering on its limit.
He thought to himself, that's brilliant.... until.......
He saw the number plate.... it was HIS car!
BMW have apparently reviewed the filming of cars with (genuine) number plates.......
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Mrs F did an advert for a BMW bike in the 70s... that had a made up number even while running on public roads.
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>> Because the BMW will now be a sold unit
I doubt it - the pictures on the title bars look like stock library pictures to me.
I know someone who has what we shall call a 'prestige german 2-seater sports car' who is currently in dispute with the dealership he bought it from. I think he bought it last year, it's probably less that 18 months old and the brakes and gearbox are in need of replacement. When he bought it, it had only been registered to the manufacturer and he specifically asked if it had been used for track days or competition - 'no sir, strictly a management car, sir'
Strange then that someone has sent him a copy of an EVO magazine track day special, featuring his car on the cover, and being thrown round the track on the inside pics
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...as sent him a copy of an EVO magazine track day special, featuring his car on the cover, and being thrown round the track on the inside pics...
Shouldn't he be pleased?
I thought stuff like that was called provenance or 'history', as in 'this car used to belong to Michael Caine'.
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Well, todays the day!
We collected the Micra yesterday and brought it home. It stood on the drive and got all the tyres and levels checked.
This morning before 11AM when they arrive it will be adorned with a Merry Christmas sign in the windscreen, balloons, ribbon and sitting on top of the roof will be a Santa hat.
Under the Christmas Tree is another Santa hat with a series of clues taking Charlie around the garden looking for the next one until he find it hidden around the corner.
Just as a bonus, he rang to tell me he's got a job on Wednesday that starts on January 10th, and although it was only £90 per week he wanted to save as much as possible for a car.
I'm sooooo excited, I can't wait:)
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Mon 27 Dec 10 at 05:20
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Hope it all goes to plan Pat.
I remember organising a surprise birthday party for my wife and the whole operation ran with military precision, including the fall outs and huffs when I knew they would!
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Well Pat, what was the reaction?
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He was absolutely aver the moon Bobby. He couldn't stop shaking enough to get the key in the door lock.
When he finally got in it he just sat there speechless, so it doesn't matter that a Micra isn't cool, or that it's red!
If I'm never able to do anything else for my family then it won't matter, but that will be a happy memory we'll all have forever.
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Tue 28 Dec 10 at 14:12
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Good for you and the Mr, Pat. So glad the boy was pleased. What excellent young grandparents you are.
Now the main hurdle is to teach him to drive well and safely. It takes ages. But if he is sensible he should survive the learning curve.
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Oh dear AC, I mentioned the G word as well :-)
Hope you took some photos Pat of the happy event - sounds as if he was well chuffed !
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Here we are :)
i100.photobucket.com/albums/m34/Veeeight/DSCF0010.jpg
Pat
I can't get the first [IMG] to go blue mods...help please!
Last edited by: Pugugly on Tue 28 Dec 10 at 15:08
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Works now
It looks clean and tidy - I know how I would feel at his age ! Have you managed to get him out of it yet ?
Last edited by: Pugugly on Tue 28 Dec 10 at 15:10
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No:) He did manage to come in to eat his lunch but that was all. Living where we do he was able to drive it around to our drive from where it was hidden but when his Dad drove it back to Leicester last night, he wasn't allowed to smoke in it!
Pat
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It'll have wide wheels, an unfeasably loud stereo and a cherry bomb exhaust on it before the year's out !
Nice one though Grandma....!! He's a lucky lad.
:-)
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Nice one though Grandma....!!
Oh No !
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Don't even go there.....:(
Just spoken to them on the phone and he's out there fitting a boom box???? in the boot. I didn't ask, it's not cool to ask, I just pretend I know!
Pat
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Unfeasably loud stereo Pat.
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Nice one Pat, nothing beats making a loved one happy.
Just smile sweetly and make approving noises when you see the inevitable modifications.
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I put a 9" leather bound, drilled spoke Momo steering wheel on my Wolseley Hornet. It looked preposterous but I think I rather liked it at the time. Didn't especially improve the steering response of the Colway crossply remoulds as I recall but it did free up some cabin space...
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the big bore exhaust when fitted on micras tend to hit the speed bumps.
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>>but it did free up some cabin space...
For what purpose? ;>)
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>> Orienteering and so on.
>>
Is that as in Oriental girl friend?
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No, more about discovering previously uncharted routes. Although with a couple of exceptions I'm fairly sure others had been there before despite assurances to the contrary..
I think we'd better get back to Grandma's gift now don't you?
Nice wee car eh ?
:-)
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Ah, the "G" word, I can imagine the steam coming out of Pat's ears. :-)
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A poor attempt at a wriggle.
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A very poor attempt:)
The vision of which doesn't really tie in with the list of rules I placed on the dashboard.
In Molly Micra there will be
No speeding
No swearing
No skidding
No smashing
No smoking, and most of all
No sh*gging.
Pat
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No speeding
No swearing
No skidding
No smashing
No smoking, and most of all
No sh*gging.
Always good to give a lad a list to work through :-)
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An 18-year-old lad on my college course passed his test halfway through the year, and had already been bought an X-reg Micra. It was in that pearlescent green/grey/orange colour, although one of the other lads who's colour-blind insists it's closer to pink. We took the mick out of the colour far more than the make and model of car.
Well done Pat, a very sensible purchase. I hope it gets him places, in all senses of the phrase. :)
To compare and contrast, at 17 my first car was a beige Allegro.
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Nawt wrong with Beige Dave.
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>> Nawt wrong with Beige Dave.
Yes keep saying it PU, you might believe it.
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This shade of beige, in fact:
i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/ajcherry/datsune10146.jpg
(Not mine, photo plucked in seconds from the depths of t'internet).
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The Skoda's not that beige ! That's hearing aid beige..
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>> >> Nawt wrong with Beige Dave.
>>
>> Yes keep saying it PU, you might believe it.
>>
It worked for John Major.
Remember he appeared to be beige and boring, but in fact liked the odd Curry.....
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Was she an odd one that Curry? Suppose she must have been.
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>> Was she an odd one that Curry? Suppose she must have been.
>>
Don't egg her on.
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>> >> >> Nawt wrong with Beige Dave.
Nawt at all, salt of the earth and so on I'm sure... but who is Beige Dave really?
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Married to Sylvia I gather.
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Funny you should ask that Duncan as it's been the bone of much contention this last couple of weeks:)
I'll try and explain briefly.
Charlie managed to get a job just after Christmas with a landscape gardener but it entailed working away from home for periods of up to 6 weeks at a time.
His Boss, who I shall call Jim loves the Gym and motorbikes.
While they are way they both live at the Gym in the evenings and weekends.
Whenever driving lessons were mentioned Charlie always said he hadn't got enough time at home to do them.
On one of his rare weeks at home, he acquired a motorbike, much to the disgust of his Dad, and started riding it everywhere when he was home.
Hid Dad blamed his Boss (but that was hurt pride that Jim had taken his place), I was upset that he hadn't used the car and Charlie just kept his head down and dodged the big issue!
Someone had to mediate and diffuse the situation but I also felt that Charlie had to 'man up' ( not the phrase I used to him!) and be honest about what he really wanted and face the flack.
Profuse apologies to us and he's admitted that it was a bike he wanted last year but his Dad was so against it.
I really don't know why because he didn't pass his car test until he was 28, had numerous bikes and still has two now, one of them being a Thunderace.
I've tried to find a solution and they have both agreed to work together to get the Micra through it's MOT and sell it, and BOTH of them look for a better bike for Charlie together.
In the meantime I've booked him on the Pheonix Riders Training Scheme for this years Christmas present with his Dad's blessing.
Why do parents forget so quickly what it was like when they were young?
Why do they expect their kids to be sensible at that age when they never were?
I remember the amount of bikes we recovered for him after breakdowns and accidents.
His first Fizzy came home in the boot of a Vauxhall Cresta.....
I should have realised last year that Charlie wanted a bike too, but I was blinded by the safety aspect so I'm guilty as well:)
I should have known that being brought up in a biking family would have rubbed off on him too.
Pat
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His stumbling point was telling us he wanted to sell the car.
The clue was in the email that said 'I've got the rest of my life to drive cars but for now, I just love riding a bike'
I feel a visit to Webbs coming on today;)
Stocking fillers anyone?
Pat
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"I really don't know why"
We all know why but I can't bring myself to complain about his chosen route - motorcycling needs all the youth it can muster given the horrendous cost of the hobby. Hope he stays safe.
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Ahem,
Cough
Raises eyes to higher up the thread in a knowing manner
>>Looks like an honest car
>>but
>>Its a Micra.
>>No young lad would want to be seen dead in a micra,
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He doesn't want to be seen dead on four wheels, end of story.
I was just the same at his age...I loved my Tiger Cub and Aerial Leader.
His Dad loved his 400/4 and GT 380.
Pat
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It's in his genes - talking of which nice pair of Draggin' Jeans for him as a Christmas Box ?
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One of the known, unchanging and universal failures of the "getting on" brigade is the "dont do as I did - do I as I say"
we always forget the counter argument
"Why not - it never did you any harm"
I am just as guilty as the rest!
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'I've got the rest of my life to drive cars but for now, I just love riding a bike'
Ah.. the certainty of youth.
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>> Profuse apologies to us and he's admitted that it was a bike he wanted last
>> year but his Dad was so against it.
>>
>> I really don't know why because he didn't pass his car test until he was
>> 28, had numerous bikes and still has two now, one of them being a Thunderace.
My Mum was firmly against me having a bike. Dad? I'm not sure.
Biking is in my blood, My dad had many, his Dad also. My eldest brother had a few also.
In fact my surname has some bike racing history to it - some records, followed by a tragedy. (not sure if we are related though.)
Coming up to date, I'm back on a bike, one of my daughters boyfriend has one (resting for the winter) and my 16year old one wants one - but NOT a moped!
I have tried to teach my kids (and daughters other 1/2!) the safety aspects of riding, and hope that, that at least is listened to.
Pat, IMHO best present would be something bike related, and safety related, training or decent clothing?
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The young aren't really as heartless as they seem. They are though often confused or unsure about what they want, and they aren't good at predicting implications.
My take is that the lad isn't too embarrassed to be seen in a Micra. He just wants autonomy now - personal transport that he can drive any time with L plates, without having to recruit a minder with a full licence. He should be careful about unlicensed passengers though until he passes the test. The police used to pull young bikers just on the off-chance, and they probably still do.
When he realised he would have to spend months and a lot of money learning to pass the driving test, he suddenly realised that what he wanted was a bike, with its instant autonomy.
No wonder he wanted to keep a low profile when that penny dropped. He was embarrassed at the thought that Pat's and her husband's love and generosity would seem to be unappreciated. But they probably are. He won't forget. It will all go into his adult makeup.
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A modest purchase. - Hard Cheese
