Mr F, my car

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

I think the terminology is a little different (regarding road tax), but
we
have to renew our car's registration every year, and pay a fee (which is
really a tax) to do so. Our gas (petrol) prices are also considerably
inflated by the tax that is added on to, supposedly for the upkeep of
the
roads.

Heh. No use complaining to a European about our gas prices. However much
we have to pay, guaranteed they have to pay a lot more.

That's very true. Even though California has the highest gas prices in the
continental U.S., even Alaska pays quite a bit more, and Europe and
Australia still more.

The letters on my car's license are MHM.

It seems like this should be obvious, but I don't get it. What does that
stand for? (I'll probably figure it out nanoseconds after hitting the
"post"
button. )

It doesn't stand for anything. I just pronounce it as it reads when I want
to remember the number. The digit before and the three after the letters
sort of go together, so it makes it fairly easy to remember. However, if
I'm not paying attention, I want to give my license number as 1 REA 222,
which is the number I had on my last car, which I sold when I bought this
one in 2000.

Joy

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

I'm not sure whether your smog test is the same as our MoT test. We have
to have to the brakes, steering mechanism, lights, exhaust emissions, pretty
well everything tested every year in a car over three years old. Any rust
is tested severely, this is the first time Mr F has had any rust and needed
any welding to get him up to scratch.
IIRC he was born in 1997. I've had him for 10 years and he is supremely
reliable. He also only sips petrol (gas) which given the price of of it
here..you'd faint if you knew how much it is.
Anyway, hopefully I will get him back tomorrow all mended for another year.
I will have to cross the county on a bus again to do so, but I will treat
that as an adventure.
Then I will instantly have to get on the internet to renew his road tax
which runs out at the end of September. You can't renew it without an MoT in
force.
Do you have road tax to pay on your cars in California?
Mr F is worth every penny though, it's nearly two miles to my local
supermarket, and no chance of getting to the farm to buy my chicken food
without him.
He gets his name from his numberplate, the last letters of this are MRF and
also I bought him from someone called Mr Field, who was 90. If I can, I
like to buy cars from elderly people. They look after them well and don't
race them around. I don't mind if the cars are elderly either, I'm not into
keeping up with the Joneses car-wise.

I got my last car from an elderly person, that one lasted me 8 years and
this one even longer.
Way to go, Mr F!

Tweed

~~~~~~~
I live in East Texas. We are also required to have annual tests for brakes,
steering mechanism, lights and exhaust emissions. I have never heard of any
requirements for rust tests. Of course, it is rare in this area to even see
any rust damage. By contrast, I grew up in Ohio and the salt used on roads
in the winter could cause major rust damage in a short time.

I bought my car new. It is now more than 8 years old and in great
condition. It should be good for a long time.

MaryL

On 9/26/2013 8:12 PM, Joy wrote:
"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Joy" wrote in message
...
I wonder if the MoT test is the same as our smog test? In California we
have to have our cars smog tested every two years.

Joy
I just looked up your smog test and it seems to be all to do with
emissions, nothing like what poor Mr F has to face every year.
Although I don't mind it, it means he is safe for me to drive.
He could have failed e.g. with a broken wing mirror: and definitely
because the rubber fell off his brake pedal which I've been driving around
without for two months. I didn't know that.

You're right. It's very different. We're allowed to drive our cars until
they fall apart, as long as we get the emissions test every two years.

Joy

It does depend on where you live. There are more cars per capita in
California than in most states and the larger CA cities have smog problems.

I lived in Tennessee for many years. When I lived within the Memphis
city limits I had to have the car inspected for brakes, taillights, etc.
every year. Probably not rust, though. When I moved outside the city
limits, no inspection was required. The annual renewal of the
registration cost about half as much outside the city limits, too.

IMHO, in general it was better to live outside the city limits. For a
while there was an attempt by Memphis to annex unicorporated areas
around the city in order to increase the city tax base. [I don't know
if that's still going on. The city government was pretty corrupt... the
Mayor had several kids out of wedlock and even had his mistress on the
city payroll. His wife found out and drove her car through the front of
the woman's house!] The city promised street lights, increased police &
fire protection, sewers, etc. Heck, those services were already
provided by the county.

Where I live in South Carolina annual inspections are not required. (I
don't know about other parts of SC.) I just have to renew the
registration every year.

My car is 11 years old and still going strong. The biggest problem I
ever had with it (knock wood) is the electric window on the driver's
side going off the track. Naturally that happened when I went to pick
John up at the airport. I put the window down to get the pass for
parking and it wouldn't go back up. Naturally, while driving us back to
the house, it rained in torrents! Yep, I got a tad wet. LOL It was
easy enough for a local mechanic to fix.

Jill

On 9/27/2013 1:45 AM, Joy wrote:
"Bastette" wrote in message
Exactly. I think if you get into an accident because something mechanical
in your car isn't working, you could be held responsible for any damages
or
injuries. But that doesn't exactly protect people on the road from getting
injured in the first place, does it?

--
Joyce

No, it doesn't. Of course, you can be ticketed for things like having a
tail light out.

Joy

Brake lights are rather important. Regular taillights, I'm not so
sure about. Seems to me people should be given a warning for something
like that with an order to get it fixed within X days. Unless someone
told me, I wouldn't really know if the rear lights were out. I can turn
the lights on, sure. But brake lights? I'd have to have someone look
while I put my foot on the brake.

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message ...

On 9/27/2013 1:45 AM, Joy wrote:
"Bastette" wrote in message
Exactly. I think if you get into an accident because something mechanical
in your car isn't working, you could be held responsible for any damages
or
injuries. But that doesn't exactly protect people on the road from
getting
injured in the first place, does it?

--
Joyce

No, it doesn't. Of course, you can be ticketed for things like having a
tail light out.

Joy

Brake lights are rather important. Regular taillights, I'm not so
sure about. Seems to me people should be given a warning for something
like that with an order to get it fixed within X days. Unless someone
told me, I wouldn't really know if the rear lights were out. I can turn
the lights on, sure. But brake lights? I'd have to have someone look
while I put my foot on the brake.

Jill

~~~~~~
I think both taillights and regular lights are very important. Regular
lights are especially important when visibility is low. Both of those are
among the annual safety checks that we are required to have (East Texas). I
think it is routine for police to give a warning ticket if they see a
vehicle with defective lights.

MaryL

"Judith Latham" wrote in message
...
In article , Christina Websell
wrote:
well he failed his MoT test today :-( Everyone in the Uk has to have
this test done yearly if their car is over three years old.

Mr F rarely fails except for minor things, but today he did it in a
spectacular fashion. He needs some welding on his inner wings, those
things under the boot (hood) that cover the front wheels. There was a
tiny rust hole both sides, and I thought we might get away with it, but
as my mechanic said the MoT tester was allowed to attack the holes with
a plastic hammer we might not. We didn't. He also failed because the
rubber pedal thing had come off my brake pedal. That in itself is a
failure apparently.

Anyway I've decided to have him repaired for not too much money compared
with having to buy another car and hopefully will get him back
tomorrow. He's such a reliable car, starts first time and this is the
first time he's needed welding, I might review the situation next year
if he needs welding again. I spent a happy day with my aunt & uncle
today, because my mechanic lives near them and I used to use him when
I worked over in that direction. I can't expect him to collect my car
from 11 miles away. I had to take two buses to get home which took a
while, and the same back tomorrow, but as it now costs me zero, I don't
mind too much, even if there's a 20 minute walk at my end to get to
the bus stop and back.

Tweed


Mr F is doing well.

I dread the MOT and of course it always comes up around the time for the
car tax renewal which all adds to the stress about it.

It's always the case that the MoT & road tax coincide, the only way you can
get around that is for once only, just get six month's tax and after that
renew it for a year as normal.


Our last car, a
black ford focus, was a great car and only failed it's MOT once and that
was for a damaged tyre we hadn't noticed. We had the car for 7 years and
only changed it because we thought at 9 years old it was likely to start
having problems. Our present car, a black ford focus, has not been a good
one. It failed it's first MOT and it's second (I can't remember what
for)but it did get through the third. This year it failed because a light
on the rear had faded and the orange colour wasn't strong enough. It only
cost us a couple of pounds for new ones but, it had failed again. We want
to get rid of it and so maybe next year we will have a different make.
Apart from one mini we had had ford escorts until the first focus. About
time for a change I think.

I had a Ford Fiesta once. I wouldn't have one again. It developed a weird
fault - every time it rained heavily it wouldn't start and no mechanic
seemed to be able to diagnose the problem (this was before I had my present
mechanic). Although it was eventually diagnosed as a fault in the LT lead,
it took at least a year, and I lost confidence in it.

After that I had a Renault which I had for 8 years and after that one, Mr F,
also a French car. When he finally deceases, I will get another French car,
I've been very pleased with them.

The good news is, Mr F is home, all fixed up with his new MoT! The tester
went a bit crazy with his plastic hammer, so he had to have 3 plates welded
on, although Tony said he could have argued that he shouldn't have failed as
the rust wasn't near the structure of the car and the rules say that's the
only reason but said why not have it done now in case it spreads by next
year?
Anyway, to have him collected, taken for his test, repaired, taken for a
retest and delivered back cost me £135. Welding is expensive and I thought
it would be more, tbh.
I taxed him online this evening (also £135! for a year) so for £270 I have a
car all legal and in perfect mechanical condition safety-wise for another
year. That's got to be a bargain.

Tweed











and I taxed him on-line tonight

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
Heh. No use complaining to a European about our gas prices. However much
we have to pay, guaranteed they have to pay a lot more.

When I put some petrol in Mr F on Wednesday, it was GBP 1.35 a litre (4.5
litres to the gallon)

I don't know what the exchange rate is $ to pounds, atm but it's a whole of
money to fill a car up. I usually put ten quids worth in, that gets me
around for a while now I'm not crossing the country every day to go to work.

I've done less than a thousand miles in Mr F since he had his last MoT (it's
recorded on the certificate every time, presumably to stop unscrupulous
people turning the mileometer back when they sell a car)
I was surprised to find copies of Mr F's last two MoT's on my passenger
seat, so they are well up to checking his history at the MoT station, which
is good.

Tweed

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

"Christina Websell" wrote in
message
...

"Joy" wrote in message
...
I wonder if the MoT test is the same as our smog test? In California
we
have to have our cars smog tested every two years.

Joy
I just looked up your smog test and it seems to be all to do with
emissions, nothing like what poor Mr F has to face every year.
Although I don't mind it, it means he is safe for me to drive.
He could have failed e.g. with a broken wing mirror: and definitely
because the rubber fell off his brake pedal which I've been driving
around
without for two months. I didn't know that.

You're right. It's very different. We're allowed to drive our cars
until
they fall apart, as long as we get the emissions test every two years.

Exactly. I think if you get into an accident because something mechanical
in your car isn't working, you could be held responsible for any damages
or
injuries. But that doesn't exactly protect people on the road from getting
injured in the first place, does it?


Isn't it kind of dangerous to have cars with bad brakes and steering and
falling apart allowed on the roads? or it expected that everyone will be so
concerned for not only their own safety but others that they will keep
their cars roadworthy on a voluntary basis?
Well, they don't trust us here to do that thus the MoT test.
https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/the-mot-test

Although I moan about it every single year and most UK motorists dread it
like Judith does, I think it's really important.
I won't mention Mr F again until next year, he's back all legal again and
I'm very happy about it.
MoT time is always a worry, they can fail on seatbelts or any sort of stuff,
like the rubber bit on the brake pedal, which I absolutely didn't know.

"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 9/26/2013 8:12 PM, Joy wrote:
"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Joy" wrote in message
...
I wonder if the MoT test is the same as our smog test? In California
we
have to have our cars smog tested every two years.

Joy
I just looked up your smog test and it seems to be all to do with
emissions, nothing like what poor Mr F has to face every year.
Although I don't mind it, it means he is safe for me to drive.
He could have failed e.g. with a broken wing mirror: and definitely
because the rubber fell off his brake pedal which I've been driving
around
without for two months. I didn't know that.

You're right. It's very different. We're allowed to drive our cars
until
they fall apart, as long as we get the emissions test every two years.

Joy

It does depend on where you live. There are more cars per capita in
California than in most states and the larger CA cities have smog
problems.

I lived in Tennessee for many years. When I lived within the Memphis city
limits I had to have the car inspected for brakes, taillights, etc. every
year. Probably not rust, though. When I moved outside the city limits,
no inspection was required. The annual renewal of the registration cost
about half as much outside the city limits, too.

IMHO, in general it was better to live outside the city limits. For a
while there was an attempt by Memphis to annex unicorporated areas around
the city in order to increase the city tax base. [I don't know if that's
still going on. The city government was pretty corrupt... the Mayor had
several kids out of wedlock and even had his mistress on the city payroll.
His wife found out and drove her car through the front of the woman's
house!] The city promised street lights, increased police & fire
protection, sewers, etc. Heck, those services were already provided by
the county.

Where I live in South Carolina annual inspections are not required. (I
don't know about other parts of SC.) I just have to renew the
registration every year.

My car is 11 years old and still going strong. The biggest problem I ever
had with it (knock wood) is the electric window on the driver's side going
off the track. Naturally that happened when I went to pick John up at the
airport. I put the window down to get the pass for parking and it
wouldn't go back up. Naturally, while driving us back to the house, it
rained in torrents! Yep, I got a tad wet. LOL It was easy enough for a
local mechanic to fix.

Jill

Isn't that the way it always works? I once had a dead battery as a result
of a broken door handle on my car. The interior driver's door handle broke.
It didn't completely come off, but something was broken, and every time I
opened the door I thought it was going to finish breaking off. I took it to
my local dealer to have the car replaced. After that was done, I drove the
car home and put it in my garage. I didn't need it until two days later,
and when I did, the battery was completely dead.

Fortunately, the auto club came out and gave me a jump, and I wasn't very
late to where I was going. I had thought maybe the dead battery was the
result of a door not closing tightly. I'd had that happen on another car.
However, it turned out that either when the mechanics were replacing the
door handle, or when they washed the car, they had turned on the headlights.
I can't imagine why, since it was broad daylight. Because it was daylight
when I drove it home, I didn't notice the lights were on. I never thought
to check, because I never turn them on. They come on automatically about a
minute after I start the car. If I ever have that dealer do any work for me
in the future, I'll be sure to check the headlights.

Joy

"MaryL" wrote in message
...


"jmcquown" wrote in message ...

On 9/27/2013 1:45 AM, Joy wrote:
"Bastette" wrote in message
Exactly. I think if you get into an accident because something
mechanical
in your car isn't working, you could be held responsible for any damages
or
injuries. But that doesn't exactly protect people on the road from
getting
injured in the first place, does it?

--
Joyce

No, it doesn't. Of course, you can be ticketed for things like having a
tail light out.

Joy

Brake lights are rather important. Regular taillights, I'm not so
sure about. Seems to me people should be given a warning for something
like that with an order to get it fixed within X days. Unless someone
told me, I wouldn't really know if the rear lights were out. I can turn
the lights on, sure. But brake lights? I'd have to have someone look
while I put my foot on the brake.

Jill

~~~~~~
I think both taillights and regular lights are very important. Regular
lights are especially important when visibility is low. Both of those are
among the annual safety checks that we are required to have (East Texas).
I think it is routine for police to give a warning ticket if they see a
vehicle with defective lights.

MaryL

It's never happened to me, but I believe here the police have the option of
giving you either a ticket or a warning. I suspect it depends partly on the
attitude of the driver, and partly on the mood of the police officer. ;-)

Joy