StevenRB45 said:

What's baffled me today?

Someone disliking a post I made 11 years ago...

I assume they've dropped into on search rather than they've spent 11 years on the fence and finally decided they didn't like it.

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Check back in 2025..

they may have keyed the wrong icon

varesecrazy said:

Check back in 2025..

they may have keyed the wrong icon

Click to expand...

They were in a thread from 2008 discussing poor economy from a modified punto..God only knows!

Not made me grumpy, because clearly someone was having a far worse day than me, but didn’t make me smile either, but made the best of things

Got stuck for 2 hours on the A47 in a “police incident” ie code for someone threatening suicide off a bridge about 2 miles down the road....

So took the dogs for an impromptu walk.

Been asked to do a site visit at short notice this week, not a bother in itself should be interesting.

Normal drill is train or hire car...and on that basis I'd volunteered to drive, it's only an 80 odd mile round trip. So about 45 mins each way.

But no transport is now being provided, I don't really care about putting the miles on mine and charging it back other than..I don't have business use.

But wandered up to our insurance floor, got class 1 on for free and we're good to go..while it would have been fun to have a hire car.. the train would have been an endless **** on and taking mine is preferable to the other guys car..don't fancy spending an hour and a bit on the motorway in a 59bhp 1.0 Corsa.

My manager gave me a laugh.. "just go without the business sure it'll be fine" "Oh aye I'm sure if I had an accident with a work colleague on board, on a work day, during my shift, going to somewhere that doesn't accept visits without appointment we can style it out" That and the small matter of my insurer being my employer!!..that would be an interesting conversation to have around fraud!

I'm 99% sure it would have been fine, but hey for a 2 minute walk upstairs I'm properly covered to do it.

I add class 1 business use to all my policies. It costs me nothing. Even on classic policies like the Alfa and Porsche.

I do laugh at the idea of me turning up to a meeting in the Schumi!

StevenRB45 said:

What's baffled me today?

Someone disliking a post I made 11 years ago...

I assume they've dropped into on search rather than they've spent 11 years on the fence and finally decided they didn't like it.

Click to expand...

Sounds like me I'm at least 10 years out of date and technically incompetent on forums...

Schumi2001 said:

I add class 1 business use to all my policies. It costs me nothing. Even on classic policies like the Alfa and Porsche.

I do laugh at the idea of me turning up to a meeting in the Schumi!

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I was tempted to add it to the C3..just for the image of two blokes turning up to a meeting in a bright green noddy car. But my wife needs it that day Boo!

I used to have business for a while but was told we wouldn't be using our own cars for visits by last manager so it was pointless until this week.

Many years ago, when I was running a bright blue classic Panda, I had business use on the insurance. Had to go to a meeting 120 miles away, be there by 9am, collect pool car am same day, office opens 8:30am. So that's 240mph! Not allowed to take pool car home overnight.
"I'll use the Panda"
Overnight pool car authorised in minutes!

Years ago we would be visited frequently by sales reps or in some cases proper engineers selling. An upstart pnuemtics company started a shiny marketing and undercut on price regime. The reps were the most smarmy and all drove shiny higher end BMW. Bought once, the product was ****. Very poor understanding of their target market. Other guys, was happy for them to call in for a cup of tea even when we didn't have a project on. You would have been welcome in your Panda.

Eternally glad I exited the sales game some time ago...

Just a visit to go see what goes on for which an old Mazda with a variety of deeply uncool stickers on it (National Trust e.t.c.) will do.

Tbf it's better than any hire car we'd usually get..Renault Kadjar? Fiat 500 or some sort of Vauxhall..woo. 5 hour motorway shlep in a Corsa a few years ago was a particular low point.

I always find the company car changes stressful - I used to have a pearl orange BMW 1-Series M-Sport with pimp tints. I loved it, 184bhp and RWD in something that size is great fun. But it just didn't present the right professional image. I was always remembered for my car, but I'm not sure that's a good thing.

I now have a very sensible and sombre 5-series in dark metallic blue and 'old man' Luxury spec. - ie. sensible wheels, no wings or air-dams and lots of chrome bits. People identify who I am as soon as I turn up - as it's an appropriately sensible and 'organ grinder' looking vehicle for my role... I have also been glad to have it when a prospective customer asked if we could go to a local coffee shop and expected me to give him a lift there and back.

Dilemma time coming up again soon - I need low BIK tax, suitably professional and practical enough to take my bike to triathlons or for commuting from a hotel to the office in London. There is nothing on our company car list right now that's suitable - I'm currently holding on for plug-in Passats to become available.

What a grisly choice!

puntofan01 said:

What a grisly choice!

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It's the BIK tax that's the problem - a 520d is now £410 / month before options. I refuse to pay the government that much money every month for a car that's 99% business use.

Plug in hybrids halve that, with Lexus hybrids around £300 / month.

There needs to be a policy change - I'm all for taxing 'perk' cars (which were originally an income tax and NI dodge) - but those needed to perform a job role need to be separately categorised.

(And I can't just go for a cheap option, as I don't get the difference back, the company gets to keep it... and £20k cars aren't the best place to spend 4 hours when you need to get out the other end fresh and ready to pitch for a deal)

Can't your company give you a pay rise instead of providing you with a car, in order to get round that?

puntofan01 said:

Can't your company give you a pay rise instead of providing you with a car, in order to get round that?

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I wouldn't want to run a car for 30k miles / year out of my own pocket - I've tried it in the past and there are a lot of costs which just make it uneconomical to do so. (you need really good breakdown cover and insurance cover, with guaranteed replacement cars within a couple of hours etc)

Plus, companies always place restrictions on what you can have - under 4 years old, minimum 4 doors, and the government mileage rates mean you can't afford anything with an interesting engine - most people who opt out just end up leasing a lower spec. version of what's on the company list!

And finally - our health and safety policy doesn't allow it for anyone doing more than 10k business miles / year.

I don't mind the idea of a plug-in Passat hybrid estate, to be honest.

Fair enough. Thank god I don't need a company car, lol!

Friday morning a set of 5 yellow cones arrived in the gutter just up the road. The triangular type, usually seen with 'Police' on them, used for events and such like.
There are no markings on them and no notices about why, but they were all sat on blue paint marks, suggesting the water company put them there.

Friday came and went, as has Saturday. The cones are now neatly arranged along the inner edge of the footpath, to allow residents and visitors to park as normal.

Having placed them on a Friday morning, I would have expected work to have been carried out that day. Presumably now, work will occur tomorrow.

Why does Thames Water think it is OK to restrict parking for the whole weekend?

I'm assuming because they don't work weekends and don't want to turn up on Monday morning to find cars parked on the bit they need to work on.

Schumi2001 said:

I'm assuming because they don't work weekends and don't want to turn up on Monday morning to find cars parked on the bit they need to work on.

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That's probably it, but without any notices, or identification, and without nailing them down, it hasn't worked.
Monday morning the space will be empty anyway, people go to work. It'll be just like they found it when they placed the cones - empty at that time of day.

Cones take up space in the van so they are now handy on the road for the next water main repair.