AnOther

T&C's, what are they?

One of the results of selling the MGB is that I've assumed the title chief chef and have become a dab hand with the air fryer. I haven't poisoned anyone yet! I've lately been making pork pies and scotch eggs.

Mine is also 2011 but only 99k km when I bought it nearly 3 years ago. Now 126k and no problems bar a new clutch master cylinder. It's only the 1.2lt, and the base model at that (less to go wrong!) but I hope, and expect, it to be the last car I buy in my lifetime! Dave, I was being mischievous, if you'd known me from before you'd understand

Sadly, due to my wife's increasing mobility problems, and mine in some part, I sold it last year. 36 years and 400,000 miles was a good run but it wasn't getting the use it needed and deserved. I sold it to a Dutchman who I'm confident will care for it as it I did. AFAIK Chancer (PCPA) was last active on a French forum about a year ago but as I've already been scolded once for daring to post a link which wasn't even to a French site so I can't tell you where. If you follow my hints you should be able to find him, if you're so inclined that is. I too have the same car as Chancer, and apparently also ALBF. A great car and a shame they stopped making them.

Hi menthe. No complaints and no regrets probably sums it up Glad to hear you still have your paper licence, unfortunately I had to give mine up for a Spanish one which is for 5 years until age 70, which I just sneaked in before my 70th in 2020, and thereafter it's a maximum of 2 years at a time on renewal. Cost of living wise I think we moved at the right time, sure prices have risen here as everywhere but from what I've gleaned nowhere near as much as in France. On thing we do enjoy is the variety of choice when it comes to eating out. Within say a 20 minute drive we can eat Chinese, Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian, REAL Steak, etc. etc. etc. and reasonable prices too, including drinks it perfectly possible to have a meal for 4 and have change out of €60. I certainly don't miss French Winters, a pretty miserable few months plus the cost of heating. Even over the past couple of years, where everyone has been hit in one way or another by the fallout from the war in Ukraine, here our utility bills (leccy and water) have still averaged around €125/mth, in France fuel and logs for Winter were costing me around €900/pa or €75/mth on average. The only source of heating we use here is our A/C's in inverter mode one in the lounge and another in our bedroom which TBH gets little use. Even on cold days, and 7c is the coldest we've seen in 6 years, the living room one only costs me say 5 or 6kWh to run for the day which is equivalent to under €2.5. I do miss the greenery of France. Although where I live I'm surrounded by orange, lemon, and pomegranate groves you don't have to venture far to find yourself in a dry arid landscape with little to see or commend it but that's all I can honestly say that I miss.

It's a car forum, nowt at all to do with France. Briskoda.net - Yeti section. BTW you can find the date you joined by clicking on your own profile icon.

Joined on Dec 5th 2006 and 11,369 posts in thee ensuing years! A while since I've been here though, possibly something to do with moving to Spain in 2018! Chancer is still about but now masquerades under the name PCPA on at least one of the other French forums. He now lives (mostly) in the Bergerac area.

My experience with my 2x Freesat receivers is that it's all in the post code. I'm set to my old address in Essex which gives me BBC East HD as 101 in the EPG Others I know using other areas are not so blessed! Here's a code you can try, CO11DU, it's Lloyds Bank in Colchester so should produce BBC East. TBH I'm on the verge of cutting the satellite cord altogether and going with a combination of IPTV and a Firestick, 600mb FTH internet helps in that regard!

Not arguing the longevity of diesel, my previous MKI Skoda Octavia (1.9tdi) is still going strong at some 340,000 km without having had a single major component replaced, including the clutch. Prior to that I had a MKIV Golf with the same engine and that went to a gnats shy of 400,000 miles before it was retired due to money needing spending on the suspension. Neither burnt a drop of oil. Not without some regret I sold the Octavia before leaving France and as a temporary measure bought a cheap on owner 2001 Ford Focus 1.8tddi from a friend here intending to only keep it for a short time but with no pressing imperative to change that extended to nearly 4 years, it's only really because I've had to take measures to scrape it through the emissions checks at ITV (CT) time two years running I decided it's time had come so I sold it as soon as I'd got it through it's latest test and bought the Skoda Yeti.

Regular heavy towing excepted diesel has only ever made sense if you did the mileage to warrant the additional costs associated with buying and servicing. The advantage of cheaper fuel is rapidly being eroded too. I'd been a staunch diesel user for some 30 odd years but a few months ago replaced an ageing hack with a modern (for me!) 10 year old but under 100k km petrol Skoda Yeti which, whilst only having the 1.2lt TSi engine, it still packs 105hp (77kW) and 129ft-lb of torque which is more than sufficient for the social and domestic purposes which now dominate my driving habits. Fuel consumption is averaging 41mpg and DIY servicing consists of no more than the scheduled 15,000km oil and filter changes and bi annual brake fluid replacement although I plan to do the oil changes at 10,000 which is what all I now typically cover in a year. On an annualised basis then servicing is probably going to cost me around €60-70 or say €150 at a garage but that ain't going to happen whilst I'm still capable of swinging a spanner! On this particular engine the timing chain, aux belt, and fuel filter are 'for life'. No more DPF's and EGR cleaning and 'Italian tune ups' for MOT/ITV's for me!

If you suffer from range anxiety...... Make sure it will fit in the boot though.

That mindset is what's causing you the problem. Depending on the amount it sounds like an ideal case for a QROPS with flexible drawdown - just in case you did need to draw from it at sometime in the future. Nothing 'complicated' about them, most are essentially a SIPP just the same as in UK except established elsewhere, commonly in Malta but there are other options. That's where my private pension is and take what I want from it when I want, anything I do draw goes down as income on my tax return so timing can be worked to advantage. I have two annuities with L&G, they won't send the payments abroad so are paid into my UK account. Tax is deducted at source however as a non UK taxpayer they refund it every year when they also send me a P60

Very melancholic, are you on something lol

If you have health care in Italy courtesy of an S1 then the act of applying for that should have immediately triggered France to demand the surrender of your Carte Vitale. I know this from 1st. hand experience of moving from France to Spain in 2018. I was quite surprised how swiftly that demand came after applying for new S1's for Spain. It came by post to my (then) temporary address in Spain and the only way they could have possibly have learnt that was from DWP to whom I gave it in order for them to send me new one.

"Eye opening thread" To be brutally honest it shouldn't be!