AnOther

Somebody needs the balls to stand up and put a stop to the farce. I don't care how the vote went this is not democracy and I'm certain it's not what a good proportion of the leavers thought they were voting for either. I'm a remainer so obviously I was disappointed with the referendum result but I'd have accepted it with far better grace had the campaign had been truthful and fair which it palpably was not.

I always replace tyres at around 3mm, Chancer you are welcome to them gratuit but you'll have to collect [:P]

Road camber can affect tyre wear but to a degree so negligible that it's not worth worrying  about. Swap you wheels around more often if you do.

[quote user="BritinBretagne"][quote user="AnOther"]That's a bit harsh. If you do something which knocks the tracking out you'll know about it instantly because it will displace the steering wheel from it's normal straight ahead position, something violent enough to do that could even set off the airbag ! [/quote] Really? Your answer surprises me. Most tracking problems become apparent through tyre wear, the driver being totally ignorant of the situation from his position behind the steering wheel.[/quote]I was talking about a single event which damaged the front suspension or it's geometry, hitting a pothole or a kerb for instance would normally only affect that one side and that would definitely put the steering wheel off centre. Longer term the tracking can go out of spec. due to wear in the components, principally mounting bushes which become softer and more compliant with age and use and as that progresses it causes the tracing to vary depending on whether the car is accelerating or decelerating/braking. Such deterioration will occur pretty much equally to both sides at the same time however so will not be reflected in the steering wheel alignment, the tyres will still tell the story though. When the wear becomes that advanced there is little you can do with the tracking to prevent continued uneven tyre wear. To clear up the confusion with terminology this site explains in pictures, castor is normally fixed and a factor of the design, camber is sometimes adjustable, toe in/out always is. Actually there is a fourth angle called the Ackerman angle as it's but it's a product of the other three so there is no need to go there !

That's a bit harsh. If you do something which knocks the tracking out you'll know about it instantly because it will displace the steering wheel from it's normal straight ahead position, something violent enough to do that could even set off the airbag !

When WiFi connection problems crop up it's worthwhile temporarily turning off the security to see if it works without it, if so you know where the problem is and you can reintroduce security starting from the lowest level which is WEP. If you don't need security - and not everybody does - then just leave it off. NOTE: in the Livebox disabling security automatically enables MAC filtering so you will need to disable that afterwards.

Sometimes it's quicker and easier to replace the whole control board, being a Hotpoint it's probably a very common one and likely easily found on the net. You need to pay close attention to the numbers though, just one digit can make the difference between working properly or not I replaced a blown up control board in the cooker a while back and although it's a French FAURE brand it had a Hotpoint control board, as I recall it was only around €30.

Plenty of 185/55-15 tyres here. https://www.quelpneu.com/ Unless your tyres are wearing unevenly it's highly unlikely that you need the tracking (or parallelism) checked, normally you'd only do that if you'd replaced components of the steering or front suspension so they are just trying to inflate the bill. You should of course always use tyres of the specified speed and loading rating - or better - but that said not once in what must now total something like 25-30 CT's have I seen a tester check the tyres for anything other than tread depth and damage, I doubt they have the speed and load information available anyway and will absolutely guarantee they don't for an MGB and around 2/3 of the tests have been on those. Come to think of it I've never seen a tyre fitter check speed and load ratings before mounting tyres either. Tip: watch that the bug.gers do fit new valves, unlike UK it doesn't seem to be regarded as standard practice here and more than once I've had to remind a fitter to replace them. One time the OH's KA had a slow puncture and when I put some soap around the valve and wiggled it the entire valve actually broke off in my hand. Looking at it closer it was badly perished and I suspect it may may have never been replaced in it's entire life which must have encompassed several sets of tyres. My déchetterie is perfectly happy to take tyres but only two at a time but with three different cars available to me getting shot of an old set is not a problem [;-)]

[quote user="andyh4"]The problem is that this site says that the age of consent for France is 15 and I thought the whole thrust of the discussion was that there is no current age of consent. I am now thoroughly confused.[/quote] There legal age is 15 as enshrined in Article 227-25 of the Penal Code but for some misguided and perverse reason the judge in the case in question chose to ignore it. Actually Wooly I said fake not false but pray tell when did that come to imply intent ? If you'd said that of fake I might have agreed however in context the actual wordage was not really the point was it ? Sounding like the Inquisition ????????????????????????

12 in Spain, fake news ! https://www.ageofconsent.net/world/spain

No argument GG but an alternative headline puts it into it's proper perspective: 'ex soldier to marry minor American actress'.

I'm not at all anti royalist but a minor royal getting hitched, who give a flying **** Sick of it on the telly already and god help us when the actual nuptials come around !

For a private owner window etching is a once in the lifetime of the car event so who in their right mind would knowingly and willingly sign up for it as an annual contract ? See what the garage or dealer has got to say about it.

All very well if you have decent mobile coverage, never a given in rural France ! Also it's likely that in the first instance anyway newcomers will be hanging onto a UK mobile phone which not only could cost a fortune (help line waiting times are rarely short!) but also ISP's will refuse to call you back on, it's French or nothing. Even if you get a French mobile number on day one it will be almost certainly be PAYG (no credit history = no contract) so you could very quickly run out of credit trying to get help. Hey it's up to you though, I'm just trying to point out the possible downsides of choosing by cost alone.

Orange SOSH is cheap because it's a cut down service with support limited to eChat and an online forum, no human contact. Unless you have first hand knowledge or experience of the quality and reliability of the phone line and internet connection at the property (assuming there is a line at all) then for the first year at least I would always suggest signing up with Orange proper including line rental. That's going to cost maybe €65/mth (can't recall what the line rental is) but if there are any problems with the line or the service then they are the ones best placed to fix them. AFAIK they are also the only ISP who operate a dedicated English speaking helpline which can be invaluable it your language skills are still under development. Clearly the first weeks and months after moving to France are likely be pretty hectic and the very last thing you'll need is to be hampered with a dodgy phone line and/or internet connection, you can always switch after that first year if you want to. If there is a phone line at the property, and you know the number, then you can check what may be available here, note it's only indicative as line lengths and resultant losses (which basically govern internet performance) are derived from a decades old Orange database which is notorious for being out of date and defective and all ISP's and similar test sites get their info from it.  

You might do better re-educating SWMBO ! I mean who puts a phone face down in the first place never mind in a puddle [+o(] Or maybe buy her a Christmas present - https://www.armor-x.com/mx-s7e-bk-armor-x-samsung-galaxy-s7-edge-ip68-2-meter-waterproof-case-with-carabiner.html

May be borked beyond any home remedies. https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-galaxy-s7-not-quite-waterproof-torture-tests-reveal/ Ironically manufacturers seem promote waterproofing and immersibility (is that a word ?) as a top feature however research amongst customers doesn't place it in the top 10 of desirable or must have features. I suppose that's what happens when a technology matures and killer features are hard to come by.

Even if there is WiFi in the hospital then to begin with it's highly improbable that it will provide the sort of bandwidth required to stream video and even if it did I can't see it being all you can eat simply to prevent exactly what you're proposing. If you want net access for that that sort of thing then buy a 4G mobile phone data package but better make it a big one because depending on quality an hour of video streaming can consume a Gb or more.

[quote user="chessie"]We're driving an old, old banger;  on its last legs and being replaced next year.   Because of illness we've overlooked the CT - and it's 'ooops' time. CT on car has just expired.    Have tried to book it into local mechanic for him to carry out full service and then take round to CT place for us (as in previous years). His e-mail response appears to suggest that we have to take car to CT place and ask them to look at it first, to list 'all problems' and then take round to mechanic to deal with problems listed at CT; then presumably back to CT centre for the OK. Is that right ? Not having a good year.... Help appreciated - thank you - Chessie. [/quote]There has been some tightening up on the CT recently, and more to come I understand, so what your mechanic is effectively saying is that his previous knowledge and experience of what will pass muster and what won't is no longer certain enough for him to do his stuff and ensure a first time pass so he's suggesting the course both of of cheapest cost and least inconvenience. Specially for ALBF: IF Father Christmas exists he MAY come down your chimney ! Minimally your insurance remains valid unless or until your insurer writes to you to say they are cancelling it. Don't tell me, you belong to the camp which holds that in UK no MOT means no insurance which is utter rollocks !

Simple Norman, switch to ESR! No download side.

As a core programme upgrade without add-ons it's a definite improvement, a Quantum leap you might say, but it's the breaking of essential add-ons which make it untenable for some.  

What version of FF are you on (Alt for menu then Help -About) Also what are you using for ad blocking, if you've allowed Firefox to automatically update then the latest version (56 or worse 57) may well have broken it. This sort of thing is going to be happening a lot in the coming days and weeks as everybody who hasn't turned off automatic updates ends up with 57. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/10/open_source_insider_firefox_57/ If you want to avoid all the potential hassle but still get the most important security updates then switch to the ESR (Extended Support Release) version, this was specially produced for commercial or business users where they don't want random updates changing the way they configure their machines. As somebody put it "ESR is dull stability at the expense of new features." but many will see that as advantage rather than a drawback. You can get 32 and 64bit versions here and here. EDIT: A more user friendly link for ESR Think of it like the support Windows 7 is still receiving until Jan 2020, i.e. security updates but no new features or changes to appearance, a bit of a Holy Grail for those who only want change when THEY want it not when it's foisted on them !

Since I've always been the buyer and never had any problems with registering cars here I've been speaking from personal experience however having looked further into it I've found this which is from the horses mouth and which proves that we are all remiss in one way or another. What to do if you are selling your vehicle privately to someone that does not have a GB address It would appear therefore that in following the procedure in the document Mr Panda was a step ahead of us all along and as a result is free and clear of any responsibility for the car. EDIT: Sections 6 & 10 of the V5 referred to are the new keeper details and new keeper supplement.

[quote user="Mr Panda"]The car was sold in the UK to the Paris resident.[/quote]At least three pages of this thread could have been saved if you had made that clear in your opening post ! If you informed DVLA at the time of sale then the car was nothing more to do with you from that moment on and is nothing more to do with you now - and that includes fines or bills etc. from France for towing or disposal. Curious how they got hold of you though as if they had asked DVLA they would have told them that it was notified as sold for export 2 years so maybe the V5, or other paperwork with your name and address on, was left in the car when it was abandoned. That said submitting the V5 export tear off is only a statement of intent and not fact. The way I understand it's supposed to work is that the receiving licensing authority (France) returns surrendered V5's to DVLA which acts as proof that the car has been registered here and it's receipt of those which triggers the export marker you will find beside a car if you query it on the DVLA website. I say 'supposed to' because from my own personal experience of importing cars whether the export marker appears or not seems to be virtually random ! BTW who's name is on a V5 is completely irrelevant to registering in France. For the QF You need to provide a sale receipt, proof of ID, and proof of address in France. You don't need the V5 at all in fact, a Certificate of Permanent Export will substitute for it and being issued to you personally by DVLA is actually a more authoritative document. [quote user="andyh4"]You should have returned the registration documents to DVLA showing it as sold. It was for the buyer to declare the export. If as seems likely the car is still on its UK plates, as far as DVLA is concerned you are the last registered owner.[/quote] That is not so. When selling a car which is going for export the seller sends the signed tear off section to DVLA and gives the buyer the remainder of the V5, I've done it a dozen times ! A foreign buyer cannot 'declare export'.

Out of curiosity would anybody else care suggest potential reasons for the French to have taken the trouble to track down and write to the registered keeper of a car two years after it had been sold in France, there may be others but it's hard to think of many which you might term good. The least 'bad' I can think of is that for an otherwise innocent reason, routine control or minor traffic accident for instance, the car came to their attention and the irregularity of a French citizen being in possession of and driving a UK regged car without being able to proffer any valid excuse for it might have led them to suspect it to be stolen. Unless we see the letter though it remains speculation, the OP knows how to post it if they want to. Could be it's no more than an opening gambit to establish contact and you'll only find out what it's actually about once they know they have the right person.