[bumpkin]

A beautiful day here in Aberdeen, 5 hours of which were spent applying my usual duty of care to my car.

For owners of black cars, I have to recommend the Turtle Wax Black Box, a pre-wax cleaner comtaining black "paint" which is applied to the paintwork and allowed to dry to a haze, then removed using the black impregnated detail spray, followed by an application of the black carnauba wax which is also allowed to dry then removed using the detail spray.  A final wipe over with the detail spray creates a beautiful deep gloss finish as I am sure you will agree with the photos.

A word of warning though, it doesn't tell you in the instructions, but I would recommend wearing a pair of latex or rubber gloves to use this stuff (fortunately I found this tip on t'interweb before I started) as it will leave the fingers black for a considerable number of days otherwise!!

[Dazzler]

Looks great Brian.. Hope you don't mind I tweaked the contrast in one of the photos to better show your handywork ..

[Doggie 1]

Very nice.
I love the leafy mural you've painted on to your rear bumper in photo # 2 

[Shambles]

I love the leafy mural you've painted on to your rear bumper in photo # 2 

And the leaf-tinted windows in pic #3

[meehalych]

Nice car 
the same color as mine
I reckon it is very hot inside, when the car is exposed to sun (perfect choice of color for winter, fall and spring only)

[bumpkin]

The glass in mine is all solar glass though Misha, reducing the heating of the cabin significantly on a hot day.  The automatic dual zone climate control deals with the rest.

[bumpkin]

Just back from seeing Ted at the cinema, my first proper run of the i40 in the dark and a couple of very nice improvements to report.

1.  The cornering lights are a really excellent addition to a car.  There is an extra bulb in the headlight clusters which automatically come on when the wheel is turned by about 1/4 in either direction which illuminates the direction the car is going in.  They also highlight the pavements really well, a really good safety addition IMO.  I think in the Premium model they are even more advanced in that the bulb swivels in relation to the steering angle, very much like the old Citroen DS.   

2.  A gripe that many folks had with the original i30 was the massive amount of blue light from the stereo unit which although could be switched off, automatically came back to life if using the steering wheel control to adjust volume or station.  In the i40 (and I presume the new i30???) with the satnav unit that screen is even bigger and brighter.  The good news is that you can push the dark button and it stays dark, even when adjusting the radio.

3.  Another safety feature, but one I am not quite so sure about as it creates a pet hate of mine, is the brake lights.  When AutoHold is on, you draw up to a junction and stop and the handbrake automatically applies itself.  The brake lights remain on until you move forward again, they do not switch off when you remove your foot from the pedal, as would be normal for instance atvtraffic lights.  This is something which although safe, I find that I hate being behind a car, particularly in the wet, with its brake lights glaring into my windscreen, but I guess since mine now does it for me, I will have to be more tolerant of vehicles in front of me as they may also have this feature.

[Dazzler]

Hi Brian.. not sure you sure my post but i am test driving an awesome white Premium i40 CRDi sedan in about 45 minutes  (hope it isn't too nice)

[Shambles]

Great review Brian

That brake light "feature" would annoy the hell out of me as I, like yourself, cannot abide queueing behind a blaze of red.
I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that I'll bet it can be configured to be on, off, or timed. You heard it first here

[bumpkin]

The brake lights then only stay on if you have AutoHold enabled, if you use the button for the electric handbrake as you would a normal handbrake then the lights go out.

The difficulty with that is that in order to switch the handbrake off you have to press the brake pedal and then push the button down, one that is fiddly and two, the button is actually quite small, it's certainly not as intuitive as finding a sodding great big lever.

The AutoHold feature is very nice in my opinion as it also doubles up as the hill hold feature, I personally am going to see if the brake light feature can indeed be configured any other way.

[bumpkin]

Very happy tonight

Insurance renewal due on 12th October.

One visit to Quidco later and I have a years fully comprehensive, with protected NCD, windscreen and vandalism cover and courtesy car, no voluntary excess an legal expenses for £177 and £25 cash back for going through Quidco so £152.  That's cheaper than the ix20 was!!

[Shambles]

Right that's it. I'm moving to Aberdeen 

[Surferdude]

Right that's it. I'm moving to Aberdeen 

Maybe you should have another look at those weather pics from last week and the flood pics Brian posted first.

[Dazzler]

Very happy tonight

Insurance renewal due on 12th October.

One visit to Quidco later and I have a years fully comprehensive, with protected NCD, windscreen and vandalism cover and courtesy car, no voluntary excess an legal expenses for £177 and £25 cash back for going through Quidco so £152.  That's cheaper than the ix20 was!!

You sometimes wonder how they work these things out 

I rang up to swap mine from the old Hybrid (agreed value $33k which was generous) to the new one New for Old replacement first 2 years same $400 excess and $50 on glass and she said that will be an extra $3 (per Quarter  )  $11 something extra for the whole year (about $438 I think the premium is) Got to be happy with that 

[babis_xo]

...a years fully comprehensive, with protected NCD, windscreen and vandalism cover and courtesy car, no voluntary excess an legal expenses for £177 and £25 cash back for going through Quidco so £152. 

... for the whole year (about $438 I think the premium is) Got to be happy with that 

Hmmm... let's see...

tac... tac...
**babis is hitting the buttons of his calculator...**

Daz paid $438 = €353
**...now is hitting the buttons hard...**

Brian paid £152 = €190
**...real hard...**

I paid: €504
**...<smash sound>...**

+ €15 for a new calculator

[Dazzler]

I'm paying too much    (and you are paying way too much Babis .. I can get a good calculator for about A$5) 

The crazy thing is your Insurance company is probably too broke to fix your car anyway 

[Doggie 1]

How do you get to a point of having no excess?
Doesn't happen here.

[babis_xo]

 

(couldn't find the Camry or i40 model on the lists) but for a Sonata 2.4, insurance cost is (the less) €855=$1060

[Dazzler]

(couldn't find the Camry or i40 model on the lists) but for a Sonata 2.4, insurance cost is (the less) €855=$1060

But you are only a young fella (high risk) 

[bumpkin]

How do you get to a point of having no excess?
Doesn't happen here.

I still have a compulsory excess of £95, but I have removed my voluntary excess completely.  In the past taking a voluntary has reduced the premium but not by enough this year to warrant taking it, even taking a voluntary of £250 would not reduce that price.  Additionally I have upped my mileage from 8000 per annum to 12,000 per annum and it made no difference to the premium either.  Kim is also on the policy at no extra cost.  Guess we must be getting old!

[Doggie 1]

Thanks. There are advantages to getting older. 

[Phil №❶]

...a years fully comprehensive, with protected NCD, windscreen and vandalism cover and courtesy car, no voluntary excess an legal expenses for £177 and £25 cash back for going through Quidco so £152. 

... for the whole year (about $438 I think the premium is) Got to be happy with that 

Hmmm... let's see...

tac... tac...
**babis is hitting the buttons of his calculator...**

Daz paid $438 = €353
**...now is hitting the buttons hard...**

Brian paid £152 = €190
**...real hard...**

I paid: €504
**...<smash sound>...**

+ €15 for a new calculator

You just can't take a trick lately Babis   

[babis_xo]

(couldn't find the Camry or i40 model on the lists) but for a Sonata 2.4, insurance cost is (the less) €855=$1060

But you are only a young fella (high risk) 

(Probably you're kidding but anyway) I'm in the lowest risk since my 28yrs

[eye30]

vandalism cover

Is vandalism an issue for you?

[bumpkin]

No, it's included as standard along with uninsured driver cover, it's about not affecting your NCD if either event occurs and you also don't have to pay the compulsory excess either.

[Asterix]

...a years fully comprehensive, with protected NCD, windscreen and vandalism cover and courtesy car, no voluntary excess an legal expenses for £177 and £25 cash back for going through Quidco so £152. 

... for the whole year (about $438 I think the premium is) Got to be happy with that 

Hmmm... let's see...

tac... tac...
**babis is hitting the buttons of his calculator...**

Daz paid $438 = €353
**...now is hitting the buttons hard...**

Brian paid £152 = €190
**...real hard...**

I paid: €504
**...<smash sound>...**

+ €15 for a new calculator

Don't worry, Babis, you're not alone.

I have to pay ~ 800 EUR / year for my i30. Excess is ~ 400 EUR  The lower excess I want, the higher annual price.

[eye30]

No,

Great news.

For a moment I thought Aberdeen had become one of those areas best avoid and had become the vandalised capital of Scotland.

My insurers don't offer this yet but like most insurers it will become a selling feature if others are including it in their policy. 

[babis_xo]

Sorry, I'm confused now. What is excess?

[eye30]

Sorry, I'm confused now. What is excess?

This is the amount of any claim which you pay.

You take an excess to reduce the premium but as a rule the reduction in premium isn't equal to or greater than the amount you pay in the event of a claim.

example:

Cost of repairs = £900.00
Excess = £100.00
Insurance company will pay = £800.00

You pay the shortfall of £100.00 to make it up to the £900.00

[babis_xo]

Sorry, I'm confused now. What is excess?

This is the amount of any claim which you pay.

You take an excess to reduce the premium but as a rule the reduction in premium isn't equal to or greater than the amount you pay in the event of a claim.

example:

Cost of repairs = £900.00
Excess = £100.00
Insurance company will pay = £800.00

You pay the shortfall of £100.00 to make it up to the £900.00

I see, thanks Lester.
Full insurance here is rather expensive and uncommon (even among professional drivers) and it has always being like this.

For a full insurance to a company that is most unlikely to pay you in time, the cost would be:
- 744€ for me
- 1600€ for Brian and Daz
and
with an excess of 600€

Don't worry, Babis, you're not alone.

I have to pay ~ 800 EUR / year for my i30. Excess is ~ 400 EUR  The lower excess I want, the higher annual price.

That's expensive although if you move down here you'll have to pay at least 864€ but with an excess of 600€
(to my insurance company cost would be 1100€)
Reckon we are not alone but we are THE suckers


*Sorry Brian for mewling in your thread. Happens rarely*