Lockdown travelling

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

raleighnut

Legendary Member
It was an Aquamist system :smile:, plus all the other bits to keep a 400 BHP Impreza on the road.

Roger Clarke Motorsport :smile:
Aye Scott next door has one of those, only thing is he left it for a couple of months and the metallic 'Puck' clutch has rusted to the flywheel
You can certainly tell when he fires it up though, the exhaust isn't that loud but the house vibrates when it's running and at 'tickover' it's worse, when he revs it up there's a bit but ticking over it is unreal.

BTW I actually knew Roger quite well, in 1985 I worked ar 'Clarkes of Narborough' (the old family works) and the bodyshop was there for sticking Porsche cars back together, by this time Roger was into Powerboats and had 'Roger Clark Marine' just down the road on 'Cutters Close' near the 'Roger Clark Cars' Dealership on the corner of Leicester Rd. and Huncote Rd (where I lived) Oh and the 'Roger Clark Cars was his brother Stan's pet project with Lotus and Porsche dealerships.
I probably spoke to him a couple of times a week, a very 'larger than life' fella (and a big bloke too) and at the time driving a Range Rover, but then his Dads old garage was an Austin Rover dealership
 
Last edited:

Joffey

Big Dosser
Location
Yorkshire
Hi, got a question for the intelligent people on here.
I have a trip coming up and I think it falls into bit of a grey area, my car has to be serviced, mot’d and a few little bits doing. The issue is the garage that I have always used is 150miles away. Am I am still allowed to travel?
Now my head says yes as the car has to have an MOT and be serviced, and I have all my service history from this one garage as they are a specialist for my vehicle and it is running their performance upgrades so don’t really want anyone else playing around with it.
What’s the verdict?

If you have to ask it's probably dodgy. The reason you are asking is you think this yourself and are looking for justification.

  • Am I ok going to the shop 5 miles away? Yes, of course you are.
  • Am I ok driving to my usual garage 10 miles away for my MET? Yes, of course you are.
  • Am I ok driving 15 miles to the big supermarket as I have run out of pants and need to get these and my weekly shop? Yes, of course you are.
  • Am I ok to drive 150 miles to get a service and MOT? Erm, no.
 
Looking at the specialist mods ie methanol injections etc, would suggest not handing it to an ordinary garage but just get the MOT. With the lockdown, usage is also going to be limited Just hang in there for 2 months or so.
 

Chislenko

Veteran
Just watching the news on TV and thought of this thread, is the BBC sending a reporter to interview a hotelier in Cornwall any more essential than Dan driving to get his MOT.

This same reporter was doing a piece from another part of the country the other day, so not local.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
It’s not long over due but enough. It’s not just a service as some other bits need looking at.
Now after spending about £15’000 in mods @ one garage I’d like to continue using them and only have them deal with any issues
An orangutang can do the oil, coolant, plugs, filters, and eyeball all the safety critical components. Unless the car is incredibly complex and specialist there is no justification under lockdown travel rules to drive 150 miles for a service.

Just because you 'like' because them doing it because they have previously worked on the car will cut no ice with a copper or a magistrate.

Unless you're driving something utterly barking (McLaren P1, La Ferrari, etc) I can guarantee Mrs D's car is technically more complex than yours and there are 3 main dealers withing a 15 mile radius, never mind a sprinkling of reputable specialists that can fettle it.

I would suggest there is no moral or legal imperative for your proposed course of action at this current time, and being realistic no technical one either.
 
Last edited:

Drago

Legendary Member
What does £15,000 of modifications even look like?

Mrs D's car had more than that spent on optional extras. Thankfully it wasn't my wallet that suffered the pain.
 

CanucksTraveller

Macho Business Donkey Wrestler
Location
Hertfordshire
Ah, you've used Arnold Clark as well then?
That's the guys who have somehow managed, with no dissent, to glue big yellow stickers onto the rear tailgates of 50% of cars in Scotland isn't it?

I've always promised myself that one day, when I'm really bored, I'll move to Scotland purely to buy a car from Arnold Clark, so that I can almost take delivery but at the last second go... "hang on, I don't remember advertising your chain with a yellow tailgate livery being part of the deal... get that sh*te off before I take the car away".
 

Drago

Legendary Member
That's the guys who have somehow managed, with no dissent, to glue big yellow stickers onto the rear tailgates of 50% of cars in Scotland isn't it?

I've always promised myself that one day, when I'm really bored, I'll move to Scotland purely to buy a car from Arnold Clark, so that I can almost take delivery but at the last second go... "hang on, I don't remember advertising your chain with a yellow tailgate livery being part of the deal... get that sh*te off before I take the car away".
They aren't very subtle. Daninplymouth's car has one too.

575423

They're so big they must surely be structural.
 
Last edited:

Joey Shabadoo

My pronouns are "He", "Him" and "buggerlugs"
That's the guys who have somehow managed, with no dissent, to glue big yellow stickers onto the rear tailgates of 50% of cars in Scotland isn't it?

I've always promised myself that one day, when I'm really bored, I'll move to Scotland purely to buy a car from Arnold Clark, so that I can almost take delivery but at the last second go... "hang on, I don't remember advertising your chain with a yellow tailgate livery being part of the deal... get that sh*te off before I take the car away".
There was a BBC Scotland documentary about the A9 a while ago (riveting stuff) and it showed an elderly American couple driving from John O Groats to Perth. They noticed the Arnold Clark stickers on virtually every car with some puzzlement.

"Gee Thelma, maybe he's running for Governor or Mayor or somesuch"
 
Top Bottom