Friday Five!

You guuuuuuuys!  I forgot it was Friday!  I mean, I knew it was Friday, but I have had Things To Do and was putting off "indulging" in UKYankee time.

KF:  Restricted leg room?!  I hope that's not a very long programme!  He's going to need an intermission to stretch his legs, literally!  Good luck with the painting and with the dance school!  Exciting!

Margo:  So glad things are improving on multiple fronts.  Your introduction to actually living in the UK wasn't the smoothest, so I'm really glad it's starting to sort out for you.

KoD:  I don't know much about football, but Brazil sounds like it should be a safe bet.  Good luck.    Your family visit you?!  Mine are all, "Bah... can't come... going to Afghanistan."

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My Five:

1.  Monday was our 5th anniversary, and the traditional gift for the 5th anniversary is 'wood'.  I gave my husband a wooden pizza peel and a card.  I had planned to do a custom inlay or engraving on the peel, but then I fretted about usability, and I couldn't make up my mind... then the day arrived and it was too late.  So he looks at it and says, "Should we put something on it?"  I told him about my concerns, and he agreed that it's best to just use it.  So his gift was complete.

2.  Tomorrow is his 40th birthday.  I bought him an espresso machine, which was delivered as scheduled this afternoon.  Yesterday, he noticed that the coffee he'd asked me to order arrived with our groceries, and he said something like, "if we had a machine..." and I pretended to be gutted that we still don't have one.  Yay!  He's going to like his gift.

3.  It's 4pm and I have spent all day chatting... one of the people I chatted with is my FIL who found a car that my husband has agreed is worth our time/interest!  It's pretty far from us, but not too far from where my FIL lives, so he is going to go check it out for us, hopefully tomorrow.  My husband was already on the fence about the car, but the seller reduced the Buy It Now price from £1550 to £1350 overnight, and £1300 was my husband's limit.  If nobody buys it out from under us (*wistful sigh about the one with racing stripes that won't be mine*), we might finally get a car!

4.  For his birthday, I bought all kinds of "junk" food (a fresh block of comte, some brie, some pate, a baguette, some crackers, olives, hummus, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, two types of salami... all the noms!).  And a small cake.  And a bottle of port.  But we don't have any regular cheddar because my Tesco only sells really rubbery/wet mild stuff.  Hopefully, there's enough other stuff that he doesn't miss the cheddar.  Or maybe he'll stop at Aldi and get some better-than-Tesco cheddar.

5.  My card is finished, my gift has arrived, the food is chilling, ... I need to shower, do the washing up, wrap the gift, and then pretend like everything is normal, because we're not allowed to celebrate until tomorrow.  He insists.

Sounds like someone is going to have a wonderful birthday!

Hey, on cars. Used cars seem so inexpensive here... how are repair costs? Is it hard to find a good repair shop?

Sounds like someone is going to have a wonderful birthday!

Hey, on cars. Used cars seem so inexpensive here... how are repair costs? Is it hard to find a good repair shop?

As cars are required to have an annual MOT, you’ll find it’s unlikely you’ll need a scary repair.  There are also warranties available for used cars.

Cars usually have an annual service (Also known as an oil change) which is a bit costly.  All depends on the car.  My German cars are about £300 for a service.  A cheaper car will be cheaper to service but likely still over £100.

Hmmm. If we're talking changing the oil and oil filter, spark plugs, checking the belts, etc., that's something I've usually done myself. (Although the thought of paying someone else a bit to not have to crawl under there is more appealing as time goes by.)

How thorough is a MOT?

[edit: Duh, I could search for that   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/car-parts-checked-at-an-mot/car-parts-checked-at-an-mot   and it's not terribly comprehensive. The expensive stuff is the bit they don't check.  So, a used-car warranty sounds like a good idea!]

There’s a general list of what is included in the different types of car service on the Halfords website:
https://www.halfordsautocentres.com/advice/servicing-advice/car-servicing-whats-included


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Hmmm. If we're talking changing the oil and oil filter, spark plugs, checking the belts, etc., that's something I've usually done myself. (Although the thought of paying someone else a bit to not have to crawl under there is more appealing as time goes by.)

How thorough is a MOT?

[edit: Duh, I could search for that   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/car-parts-checked-at-an-mot/car-parts-checked-at-an-mot   and it's not terribly comprehensive. The expensive stuff is the bit they don't check.  So, a used-car warranty sounds like a good idea!]

You certainly could, if you have the space.  In my experience, people don’t do their own work on cars here and it’s a big deal that a car has a “full service history”.   

I miss having my dad nearby.  He used to save me a fortune in repairs.   

I believe they have just made some changes to the MOT that could end up requiring expensive fixes for some old diesel cars.

You certainly could, if you have the space.  In my experience, people don’t do their own work on cars here and it’s a big deal that a car has a “full service history”.   

I miss having my dad nearby.  He used to save me a fortune in repairs.   

I’m thankful for my husband as he does all the work on our cars and it’s saved us so much money!

JFK - hope your husband has a brill birthday!


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Cars usually have an annual service (Also known as an oil change) which is a bit costly.  All depends on the car.  My German cars are about £300 for a service.  A cheaper car will be cheaper to service but likely still over £100.

Don't go in and ask for a service and expect an oil change or you will get hit with a big bill because they will do much more than that.
If you just want an oil change, that's what to ask for!   

Don't go in and ask for a service and expect an oil change or you will get hit with a big bill because they will do much more than that.
If you just want an oil change, that's what to ask for!   

When my husband took his MX5 in years ago, he told me they tried to charge him for an AC re-gas....he had them check it was definitely his car. They confirmed it was. He was like "....yeah....my car doesn't have an AC....sooooo what was it you re-gassed again?"
They were very quick to go "oohhhhhh we must have made a mistake!"

When my husband took his MX5 in years ago, he told me they tried to charge him for an AC re-gas....he had them check it was definitely his car. They confirmed it was. He was like "....yeah....my car doesn't have an AC....sooooo what was it you re-gassed again?"
They were very quick to go "oohhhhhh we must have made a mistake!"

Good job he was on the ball! 

Oh my!  Good for him, tho!

You certainly could, if you have the space.  In my experience, people don’t do their own work on cars here and it’s a big deal that a car has a “full service history”.   

I miss having my dad nearby.  He used to save me a fortune in repairs.   

I used to do all that with my dad and would love to teach my son how to do it.  Unfortunately, we have zero space for tools, and even less for actually working on the car.  I'm sure if I did any work on the car in the driveway, I would be turned in to the housing assoiciation who would send me a nasty letter becuase of health and safety.  The nighbours would tut themselves unconscious.

More importantly, my car has a little light to tell you it's time for a service and I can't turn it off. 

Oh gosh. Those little lights. 
When I was last looking at cars in the States there were lights to tell you if your tire pressure was low. For goodness sakes! Like you can't get your ars* out of the car with a tire pressure gage and check the pressure when you fill up the gas tank?

I used to do my "car" work in the garage or carport, since I didn't do any really major stuff. (Or haven't done in years. There was one time I disassabled and re-built an engine, but I was a kid and we had a lot of space in our back yard for that.) I am very much liking being able to pay someone else to do the (literal) dirty work, but the minor stuff that just requires a hood up and a slide under is hard to justify - unless the cost for having someone else do it isn't appreciably more than the cost of the supplies. I've had enough skinned knuckles and grime that won't come out from under my fingernails, so I can work very hard to justify paying someone else. 

Better yet is to get a car with a very good reliability rating. 

[It might be fun to watch neighbors tutting themselves blue, though.]

More importantly, my car has a little light to tell you it's time for a service and I can't turn it off.

haha you just need to get a little thingamajig that plugs into your car (and a laptop I think?) and that will reset the service light :p