Hi guys. Really sorry but I’m leaving now as it’s quite a drive. I’m not bringing the Primera as I’d need to get insurance on it and swap my stuff over before I can go. Wish you all the best with Andrew’s Yaris and I’ll happily chuck some cash in the pot to help.

Cheers.

TJ – yes, you’re right. I would do something like this to help someone out. If circumstances allowed I would do it no question. Haven’t pmed you as you said it is playing up.

Kids are fed, bath is running so thought I’d update while I sit next to the bath. I will try to answer some questions about the difficulty in my predicament.

Firstly thankyou to both of you for your extremely generous offers, like Ambrose said i am completely overwhelmed. I still question myself if I deserve what you are all doing. Secondly, thankyou to everyone for thinking of me and for trying to find a way to get a car to me. Also a major thankyou for trying to find a way of sorting the car out before it even got to me. All this really blew my already very fragile and spontaneously explosive mind.

My predicament is a simple one. I didn’t want to offend anyone. Both cars have their positive and negative points for me and us to use as a family. This is true for most people and their own choice of car.

Before Rich posted his last post (really sorry for not letting you know sooner, I hope I didn’t offend or upset you in any way) I had made a decision. This was based on a couple of things. I would need some time to be able to sort money out, then insure and tax the car. I didn’t feasibly think I could sort this out in the next day or so.

The insurance was the deciding factor. My no claims bonus has run out. Nearly 3 years since we last had a car, the mobility insurance doesn’t use personal insurance no claims. New insurance quotes sorted yesterday based on the info I had. Cheapest quotes I got were yaris £482 and primera £723!

Looks like the yaris could be in for an unforgettable journey. Hopefully with lots of pics and updates along the way during its relay/long jaunt/handovers from there to here. Could be a really interesting and possibly very stupid thread.

Thankyou all again.

Ok

Lets do this thing people!

But how many bricks can you put in a Yaris? 😉

Ambrose – you have a PM

A quick Google leads me to believe that it will be able to carry 175 bricks!

It might be worth ringing a few insurers directly and explaining you had no claims, transferred to a mobility car, lost it, and now need to reinsure. It may also be worth emailing a few insurers and explaining the whole situation and story, and that it could be a good opportunity for publicity for them. It’s the sort of good promotion for companies that money can’t buy and in the modern day of viral social media promotions it’s a steal for them to get involved and help out. All good insurers will have a pr department

It might be worth ringing a few insurers directly and explaining you had no claims, transferred to a mobility car, lost it, and now need to reinsure.

It’s possible to do this when switching from a company car to a personal one, so must surely be possible with motability.

I’ll chip in a few quid for the road trip too – I flippantly suggested the idea after all! Someone let me know where to send it.

https://www.gofundme.com/wheels-for-gnusmas

Hope that works and I’ve not jumped the gun!

PS sorry Matt for pinching your photo!

spot on rocky.  I was going to do it tomorrow

I am waiting for a couple of folk to get back to me but the plan – as much as I have the right to make one and as much as its like herding cats around here is this week I’ll get a one day insurance for the car and deliver it down to wherever he is. and get a train back unless anyone has a better plan

What would be nice is to get the wheelbearing done and the exhaust fixed.  I am assured it is OK to drive tho right now.  anyone any bright ideas?

Enough dosh to insure for him would be spot on.

If we can chip in enough, is there anyone in gnusmas’s area (fnerrrr….) who can get the work done, or arrange it?

Sounds like a fun road trip Tj. Donated to help with the costs.

duckers and sl2000 have it. I’ve used Hanson and Robertson in Aberdeen for years- they have always been great.

I suggest that TJ delivers car to someone/ somewhere that can sort any niggles that it may have- bearings, fuel tank, electrics etc.

Another person could then move the vehicle on to a more convenient location to South Wales.

I have checked, Gnusmas has a garage and some tools, but probs not everything required. I have garage, tools but not enough expertise. Can keep it off road in Carmarthenshire though, within easy striking distance of Carmarthen.

What we need is a combination/ unification whereby we can get the car/ TJ/ Gnusmas/ tools/ expertise/ location all together in the same place at the same time. We need to get TJ home too- public transport here in South Wales is pretty rubbish tbh. Any suggestions?

And finally; TJ- you are a star. I am more than happy to offer you a bed for the night should you wish. I’m between Carmarthen and Swansea.

I have to be in Edinburgh on Wednesday this week and back to work on tues next week

Donated some cash, sorry I dont have any time to help!

Any north / west welshies able to give me a hand back to civilisation and public transport after the car is dropped off?  No idea where the nearest mainline train is.  Chester?

Edit – actually looking at it a bit better Bangor is the nearest station ( Is it?) and suprisingly if I get a train there at 6pm I can get home that night

Er, TJ, you need to be further south. We are talking Carmarthen, not Caernarfon. Opposite ends of the country I’m afraid.

Ah.  Ruddy funny welshie spelling.
*gets map out*

edit

Ruddy heck long time on the train and expensive!    3pm last train to get me home.  How long to drive to there from Edinburgh?

Late to the party . . .

But if you can get to me TJ (Monmouth/Chepstow area), I can go over the car, sort any problems and drop you at Chepstow/Bristol train station.

I could then drive the car over to Ambrose/Gnusmas and get the train back home? Or perhaps somebody could collect it from me?

It will take me a couple of weeks to sort the car (depending on the problems) as I’ll have to fit it in around work.

Does that help? Best to PM me, as I don’t check in here that often these days.

Marko – that sounds spot on thanks

A bunch of legends, the lot of you.

Just noticed this too.

I will totally help fixing anything, I can handle wheel bearings and exhausts – but Marko is a pro and far better than me with cars 🙂

I’d also have helped with transport – only about 90 mins to Carmarthen for me – but you may already have sorted.  I can help with whatever picking up/dropping off is required.  You might even get a ride in the legendary Passat.

TJ, Glasgow to Cardiff is about 6.5-7.5 hours depending on how hard you press on.  I’ve done the other direction in 6 hours leaving at 7pm.  Then you’ll need another 1.5 hours from Cardiff to Carmarthen – a pretty easy drive though.  Do not be tempted to cut through the middle of Wales unless you like sightseeing and have another hour to spare.  If you need a place to stop off either direction my place is just off the motorway, there’s also a budget hotel here.  Marko’s place is probably 1/2 hour closer to you than Cardiff by car if you go with that option.

Also when you get the train back do not go via Hereford and Shrewsbury to Crewe if it tries to send you that way.  You’ll spend three hours on a rubbish commuter train with uncomfortable packed in seats.  Go via Birmingham instead.

Also, there are direct flights from Cardiff to Edinburgh for £150.

Righteo.

Looks like the plan as it exists now is I will get the car down to Marko end of the week.  I’m awaiting pickup details from Andrews boss.  Need to arrange one day insurance for me to drive it.  Anyone any clues?
Ulnless anyone is volunteering to take over from me halfway south?  NO problemo for me to take it all the way tho.  I do have all my gold plated public sector hols to use 😉

I’ll drop it at Markos place so hopefully he can put it in tip top condition then Gnusmus can get the car from Marko

Hopefully the just giving page will mean Marko is not out of pocket for any bits needed and enough left to help gnusmus with insurance

I should be able to get to Marko and back in a day.

Mods mods – change the title to something more appropriate could you?

Did the funding page ever get set up?

Yep – link is in rockthreegozy’s post above ^^^^^

Yes!

https://www.gofundme.com/wheels-for-gnusmas

https://www.gofundme.com/wheels-for-gnusmas

Karma points all round, great work everyone.

I’d join you for the road trip if I were at the right end TJ 🙂

I’ve updated the target as its nearly smashed within 12 hours- amazing! I will donate when I can- this week is job hunting time for me!

Done! Someone bought my iPhone off here so hope my donation goes some way to ease the costs of running the car.

All the best.

Adrian

First target reached – let’s get behind this and see how quickly we can get to the next one…

A quick Google leads me to believe that it will be able to carry 175 bricks

God no!!! It’s had 100 in it once, plus 10st4 of me and that was more than plenty, it was very low and very sluggish. Came 25 miles down the A7 like that, but hired a van for the other 400 (my van was out of action, hence seeing how many I could fit in a Yaris, it’s a weight thing more than a volume thing) Pop 50 in first and see how you get on.

.

Anyway, there was some interest expressed to the gumtree ad for it but he hasn’t come back yet so I’ve put my wife and TJ in touch. If Marko could get it into tip top condition (well, make it less noisy) that would be great, perfectly feasable if not paying for labour, the bits aren’t expensive.

Gnausmas has greed to pass it on when it becomes too small or whatever or he’s in a position to get something better, would be great if this could become some sort of immortal good-karma car, passed around to whoever needs it at the time and kept alive by whoever knows how to fix it.

I don’t see why we couldn’t bung your wife a nice bottle of something for loosing out on the money she might have got fr the car

id like to put a roll cage in it to make it stiffer in the corners

Bravo chaps. Stw gold.

Nice idea TJ, if there’s any in the pot after wheel bearing, exhaust, trainfare, insurance then some flowers or posh choccies would be nice, she’s off the alcohol due to breastfeeding miniH. If there’s loads left then bung the rest here http://radcliffedonkeysanctuary.co.uk.gridhosted.co.uk/ if everyone agrees?

A wee photo montage of the journey and work done would be great, she’s very fond of it and would love to see it it in good shape again.

.

Do we think Mick has read the first post and then jumped straight to the end?

The bricks certainly made it corner flat, no rolling then (or indeed any other suspension movement) but I’m not advocating them as a permanent upgrade, they did not make it quicker.

Thanks mods for the title change.

Brilliant job everyone, we could have a yaris meet up…excellent little cars, so many of that era still driving around.  Thanks to everyone making it possible.