FAO Elder : Mussos / Korandos

Thank you. I'm not always totally insane. There is a fine line between genius and madness. I choose to skip merrily along it.

They do seem quite solid in an agricultural kind of way.

I don't see any part of Warrington or the M62 either. (c:

Don't take this the wrong way, but I'd get your work situation sorted first and then look for another car unless you were going to go down the more economical route of course, but even then the Octavia is a known (seemingly according to what you've said in here) quanity, albeit a boring average car.

'Boring' is good mmkay, when you've just started earning again or you're still not earning.

If you end up getting the job that's not on your doorstep, the last thing you need as you try to build up a bank balance, is an uneconomical car that may have other issues you'd not spotted before, sucking your finances dry.

Been there, done that... drove me nuts, and taught me a lesson.

kinda like selling an MR2 Turbo which had f*ck all wrong with it except a £700 increase in insurance from being 'a bit silly' and then buying a BMW

i don't do sensible mind so for me to drive an octavia would be REAL hard. although i did drive that s**te MK3 astra while the BMW was being fixed. it was total s**te but i LOVED getting to and from work for half the price!

anyway less sensible talk in here please it's disturbing me!

Yebbut... you were working anyway... and you weren't going from something 'sensible' to something not so sensible.

In fact you were going mildly the other way really.

I don't do sensible... when it comes to a second car or a bike.

The main car however has to be reasonably reliable and not too heavy when it comes to running costs, but then I do about 750 miles a week at the mo just to get to and fro work.

If I worked within a small radius of here like I did at my last contract, then that's when the 'sensible' option isn't so crucial - hence why I used to take the 106 most of the time when I was working there. :-)

I took the GTi to work just before Xmas... nearly had a heart attack when I saw how much fuel it used on a run like that compared to the other two!

You mean you weren't already?

Oh...

--=20 JackH

Oh that was the plan. Actually start the job, get settled then get something more comfy, with either similar or better economy.

I wouldn't sell the Octavia until I was certain that this job would actually have a life expectancy.

Luckily we have hard surfaces on our motorway. Although a bit of the M62 arround Birchwood is just about as rough as those logs.

your work situation sorted

Good man.

your work situation sorted

I just like to research the cars I fancy, or would consider. Quite a lot are a) Couldn't afford a decent one. b) Couldn't run one. c) Couldn't find one.

So I just like to know. Never owned a diesel so I'm completly in the dark as to what is good or bad. And having owned an Octavia I certainly don't want a Golf IV/A4 platformed car again. Dull to drive and not worth spending the dosh on unless you have the very highest performance model. Things like the Ssangyong were a bit a left field request because of the few people who I know have owned one, have liked them even when moving on to newer/flasher/better (like Frazer and my Brother), so I just wanted to see if anyone else might have had one but not mentioned it. Sometimes there are undiscovered gems, because the 4x4 market is fashion led. Just because it didn't sell well doesn't make it bad.

And while they seem to need a lot of routine maintenance, so do things like Discos and Landies and rangies. Parts might be a little dearer, or be a bit bitsa so you need to hunt down which Merc part is compatible based on VIN, but then I was quite used to that for the Celica anyway. The St185 GT4 changed somewhat over the years and somethings were standard on some markets, optional on others and removed completley for others. So spares could be difficult to secure cheaply.

I'll get sorted, I just wish the bastard who got me to sign a contract in November, based on an interview in October, would actually give me a start date he would stick to, instead of saying "can we meet on and discuss where we are upto". Yes he appears to have put it back again.

get your work situation sorted

IYHO, of course.

I'd happily have another Mk4 Golf TDI - horses for courses I suppose.

I wouldn't look at any of the petrol ones, mind.

Indeed.

But getting back to the original point, *any* dedicated 4x4 'brick' is a bad idea financially if you may imminently be looking to commute distance on a daily basis.

Agents... good ones are few and far between, but IME there is the odd gem out there, it just takes a while to find them.

As for the contract - not worth the paper it's written on given he's moved the goalposts several times already.

Thing is, notice periods, but not the start date was stated in the contract.

Start date was "expected start" and in a seperate offer letter.

Have you received a penny from them yet?

No... didn't think so.

By all means keep it on the back burner rather than ripping it up, but I'd pay no attention at all to any clauses stated within it to do with guff like that *until* you actually start work.

You need an income and any agency worth dealing with, (or court for that matter should the agency concerned be *that* anal), will understand if you take an alternative role elsewhere in the meantime.

Oh I had 1st and 2nd interview with a company before Xmas. I explained the situation that I had agreed to start somewhere else but it was being put off and would need to let the other job know out of courtesy. And they seemed really happy. And were OK to start someone quickly and make a decission over Xmas and let me know straight away (between Xmas and New Year). Except since then it all went quiet and I've heard nothing.

I did tell them if I started the first job, I would stay there, and told them the date I was supposed to start. It's a trust thing. If I was to drop a job for them, do you reckon they could trust me to stay there.

Never tell prospective employers you've already had an offer elsewhere - not unless you're offering something unique they couldn't get from another candidate.

Always keep 'em in the dark about each other and make the best decision for yourself, even if it means dropping one of the companies in the shit by letting them down at short notice.

I've done it a couple of times in the past.

Ah well, it is done now. Can't take it back. I guess I'm too honest for my own good.

They're probably all too busy dealing with hangovers and the like.

I worked Wednesday and Friday last week, and hardly anyone was in the office - I doubt wherever it is you've been for interview for are any different.

Give them a courtesy call if you've heard nowt by Wednesday - you've nothing to lose, and it shows you're keen. :-)

As SteveH says below, avoid doing this in future... especially if you're contracting.

I've mailed the lady from the ageny who set it up to let her know I would be still avialable.

No it's permy stuff. I have considered contracting in the past, but always fell back to perm as it is generally safer, and regular if payed a lot less.

I might find myself back stacking supermarket shelves again in the next few weeks, which ironically I was doing when I got ideas above my station and chucked it in as a mature student, went to do A levels then a degree and built up substantial student debts (to eat and buy books I needed, rarely went out), then gave 10 years to web development.