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I want a London Taxi
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pinkteapot wrote: »Tell them the Council wouldn't give you your license because of some technicality to do with some offender's register.
They'll soon jump out again.
Not necessarily so with !!!!ed up students.A kind word lasts a minute, a skelped erse is sair for a day.0 -
You could tweet Stephen Fry and ask where he got his
I'm inclined to think that insurance will be tough simply because it's a non-standard vehicle and on top of that you're young (strange - I had a mental image of you as a wacky cycling vicar). You might get a better deal from a classic car insurer - like Footman James - though they might impose a mileage per annum limit.
Fry has the advantage of money and I imagine full NCD.
:rotfl: No I merely got ordained online when I was about 14 and the name stuck...
Yeah haven't tried FJ yet.You could also try a quote from Peter Best who also specialise in 'classic insurance.'
Are there not 'Taxi entusiast forums' out there? They may be able to advise.
One thing about buying such a vehicle if you maintain it well and keep it sometime I would think its value wouldn't drop much and may in fact rise over time.
Best of luck.Foxy-Stoat wrote: »Look on ebay, theres loads of them for under £2500.
As for insurance, doesn't matter how much BHP it hasn't got, its all about risk and previous claims. Just try and call a few specialist brokers but as you are 20, I doubt you will get a "cheap" policy for anything let alone a london taxi!0 -
Keep the doors locked when you do get one or you'll have folks jumping in the back when you pull over and park, or even when stopped at the lights.
After owning a Nissan Bluebird in Birmingham I had a few experiences of !!!!ed up students jumping in my car asking to be taken home. :rotfl:Now that is rather more worrying that students don't understand the difference between a PHV and a black cab! Anyway I won't go into my usual tirade against PHVs illegally plying for hire...
Well today I spoke to a helpful chap at Swinton specialist dept who knew what he was doing but could only come up with £2800.I have the name and number of a local recommended taxi insurance broker but haven't been able to speak to him yet due to being at work all day. The search continues...
I really don't understand why its so difficult (except for that its very unusual). The fairway is one of the slowest, safest vehicles one can buy, and is worth very little. For £2500 I could easily insure any BMW or Merc, its ridiculous...0 -
I really don't understand why its so difficult (except for that its very unusual). The fairway is one of the slowest, safest vehicles one can buy, and is worth very little. For £2500 I could easily insure any BMW or Merc, its ridiculous...
Because as you say it is unusual so the risk to the insurance company is unknown, they generally go by the number of claims to work out the cost to them so for standard cars that's easy as they have lots of data to work with and calculate risk but for rare or relatively unknown cars or situations they have little to work with. To give a ridiculous example, a friend had a Renault Laguna in the RX spec but it had an unusual engine in that it was 200cc smaller than most of the RX specs. This caused all manner of problems getting the car insured as this spec and engine size simply didn't seem to exist on most insurance systems so either they weren't offered a quote or it was a super high one. Unfortunately it sounds like you're going to need to keep hunting around for a more specialist insurer.
As for the post above about being mistaken for a taxi, I know the feeling having owned a low spec Skoda Octavia TDI GLX in a city where (with no exaggeration) over 90% of the taxis were Octavia TDI's and mostly the GLX spec. When driving at night through the centre I had to make sure the doors were locked as people would frequently try to get in when I stopped at junctions or traffic lights.
John0 -
Because as you say it is unusual so the risk to the insurance company is unknown, they generally go by the number of claims to work out the cost to them so for standard cars that's easy as they have lots of data to work with and calculate risk but for rare or relatively unknown cars or situations they have little to work with. To give a ridiculous example, a friend had a Renault Laguna in the RX spec but it had an unusual engine in that it was 200cc smaller than most of the RX specs. This caused all manner of problems getting the car insured as this spec and engine size simply didn't seem to exist on most insurance systems so either they weren't offered a quote or it was a super high one. Unfortunately it sounds like you're going to need to keep hunting around for a more specialist insurer.
As for the post above about being mistaken for a taxi, I know the feeling having owned a low spec Skoda Octavia TDI GLX in a city where (with no exaggeration) over 90% of the taxis were Octavia TDI's and mostly the GLX spec. When driving at night through the centre I had to make sure the doors were locked as people would frequently try to get in when I stopped at junctions or traffic lights.
John
Are people really that stupid/drunk?! A black cab fair enough, but any other car it is surely basic common sense that unless it has a Taxi light illuminated on the roof it is not a taxi!0 -
I really don't understand why its so difficult (except for that its very unusual). The fairway is one of the slowest, safest vehicles one can buy, and is worth very little. For £2500 I could easily insure any BMW or Merc, its ridiculous...
As you say it's unusual so there's no competition and established markets.
What will also put Insurers off is the potential for 5 passengers for a young male driver which is potentially an extra personal injury claim over a normal vehicle.
P.S If you buy a black cab from a London cabby check the indicators as they never seem to work0 -
The test in London, no longer performed by PCO and now done by a private company, is little more than an MOT.
As the Fairway's are no longer able to be replated due to the 15 yr limit they are being run into the ground for the last year.
This can be up to 40k in the last year and London's roads are rough to say the least.
A lot of the last Fairway's to come off the road are held together by their adverts and a lot of chickenwire and blob.
£1500 will buy you a shed, if you go to a dealer it will be a shed with a quick blowover and some new chrome wheels trims.
You may find a one owner gem, but these days it is unlikely.
There are plenty of places to buy the parts to rebuild the suspension etc.
But remember that these vehicles are different to normal cars, they are designed to have the majority of ball joints and bushes replaced every year in an annual overhaul.
When they stopped being inspected by PCO and came under TFL the test was less strict, as mentioned, and as such most will need constant upkeep and also the reversal of decades of shoestring maintenance.
Big tickets repairs that are common include coolant in th autobox fluid and rust, lots of rust, the body was barely waterproof when new, especially round the windscreen where it leaks into the fusebox area, and also your feet.
And don't forget they do about 25/8 mpg, that is if the overdrive works.
And if you get 70mph out of one you are a lucky man.
My advice would be to buy a TX1, better in everyway, but with same engine.
Or find a Metrocab, mostly fibreglass and better all round if you avoid the series 1, best where the series 3 or the TTT which had Toyota engine and (I think) auto gearbox.0 -
Are people really that stupid/drunk?! A black cab fair enough, but any other car it is surely basic common sense that unless it has a Taxi light illuminated on the roof it is not a taxi!
They are indeed! My last car was substantial but not a common Taxi make or model but I had loads of instances of drunk people simply opening the back doors and piling-in.
This all stopped when I got something smaller and sleeker looking.
Then you get the ones who are probably too drunk to see beyond the end of their nose but determined to "Hail" you in the street, no matter what!0 -
Are people really that stupid/drunk?! A black cab fair enough, but any other car it is surely basic common sense that unless it has a Taxi light illuminated on the roof it is not a taxi!
Most certainly. :rotfl:I had a couple get into my car when I was sat waiting outside the restaurant my girlfriend was working at, they weren't drunk either. :eek:
Maybe it's just Brummies.0 -
They are indeed! My last car was substantial but not a common Taxi make or model but I had loads of instances of drunk people simply opening the back doors and piling-in.
This all stopped when I got something smaller and sleeker looking.
Then you get the ones who are probably too drunk to see beyond the end of their nose but determined to "Hail" you in the street, no matter what!
When people stand on the pavement and shout "Taxi" did you lean out of the window and shout back "Pedestrian"0
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