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I don't like forgetting that I am watching a recorded programme and inadvertently sitting through the adverts...

Well it has taken what seems to be an age but the RS has finally arrived. And god it's awesome. Here's the back story of order to delivery which I decided to keep pretty much to myself as I knew the wait would be hard enough without sharing the pain with you guys. February 2016 - Never thinking I could ever afford an RS and that the Fiesta ST MP215 would be the pinnacle of my Ford ownership I saw an advert on a Ford dealer website offering repayments of almost exactly what I was paying for the ST. But wait what about the insurance I here you ask? OK that's what I was asking anyway. So I did a quote and found that the premium was actually a few pounds less than for the ST. Oh god that makes it feasible. So off I trotted to my local Stoneacre dealer to see my friendly salesman Steve. We sat down and placed the order. RS mk3 in Nitrous blue, standard seats with blue bolsters, lux pack, 19" forged alloy wheels, sync2 nav system and door edge protectors. Fantastic everything I want and expected build date to be October 2016. £1000 deposit paid. Only problem is that RS orders can only be placed at Ford Stores and my local isn't one. So the order is placed via the Doncaster branch, he can't see anything on his system so will have to ring Doncaster for everything. Two days later Steve rang me. "Good news and bad news" he says. "Good news is we have a cancellation with a build date of May 2016, bad news no door edge protectors" let me think...I'll have it!!!! March 2016 - Then the horror stories start to come out of the forums and Ford themselves. Oil leaks on the production line no cars being released and many a potential owner getting ***** off. Then I get the dreaded call. "Your build date is being put back to June but you can have the door edge protectors" Well that's OK one month extra but everything I wanted, I can live with that. April 2016 - bad news continues. Build date back to July. June 2016 - Build date back to October. News on the RS forum that the winter pack, (heated seats and steering wheel) not previously available in UK but was in Spain, I don't understand either, is now available in UK. Get me that I tell Steve but only if it doesn't delay the order any further. He gets it on the build schedule, happy days. I also find out that one of the reasons for the delay is that Ford have run out of Nitrous Blue paint. Seriously? Sack the guy responsible for that. August 2016 - Ford Fair is quite painful as all I can see are RS's at ever turn. October 2016 - Sent an email to the RS team at Ford UK. Can you confirm my build date please? Reply states it might be December but two week shut down over Christmas means it might be the New Year. Enough is enough now. I'm very unhappy and seriously considering cancelling my order. So I march off to the dealers. Steve checks and is told that they have a build date of 10th November. Another email to Ford UK later that day to be told, "actually yes build date is 10 November and here's your VIN number. Whooop. Straight onto ETIS and there it is and they started building on the 8th two days early. November 2016 - Over the next few weeks I watch the car being built including an upgrade to Sync 3. Then I remember we've never actually sat down and worked out the finance in detail. Better get that done then. Off to see Steve, he's nowhere to be seen. Off sick I'm told he's had an operation and not due back till the New Year. *****. Anyway Paul says don't worry we'll sort it. What did Steve arrange for you. So I told him. "Seriously? That's a cracking deal." says Paul. I'll see what I can do. December 2016 - 5th - Paul rings. Car has landed at the dealers. If we can sort the finance you can pick it up on the 10th. God I'm nearly wetting myself now. Problem is they can't find any of Steve's paperwork, great. We discuss the finance and of course the screw tightens, your ST is now 9 months older and has 10k more miles on it so its only worth......f*** all. Jeez what now? A bit of hard talking and I get another £2k out of him. That's better. But I still need to find a bit more cash and the payments are £50 more per month than the ST. Just before Xmas, not good timing. So I juggle some finances around cancel the wife's Xmas presents, joking, and no problem I'll come in tomorrow to sign the papers. 6th- Where's Paul? His day off! Ahmed will sort it, he's the sales manager. We sit down and he gets the finance details up on screen. Your payments ill be £330 a month! No they f***ing won't be, says I. He's only quoted me on the current increased list prices not the cost when I ordered back in February. So panic over. Finance signed, Collection agreed for 11am 10th December. Saturday 10th December- The BIG day - Drove the ST, on fumes, to Doncaster, it needs 4 new tyres, current ones are like slicks, and the 3rd year service which I never got done and saved myself over £500 in total, so if you buy it make sure these have been sorted. I'll miss that car it has brought me 3 years of driving pleasure and many great memories. I arrive at the dealers to see the car in the showroom covered with a Ford car cover but the profile is unmistakable. I sign what seems to be every page of the bible hand over the ST keys and V5. OK sir if you'd like to take the cover off your new car? ***** hell not half I'd like to; Right that's all the buttons explained, phone paired let's get this show on the road. Hope I like it? Like it, it's chuffing amazing. What a car, like brown stuff off a shovel, more comfortable than the ST and sport mode transforms it into something else. I'm never going to tire of this. Here's a couple of photo's on the way home. And it's first wash That's all for now guys. I'll try update this thread over the coming weeks and months but it's hard when you never get out of the driving seat.

I don't like when your wife gets your phone while your sleeping, Then goes through your phonebook list editing the assigned picture of each contact replacing it with a picture of some random person on the internet 😐😅 my mother does not look anything like a ***** St⭐ar yet thats the image assigned to the contact 😧 update: she has also drawn moustache's on the kids faces and is blaming the elf on shelf whom is on the floor in hall with a packet of markers 😂

And me, and do the opposite. Trying to fast forward then realise I didn't press record.

I don't like that the I can't fit much of the polystyrene packing from my recent purchases into the non-recycling wheelie bin, even when I break it into chunks. Even if the council hadn't replaced the 240L bins with 180L ones, I doubt I could fit it in. The new fortnightly collection doesn't help either, it won't be emptied until the 27th. Since I've replaced moderate carb milk with low carb single cream, as a coffee whitener, for my diet, I can see I might have logistics issue with getting enough cream to last over the bank holiday closures, but not too much that it sours before I've had chance to use it. Whilst you can freeze milk and whipped cream: I don't think you can freeze liquid cream, so i can't just bulk buy and freeze it Of course, everyone and his wife buys cream in the days before Xmas, and if I wait too long and go for my usual afternoon shop, they might not have enough for my usual weekly 4 x 600ml Halloween caused an afternoon cream shortage at Tesco, and that was only one day

I do that all the time

Keys in ignition, in gear, gas on the right, clutch in the left, brake in the middle... Try and hit the ferry or the train rather than the water, try not to bring a car load of stowaways back....

That's a brilliant idea Thanks Lenny

I don't like the volume of under 2 year old cars with major dents and scrapes in Sainsburys carpark this morning... Though it should've given me an idea what I was in for in store, getting bashed out of the way by 80 year olds trollies, well that's when they weren't leaving them stranded across the aisles, not even length ways! Worst part is, when I did reach the correct shelf, the cooked meat and bakery items didn't have anywhere near long enough dates so I'll have to make a return visit later in the week anyway!

I once had a car pass the MOT...then the tester snapped the handbrake cable parking it in the car park.

So it's been day 2 of the ST and loving it. The moding started today and achieved pretty much all of it. Induction done. Symposer delete done. Washers done. Gloss black interior also done.

i replied on a duplicate topic, so will copy and paste on this one The original failure items plus any components that needed disassembling in the process of fixing mot item, I.e pads, the caliper, calliper fixings, flexible hoses, road wheel, wheel nuts. Brake fluid level. Basically just a common sense check. Then a brake efficiency test. the tester is not going to do a full check of items, but for instance he or she notices a failable item like a big crack across windscreen or other such items since the original mot , then they can fail the car. very rare that retesting a vehicle then that fails again on another item not being retested. most common retest fail when maintenance on brakes are carried is a twisted brake flex hose due to caliper being refitted incorrectly.

Jamie don't shoot the messenger. I'm glad you're so conscious about your drinking and driving or lack of driving, its perfectly sensible...but I didn't ask you about it or suggest otherwise. Bloke asks about what he needs for France, I mention breathalysers, you question why and I give you an example of why one might need one and like others say it's the law..... If you wouldn't drink a lager top with a meal and then drive home then that's up to you/your body/your mind.... Personally I still will... But I never go over a pint.. some will say any is too much and that is there decision, I'm within the laws and if you disagree then head to parliament and change the law...

Like opening the bonnet of my focus after a drive to see the electric coolant pump I fitted in the summer actually working to cool the turbo. Since fitting it , never knew if the pcm was switching it on as required. Also the coolant level has stopped dropping since fitting it. [emoji5]

When I was leaving my previous job; I changed my login on the computer to "YourOnlyANumber" on my way out the manager shook my hand and asked what the password was, I said it's Your Only A Number mate, don't forget that 😅 cya later

Interesting how I've never met any of you in real life, but I know that both Lenny and Ghana wipe sitting down and Tom stands up bent double to wipe.... ....it's times like these that the swear filter should allow me to say OMFG in full ...

At least the puke is warm? Never even received anything...not even an email saying merry Christmas. If I was away, I'd receive a small care package - sponsored by BFBS of I remember rightly

I'll just quote what Clarkson would say "Powerrrrrrrr"

Have a read Ken https://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touring_tips/france-monaco.pdf

I do like that Wessex Water are driving up and down the road, announcing they will be turning off the supply for the afternoon: rather than leaving us to discover it when our taps and loos run dry

Plain crisps Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

Hey all, some small minor modifcations have taken place in the last couple of weeks but as you can see I've slowed down over Christmas as money has been tight. Although I have just secured a full contract with Mercedes-Benz World where I work and will have a pay rise for January - laaaaaavely more mods ;) Anyway cracking on... wanted to try out a different lighting option and the company is called Autobeam. Wanted to change the interior & map lights as that dull yellow made everything seem so dated. Went for a crisp bright white as can be seen here. I also wanted to get rid of the standard yellow in the sidelights, and I also wanted lights that could make my foglight green tint for shows and what not. So I decided to opt for Autobeam's colour changing side lights. They work through a remote and there's about 16 flat colour options to chose from as well as flashing, slowly turning over, fading etc they're really quite good tbh! The colours are really bright and I can see them getting a good amount of attention :) They also have a built in memory function allowing me to change to the white setting for driving on the road as and when I want to. Definitely much better than the yellow, however the white has a fair tint of blue to it as well so I'm thinking I should probably replace the headlight factory xenons with the Autobeam LED bulbs to match colours and give a refreshing new look considering the xenons have probably been in years given the age of the ST. This is the white As I say its just a quick update, i'll probably give the car a wash tomorrow and take some pics (as it wont stay that way longer than 2 minutes given the current weather outside). I do have a fairly significant mod to do, its just finding the time with my friend to help do it! Am thinking I'll be trying to find a mongoose cat back after Christmas is over, get closer to that refined 5 pot roar and flames ;) Stay tuned

Thanks dude! Interesting to see if the lights can be improved significantly.

Ha true. But I can see it coming, you know it!

Table Salt

Calm down 😊 get some petrol, pour 1 litre in to a bucket, then put the polystyrene in the bucket, the chemicals in petrol will melt the polystyrene down to a molton base which will dry hard again but take up less space in your bin, it's like melting chocolate without the heat

Game Console

Apart from the 20 minutes, whilst I wait for the morning dose to kick in upon wakening, I do like how Tescos cold capsules are suppressing all my cold symptoms Once they've got going, it's hard to tell, I even have a streaming cold It's still very warm for the time of year, Brandy's morning walk was conducted in summer wear again. Single sheets are: if you have a powerful snort. Double sheets folded into a 4-ply sandwich will withstand all but the gustiest snort. Whereas triple sheets, as a 6-ply pad captures everything No, my approach is to bend, cleave, wrap then fold Scrunching could be counterproductive Stickers are the easier option. Apply them once you're on the ferry/train and you'll be good to go when it docks/terminates in France

I'll see if I can dig out some pics of them in the Vauxhall .

So true, I had a cat let go on my old 206 just a day after it passed its mot (with an advisory on a rusty exhaust)

Fantastic looking car, so so jealous. Great pictures, could stare at them all day lol

Take a look at this guide: MOTtesting.org.uk It's mostly seems to be about the car leaving the testing station that failed it as they can just re-check the bit that failed if they are confident nothing else has changed as it has been in their possession. I suspect they will effectively perform a full MOT check anytime it leaves the garage as anything could have changed without them knowing.

Sticking a new battery on with a goosed alternator is asking for trouble. Is it under charging or over charging? If the alternator is not working properly you will soon end up with another goosed battery. You can't really blame Hanford's as being the cause if your alternator is already on it's way out. Fix the problem alternator stick new battery on would be the correct way to sort it and risk less problems IMHO.

Exactly what I was thinking...

Glad u got it sorted mate. Nothing worse than another dealer visit

More likely to crash under the influence, but Jamie manages without alcohol. Lol

Or maybe you need to just call a taxi! If I go out somewhere I make a decision before I get there, to either avoid all alcohol and drive, or have a drink and get a lift/taxi home. Even if you pass a breathalyser test, it doesn't mean you're not impaired.

I think they also wont let you use speed camera detectors as well heard that somewhere.

Is the pump outlet filter blocked? Just fixed my parents 2010 Focus this morning as theirs wasnt working. Wheel off, arch liner off, drop the bottle, remove pump motor and then pull out the rubber grommet which has a built in filter. It was caked in slime stopping the water getting through. A quick rinse and was good as new.

If you suspect you are over the limit then instead of breathalysing yourself you just shouldn't drive, and if you do drive and are over the limit then you will be arrested. Simple as that. Not sure why the need for drivers to carry their own breathalysers, unless the police don't bother pulling people over and just assume everybody is genuine and honest?

diff bearings, i would source a 2nd hand box off ebay or local scrap yard and get a local garage to swap boxes over.

and helps to drive on the right!! lol

Ah.... Well, in that case I feel better for not knowing exactly! Hahaha...

Wrong way round! It's Ghana that stands up to wipe not me...it'd be in my socks before I could get the paper... With that sort of approach to wiping, I'm worried he's a scruncher rather than a folder as well!

Speaking of poo 😂 our two year old Son had a full nappy this morning, Just about to change it and he fell over and it squashed the nappy out through the leg of his trousers so I called @VickiW to change it instead 😣 what a mess

Very nice. I was sat behind one of these the other day on a delivery, and whilst I'm not the biggest fan of the Mk3, I couldn't help thinking to myself

Awww poor Brandy! Well, at least you saved her! :)

Don't bother with the body kit, There are light brows available for the fusion from a german company cassed CSR Automotive. http://de.csr-shop.info/Scheinwerferblenden-SB-Scheinwerferblenden-Boeser-Blick-Ford-Fusion-SB149/a44745933_u315/ lower it with eibach springs on some 16" wheels when existing tyres need replacing and get the tracking aligned will be a fun car to drive. change indicator bulbs to silvatec to remove the fried egg apperance, For some Cree led reverse bulbs and front fog light bulbs there a straight swap and shine 6000k white don't fit them to dipped or high beam lights though as led are not legal in those particular settings; for dipped and high beam use osram cool blue intence. Some nice seat covers and upgrade the headunit to somthing more modern with Bluetooth and even a reverse camera if desired, not a huge job to do perhaps a sub or speaker upgrade too. when brakes need replacing fit some EBC green pads and some cross drilled discs, Also paint the brake calipers in colour of choice and paint the rear brake drums with hammerite smooth finish silver to make then look like brake discs when rolling. dewiper the back window, Tint the rear Windows 35% dark Additional boot light, ignition ring light, front & rear footwell lighting. Ford logo puddle lights in the doors. sparco tow strap fitted to inside of boot door. remove grills paint them gloss black and refit. some tastefully applied signature decals along the rear side window sills. not much else outside of this worth doing to be honest but with all that done it will stand out and look very clean. if it's a diesel then upgrade the induction filter and blank the egr valve, but if its petrol it doesnt need extra air flow as its not got a turbo and it wouldn't have an egr valve to blank, best thing for the petrol engine is a genuine ford fuel filter replacement, bro irridium spark plugs, genuine ford induction filter and a bottle of wynnes engine flush when changing the oil. Perhaps a bottle of holtz radiator flush and coolant replacement too. This all improves engine response as it keeps everything clean and lubricated. my build thread is here may give some inspiration https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/41443-taking-oval-to-blue-horizon-lennys-build-thread-2010-2015/&ved=0ahUKEwiBo639gvnQAhXIC8AKHQguBl4QFggbMAA&usg=AFQjCNGh_bCJKmlcN_ri5kRKDoAx4GjmZg Also my full list of Guides here some of the lighting guides are much the same on your motor https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/68214-full-list-lennys-guides/&ved=0ahUKEwj63NTrgvnQAhWrB8AKHcORAiUQFggaMAA&usg=AFQjCNF_jUzFEqw5X3E-vCcv_8WqIoSgew

A nice crufts calender for there kennel or a pack of poker cards to pass the time while waiting for the call out.

I'd like to think the dogs would get something too, lol I'm sure Clive gives them a Christmas "Bonus"/prezzie, even if the force doesn't.