The Dark Wob

I've noticed a lot of Wolverhampton licenced cars in Liverpool of late, any ideas on that? Probably the furthest away ones I have noticed but they seem more and more common.

Wait - was that gopping red 306 XLD an ex-cab?

Rover414 wrote: ↑Thu May 23, 2019 3:47 pm I've noticed a lot of Wolverhampton licenced cars in Liverpool of late, any ideas on that? Probably the furthest away ones I have noticed but they seem more and more common.

It's one of the easiest councils to get a license in, hence taxis all over the place are getting plated there:
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/tra ... y-drivers/

Ah makes sense. They seem to be mostly on Uber set ups though I have noticed some with dual Ola and Uber boards, seems overly common in certain parts here.

There are about as many Wolves plated cabs in Manchester as Manchester plated ones (in fairness Manc have standards).

Sefton Council is another easy license, lots of those in Manc too.
I occasionally see Gelding (Notts) plated cabs here as well.
Rochdale is just silly as they don't have age restrictions on PH, there are 20 year old mk1 Avensises plated.
I once saw a Havant plated cab here...

Great to see this thread again and with updates.

Split_Pin wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2019 2:38 pm Great to see this thread again and with updates.

Thanks! I'll post another update soon.

As promised here's the 306 update.

Now after the Xantia threw a leg out of bed punching a hole in the block at the worst possible time I was short of wheels, enter the N plate 306 Sedan.

I acquired it off another driver who was off long term with glandular fever and to be honest, so close to Xmas I really didn't care what it was as long as it was plated and I could go to work. It had already passed it's eighth birthday as was on a discretionary six month beggars plate extension only handed out by appearing in front of the licencing panel pleading poverty and boy did this 306 Sedan reek of poverty! It was a 1.4 petrol with no electric windows, central locking, power steering or even a sunroof! It probably was the last real basic car licenced in my area. To it's credit it looked OK in white with only a miss matched slightly off white front wing hiding it's Cat D status. Driving it made me feel like an old school minicab driver having to do a reach around worthy of an Eros Centre rent boy just to lock and unlock the doors to let the punters in and keep the scum out. In fact, the only creature comforts over and above a Mk5 Cortina were a five speed box and a stalk on the column to adjust the radio, even the keypad security PIN had been bypassed.

Was I happy with it? Well yes, probably more than you'd think. The fuel economy was very good for a pez powered car and it could be thrown around with great spirit due to the legendary 306 handling. Throw in decent seats (better than my later 306 if I'm being honest) and I was a happy bunny indeed. The only thing that went wrong during my tenure was the exhaust needing replacement although the clutch was starting to slip in the last week of it's plate. It was sold on for the princely sum of £450 at eight and a half years old.

What replaced it? Well that was a Rover 218 Tourer Turbo Diesel that'll be the next thrilling* chapter in my story.

Yo Warren, can I lob this private hire wet dream of a german E klasse taxi lapping a truck load of Skoda diesel wagons?


(I feel like a shit advert interlude for the restaurant “Just 5 minutes from this Odeon” before the Warren t claim feature presentation).

The Skoda Octavia in taxi spec has certain limitations just like the Hyundai i40.

The Octavia has cruise which is important but lacks a six-speed box which is very handy but the main drawback is the keep fit rear windows which would be a deal breaker for me as punters have a habit of leaving them open.

The i40 has both a six-speed gearbox and electric windows all round but lacks the cruise control which is essential for airport runs. It's also a saloon with a huge boot but suffers from the 21st-century disease of having a tiny bootlid, those tartan shopping trollies with four wheels and handlebar won't fit through the opening along with squeezing the four suitcases in necessary for those airport trips.