 Poster: A snowHead
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I know that many SHs use winter tyres and thought you might be interested in the fact that KwikFit are starting to actively promote winter tyre use and have set up a storage facility as is common abroad:
http://www.tyrepress.com/News/1/127/kwik-fit_urges_drivers_to_use_winter_tyres_following_survey.html
Also
can anyone recommend me tyres/fitters to avoid or to use?
I need 3 new tyres so have been doing a bit of surfing and am frankly astonished at the variety available now that "order online and book fitting" has become common. In the past choice has been influenced by what's on the fitters' shelf and has usually been limited to "bog standard or gold plated".
I drive a Ford Fusion (195/60/R15/88H) and do not intend taking it skiing, so the only winter conditions it will see are what we get here. Although I know that winter tyres are better at 7C and below, I am not sufficiently convinced to cough up for two sets of tyres. Additionally the car is likely to be replaced before too long and no way would I get back what I shelled out on extra tyres.
So should I ...
... buy summer tyres as previously on the basis they are good at their job for the majority of the year and probably last the longest?
... buy "all season" tyres which I assume are not as good as either specialist season, but are better than the "wrong" season ones?
I can't afford to pay the earth but want value for my dosh. What factors are important (remembering my car is hardly a performance star)
I have seen a website called Blackcircles.com which deliver to local fitting agents - anyone used them?
What would you recommend & where from? (I work in both Grimsby & Doncaster).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Butterfly, interesting news re KwickFit - although my experience of our local branch I wouldn't trust them to look after a paper bag.
You'll notice that many of the threads will recommend mytyres.co.uk - they are another organisation which uses local fitters. I have used them and have been very pleased with the service.
They have a good search functionality for tyres and they are also rated by various people who have bought the tyres.
In your particular situation, I would stick to summer tyres - it's what we have all done for years without problems.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Tyre retailer in 'buy more tyres' promotion. Who'd have thought it?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Butterfly, I've used Blackcircles recently to get some winter tyres, and they were fitting by their local agent two (working) days after ordering. I did try my usual tyre place, who said they'd see what they get hold of and get back to me - but they didn't. I also looked at Camskill (but fitting is extra), and mytyres (much more choice, but more expensive than I paid with blackcircle).
The tyres I ended up with actually cost only a fiver more than summer tyres I normally get - but blackcircle are now saying out of stock for my size.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
Tyre retailer in 'buy more tyres' promotion. Who'd have thought it?
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All right SA but it IS interesting that this promotion of winter tyres is something new - even advertising on Classic FM. Though availability is still very patchy - depending on your tyre size you can be left with far less choice than a quick google would suggest.
I have used Black Circle and a local independent tyre shop, and also Camskill, with the same tyre shop. We store the out of season tyres ourselves, on a shelf in the garage, and give them a quarter turn now and then. But as reported elsewhere on SHs some prices have gone ridiculous. somebody paid £170 for a tyre which cost me £63 last winter (Vredestein snowtrac 3 - terrific tyres in snow) I might need 2 new ones (need to get them down and measure tread depth) but no way will I pay anything approaching £170. I'll buy them in France or Switzerland if necessary.
Butterfly - advice elsewhere on SHs was that the comparative advantage lies with winter tyres all year - because they have a very major advantage in winter and only a minor disadvantage in summer.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Butterfly - I live in North Yorks and have had all the issues you are going through, last year. My advice is avoid the nationals like the plague IMO unless you want the 0845 (press 1 for tyres, 2 for accounts, 3 if you are near suicide etc) treatment, IMO they are all centralised, want you to talk to numpties and only want to sell what they can get with minimal hassle, and I found them less than helpful (putting it politely). Think most thought I was off my head for even wanting winter tyres, maybe they have since woken up.
I dealt with a locally recommended company called Allcar in Huddersfield 01484-427677 and they recommneded Vredstein Wintrac Extremes £150 a corner and they are fantastic, a good pal also got some, best buy in Germany and Austria I am told..............and I used them in -17C ice/ snow conditions last new year in Austria/ Germany ski trip, never flinched once. Speed rated 120 mph, if you're daft enough! They take them on and off £50 and I store them in my garage in summer, just about to get them put back on.
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Butterfly, as pam w says
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the comparative advantage lies with winter tyres all year - because they have a very major advantage in winter and only a minor disadvantage in summer.
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Just choose a winter tyre that excels in UK type weather. Have a look at the 2010 summary tests on the RHS http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-Winter-Tyres-Buying-Guide.htm
Doesn't have the Vredestein Wintrac's that a lot of us seem to use on here. Like Markymark29 I can vouch for their performance, but I have not tried any others so my personal view may not be valid.
(I believe a good winter tyre is better than the best 'all season tyre' in all round performance from a report I read somewhere - will try to find it)
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| Tatty wrote: |
| (I believe a good winter tyre is better than the best 'all season tyre' in all round performance from a report I read somewhere - will try to find it) |
That isn't the case anymore, top quality all season tyres were tested better than the cheap winter tyres and were respectable against the better winter tyres in winter conditions.
http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/reifen/winterreifen/2010_Winterreifen_Test_185_65_R15.aspx
If it were me I'd go all-season tyres that had a snowflake symbol. Some friends here in Austria are thinking about going down such a route. The tyre price isn't much different to a normal summer tyre but whell storage and wheel changing costs make it cheaper. Yes they might wear quicker, be a bit louder or might not handle so well as a summer tyre but I doubt you will be entering the LeMans with it.
The Goodyear Vector 4 seasons and the Hankook Optimo 4S are good allseason tyres.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Wed 17-11-10 16:26; edited 1 time in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Butterfly wrote: |
| I need 3 new tyres so have been doing a bit of surfing ). |
I read the first part of your post wondering why on earth anyone would bother putting winter tyres on a Reliant Robin... 
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| Quote: |
The Goodyear Vector 4 seasons and the Hankook Optimo 4S are good allseason tyres
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In which case that answers the question for Butterfly !
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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i can vouch for Pirelli 210 Snowsports and my current Nokian Wr's for winter performance. Both used on an Audi A6 avant (non quattro) and didn't require chains at all when running them. Very grippy and the WR's will go back on the car in the next week or so until spring.
Always store in the garage and cover them in a thick blanket, never had any issues doing it that way to date.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Butterfly, we have used Black circles in the past for normal tyres, fine, no complaints. Also used Tyremen as above for my winter tyres last year. They were good, tyres came quickly but local fitter was useless, we had to pick the tyres up from him and take them to another place.
Might also be worth asking a local tyre place if they can match an online quote, we did this for my last summer tyres, they matched and since them we have used them for brake pads and a suspension prob on the OH's car. It has been good to build a bit of a rapport with them as they swapped my tyres over to my winter tyres last week for which they quoted £25 which is a good price but in the end they didn't charge at all!!
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You know it makes sense.
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Glad someone said this 
I just got new tyres last week, all season mountain/snowflake symbol - blah, blah, blah. Loads of websearching and comparisons, checking pricing and fitting locations. Got a good idea of what I wanted then went to the local tyre shop - they sorted them out £60 cheaper than best web price. I r rather liking my new tyres (this might be the saddest thing I've ever written?!).
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Tatty wrote: |
Butterfly, as pam w says
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the comparative advantage lies with winter tyres all year - because they have a very major advantage in winter and only a minor disadvantage in summer.
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Just choose a winter tyre that excels in UK type weather. Have a look at the 2010 summary tests on the RHS http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-Winter-Tyres-Buying-Guide.htm
Doesn't have the Vredestein Wintrac's that a lot of us seem to use on here. Like Markymark29 I can vouch for their performance, but I have not tried any others so my personal view may not be valid.
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I'd looked at that site, and it just happens that the main one offered by Kwikfit for my car is the Continental TS830, which comes out the best in those tests.
And by using book & pay online, comes out cheaper than mytyres, and about the same per tyre as the summer tyres.
I'll be booking it in one day next week.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Schuss in Boots wrote: |
| Butterfly wrote: |
| I need 3 new tyres so have been doing a bit of surfing ). |
I read the first part of your post wondering why on earth anyone would bother putting winter tyres on a Reliant Robin... |
LOL!! Reason for 3 is I had a blooming flat last year so one's a good bit newer.... however looking at it, the wear is considerable and it might end up being condemned too; clearly not as good a tyre as the others which were all put on together when I found a 2-for-1 deal.
Thanks for all the advice/comment which is really useful. Blackcircle have 2 fitters in my area which are village garages that have a reputation to maintain - not loooked at mytyres yet.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Butterfly, we've used Black Circles a few times, and fitting service was always fine.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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alex_heney, I asked Kwikfit about those continentals but they didn't have them in my size - I might go back to Continental and ask about other stockists because the kind of price people are paying this year for Vredesteins is just absurd.
The all-season sound like a good idea too though - and the Hankooks are fairly cheap.
Hmm. Just goes to show that all those SAs who moan about yet another winter tyre thread are wrong - this is a very useful one!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Has anyone used the Continental Extreme Contacts, Michelin Pilot Alpines or the Nokian WRG2s...? I'm looking for a stiffer walled tyre for a turbo Subaru that can also handle some throwing about on dry roads. Only do a low mileage so wear isn't really an issue and I use the motorbike during the summer.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Butterfly wrote: |
| Schuss in Boots wrote: |
| Butterfly wrote: |
| I need 3 new tyres so have been doing a bit of surfing ). |
I read the first part of your post wondering why on earth anyone would bother putting winter tyres on a Reliant Robin... |
LOL!! Reason for 3 is I had a blooming flat last year so one's a good bit newer.... however looking at it, the wear is considerable and it might end up being condemned too; clearly not as good a tyre as the others which were all put on together when I found a 2-for-1 deal.
Thanks for all the advice/comment which is really useful. Blackcircle have 2 fitters in my area which are village garages that have a reputation to maintain - not loooked at mytyres yet. |
I trust you are aware that 4 winter / allseason tyres and required (5 inc spare) and they should be the same on each axel. (e.g. Goodyear Vector 4 seasons on the front Hankook Optimo 4S on the rear not different tyres left and right.) A friend had a flat and had one winter tyre on the left and a summer tyre on the right, the car handled like a shoping trolley.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Funny that - 2 seasons ago they looked at me completely blankly in my local depot when I went 'winter tyres'..
Amazing what a drop of snow over here does...
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All - spoke to my contact at Allcar today, fitting my winter Vredsteins tomorrow and he said good news I bought them last year - prices have gone through the roof this year, and they are struggling to get them because since it is now manadatory in Germany to have winter tyres all stock is being kept there and UK availability is very difficult. Also heard this from a friend in Netherlands, they are struggling to get them.
I guess the moral here is if you can get hold of them dont delay 
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| DB wrote: |
I trust you are aware that 4 winter / allseason tyres and required (5 inc spare) and they should be the same on each axel. (e.g. Goodyear Vector 4 seasons on the front Hankook Optimo 4S on the rear not different tyres left and right.) A friend had a flat and had one winter tyre on the left and a summer tyre on the right, the car handled like a shoping trolley. |
Yes I do realise that. I am not sure about my spare though as it is one of the "get-you-home" space-saver jobs.
Still wondering whether to go for summer or all-seasons 
Black Circles recommend
Falken Ziex ZE-91 £53.23
Toyo Proxes CF1 £59.95
Yokohama A.Drive £62.49
Yokohama C.Drive £64.68
Continental Premium Contact 2 £71.5
They also list lots of others, including
Kumho KH17 £50.61 ("all season traction")
Thoughts? (Here's wishing Mr B was one to discuss such issues with - he views it as "a tyre's a tyre - just get the cheapest and be done with it").
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Tyres, something I can help with!
Of the list pasted, you're best off with the premium contact 2, it won a german group test this year and placed second in the Auto Car tyre test.
That said, the Yoko C.Drive is meant to be pretty good, but ONLY in the Cdrive 2 version.
The only all season I'd consider is the Goodyear Vector 4Season. This is why:
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-European-Winter-Tyre-Test_2.htm
It took part in a full winter tyre test, did great in the dry and wet and actually beat some of the cheaper winter tyres in the snow!
My own money is on the Nokian WRG2 this year. Not the best winter tyre on snow, but meant to be the best for dry / wet handling, which is what's important in the UK.
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Scarpa, I have the Nokians WRs on a Subaru. Had them all summer too.
Not at all noisy.
Handle very well.
Buggeration was getting a puncture two days ago.
I have just bought 2 new ones from mytyres and have found a spare full sized wheel on ebay. The space saver is rubbish.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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rungsp, Cheers... much cheaper than the Michelins
You can get 215/55/17s in a V rating for £93... might just go for those.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Hi DB,
Thanks
I think with TyreReviews being a british site they reverse the scores so they make more sense to the UK. European scoring systems confuse my brain anyway!
Don't they use commas instead of full stops for decimal points too? Life would be so much easier if we could just standardise languages!
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You know it makes sense.
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If anyone needs winter tyres this season I'd try to get them now. In the Austrian TV news night it was said that the new Winter tyre rules in Germany had made many Germans go for Winter tyres this season and there is now a shortage.
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Fri 19-11-10 9:17; edited 1 time in total
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| jon- wrote: |
Hi DB,
Thanks
I think with TyreReviews being a british site they reverse the scores so they make more sense to the UK. European scoring systems confuse my brain anyway! |
I can't work out what they have done with the scores either but I'd go off the scores in the original german test. I've translated the terms somewhere in another post on here. This link will help with the translation
http://dict.leo.org/ende?searchLoc=-1&searchLocRelinked=-1&lp=ende&search=&lp=ende
| jon- wrote: |
| Don't they use commas instead of full stops for decimal points too? Life would be so much easier if we could just standardise languages! |
Yes they use commas instead of decimal points, say "half before two o clock" and not "half past one" and have many other quirks.
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Poster: A snowHead
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... to say nothing of having to wait till the end of a sentence for the verb that suddenly lets you in on what someone's talking about.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes German grammar is a killer.
(e.g. Today have I a post on Snowheads written)
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have Goodyear Vector 4 Season types on my daily work car, had them for 3 months now. They've performed really well so far, especially in the wet and the cold, far better than the previous Michelin Pilot Sport in those condi tions. Bring on the snow.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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What a crazy world we live in
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just by way of info, Kwik Fit are offering 25% off all Bridgestone tyres ATM - effectively brings price down to mid-range tyre level.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Fri 19-11-10 10:51; edited 2 times in total
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I read all the reports procrastinated for ages then found some nice cheap alloys, the guy at the shop said he could only get Avon winter tyres so that's what we got - £563 for wheels and tyres. That was a few years back now but we just run winter tyres year round and replace them as necessary usually just before a winter, prices have really gone up this year.
Last year just got the cheapest ones we could find for my sons car and he never got stuck once (was in the alps from November to May), one of his mates who bought the ones that do so well in the tests did not do so well in difficult conditions. You can read every report there is going but don't forget each car is different what does really well on one car may not be as good on another.
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| fred wrote: |
Last year just got the cheapest ones we could find for my sons car and he never got stuck once (was in the alps from November to May), one of his mates who bought the ones that do so well in the tests did not do so well in difficult conditions. You can read every report there is going but don't forget each car is different what does really well on one car may not be as good on another. |
Don't forget the Driver too, driving style and experience makes a huge difference.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I have had work cancelled today so spent an hour ringing around my local area to see what's available. The village garage that BlackCircles would use that's just 3.5 miles from me were really helpful and are offering me the Toyo Proxes at £55 fitted which is £5 less than the Blackcircles online price. They also recommend the "Sava", which he said is one of the better budgets, but on phoning his supplier he found they're on backorder from Goodyear who make them. He said he won't sell rubbish as he has a reputation to maintain and wants customers to trust him and come back. He's also perfectly happy to decide with me at the time whether to go for 3 or 4 when we can have a decent look at my odd one that has some wear remaining, no hard sell. He's got himself a sale.
What a contrast to the Scunthorpe places' attitudes which ranged from barely helpful to completely offhand. One wanted £55 each for a "Sunny" which he couldn't tell me anything about beyond "it's what we sell for your car madam; I could get Avons next week but they're expensive" - hardly confidence inspiring.
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FAQ
