R9UKE's French Car Blog...

[KP]

Well if you need somewhere to park it up near the airport I might be able to help

How many are you upto now? 2 cars left behind???

Why not buy a mini transporter and towing dolly so when you come back you can take them all over in 1 go and surely you could sell the transporter on??

[R9UKE]

Well my signature is growing fast, and all will be permanent resident except the Rover.

To be honest, I'm thinking of getting a tow bar on this V6 Laguna and then invest in a car trailer. It would make life MUCH easier.

I think I'll be leaving the Laguna here and take the Meg home as per original plan. The tax and MOT are up on it at the end of May, whereas the Laguna is taxed until the end of June - so it makes sense.

Thanks for the offer of parking!

[KP]

Be careful about the trailers, you can't exceed 3.5tonne without a +E licence, but could get away with a towing dolly which could make things much easier for you??

[Citroenmad]

Hmm, a tiptronic hey, Im sure I could get used to that

Often the automatic versions have a lower towing weight than the manuals, might be worth checking out

[R9UKE]

A dolly would do fine, KP.

Very good point, Chris - I'll check that out. I'm sure you could get on with this car. In tiptronic it really does give a manual a good run for it's money in terms of fun. I much prefer cruising around in D and not having to exceed much more than 2000 rpm though

A few pictures from today.

[Citroenmad]

I have to admit that it looks great It can't have done too many miles? Looks very fresh!

I think your right Luke, I could get used to that

And you have found one which is working and with all working electrics too! I can certainly see the appeal

[R9UKE]

Thank yoo

74k miles...and it has the proper bright pink Renault coolant in it's expansion bottle - keep meaning to get some of that for the rest of the fleet!

[CitroJim]

That's very nice Luke Great to see an ES9J4 lurking under the bonnet even if you Renault boys call it an L7X..

Meant to say in my blog on our great Pixo adventure that we travelled from Taunton Station to dad's in a 1996 Renault Laguna Estate. Incredibly scruffy but also incredibly comfy too. I was impressed...

[lexi]

That is a tidy belt about Lag . You may be watching this Vel. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110859456622? ... 156wt_1185" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No bargains there but a good car. Still loving my Vel. What a great place to be in while travelling. Your pic of that Vel against Avantime does not flatter it. Probably one of its, worst angles? I like them front on.....wow!

[R9UKE]

Jim the comfiest car I have sat in bar none was my 96 Laguna RXE. The seats in those old Lags are just incredible! In fact, it's commonly considered a better car overall than the Laguna II - hence the prices now sitting at more or less the same point

That is a lovely Vel Satis. I don't like the idea of LPG though. I can't believe I only experienced the wonders of the 3.5 last week. What an engine. I won't be looking at any other engines when it comes to buying a Satis again.

Yeh... I've caught quite a few bad angles with the Vel Satis. In fact, from our living room, looking onto where the Vel was usually parked - it looked like an Allegro!! Face on, xenons on, beautiful

[KP]

Renault Laguna Hatch 3.0 V6 Auto 2002 - 1430 1215 1500

Does that sound about right Luke??

If so take off about 150kg For you and the Dolly and you can tow something around 1380KG's total. Though the heavier you have your lag the better.

The first is the normal weight of the car, the 2nd the 85% reccomendation max, and the 3rd the manufacturers maximum.

Ideally you could go upto the 1500kg just by adding more weight to the lag, concrete blocks or sand bags in the boot as far forwards as possible can do this nicely as if you use a dolly nosewieght wont be a problem and you'd still be under 3.5Tonne so you could in theory tow another lag home with it

[robert_e_smart]

Towing limits are a problem. I normally hire a tandem axle trailer when I need to collect cars that aren't drivable, and no doubt always over the limit.

I'll have to use this as excuse to get a nice Range Rover Classic or P38...

[R9UKE]

KP's guide to towing! Thanks for explaining that, I'm a towing dummy.

I go home tomorrow. My plan is to buy and sell two cars ASAP to pay for the Lag coming home.

Now... I hate people who do record their cars accelerating, but I gave in as I will need something to stimulate me to get back over for it as quickly as I can!!!

[Citroenmad]

Its not often you see a 'Serv' or flashing lights on a Renault, that must be quite unique

Seems lively!

[R9UKE]

Very unusual isn't it Chris!

In addition to what you see on the dash, the little display beside the trip computer flashes the affected tyre in an equally annoying way. And... it was only 4 PSI under recommended