First attempt with the roll bar camera.
Not quite tight enough given the way the camera rotates in the airflow…
Front number plate fixing
When we first picked up the car I could help noticing that the front number plate was not perfectly central or level. We had to take it off for the paint guard to be applied to the nosecone and that was when I found out that it was only attached to the car with a few thin strips of double sided foam tape. Continue reading Front number plate fixing
Hood Bag
I sneakily added this to an order I placed with Caterham. It’s a bag for the hood which can be velcroed round the roll bar. Continue reading Hood Bag
First failure
We had to leave the car with Dave at Premier Paint Guard for a few hours, so Carl got a lift back to collect it. See paint protection post. On the way back his wife, who was following in the car behind, noticed that the indicators were not working. Continue reading First failure
Paint Protection
All through the build we had talked about paint protection and driving the car back from the dealership brought the topic home to us. Already we had a couple of stone chips on the rear wheel arches… Continue reading Paint Protection
Pick Up & First Blat
After exactly 90 days the opportunity had arrived to collect the car. We managed to combine good weather with both of us being available to go to Leicester. Even more convenient was the fact that my wife was playing golf in Coventry so didn’t have to make a special journey to take me. Continue reading Pick Up & First Blat
In mitigation…
Scrolling through Blatchat today I came across a post from NedK with a similar tale of frustration with the IVA process. He submitted his application on 17 April and has a test date of 13 July!
His advice: “…put the steering rack on, bolt a couple of wishbones on, make it look like the build is underway, take some pictures and apply for your IVA immediately. “
(See more at: http://www.lotus7.club/comment/2139555#comment-2139555)
I could not agree more.
OK, maybe I have been a bit harsh wondering that it was something Caterham Midlands were, or were not doing…
If you want something doing…
I was trying to hold out to see just how long it would take Caterham Midlands to call me, but decided that was only cutting my nose off to spite my face. It is such a shame that the final part of getting the car on the road has been so frustrating with all the communication being instigated from one side – ours. Continue reading If you want something doing…
Cart before the horse
How ironic that another letter arrived from the DVLA today with a certificate to go and have some number plates made when I have already got the logbook.
What is also disappointing, but not surprising, is that I have heard nothing from Caterham Midlands. I would have expected them to have let customers know what happens after the IVA; what to expect. Do they know the car is registered? How much do I owe them? Is there anything else to do? Can I just go and collect it?
The silence is deafening….
Road Legal!
I arrived home from work today to find a V5 in the post. The car is finally registered!!