Irish Taxi Forum
Public Area => Taxi Talk => Topic started by: John m on February 18, 2026, 07:49:14 am
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The EU Gastappo unt Polite Bureux has decided that they want to introduce new limits to EV grants .They want at least 75% of components to be from within the EU .Dont want to undermine the European Car industry by subsidising Cheaper Chinko Imports ..This could be the last year for EV grants ?
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Maybe not. A few of the Chinese companies have/are opening factories inside the EU.
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I'm not convinced yet grants will prove to be a lasting success.Lets see some high mileage EVs that are 7/8 years old before we decide.
If you took all the Chinese parts out of European EVs they'd be like Fred Flintstone's heap.
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To be fair, they're not much different with the Chinese parts in them.... If they weren't virtually free there'd be none on the road as taxis.
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I paid 20k for mine which was 14k more than my previous vehicle.EVs aren't cheap even with the 20k off the NTA.
Just to add to the moaning I did 2.5 hours yesterday and I took in €24..less than minimum wage..that's not a great return for such a big investment IMO...doomed we are.
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If ever I've had a day of mixed fortune, yesterday was it. I got up early - not by design, I just happened to be awake - and was showered and shaved by 07:00. Then I had to defrost the windows twice... doing all on the first pass and just the windscreen when I got my first job @ c.07:12. On account of a bus breaking down work was plentiful so I had three figures (before commission) by 08:50... in plenty of time to settle in front of the cricket for the rest of the day. After 3.5 hours of watching rain on TV the game was abandoned putting paid to Ireland's, albeit remote in the extreme, chances of reaching the Super 8 phase.
So, I decided to switch the apps back on and got a rare Free Now fare to Drogheda. About 3 miles in my car decided it's had enough and shut itself down. Almost 40 mins wait for the tow truck got me home with just enough time to shower and shave the stench of work off myself in time to travel up to Dublin to watch a performance of To Kill a Mockingbird in the BGET... Anyway a wonderful evening of drama and refreshments ensued so all's well that ends well I guess.
I found the time to plug the car in this morning and it's showing two "intermittent" DTCs. One relates to an oil pressure sensor and the other to a turbocharger fault so I'm inclined to think it could be a broken oil pressure pump or oil pressure pump drive belt, either of which requires an inordinate amount of spannering to address so I'm certainly leaning towards taking the EV scrappage grant should it materialise in the next few weeks now... although, knowing me, I probably won't be able to resist having a little poke around the engine at the weekend weather permitting.
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That's bad luck RC hope you get it sorted cheaply and ASAP.
Most of my shit earnings come from starting in between the rush hours and expecting to be able to make a living.It's just not possible this time of year unlike post COVID when it was busy all day.
Lately I've resorted to trying to do a bit during the week which is usually pointless or minimum wage and then catching up on Saturday and Sunday.I can live this way but it doesn't allow for big expenses or big travel plans.
Once I paid the car off I completely lost interest.It felt very 2009 yesterday except I was sitting in a nicer car!
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It's a tad annoying alright but I kinda expected either the DPF or DSG clutch to pack in based on kilometreage and had built that into holding out to see what the lie of the land is with EV grants this year. Neither of those would have been viable to repair at this juncture unless the EV grants don't materialise or aren't up to previous years' levels so I was more hoping that the car would last than expecting it to hence I've no profit requirement for the next 4-6 weeks anyway so I'll have to just watch the cricket and maybe catch up on a bit of DIY, I guess.... it's too fucking cold for gardening leave!
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Cheltenham !!
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Indeed. 7 winners and they can shove their grants where the sun don't shine!
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Break My Soul (apt for us in taxi industry) in Johnny Henderson on 11th 40/1 with Powers
Had a guy ranting about it yesterday --
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I paid 20k for mine which was 14k more than my previous vehicle.EVs aren't cheap even with the 20k off the NTA.
Just to add to the moaning I did 2.5 hours yesterday and I took in €24..less than minimum wage..that's not a great return for such a big investment IMO...doomed we are.
55 I got from 11 to 16.30 yesterday
34 today for 5 hours ......
Feel like a fukin idiot sittin in the car wit the heatin on an the engine burnin petrol .......
I keep hearin an seeing all me teachers from artane in me head like Jacob marley ghosts tellin me ill be a poor cnut if I dont pay attention an doo me homework......
Mad stuff .....thankfully me ex wife tellin me im a waster cnut hasnt turned up yet .... but ive a terrible feelin she fukin will :(
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It's shit out there Octy as most are feeling the pinch.Another few weeks and the worst of it should be over.
By the way I did well in school but still ended up queuing behind the immigrants.They'll be queuing behind the Robotaxis soon.
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Scrappage Rodent it does not need to be driveable .I told you you can have the MG .Im only interested in Friday ,Sat and Sunday Days .You can spanner the living death out of It .Kismit .It died before you had to undergo the Trauma On Diesel Separation Disorder ..Advantage to the EV you can plug it in while your doing the Shopping or in the Bookies .Who said Lads cannot multitask .
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Yeah that's why I'm not going to get cold or wet having a look at it. I'm OK idling for the next few weeks anyway, erm. There's a lot on between cricket, racing, darts and such like and I've a couple of weddings to attend as well so I'll not get bored but thanks for the offer.
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It's shit out there Octy as most are feeling the pinch.Another few weeks and the worst of it should be over.
By the way I did well in school but still ended up queuing behind the immigrants.They'll be queuing behind the Robotaxis soon.
You should join the civil service and never work another day in your life!
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Maybe RC I dunno if I could turn up for 40 hours a week,but yer right I'd likely earn more and possibly be happier in a regular job.
Right now my aim is to gamble/trade while keeping the taxi.I'm getting better at not losing even though my taxi business is getting worse.
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I think most of them only go in a couple of days a week these days. Working from home equates to a 5 day weekend for the civil service!
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Shittiest week in a long time this week so far,fuck all happenin daytime.
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Only good news is Ramerdan started yesterday so you might find a little bit as the lads are changing their shifts.Could give the afternoons/evening shifts a slight boost.
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Only good news is Ramerdan started yesterday so you might find a little bit as the lads are changing their shifts.Could give the afternoons/evening shifts a slight boost.
Chinese New Year
Ash Wednesday
Rugby versus Wales
Rugby versus Scotland
All is not lost.
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Euromillions, Fri, guaranteed €130M :o :o :o
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Euromillions, Fri, guaranteed €130M :o :o :o
Did ya ever say to the apes in the car ... " the euromillions is 150 million tonite .... an they say ... " ah thats too much money " .... fukin idiots ... lol
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If Seamus Blockhead or whoever decides on these things in Official Officialdom See the Article in Todays Indo where the Competition Authority are calling for the Disbandment of the Taxi Industry is seen by the people allocating funds to Green Issues will they want to put dead money into a dying industry or divert the EV grants to Windows and doors or solar panels on Postboxes to keep the Letters Warm ..One Semi State handing out death Sentences and the other offering a Life Line ? If I was under 55 I would get out of the Taxi and into a Bus regular wages and a small pension .
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It's the indo Erm.About as relevant as Waterford whispers these days.
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I whipped the sump off this morning. Oil pump belt broken as I suspected. Pump seems to be turning OK but it's hard to tell what caused the belt to break if the wasn't the pump so can't really conclude that it's up to manufacturer specs without replacing the belt to see, I guess. To do that is another couple of hours work removing the timing belt, crankshaft sprocket and it's oil seal which I'll probably do over the weekend, weather permitting.... sure, I've fuckall else to do! The belt is 40 notes from SMF so it'd mess with my OCD not knowing if replacing it might have fixed it if I didn't give it a try. Of course, without dismantling the top half of the engine there's no telling what damage the loss of oil pressure might have caused before the engine shut down so it's a bit of a long shot. I don't think it killed the turbo because the fault code for that is specific to the actuator module which would have been starved of vacuum when the belt broke - the oil pump doubles up as a vacuum pump, apparently, so that's a pretty logical code to get when the belt breaks at 80 kilos/hour, I guess.
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... thinking aloud now... I haven't actually looked at the timing belt yet... maybe I shoulda done that before taking the sump apart... I'll do it before I spend 40 notes on the little belt anyway! less spannering and more thinking is always a good idea, I guess!
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Leave it up on blocks .Do you fancy a week of drinking in the Sun .Go Canaries get a tan and a belly .Cheap all inclusive to Turkey next week under 500 .Sure ya would drink that at a free bar .
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That sounds like a plan!
Is Ken still off the road?
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Leave it up on blocks .Do you fancy a week of drinking in the Sun .Go Canaries get a tan and a belly .Cheap all inclusive to Turkey next week under 500 .Sure ya would drink that at a free bar .
Link??
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Leave it up on blocks .Do you fancy a week of drinking in the Sun .Go Canaries get a tan and a belly .Cheap all inclusive to Turkey next week under 500 .Sure ya would drink that at a free bar .
Link??
love holidays for 24th .Trump be bombing next door and its Ramadan so bars probably close early ?
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Got back to it today. Ascertained that the timing belt was intact this morning so bought the little belt for the oil pump together with a tube of silicone and whipped the timing belt off between showers after the racing. Just the crankshaft sprocket and oil seal to remove now but I think my neighbour with the decent torque gun is on holiday and I doubt my Lidl one will shift the bolt so I'll probably have to manufacture some kind of tool to hold the sprocket perfectly still to remove it with an old fashioned breaker bar... so still plenty that could go wrong and still no idea of what auxiliary damage the pump stopping pumping might have caused or even if the pump itself is still up to spec. I did change an oil pump in the MKI Octy many years ago but that was a much easier job as it was chain driven and the chain didn't need replacing. Anywaysanall, on that occasion the pump failing caused a valve to slightly bend which I lived with for a few months - one could gently manipulate the accelerator to get the engine to go back to normal, at the beginning that might have been once or twice a shift, by the time I actually fixed it (and traded it in) it was once or twice per job!
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OPEN WEDNESDAY 25TH at 10AM ,
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Had to make a crankshaft sprocket holder out of some 6mm flat steel I had in stock... Done the job combined with a couple of offcuts of 4x2 despite the bolt being the tightest bolt I've ever removed in my life! Manufacturer spec is 180nm + 135°. On reversing the tool to tighten it after replacing the wee belt an refitting a used oil seal I didn't have enough clearance for the breaker bar so did it up as tight as I could get it with the jack handle over a T bar.... I doubt it's even got the 180nm nevermind the 135° as it is. Still, my neighbour is back and getting me the gun for tomorrow (hopefully, he loaned it to someone) and the bolt head is still accessible with everything bar the wheel arch liner replaced... which is where I'm at as far as the front of the engine is concerned, just the sump to refit now which I hope to do in the next day or two, weather permitting... with a view to buzzing the crankshaft pulley bolt as tight as the gun will go in due course. However, the timing belt tensioner pulley is a bit dodgy (not springing as freely as it should) and ought to be replaced but the cheapest kit in Ireland is c.€160 which I can't justify without knowing that the engine is still capable of running. I've already spent €52 on parts and €56 on tools so no point in throwing good money after bad. I'm kinda thinking/hoping that it'll probably hold long enough to determine whether the engine is still a runner in which (however unlikely) case I can reassess the options, I guess!
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Had to make a crankshaft sprocket holder out of some 6mm flat steel I had in stock... Done the job combined with a couple of offcuts of 4x2 despite the bolt being the tightest bolt I've ever removed in my life! Manufacturer spec is 180nm + 135°. On reversing the tool to tighten it after replacing the wee belt an refitting a used oil seal I didn't have enough clearance for the breaker bar so did it up as tight as I could get it with the jack handle over a T bar.... I doubt it's even got the 180nm nevermind the 135° as it is. Still, my neighbour is back and getting me the gun for tomorrow (hopefully, he loaned it to someone) and the bolt head is still accessible with everything bar the wheel arch liner replaced... which is where I'm at as far as the front of the engine is concerned, just the sump to refit now which I hope to do in the next day or two, weather permitting... with a view to buzzing the crankshaft pulley bolt as tight as the gun will go in due course. However, the timing belt tensioner pulley is a bit dodgy (not springing as freely as it should) and ought to be replaced but the cheapest kit in Ireland is c.€160 which I can't justify without knowing that the engine is still capable of running. I've already spent €52 on parts and €56 on tools so no point in throwing good money after bad. I'm kinda thinking/hoping that it'll probably hold long enough to determine whether the engine is still a runner in which (however unlikely) case I can reassess the options, I guess!
You can get upwards of a bag for the entire car as scrappage.
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Well, I can get €10k scrappage if I go EV. I can only use the car until the 24th of next month anyway so my tinkering with it is nothing other than satisfying curiosity It's destined for the scrapyard regardless of the outcome, I guess. I don't think I'll get upwards of a bag on top of the 10k i.e. from a scrapyard. When I looked into it after applying for the grant aid last year the quote was a little under 7 ton and that was based on it being in working order and me driving it to the scrapyard, they'd deduct a ton and a quarter to collect it. I didn't shop around though, that was just one quote from a popular recycling firm with a www presence. I'd say they're overrun with MKIII Octys at this stage though. When I bought the gearbox for Gretta last year the man in Traynors detected my being pleasantly surprised at his quote of €120 in Euros delivered to the Free State and quickly explained that they're cheap because he has a large rack full of them. I'd say similar applies to the MKIIIs since the EV grants came in for SPSVs.
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Ring around RC a relative of mine was offered zero from one scrapyard for a Skoda Superb recently.
N2 auto salvage took my Prius for 600.I dunno what he pays for a Skoda.
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Lads in the north selling complete Diesel engines guarenteed and delivered for £200 .Try sell the Wheels part exchange to Scroat one or Scroat Two .If your tyres are good or put the wheels on Gretta !
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I think most of them only go in a couple of days a week these days. Working from home equates to a 5 day weekend for the civil service!
Why do civil servants not look out of the office windows in the morning?
Because it would give them something to do all afternoon. 8)
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Well, I can get €10k scrappage if I go EV. I can only use the car until the 24th of next month anyway so my tinkering with it is nothing other than satisfying curiosity It's destined for the scrapyard regardless of the outcome, I guess. I don't think I'll get upwards of a bag on top of the 10k i.e. from a scrapyard. When I looked into it after applying for the grant aid last year the quote was a little under 7 ton and that was based on it being in working order and me driving it to the scrapyard, they'd deduct a ton and a quarter to collect it. I didn't shop around though, that was just one quote from a popular recycling firm with a www presence. I'd say they're overrun with MKIII Octys at this stage though. When I bought the gearbox for Gretta last year the man in Traynors detected my being pleasantly surprised at his quote of €120 in Euros delivered to the Free State and quickly explained that they're cheap because he has a large rack full of them. I'd say similar applies to the MKIIIs since the EV grants came in for SPSVs.
I got a bag for the Prius from Stuart. Maybe that's your next port of call.
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Put the sump back on and the cunt fired up on the button. I was kinda hoping it'd crash and bang. Took it for a spin - with the younger not so young lad who happened to be staying last night on board in case it needed a push and all was reasonably well... until I spotted an oil leak.... probably the half arsed job I done putting the sump back on, looks too central to be the oil seal that should've been replaced but wasn't... pfff, I probably wont be able to resist having another go at it now... well, not today but maybe some day soon!
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Ring around RC a relative of mine was offered zero from one scrapyard for a Skoda Superb recently.
N2 auto salvage took my Prius for 600.I dunno what he pays for a Skoda.
The cat in them Priuseyesisis is probably worth the lions share of that?
... but similar to the Skodas I'd say the scrapyards are overrun with them. It's a fucking crime, perfectly good motors being crushed for no good reason!
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Rare dry afternoon today so I got a better look at the oil leak. Alas the seal I opted not to replace is the culprit. Took it all apart again with a view to replacing both the seal and fitting a new timing belt kit now that I know it's a runner although I'm still not sure what life might be left in the oil pump. Ifn I was doing the job properly I'd replace that too but I think I just want to see if I can make it run without leaking for no particularly good reason! I've to go up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland tomorrow anyway and I can pick up the seal and timing belt kit there for a bit less than a deuce. Oil pump permitting I'll save a ton and a quarter ifn I can drive it to the scrapyard ifn I get the EV grant and depending on how quickly I put it back together (which is mostly down to what the weather might do) and how long it takes to source it's replacement it might even cover another shift or two ... says I trying to convince myself that something that makes no sense might make some sense... the fact is my OCD is making me do it.
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Put it all back together again over the weekend.... although I haven't bothered putting the wheel arch liner, sump cover and undershield back on yet... but so far so good, engine running with no oil leaks. I ended up spending €306 on it altogether without replacing the oil pump and having not replaced the oil pump I don't have great confidence in it really. With the benefit of hindsight I should have just ordered all the bits including the pump from Poland as soon as I saw that the belt was broken. At the end of the day it wouldn't have taken much longer and wouldn't have cost much more... but then I probably wouldn't have thought the timing belt tensioner would need replacing given that the belt was done less than 100k kilos ago.... ah well, every day is a school day, I guess!
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Is there a chance it had more mileage on it than you thought?So many cars are clocked these days it's hard to find a good one.
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It's the kilometreage on the timing belt I was considering. It was replaced at 192,105 kilos (c.20k ahead of schedule on account of the tensioner making a noise) and there's less than 285,000 on the clock now. While not really relevant to it's current woes, I don't think it was clocked as I bought it from a reputable dealer (Car Next) and the DPF readings were consistent with the kilometreage on the clock at the time. For the sake of €12k I can't see Leaseplan going to the extent of clocking it and re-flashing the DPF module to match. I guess it was above average kilometrage anyway... 108k @ 3yo... but there was a little tell that it was most likely a saleman's or service engineer's company car - the front passenger side door catch needed a drop of 3 in 1!
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Kinda related to another thread topic but there are private motorists out there covering over 1200km a week then trading in their cars every few years.I've spoken to some of them in my car and they live in a completely different world to me.Usually culchies.
I wouldn't trust any of the dealers as they may have taken back in a clocked car themselves and just send it back out.Also you're hoping the previous owner was using the correct oil but if they were leasing it they likely don't care about longevity as it won't be their problem.
I see a lot of ex rental cars up for sale that look decent and but I wouldn't buy one as they get redlined around the airport every day by the staff.Beggers can't be choosers when we're trying to find a cheap motor though.
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I'd trust Leasplan myself - well, I did! I can't complain anyway, I reckon I got my €11,995 worth out of it regardless. Prior to the oil pump belt breaking it was only ever off the road once for a day or two when the coil spring broke last year.... and, compared to a Toyota, they're cheap as chips to maintain/repair. In fact, if I don't get an EV grant I will consider sticking a pump in it and giving it to Mrs. Catcher.... although, it would have some big bills on the horizon (DSG clutch = c.€1,800, DPF = c.€700) whereas there's nothing (bar the engine) that costs more than the price of an EV tyre in Gretta. Gretta was the best car I ever bought, last run of MKII Octavias with no poxy DPF and a manual gearbox.... It'd be harder to let her go, probably!
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I'd agree with you as far as ex rentals go. I guess we've all driven rented cars... badly! Leaseplan is all company fleets though. My sister drives a company car and you're right about the oil, she wouldn't know where to put it hence it gets all it's servicing from main dealers at the company or leasing firm's expense. I guess they'd put the right stuff in the right place. In fact, I think the Audi dealer she uses even put (or at least suggested) nitrogen in the tyres instead of air when she was whinging about the TPMS light coming on too often in cold weather. Money is no object when it's coming out of someone else's phoca, I guess!
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Ditto for Gary in Leaseplan ,got my Superb with 36k on clock,full history ,never a bother with it ,did the timing belt only major repair --but another in the morning if I could, they dont appear to retail anymore !
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No... they closed down Car Next, globally.... unfortunately. They used to advertise on Max Verstappen's head!
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Talked to the Lad that submitted the Paper Grant form .He rang them today and they have no idea if he is on the system he would of recieved a conformation number .He did Not ?
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What paper grant form?
The only paper you use is the grant offer that you have to print, sign in a few places and return by post within 21 days. You get that by email after your application is approved but you must make the application on the internet.