The grumpy thread

[brownnova]

5 hours ago, paulplom said:

They kept bolting on finance for handing back early, damage, scratches etc. They were also adding the negative equity on.

This is how PCPs can become so risky, I bought two cars on finance a few years back, first one wiped its face (with a bit of negotiating with the salesman) but the second I had to pay BMW £750 to take it off my hands. That hurt. They kept suggesting I added the negative equity to something else. I vowed never to do a PCP again and bought a £600 Saab. 

[BorniteIdentity]

13 hours ago, TheDoctor said:

 

If your 120k house was going to cost you 80k to fix the roof, you'd be a little upset though.

I'll reassess the situation at the end of the month. Seems like I'm destined not to get this divorce done. 

 

I should also add that I’ve, so far this year, spent circa £1000 on my Avensis which is worth about £250. It’s rusty, leggy (253k) but trusty and lovely. I could never find another that bought my son back from hospital, took us on holiday and never let me down. 

I totally understand the money aspect. But we both know that you’ll only spend more on a different car - rolling the dice again. 

Just a thought dude. Whatever you do, don’t let it grind you down. It can feel personal, but it really isn’t. It’s a machine that’s outlived all expectation. 

[cort16]

19 minutes ago, brownnova said:

This is how PCPs can become so risky, I bought two cars on finance a few years back, first one wiped its face (with a bit of negotiating with the salesman) but the second I had to pay BMW £750 to take it off my hands. That hurt. They kept suggesting I added the negative equity to something else. I vowed never to do a PCP again and bought a £600 Saab. 

That shouldn’t be the case unless you want to settle early, it’s damaged or you go over the mileage . The whole point of pcp is the car has a gaurenteed future value so at the end you either give the car back or you get a little positive equity. 

 

[brownnova]

19 minutes ago, cort16 said:

That shouldn’t be the case unless you want to settle early, it’s damaged or you go over the mileage . The whole point of pcp is the car has a gaurenteed future value so at the end you either give the car back or you get a little positive equity. 

 

I was well over the mileage and wanted to settle early. The mileage penalty should’ve been around £1500 but as I sold it to them it was less. Robbing bastards! 

[dozeydustman]

12 hours ago, SiC said:

Every single car I've bought second hand has needed something, even ones that are supposed to be fully working. TT I bought off a mate? Thermostat, door lock and then caliper siezed - he did 6k fault free miles before hand. My parents A4? Thermostat too and fuel rail control valve. My Grandads Laguna? Battery, wipers, tyres and appears thermostat (I have a habit of buying cars with broken thermostats...). MGB? Yeah there's a thread on that. Dolomite Sprint? Clutch slave and possibly clutch now too (+welding). Civic mk8? Mirror folding control unit, fog light shattered and 8 months later the clutch - car was only 4 years old at the time. Boxster? Currently sitting at needing coil packs, top mounts and coolant reservoir. Even my first car, a brand new Clio II, needed to go back to the dealer in the first week as the intermittent wiper stopped working!

I could go on but my point is, any car you will buy can potentially have a problem needing fixing soon after buying it. They're complicated machines with many moving parts, so it's unsurprising really. 

@TheDoctor this in droves.

I commented on your Doctorin' the... Fred last night - you can get the bits cheapish to do this if you shop around and can put by a few bob a week and temporarily declare the car as SORN. Head gaskets aren't the worst job to do - remove a belt, remove the manifolds and lift the head. If it's not overheated you won't have the potential cost of a skim.

You could get yourself another car for pence and repeat the process of having things go wrong.

19 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I should also add that I’ve, so far this year, spent circa £1000 on my Avensis which is worth about £250.

Again this, a classic example of better the devil you know. I did the same with the Toyota and the Saab this year, spent more than their current market value to keep them running and road legal, especially after a cam belt failure and massive MoT fail respectively I thought we'd have had 2 scrappers to deal with.

You seem to like R8 Rovers, why not get this otherwise very tidy example back to full health? I think the investment in a head gasket and cam belt will pay you back in droves. You've put it up 4 sell/roffle with a suspected head gasket at £400(?), I think you'll only get bridge money with it in this state.

 

[chaseracer]

I'm currently putting money into the very familiar Blingo to keep it viable; it remains taxed, insured, ticketed and (mostly) ready to go.  Why, when I have the Lexus as a daily?

Because the Zanussi goes with the job and, current circumstances being as they are, that could come to an end at any time.

[ruffgeezer]

I should not have sold my Datsun, I am having real regrets about it and am unlikely to be able to afford another cool 70s estate.

[EssDeeWon]

21 hours ago, TheDoctor said:

Had it with cars. 

I finally found 'the one' that I was going to stick with, and the head gasket is kaput. 

I give up.

 

 

What are the symptoms of this HGF Doc? Have you had it tested?

[Kiltox]

Doctor - bridge it and buy the Avensis that bub is selling. 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Feckin' battery (all of four months old) is smelling like rotten eggs and the sides are bulging. CX Swapmeet attendees think it's being overcharged, but a multimeter test (engine running) showed 14.1 / 14.2v.

If it isn't one electrical thing, it's another.

[Spottedlaurel]

3 hours ago, ruffgeezer said:

I should not have sold my Datsun, I am having real regrets about it and am unlikely to be able to afford another cool 70s estate.

Who ended up with it? Does it appear to have a viable future?

[Bren]

Our hoover washing machine is dying. Been repaired already. Sick of spending £300 on washing machines that only last around three years.

Does anything last these days?

[Fumbler]

10 minutes ago, Bren said:

Our hoover washing machine is dying. Been repaired already. Sick of spending £300 on washing machines that only last around three years.

Does anything last these days?

Hoover machines made after manufacturing left the UK aren't brilliant. You will find some things but a lot if not all of things I use have an expected lifespan and do break in hilarious* ways after that time has expired.

 

 

In other news my sister has separated with her fiancee after being together for many years. She is living with us. Again. For an unspecified amount of time. Luckily, this time, she's already sorted a house which is why her stay here is unconfirmed.

[strangeangel]

On 9/7/2019 at 5:38 AM, paulplom said:

i was talking to my joiner/plasterer mate yesterday. He's quite a car nut. He's pcp'd cars for a few years now and after handing a couple back, swapping them and other bad decisions he's now paying £400 a month for a 2013 gashqai. It's the old shape as well. Just under 3 years to go as well although he can hand it back half way through with more penalties....

Fuck that for a laugh.

 

The only logic I will apply to my on-going ownership of old (French) cars is derived from scenarios like this. I bought the BX of Many Shiters for three hundred quid. Some folks in similar situations to myself spend that in a month on PCPing/buying a modern. Logic* dictates, therefore, that if I spend less than £3600pa on repairs I am winning.

 

I am winning

[purplebargeken]

Buy another car for a few hundred quid, something will go wrong, get rid of it, repeat ad infinitum.

Buy a car for a few hundred quid, if something goes wrong but you really like the car, it drives well, it's comfy and does the job well enough then take the plunge and get it fixed properly, enjoy the car thereafter.

After over 600 cars I finally have reached that point with the Rover. It's a fine car, I will get it fixed if it fucks up. Am not going to spend thousands on it mind, but will get it fixed for normal shite stuff. 

[The Moog]

Doctor - bridge it and buy the Avensis that bub is selling. 

This is amazing advice... As long as you don't try and change car after 5mins

[loserone]

Don't bridge it.  You like it, you want it, get it sorted.

[artdjones]

2 hours ago, Bren said:

Our hoover washing machine is dying. Been repaired already. Sick of spending £300 on washing machines that only last around three years.

Does anything last these days

Washing machines were around £300 35 years ago.Which is the equivalent of £900 today.So it's not surprising that they lasted longer.

[Tamworthbay]

20 hours ago, strangeangel said:

 

The only logic I will apply to my on-going ownership of old (French) cars is derived from scenarios like this. I bought the BX of Many Shiters for three hundred quid. Some folks in similar situations to myself spend that in a month on PCPing/buying a modern. Logic* dictates, therefore, that if I spend less than £3600pa on repairs I am winning.

 

I am winning

Our Drummer is spunking out £290 a month for a focus. After 3 years it will owe him over £10k and yet he will own 0% of it as he will hand it back and get another. My Volvo stands me just less than £1500 with everything I have done to it, that’s 13 months in. So I am already £2400 up. Apart from being able to select the colour of the dash and a stereo that connects to his phone (like a give a shit about those) I can’t see what it has that’s better. He wouldn’t be seen dead driving my Volvo, more fool him. It means I can run a second fun car (he would also hate the 205) and still pay out shit loads less than him a month.

[myglaren]

2 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Hoover machines made after manufacturing left the UK aren't brilliant. You will find some things but a lot if not all of things I use have an expected lifespan and do break in hilarious* ways after that time has expired.

Wonderful news!

My son bought one a couple of months ago and it seems OK so I bought one for my daughter a couple of weeks ago

[The_Equalizer]

1 hour ago, artdjones said:

Washing machines were around £300 35 years ago.Which is the equivalent of £900 today.So it's not surprising that they lasted longer.

You can still spend £900 or more if you like. Still makes me chuckle that my parents' washing machine cost more than my drophead Benz.

[ruffgeezer]

3 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Who ended up with it? Does it appear to have a viable future?

Chris champion on Datsun owners.

He is going to fit a turbo engine and paint it.

[Tamworthbay]

7 hours ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

 What happened to the Dyson washing machine? I remember only seeing one, and how it sorted coins into a collection tray was very cool.

 

Probably cost more then a Invacar Hayabusha conversion though.

They were overpriced shite like all the other Dyson products, once the fashion wore off no one was interested.

[Tamworthbay]

13 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Feckin' battery (all of four months old) is smelling like rotten eggs and the sides are bulging. CX Swapmeet attendees think it's being overcharged, but a multimeter test (engine running) showed 14.1 / 14.2v.

If it isn't one electrical thing, it's another.

14.2v is bang on what you would expect. If the battery is newish it should be under warranty?

[paulplom]

My cunt of an upstairs neighbor pulled me in the street yesterday. Apparently someone has shopped her to the social services and she was accusing me. They had told her her little son (around 3) was eating out of bins (true), She was locking them out of the house all day (true) and playing with broken glass and just generally making a mess and creating havoc (true). It wasn't me but I'm thinking of getting in contact and backing up the original complaint. She started shouting at 6.50 today. It usually starts between 6.30 and 7.00. Her parents are around regularly checking up and her dad's new work pick up is outside currently so there are obvious issues and they know it. She reckons ss can fuck off and they'll do nowt about it. 

While she was accusing me I checked her 3 times about her language. She actually can't say a sentence without the word fuck in it. It was amusing/shocking watching her trying not to say it.

Can I make a case to ss on line? A link would be handy.

[High Jetter]

9 hours ago, purplebargeken said:

After over 600 cars

That's dedication, much respect. Can anyone beat that, I wonder?

[Floatylight]

My cunt of an upstairs neighbor pulled me in the street yesterday. Apparently someone has shopped her to the social services and she was accusing me. They had told her her little son (around 3) was eating out of bins (true), She was locking them out of the house all day (true) and playing with broken glass and just generally making a mess and creating havoc (true). It wasn't me but I'm thinking of getting in contact and backing up the original complaint. She started shouting at 6.50 today. It usually starts between 6.30 and 7.00. Her parents are around regularly checking up and her dad's new work pick up is outside currently so there are obvious issues and they know it. She reckons ss can fuck off and they'll do nowt about it. 
While she was accusing me I checked her 3 times about her language. She actually can't say a sentence without the word fuck in it. It was amusing/shocking watching her trying not to say it.
Can I make a case to ss on line? A link would be handy.

Assuming Newcastle is your council. https://newcastle.gov.uk/services/care-and-support/report-abuse-or-neglect

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk

[Tadhg Tiogar]

55 minutes ago, Tamworthbay said:

14.2v is bang on what you would expect. If the battery is newish it should be under warranty?

The opinion yesterday was that the voltage regulator on the alternator had failed,  so overcharging at higher revs.

[paulplom]

37 minutes ago, Floatylight said:

Assuming Newcastle is your council. https://newcastle.gov.uk/services/care-and-support/report-abuse-or-neglect

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk
 

Cheers

[purplebargeken]

That's dedication, much respect. Can anyone beat that, I wonder?

Nope, that is just daft (hindsight is an amazing thing). I could have (read, should have) just just chosen maybe a dozen really, really good ones and saved myself a fecking fortune.

The ones I should have kept:

The London Taxi

The Land Rover 110

The white Daf 44

The Triumph 1500TC auto

The Triumph 1850HL auto

The Ford Granada 2.3GL auto

The Volvo 940 Wentworth auto estate

The odd colour blue Triumph Toledo

The black VW Beetle (modern one)

The red Ford Galaxy

The blue Mitsubishi Space Runner

One of the Mk3 2.9 Ford Granadas

Hey ho.