The "its working just fine" fear

[rusty_vw_man]

Imagine the scene, you're driving along and there is nothing wrong with your car. 

The temperature gauge isn't slightly higher than you'd like, the funny clicky noise has either fixed itself or fallen off, the MOT isn't due for 10 months, its been raining and the foot wells are surprisingly dry, all the lights work and even the crackly speaker in the back has started playing top tuuunnnz. 

Its at this point, when everything is working at its best that I get the biggest fear and sense of dread - whats going to fall of/break/stop working/explode next.

I almost prefer it when there are a few minor bits wrong that I know about, at leas then I know what needs fixing. 

Anyone else ever experience this type of fear, or am I just an overly pessimistic worrier?!?

[Lankytim]

The last time a funny noise stopped a wheel overtook me on the M5. 

[eddyramrod]

21 minutes ago, rusty_vw_man said:

Imagine the scene, you're driving along and there is nothing wrong

That's going to take some imagination!

[Cookiesouwest]

I get the same fears. I prefer having at least one issue to worry about, as long as it wont result in an FTP

[Skizzer]

I’m with Eddy - I’ll let you know if it ever happens.

[Ohdearme]

I don't like it at all, I tend to prefer driving with a known defect - otherwise find it's like the Spanish inquisition. Last time I had a long trip, of the three cars, I took the one in the best* condition with FSH, recent service and general working order...

...Funny how quickly you run out of things to talk to the recovery driver about on the way back to Leeds from Derby at 2 in the morning.

[Cheezey]

I would wonder how people get round to modifying cars. There are too many faults to deal with first before buying upgrades! 

[TrabbieRonnie]

I am driving a £1500 2003 A8... the fear is very real!  Serviced yesterday as an offering to the mechanical gods, hopefully that'll see me through!  Car's been bloody brilliant too in the few months I've had it... 

Edited April 24, 2020 by TrabbieRonnie
edited to remove comment about low fuel prices being good news too... insensitive, sorry.

[SRi05]

2 hours ago, rusty_vw_man said:

Imagine the scene, you're driving along and there is nothing wrong with your car. 

God, I wonder what that's like 

[sutty2006]

I drive a discovery 3, fear just becomes part of life. That’s why we spend money each month on a decent level of recovery service! Haha 

[Flat4]

50 minutes ago, Cheezey said:

I would wonder how people get round to modifying cars. There are too many faults to deal with first before buying upgrades! 

You use the failures as an excuse to upgrade  That's what I do with my Subarus. If it needs discs and pads, it gets 4 pot callipers and bigger discs. The Fozzie needs some bushes, so those are getting poly bushes. It may have injector issues so I'm putting bigger injectors on it.

[iainrcz]

My approach to such things is if it's fine just take it apart and fuck with it anyway.

[straightSix]

34 minutes ago, TrabbieRonnie said:

I am driving a £1500 2003 A8... the fear is very real!  Serviced yesterday as an offering to the mechanical gods, hopefully that'll see me through!  Car's been bloody brilliant too in the few months I've had it... 

You have to be careful with German motors. Always leave one thing broken, ideally something minor

[xtriple]

I got to that happy point with the Bentley: absolutely everything in top notch perfect working order.

 

So it blew the head gasket and filled the cylinders with water and hydro locked!

It doesn't matter what car I have, I worry about the next thing breaking. I don't stop worrying until about a month after I've sold it, yes, I am serious. Yesterday, I started the Merc, put the roof down and turned it off and went back indoors. About an hour later I went out with the mutts, started the car and for about the first 3-4 seconds the idle was above 1000 rpm. It's NEVER over a 1000 rpm! Logic sats that it's because I stopped it during the 'cold cycle' on the injection and then re-started it with excess fuel or utter electronic confusion, but, I have worried about it ever since. It started and ran perfectly all day, no problem, issues or worries. But....

[Jikovron]

Only once I started driving japanese origin cars did I relax into the idea that nothing was likely to go wrong mechanically although structural rust is still an issue.

My Estelles have been in the camp of nothing going wrong but a lack of refinement doesn't half bring life and colour to the NVH factor so there is never a feeling that the mechanical parts are having a nice calm smooth run of it ontop of cooling system questions.

I never felt confident that my dolomite would complete a journey as things would physically fatigue and drop off, seize up, rot through,come undone, crack,leak,lose electrical continuity,burn oil, it was comically unreliable! 

[bunglebus]

Not me. I worry about if it happens, always had trust in my cars. My concerns are when I know I've got a fault but no time/parts/money to fix it, so I worry that it will last until it can be repaired

[Shirley Knott]

Varies from car to car for me.

Pretty much all three run perfectly at present but levels of trust differ. The C1 appears to be reliable so not too much bum clenching there, the Golf has been with me for many years now and despite being 16 years old with 150k it's literally never let me down. The V70.... Whilst lovely, and despite the fact that I've put a new timing belt on it and spent countless weekends bringing it up to speed I can't seem to get over the fact I got it for not much more than scrap value from a *gentleman who'd bought it only an hour or two before selling it to me.  I'm pretty much always waiting for it to explode.