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Why don't I listen to myself?


Barry Cade

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2 hours ago, rickvw72 said:

I think it’s the recent fashion to have a really strong polarised opinion on anything. It seems that you are not allowed to just like stuff, you have to be a fan boy or a hater.

Ill summarise my points, I’ve got three (admittedly old) VWs. I keep them as I like them. I don’t support the nazi party, wish I live in a house VAG built, and haven’t named my children Ferdinand or Porsche.

Someone I know was genuinely surprised I own three Japanese cars too. It was like I was supposed to only like VWs, and only drive VWs for ever more because I’ve got three old ones. 
 

Personnally I like decent cars. I don’t massively care who built it, but rate stuff on whether it’s decent in my experience.

My trade background means I’m happy to offer a terrible review on anything that’s shit from such experience. Think Peugeot 407s, the awful 1.6 HDi / TDCi engine in everything, and stuff like welding a 5 year old transit sill for an MoT gives me a certain viewpoint on some stuffs quality. 
 

A rusty wing on a 15 year old golf, which doesn’t exactly look a loved example, ain’t gonna convince me everything VAG built, and will ever build again, is a steaming turd. 
 

This polar opinion thing is prevelant with politics especially.

its seems you have to be in love with Jeremy Corbyn, or be a racist far right capitalist. It seems like you can’t be simply just “not a knob”

Couldnt agree more. Had a few peugeots this year, a renault and 3 mondeos; none of which i was utterly offended by that i feel it nesescary to blast every single one and make people who enjoy them feel like bad for owning one 

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4 minutes ago, rickvw72 said:

I’m also pleased that I’ve actually lowered the suspension of all my old VWs.

Some people will foam because of that, and reference pineapples. Then try to convince me I’m weird

i think out of the 150+ cars ive owned, ive lowered 60 percent on budget coilovers. This will also give people sleepless nights i'd imagine.

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35 minutes ago, Jamie said:

i think out of the 150+ cars ive owned, ive lowered 60 percent on budget coilovers. This will also give people sleepless nights i'd imagine.

Imagine being the poor bastard who buys it and lives somewhere with bumps 🤣

 

 

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I lowered a car once at considerable expense none of this chopped springs malarkey either,   never again I ruined it and after a week or so the standard springs went back on but keeping the uprated shocks, that was 30 years ago and a mk1 xr2 maybe kits are better these days but i doubt it after driving mates motors who have lowered cars.

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I think the launch of the W210 coincided with the Chrysler take-over, when the Daimler chairman of the time went all Master Race and decided to take on VW, only to start a decade of corporate infighting and general organisational crapness. They’ve spent 20 years trying to recover their game after those two decisions of the mid 1990s. 

The rot* started with the first C class, I expect they realised the W201 was completely over engineered and perhaps barely profitable in its home market - where they can’t change 15% more than everyone else and still sell loads - and decided to cheapen it.  It was the first Mercedes of the modern era to start looking really shonky after 5/6 years if not looked after. Paint - if a solid colour - in particular was a weakness. 

The W210 was way worse though, a truly dire car. I remember seeing one with a rotted-through front chassis leg - which had buckled very badly in a front end crash - in a breakers when it would have been about 6-7 years old. 

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1 hour ago, Matty said:

Had 2 cars on budget coilovers now (both vws 🍍). Less wallow both rode fine no suspension failures. Both still more refined and less crashey than my st150 

 

29 minutes ago, garbaldy said:

I lowered a car once at considerable expense none of this chopped springs malarkey either,   never again I ruined it and after a week or so the standard springs went back on but keeping the uprated shocks, that was 30 years ago and a mk1 xr2 maybe kits are better these days but i doubt it after driving mates motors who have lowered cars.

I am a serial lowerer, partly for aesthetics partly for handling. Not to the point of smashing the sump on speed bumps or rubbing the tyres on the wheelarches.

Coilovers are tempting but the cheap ones have a bad reputation and the expensive ones are expensive.

 

Before

P7120002_zpsxjbsdgem

After

P7130014_zpsweowpquw

 

Before

P3010004

After

Renwagen001

 

Can't be living with a car that looks like it's on stilts or where you can get your head between the tyre and arch

 

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Its horses for courses really. When the suspension was tired on my old mk3 a fully assembled coilover kit, 2 skf top mounts and a fitting kit for the rear was cheaper then oem shock absorbers, springs and the ancillaries. Thats why I did it mainly

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3 hours ago, Matty said:

Because all car manufacturers get the design spot on first time. Which is why there's no after market for upgraded parts. Oh wait ....

I just think that there's a fairly strong concensus among the manufacturers that taking the MacPherson strut back to 1950 wouldn't be an upgrade. If it was an upgrade some of them would be doing it.

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33 minutes ago, artdjones said:

I just think that there's a fairly strong concensus among the manufacturers that taking the MacPherson strut back to 1950 would be an upgrade. If it was an upgrade some of them would be doing it.

Absolutly fair shout. All road vehicles are the result of multi million pound development budgets. The idea that I can improve on that is obviously laughable!! Some folk like to have a fuck about with their cars though. Im one of them and it appears many on here are as well. Same time I love seeing folk on here take on worthless owd shite and painstakingly put them back to original. Broad Church and all that 👍

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33 minutes ago, Matty said:

Absolutly fair shout. All road vehicles are the result of multi million pound development budgets. The idea that I can improve on that is obviously laughable!! 

Thing is 99% of cars have to be a compromise to suit different consumers. There's plenty of scope for changing things to suit you if you're less concerned with one aspect (say, ground clearance) and more concerned with something else like more power or better handling. There's always a trade off but you pays your money etc...

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50 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Thing is 99% of cars have to be a compromise to suit different consumers. There's plenty of scope for changing things to suit you if you're less concerned with one aspect (say, ground clearance) and more concerned with something else like more power or better handling. There's always a trade off but you pays your money etc...

I was going to put that as well but I'm supposed to be working 🤣

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Good thread.

I've had lots of VAG stuff and am a big fan of pre 90s cars in that they offered solidity and reliability in a workmanlike package. Later stuff focuses too much on "premium" and not enough on "quality".

My mk2 caddy (1.9sdi) seems to be an exception, I've been piling the miles on without issue and it feels more mk2 golf era vag than mk4. I guess as a commercial it was intended to be reliable basic transport more than it was designed to appeal to notions of perceived quality. Of course it has VW niggles (faulty temperature guage, brittle plastic parts causing heater controls to fail, drivers door lock just packed up etc.) but as transport it inspires confidence.

In terms of sheer quality my wife's honda CR-V is vastly superior. It's a beautifully put together thing and very little seems to break on it, but it is dull to drive and thirsty.

Based on the comments above and my dad going on about how brilliant his cinquecento and panda replacement were I'm going to try a Fiat next. Maybe they've been quietly getting it more right than they get credit for.

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2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Thing is 99% of cars have to be a compromise to suit different consumers. There's plenty of scope for changing things to suit you if you're less concerned with one aspect (say, ground clearance) and more concerned with something else like more power or better handling. There's always a trade off but you pays your money etc...

And here was me thinking if you wanted comfort you bought an S and if you wanted mid range you bough an SE but if you wanted lower and stiffer with more power you bought a sport.   

Never used to be a trade off at all unless people that couldnt afford insurance on a sport buy base spec that is.

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5 hours ago, bunglebus said:

 

I am a serial lowerer, partly for aesthetics partly for handling. Not to the point of smashing the sump on speed bumps or rubbing the tyres on the wheelarches.

Coilovers are tempting but the cheap ones have a bad reputation and the expensive ones are expensive.

 

Before

P7120002_zpsxjbsdgem

After

P7130014_zpsweowpquw

 

Before

P3010004

After

Renwagen001

 

Can't be living with a car that looks like it's on stilts or where you can get your head between the tyre and arch

 

As I said above, I've probably put 70 odd cars now on budget coilovers (joms /stance+ I wouldn't keep doing it if they were complete dogshit, ride is no different to standard in most cases. Replacing 100+ thousand mile shocks n springs with new is always going to improve no matter what imo 

Mine are always sump scrapingly low aswell 😏

 

IMG_20200917_154857_227.jpg

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22 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

All the VW apologists in the world can make their excuses and tell you how great those cars are. Here's a better picture of the 'build quality' though...

IMG_20201210_154407.thumb.jpg.7e983cef7112b7a582e9dd9ea7d54242.jpg

...I'm not accepting any excuses (must have been an after market wing/all cars registered in that region rust like that/previous owner must be SpongeBob Square pants etc) because it's down to these cars being shit.

On the way to work this morning I was rewarded by an automatic sock and trainer cleaning device in the shape of a fair amount of water dribbling in from under the dashboard. I bet that will end well with the electrics and anything under the carpet.

IMG_20201210_154349.thumb.jpg.2dba00b1ca36f5191223edf182fd0694.jpg

They clearly didn't learn from earlier models, such as the God awful Passats.

The seats haven't changed since the MK3 Golf either, you sit on them rather than in them. The dashboard is still that full VW wank pot with weird coloured illuminated dials, too.

I've had some truly abused/neglected Zafiras etc and not a single one was as shit or rusty as this thing.

Will that VW be finding its way for sale soon Billy haha...  probably a bonfire no doubt.

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No, it's just a VW.  Have seen a few others in almost as bad condition, definitely not a patch on a Zafira body work wise. 

It does seem to pull well to be fair, can't deny it that much. If it lasts until the test runs out (Feb, iirc) I'll probably just use it as a tip run/work/moped collection tool.

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Whoa that’s a rusty old dog. Puts my Fourtrak to the test.

Thing is, people still buy rusty old Fords too. Say what you like about the rust on that, but I’d sooner crash a car with ropey door edges, arches etc than a Ka or similar, with serious, hidden structural rot. I had a genuine Bmw e30 sport in a few years back, subframe ripped out of the floor and dragging the road.
Recently welded a M3 with cracked boot floor and legs at the back. Such a common thing a couple of companies sell the repair parts!

All manufacturers have a mare here and there. Some more than others. Many of the members here drive stuff i just couldn’t. 
Each to their own I guess. 
At least when that touran is dead, you’ll get some coin for the parts, or from someone who wants the parts. Astra’s, Mondeos etc all go in the baler complete, or near complete. That’ll go in stripped bare. Not the bodywork though mind.

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It’s a funny one isn’t it. When new vehicles have certain perceived qualities (marketing/ societal and our own direct perceptions) and after 15 years of so we can look back and with hindsight assess how valid they were. 
 

Brands  that lead with value- harder to knock. Brands that lead with quality and exclusivity However sit uneasily against every other car being one and older ones going wrong / rotting. 

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27 minutes ago, rickvw72 said:

Recently welded a M3 with cracked boot floor and legs at the back. Such a common thing a couple of companies sell the repair panels!

That's the E46 isn't it? Seen some very scary videos of those, all of them do it. Mate bought one years ago that was just starting to go and got it all repaired properly at some expense

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