The grumpy thread

[Craig the Princess]

Whisper it, but I actually like a modern Vauxhall.

 

As well all know all Vauxhall's are shit but the Vectra was a really nice drive home.

[dugong]

1. Facebook groups.

2. Facebook.

 

The necessary evil? Sadly, yes.

[wuvvum]

Whisper it, but I actually like a modern Vauxhall.

 

As well all know all Vauxhall's are shit but the Vectra was a really nice drive home.

I don't mind Vectra Cs.  I actually prefer them to drive to Mk3 Mondeos.  The indicator switch is toss though.

[wuvvum]

I put the Mondeo on Gumtree this afternoon, adviertised at £350.  I've had two offers so far - one of £150, one of £100.  No offers of strimmers or hedge trimmers as yet though.

[Craig the Princess]

I don't mind Vectra Cs. I actually prefer them to drive to Mk3 Mondeos. The indicator switch is toss though.

Amen to that. What were they smoking when they invented that. Several times I was indicating left right left right left right.

[Timewaster]

I've heard several people say how bad the indicators are on these.

 

What do they actually do? (or supposed to do)

[Craig the Princess]

I think the idea is a little nudge gives you three flashes (for changing lanes for example) and a bigger nudge gives you normal style self-cancelling indicators. The stalk returns to the middle position no matter what you do. So if you think you have done a normal indication but haven't and try to cancel it you end up doing the flashes, then three the other easy then three the original way as you go to cancel the incorrect one as well.

[Sloth in a bowl]

Fifth Gear spouts melodramatic bollocks.  No surprises here...

 

I like the way the stunt driver loaded up the weight on the car by a quick sharp turn to the left before turning right. Just the way that NOBODY in their right mind would do when avoiding a hazard on their left hand side.

Also most people when they are avoiding a hazard slow down in some form rather than keeping their foot on the throttle.

 

So stunt driver in 'I had to drive like an unreal fuckwit to make Yaris turn over' shock.

[Cavcraft]

When you go to cancel them they go the opposite way. They don't always do it, but like a lot of stupid car type problems, they sort of sneak up on you unawares and just as you're congratulating yourself on the perfect manoeuvre it appears to other vehicles in the vicinity that you're tapping out a morse code version of Bohemian Rhapsody.

[Sloth in a bowl]

I've heard several people say how bad the indicators are on these.

 

What do they actually do? (or supposed to do)

 

 

They send you to a special hell, where you can't use your indicators correctly and everybody else thinks you are a complete fuckwit. Which is only confirmed by the fact that you are driving a Vauxhall.

[chaseracer]

Whisper it, but I actually like a modern Vauxhall.

 

As well all know all Vauxhall's are shit but the Vectra was a really nice drive home.

 

You sick, twisted individual...

 

[captain_70s]

Try not to be too down mate, you drive a Triumph Dolomite, one of Britains finest cars   Sod the £200 p/m finance bollox, you actually OWN your car, they don't. Besides, after making a down payment plus years of £200 p/m what are they left with? Some POS which probably isn't worth an awful lot. Don't be too concerned with having new things, its only a temporary fix which modern society is constantly chasing (New Cars, holidays, snazzy phones, designer clothes etc etc)

Oh, I have no desire to actually have those things. I'm just confused how I don't have those things AND don't have any money.

 

Looking through my bank statements suggests I spend all of my money on petrol, food and car parts for cars that break faster than I can fix them. So I suppose this is a self inflicted problem, people at work often point out I'm "a dick with too many old cars" which I can't really argue against...

 

 

When you go to cancel them they go the opposite way. They don't always do it, but like a lot of stupid car type problems, they sort of sneak up on you unawares and just as you're congratulating yourself on the perfect manoeuvre it appears to other vehicles in the vicinity that you're tapping out a morse code version of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Corsa D has the same thing, hateful.

[HH-R]

Vauxhall indicators aren't too bad I've found, though it's weird that they don't stay in place. It's easier to hear a mechanical thud when the indicator has self cancelled and shouldn't have rather than a feint ticking stopping (sounds computer generated on Vauxhalls? Not sure if that's true or not).

 

Colts are the same but the stalk stays in place. It takes no effort to move it into 3 flashes position accidently and pressing it the other way to cancel makes it do 3 flashes again so you end up doing a mobile disco and looking like a moron who can't use an indicator stalk.

[wuvvum]

Early XJ40s had a similar arrangement.  Jaguar had worked out that it was a daft idea by about 1989.  I don't know what possessed Vauxhall to pick it up again 13 years later.

[Ghosty]

 

 

Corsa D has the same thing, hateful.

 

You can turn it off - I learnt to drive in BSM's finest* 62 plate Corsa SXi, and my instructor had done exactly that, expressing her disdain towards it.

Binis do too, it's a pretty common feature these days. Deep in the menus you can set it to 1 flash, 3 flashes, or turn it off IIRC.

Mother Ghosty likes it, says it's useful on the motorway, but it catches her out half the time when she doesn't push the stalk far enough, and it has the problem where you end up indicating the other way too.

[rml2345]

I like the way the stunt driver loaded up the weight on the car by a quick sharp turn to the left before turning right. Just the way that NOBODY in their right mind would do when avoiding a hazard on their left hand side.

Also most people when they are avoiding a hazard slow down in some form rather than keeping their foot on the throttle.

 

So stunt driver in 'I had to drive like an unreal fuckwit to make Yaris turn over' shock.

They had already decided that the Yaris would fail due to not being a OMGHMVTNTESAPOT equipped model and then had to drive like an utter twat to prove it. It takes a fair bit to unnerve a Yaris. Besides which, no one in their right mind would swerve across five imaginary lanes without attempting to slow down first.

Fifth Gear, the Daily Mail of motoring programmes.

[Pillock]

You cancel VX indicators by pushing it the same way again. I find them easy to get on with, but my Astra H (or J, or XX or whatever we're up to) has gone back to normal ones.

 

The menu option on Corsas only turns off the flick-to-lane-change, not the auto centring of the stalk.

[bub2006]

Just watched the fifth gear clip. What a load of bollocks. He seemed to deliberately head for the grass at 70. My car should have abs but it's not worked for over a 1000 miles now and with wan king ditchfinder tyres if not fell over or killed any nuns carrying kittens while driving a Morgan.

[rml2345]

Morgan eh? Haven't seen one in ages...

[Skizzer]

Indeed. OMG: Front Wheel Drive Car In Understeer Shocker. What mindless drivel.

I thought the lil' old Yaris did pretty well actually. And they talk about hitting the Armco like that's a bad thing - in fact the whole point of it is to dissipate the energy and catch the car before it crosses carriageways and flips over.

Ignorant, cynical, misleading bollocks to feed the fearful complacency of the masses. Just like the rest of TV.

[vulgalour]

Went to help Mike bleed some brakes at the unit, would have been easier to temporarily put the Princess outside to do it.  Wouldn't start.  Starter would go clunk and that was it.  Got the starter off (much easier now it's all clean) and bench tested it to find that 9 times out of 10 it only clunks and on the tenth it just whirrs lazily.  Bloody thing was perfectly fine when it was repainted and refitted and was good enough to drive the car around the yard and into the unit.

 

Clearly, I have fixed too many things on the Princess lately and this is my reward.  I may be able to get the motor rewound for £notalot, I think a new motor is about £40 but I've got to check that out, been a while since I last looked.

[Volksy]

It'll more likely be the solenoid than the windings, probably just crudded up as they do. May be worth a strip and clean seeing as you have it off the car now.  

[dollywobbler]

Early XJ40s had a similar arrangement.  Jaguar had worked out that it was a daft idea by about 1989.  I don't know what possessed Vauxhall to pick it up again 13 years later.

 

Citroen had it on the Ami in 1961. How ahead of the game is that? Press down to indicate left, stalk pops back up. You then pull the stalk toward yourself to cancel it. It works a hell of a lot better than these shitty modern stalks.

[vulgalour]

So more a dirty contact issue then?  I'm unconvinced, the unit is pretty clean and the solenoid is the one bit that appears to be working fine, it's the motor that's being sluggish and crappy and most times not even bothering to move.

[Jerzy Woking]

So more a dirty contact issue then?  I'm unconvinced, the unit is pretty clean and the solenoid is the one bit that appears to be working fine, it's the motor that's being sluggish and crappy and most times not even bothering to move.

The solenoid on my Moto Guzzi had a pea sized lump of hard grease in it that stopped it working. Auto electrician that looked at it said "That's Italian electrics for you" before noticing "Bosche" stamped on it.

[vulgalour]

Mike says he's going to inspect it tomorrow and see if there's anything amiss.  If cleaning it inside again fixes it for free then it's worth trying.

[dugong]

Insurance companies which don't bother explaining their terms and conditions, then hide behind them when challenged.

Unfortunately, I'm in a foul mood and I'm not letting it go. Their mistake.

[DVee8]

Insurance companies that don't bother explaining their terms and conditions then hide behind them when challenged.

Unfortunately, I'm in a foul mood and I'm not letting it go. Their mistake.

Yep, Footman James just screwed me over for the sum of £51.00.

[fairkens]

Insurance companies which don't bother explaining their terms and conditions, then hide behind them when challenged.

Unfortunately, I'm in a foul mood and I'm not letting it go. Their mistake.

I can't find a decent link on my phone but google 'treating customers fairly' and use the principles as the basis for your complaint.

[dugong]

Yep, Footman James just screwed me over for the sum of £51.00.

Early cancellation fee only mentioned in a poorly recorded IVR, per chance?