The grumpy thread

[retrogeezer]

[RedSparrow]

Families.AARRRGGGHHHH!!!Why can't people just be resonable?I am sick of being the peacemaker for my family's stupid pettiness.

[Guest]

GSF pissed me off today.Decided to replace the front wishbone rear bushes on the BMW. Rang GSF, gave them the chassis number, the reg, and told them it's an E36 318is. Took the old ones off (they're a proper bugger to shift) and GSF sent a set of replacements up - for an E46.Rang them and the parts droid said "Oh, on the computer it's a '99, so it's got to be an E46, so I've sent the right ones, your car must be wrong". Arrgh.So, now my car is sitting in the workshop 10 miles away and I had to put the bloody thing together again just to move it out of the way to free up the MOT bay for the morning. I've had to arrange a lift from a mate to get me back to the workshop, I've got to take the frickin' bush housings back off, then drive 10 miles back towards my house, beat the motor factor droid over the head with them until they admit they're wrong, then back to the bloody garage to fit 'em. So, that's a 1/2 hour job that's turned into a four hour one just because some muppet couldn't be bothered checking on the computer. It's utterly screwed up my day as I was meant to be getting the body repair to the wheelarch done tomorrow, now that's got to be done at the weekend so I can't go pissing about in Wales on my mates boat.Ok, I shouldn't have whipped 'em off without checking first, but these guys are meant to be professionals, and E36 wishbone bushes are as prone to failure as K series head gaskets..

GSF are wank.Aside from Andrew Page they gave the wrong front AND rear discs for my C4, and got the pads wrong twice. And lads, I realise the bottom ball joint for a 405 'looks similar', but doesn't mean it'll 'fucking well fit' does it. They also gave me the wrong CV boot for my 306 when it needed one. (tip: on the GSF computer, the correct outer CV boot for a D Turbo is the same as the one on the 2 litre Cabrio).In my experience the 'equivalent quality' parts are bollocks anyway, especially the track rod ends. 'German spec' my scarred - from - a - chain - sprocketed arse.That's why I either go OEM (and stuff the cost) or look for the unbranded manufacturer stuff on eBay (so Delphi, Motaequip, Valeo, etc).On a separate note, they refused to give me a job 'because you don't have any main dealer training' and yet strangely I knew the difference between an E30 and E36. Two of his staff didn't, so how the fuck did they get employed? Knowing BMW chassis codes would be a near fundamental part of that job. I could also do 'looking knowledgeable whilst picking the wrong part number from a knackered UNIX system' and 'playing Key 103 so fucking loud you get brain damage'.I failed however on 'Bizarre Sexual Practises involving VWs' and 'Going out for 37 minute cig breaks that should have taken 10'.2 on 2. Fuck, better get that radiator for the Beetle sorted.

[Tayne]

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[Rusty Pelican]

Took the poxy ashtray to a garage very close to work , went back after work only to be told it never played up ,They cleaned the ERG valve anyway after a few long test drives , as they couldnt find the fault as such they didnt charge me , Im still grumpy though as i still have a possible fault with the ERG and refuse to pay Poxhalls prices

[Mr_Bo11ox]

in my experience Euro Car Parts ALWAYS give you the wrong bits first time round. ALWAYS. Theres just no point buying from them unless you know exactly what the parts look like so you can reject them straihgt back over their sales counter and leave the shop with the right ones.

[Guest]

MH Direct Couriers.I've used them loads of times with no hassle. Except now they're riling me up. DHL have had THREE DAYS to get my parcel from work and they haven't picked it up. My buyer now thinks I'm taking the piss.They're ignoring my emails and haven't got a phone number any more. The numbers I have for them don't work any more.

[Cavcraft]

Banning smoking in cars? Yeah, honestly, I really believe it's 23 times more DNGR 2 DA KIDZ than a pub full of smokers Obviously it goes without saying that anyone who smokes in their car when their kids are present never, ever smokes in the same room in the house etc.Why don't these fucking gobshites juast admit it's something else they want to ban so they can fine people when they catch them?Twats.

[Guest]

Got a battery for the Galant, but the terminals are in the wrong place and won't reach.Now I've either got to take the battery back to the ridiculous place I got it from, or cobble up some kind of extension. And everywhere will be shut now.What a ballache.

[Rusty Pelican]

Banning smoking in cars? .

I bet it comes one day along with banning all manual cars as you have to remove one hand from the steering wheel , therefore its extremely dangerous as theres a possibility of loosing control , banning radios and passengers talking ( esp kids ) as its a distraction , banning cars altogether as its dangerous and you may get injured or even killed , In fact if the first car was invented today Health and safety would ban them outright ,

You want to travel up to 70mph under your control only , sorry , not permitted , computer controlled may be allowed up to 15 mph , any faster is potentially lethal and totally beyond human beings

[pompei]

I heard something the other day about a fellow who was in a queue of stationary traffic and was blowing his nose. Plod spotted this potentially deadly misdemeanour and nicked him for not being in control of the vehicle. Anyway, the bloke went to court and the case was thown out.

[Rusty Pelican]

Thinking about it , if Alcohol was discovered for the very first time today it would be banned, A drink that if taken access alters your mind and makes you throw up or hit people BANNED

Same with Fags , you breath this in and it could kill you BANNED

Planes , you want to LEAVE the ground BANNED

Lets just give up living shall we [/b]

[Slaighty]

Frickin TV ads threatening to crush cars without current tax piss me off.This is all about this govt's obsession with squeezing every penny from us - so scared about losing out to tax dodgers they bombard us with this crap. Where are the threatening ads for those cars without Mot or insurance ? Far worse I think to drive an unsafe or uninsured vehicle.

[Father Ted]

Banning smoking in cars? .

I bet it comes one day along with banning passengers talking ( esp kids ) as its a distraction ,

Fucking brilliant - when? Sooner the better.

[myglaren]

Frickin TV ads threatening to crush cars without current tax piss me off.This is all about this govt's obsession with squeezing every penny from us - so scared about losing out to tax dodgers they bombard us with this crap. Where are the threatening ads for those cars without Mot or insurance ? Far worse I think to drive an unsafe or uninsured vehicle.

Fully agree with that, the ads probably cost more than the lost revenue. Also, as it is just another tax, why not drop it altogether along with all the paper shuffling it involves and just increase the already crippling duty on petrol a bit.Also this has got me steaming this evening:

A Devon council is considering plans to charge staff with older cars a higher rate for parking.Teignbridge District Council is proposing to scrap free car parking at its Newton Abbot headquarters.In its place will be a two-tier charge, with cars made before January 2001 charged £1 a day and other cars charged at 50p a day.

The BeebWhy do they automatically assume that older cars are pollution terrorist. Reasonably maintained they are anything but

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Thats so ludicrous I am not even going to get riled about it! everyone knows about the link between the age of a parked car, and the pollution which emanates from it while its sat there.

[504GL]

You've got to love a council trying to scam money out of people under the guise of environmentalism. Seriously who the hell is going to get rid of their old car purely for the sake of 50p a day. That's complete BS. idiots.....

[AlsoMike]

Apparently there is a new scheme starting in North Lincolnshire where the council will fine you for having the engine running while your car is stationary. Not when you're in traffic obviously, but say that you've pulled up outside a shop, the missus hops out to buy something unnecessary, you're sat there with the engine running, and BAM! You're slapped with a £20 fine. So they have employed MORE people, despite the Labour government already creating god only knows how many civil service jobs in the last ten years to drain tax payers money, so that they can slap you with a poxy fine for not turning your funking engine off. Taxes/fines/bullshit done in the name of environmentalism DOES MY NUT.

[504GL]

Apparently there is a new scheme starting in North Lincolnshire where the council will fine you for having the engine running while your car is stationary. Not when you're in traffic obviously, but say that you've pulled up outside a shop, the missus hops out to buy something unnecessary, you're sat there with the engine running, and BAM! You're slapped with a £20 fine. So they have employed MORE people, despite the Labour government already creating god only knows how many civil service jobs in the last ten years to drain tax payers money, so that they can slap you with a poxy fine for not turning your funking engine off. Taxes/fines/bullshit done in the name of environmentalism DOES MY NUT.

Wow. Just wow. I really doubt this stuff can actually be legal though right?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

what is the fine actually for? I mean what is the 'offence'.

[504GL]

You know what I've always thought people should do if they're that bothered about emissions? Use a plastic bag over their head to catch all the CO2 they're poisoning the air with Then you can be all carbon neutral and everything

[Milford Cubicle]

Yes, if we all died it'd be "see you later human Co2 emissions"

[pompei]

I think it's to stop a delivery driver in Scunthorpe from filling the sweet shop next door with fumes whist he's disgorging his load. GR8 law making.

[504GL]

I think it's to stop a delivery driver in Scunthorpe from filling the sweet shop next door with fumes whist he's disgorging his load. GR8 law making.

Sounds like he should be on the sex offenders register with antics like that.

[RedSparrow]

Oh yeah and am I the only person in the country who has noticed that on the car spotter text check advert they spell Volkswagen 'Volkswagon'??!!!

[Slaighty]

Apparently there is a new scheme starting in North Lincolnshire where the council will fine you for having the engine running while your car is stationary. Not when you're in traffic obviously, but say that you've pulled up outside a shop, the missus hops out to buy something unnecessary, you're sat there with the engine running, and BAM! You're slapped with a £20 fine. So they have employed MORE people, despite the Labour government already creating god only knows how many civil service jobs in the last ten years to drain tax payers money, so that they can slap you with a poxy fine for not turning your funking engine off. Taxes/fines/bullshit done in the name of environmentalism DOES MY NUT.

Something I enjoy enormously is going out for a razz on my 1972 250 Yamaha 2 stroke . This baby was built before any kind of emmisions regs and the amount of smoke she bilges out under acceleration after being stood for a while has to be seen to be believed.

[Hudsonpie]

Somebody told me last night that my local council want to charge people twice the amount to park if their car is more than ten years old..........on enviromental grounds....FFFFFFUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKIIIIIINNNNNNN WHAT....?So do people really believe when I park my older-than-ten-years car, the sky will turn black, the seas will boil,mountains will tumble to the sea....I've just looked out of the window at both our cars, both well over ten years old, and I cant see any pollution dripping off them....I'ts not these silly rules that get me......it's the fact that people actually believe this shit.....

[pogweasel]

Are you poor?Just had a wage freeze or cut from your local government employer?Then why not accept this further kick in the nuts!?!Lets hope they don't introduce this is west yorkshire, it might be the tipping point for D.Hirst's sanity, inevitably leading to a news headline "MAZDA MASSACRE" or sommert.

[Hudsonpie]

Quote:

A Devon council is considering plans to charge staff with older cars a higher rate for parking.

 

Teignbridge District Council is proposing to scrap free car parking at its Newton Abbot headquarters.

 

In its place will be a two-tier charge, with cars made before January 2001 charged £1 a day and other cars charged at 50p a day.

 

 

Was I the only one to spot this bit, so it's the Council charging its own staff extra to park, so if you're the Chief Executive with your 10 plate Jag you pay 50p (assuming you don't have a free reserved space) but if you're one of the minions with say an old Galant you pay a £1. Just think of it as a £2.50 a week pay reduction, I'm sure that will encourage you to buy a new car.

Ahhh so it is not as I thought......still a fucking swizz though...

[Guest]

Are you poor?

Just had a wage freeze or cut from your local government employer?

Then why not accept this further kick in the nuts!?!

 

Lets hope they don't introduce this is west yorkshire, it might be the tipping point for D.Hirst's sanity, inevitably leading to a news headline "MAZDA MASSACRE" or sommert.

I've just consulted the Hirstometer to see what possible effect age-related parking prices would have at my job.

 

 

As you can see, it's nearly completely up to "wheelspins on the grass" - a complete ban on vehicles over a certain age would certainly push it to that level, or possibly above!

 

Funny timing though, I got the employee Travel Survey round the other day. Used it as an excuse to fill the "other comments" box with an enormous rant about the kind of people who go on buses and the idea of promoting public transport being an excuse to push us all back into the dark ages, etc. What a nutter.