The grumpy thread

[twosmoke300]

Christ , that sounds poor . I'm other end of the spectrum here , I'm booked 3 weeks ahead with another weeks worth in the yard already . Even with someone working for me 4 days a week I can't get cleared . I would like a quiet week tbh . I'm feeling pretty frazzled now esp with little one not giving us great sleep .

[scaryoldcortina]

I've had times like that! I wish I was complaining about too much work now.

 

Thing is, it isn't just me. Everyone I know is spending over half their time standing around wondering when some work is coming along and it's been like this for months. It seems like the whole town decided overnight to go get a Juke on PCP and suddenly doesn't need a local garage any more, and the only people who didn't don't have any money to spend.

[panhard65]

I've had times like that! I wish I was complaining about too much work now.

 

Thing is, it isn't just me. Everyone I know is spending over half their time standing around wondering when some work is coming along and it's been like this for months. It seems like the whole town decided overnight to go get a Juke on PCP and suddenly doesn't need a local garage any more, and the only people who didn't don't have any money to spend.

It's pretty much the same here. In the 5 years I have been down here it has lurched from flat out busy one week to sitting on my arse the next. I am still here though and the bills get paid so fingers crossed one day I will actually start earning proper money. It does seem that everyone else is in the same boat though. I sent a mail shot out to customers that I hadn't seen for a year and of the ones who replied over half had gone out and bought a car on PCP, the rest had given up driving. The trouble is finding decent customers the older generation who were brought up on unreliable cars will spend money on maintenance but these youngsters just expect everything to work and never have a service.

[fordperv]

Cheers for that, although I've just thought that I could just wazz the whole manifold off and take it to work with me. I deal with quite a few engineering firms through work and may be able to get it drilled out or have studs welded on or whatever.

 

P.S I keep driving past your house!

Everyone knows my house lol are you the one of many who give me a beep as they pass?

[twosmoke300]

I suppose cornwall is an old fashioned place with loads of people driving old shit . An 08 car is a new one in my workshop

[scaryoldcortina]

That's how it was here until fairly recently. I could count on regular work on old snotters as well as MoT repairs and breakdowns. Now all the older cars are in the scrapyard over the road and the only people still running them either do their own repairs or scrap the car when it dies. I still have a core of regular customers, but not enough of them any more to ensure I make a wage out of it. I'm still covering all the costs easily enough, but I've been averaging below minimum wage for a while now and I don't like the way the wind is blowing.

 

So, for the sake of my business will you all please go buy a hopeless car you can't fix, then shout for help? TA!

[fred]

Is it on the reverse of the fusebox lid?

 

Also - are you going for the Autoshite Cunt Count award 2016? 

As the winner of the cnut award 2015 I am behaving myself so far and will be only too pleased to pass the coveted crown over to anyone who can beat my score from that year - I swore ''a lot''

[320touring]

you can cunt on me to take up the mantle..

[Lankytim]

Everyone knows my house lol are you the one of many who give me a beep as they pass?

 

 

No, but I will do now. I head to JCB "Compact products" in Cheadle every day at around 7.45 in my lorry. Beep beep!

[skattrd]

My local garage has been a bit quiet of late as well, hence the recent MOT on Aerodeck #2 & Tipo.

He varies massively from being snowed under and having no time to fit my work in to having no work and spending a couple of days welding up one of his old Land Rovers. It really is up and down.

[MarvinsMom]

all this grumping over too much work/not enough work for garage types reminds me of a major ball ache i've been having.

 

the mini which is currently sat in an aquantence's lock up needs the clutch hydraulics changing, and the drive shaft oil seals replacing.

 

i've got the parts, bought from Minipares, but both are jobs that are way, way beyond my capabilities. can i find a garage near home interested in doing the work? can i fook.....

 

even Bogg Bros turned around and said that they don't do mini's anymore!

 

so until either the car fixes itself or make a real hash of it or find someone who'd want to do the work it can stop where it is, the little twat....

 

and another grump, a lad i'm friendly with has got a minty, mint 1976 Mini Delux that he cannot get insurance on, so he is thinking of selling, and i cannot buy until i get shot of the mini i've already got, but i ain't going to  be able to get rid without it working....

 

AAAAARRTRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

[xtriple]

The garage trade does seem to have its ups and downs.

 

Round here a lot of new shit on pcp is appearing but there is also a large quantity of utter shite that looks like it hasn't seen a wash, let alone a service, this millennium! But I have already expressed my personal displeasure with the trade round here on this fine forum. No one, it seems, wants to work on anything out of the ordinary anymore.

 

Guy over the road has an old Vauxhall (n plate) auto and it has a bit of rust problem underneath and no one will do it. It's a smart little car, very low miles and goes beautifully but, the end is in sight for the want of a garage that will take it on.

 

Same with bodyshops: smart repairs and paintless dents are apparently very profitable and in and out of the door in an hour. Loads more profit than spraying/welding new panels/panel beating.

 

Shame.

[nigel bickle]

Explains why my Testers have been hassling me recently. All 3 - which I thought was strange.

 

Sadly I have enough to keep them all busy, for weeks. Just need the funds to pay for it all!

[Louise2cv]

I had a new phone, which ought to be a grin but for all the fannying about.

 

Eg. swapping my apps from old phone:

 

Enter password. Ah, can't remember. *reset password*

 

Choose a new password.

 

******

Oops, more letters please!

 

*********

Ah, and at least one should be a capital.

 

*********

Oh yeah, and a number, soz.

 

**********

No. Not that pick something else.

 

**********

No. Not that either.

 

**********

No.

 

***********

Nope.

 

"EFffffffffff You!" Throw. Smash. The end.

 

I don't know how young people do this all the time.

[saucedoctor]

^ Did that yesterday for a mate. Total pain.

[320touring]

think you'll find young folks are youthful enough to not suffer from senility requiring password resettings..

[Coprolalia]

I suppose cornwall is an old fashioned place with loads of people driving old shit . An 08 car is a new one in my workshop

 

Definitely think Cornwall and Devon are a few decades behind the rest of the UK on the PCP deal. Certainly loads of old chod on my South Hams commute. Seeing more Dacias about though, so might be trickling on. See population = farmers/ unemployed/ retired.

 

I was having a chat to my VW guy about this, and he said he's booked up two weeks in advance with a months worth of work in his yard, and is having to take other people on. At the same time he knows local one-man-band garages shutting up due to lack of work.

 

My 2 pence says the brand specialists or big/cheap garages which do MOT/ taxis/ fleet are surviving and the local ones are shutting up shop as more people with no interest in cars go PCP/ lease. 

[vulgalour]

A lack of work is making me very grumpy at the moment... Anyone in the north east want a car fixing?

 

 

Ooh, yes, me!  I've got two of the bastarding things.

 

 

 

It seems like the whole town decided overnight to go get a Juke on PCP and suddenly doesn't need a local garage any more, and the only people who didn't don't have any money to spend.

Ah... sorry.  Yeah, I'm in that camp too. It's not just the garage trade either, I've noticed a significant decline after what was a very good start to the year and my customers are international rather than local. I reckon it's a wider problem.  Tax return time could have some bearing on it, the Council are certainly spending their end of financial year budget on roadworks and salt.

[nacho man]

Quite day at work so I decide to service my transit, it's a tdci on a 09. It has two oil filters? The normal one and then one on top. Obvs I only order one as you do.

 

I ring our local ford shop to order the other one. The fella ain't got a clue. Said it can't have. I have it in my hand pal. Only use ford as we have an account with them.

 

Quick call to the local Indy parts fella. Yeah mate we have one in stock.

 

Good one ford for knowing your vehicles.

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[twosmoke300]

The garage trade does seem to have its ups and downs.

 

Round here a lot of new shit on pcp is appearing but there is also a large quantity of utter shite that looks like it hasn't seen a wash, let alone a service, this millennium! But I have already expressed my personal displeasure with the trade round here on this fine forum. No one, it seems, wants to work on anything out of the ordinary anymore.

 

Guy over the road has an old Vauxhall (n plate) auto and it has a bit of rust problem underneath and no one will do it. It's a smart little car, very low miles and goes beautifully but, the end is in sight for the want of a garage that will take it on.

 

Same with bodyshops: smart repairs and paintless dents are apparently very profitable and in and out of the door in an hour. Loads more profit than spraying/welding new panels/panel beating.

 

Shame.

 

If you ran a garage / body shop which would you rather do ? Modern stuff that you can turn around quick , can get parts the same or next day for and cheaply or old rare stuff thats a liability parked in your yard for weeks waiting for expensive or unavailable parts.

Customer then says he will get the bits - another week goes by (hope car hasnt been vandalised or driven into in the yard ) get the guys to push/tow it in the workshop , carefully put it on the ramp annnnnd the parts are wrong . You cant charge for that time but its probably an hour wasted every time that happens .

 

I would love to just do old Land rovers and classics ( I do work on several but on an understanding they are done when they are done) but simple economics means im doing MOT repairs on bland modern shit most of the time.

 

I do apologise for the terrible grammar in this post but im a thicko unhelpful mechanic see

[Alexg]

I sold the 100hp and I have nearly 4 months of cover left, about £75 quid refund....... minus the £50 cancellation fee plus insurance premium tax fee of £3.

 

Bastards.

I'd keep it running then. It'll be easy then to swop it over onto something else and may only cost an admin fee.

[fordperv]

I've been up since 2.30am on my day off after falling asleep at 11.30-12, woke up to go to the loo and my brain pinged into day mode, I've already cleaned the house, it's raining heavily so messing with cars is out of the question and now I have nothing to do, I've got to wait for an engineer to turn up to assess the damp in the walls, it could be anytime up until 2pm so I can't exactly bugger off out, going to sleep for an hour is also out of the question as I'm wired

[xtriple]

Blowing a gale here again. Small bins collection day. Just watched the small square recycling bin jump over the wall (about 6 inches high) and straight into my front wing. Lovely dent.

 

I are well pissed off.

[oldcars]

Blowing a gale here again. Small bins collection day. Just watched the small square recycling bin jump over the wall (about 6 inches high) and straight into my front wing. Lovely dent.

 

I are well pissed off.

bet you are. Same thing happened to my Kia with the stupid food recycling bucket when hurricane twat hit last year. I fecking hate recycling.

[UmBongo]

That advert for the Dacia Duster...

 

Old Freddie 'Ford' Mercury must be turning in his grave.

[xtriple]

Now it's hailing which is settling and just had the loudest/brightest clap of thunder/lightning I have ever seen/heard! I have got to go to Exeter...

[alf892]

If you ran a garage / body shop which would you rather do ? Modern stuff that you can turn around quick , can get parts the same or next day for and cheaply or old rare stuff thats a liability parked in your yard for weeks waiting for expensive or unavailable parts.

Customer then says he will get the bits - another week goes by (hope car hasnt been vandalised or driven into in the yard ) get the guys to push/tow it in the workshop , carefully put it on the ramp annnnnd the parts are wrong . You cant charge for that time but its probably an hour wasted every time that happens .

 

I would love to just do old Land rovers and classics ( I do work on several but on an understanding they are done when they are done) but simple economics means im doing MOT repairs on bland modern shit most of the time.

 

I do apologise for the terrible grammar in this post but im a thicko unhelpful mechanic see

I think bodyshop can be shit too though......I used inspect a few for VBRA and most would tell of insurance company's imposed rates and times and requiring you to have instant imaging systems. Then you got customers moaning about the size of the courtesy car (which insurance co require you to provide for free)

 

Oh and then the twats want pay you 90 days eom! And that was before the outbreak of 'accident management'

 

I think both are probably OK if you can choose your customers!

[xtriple]

And so it goes on.... stereo packed up again on the way up Exeter way. Exactly the same problem as last time.

 

But, the guy that rebuilt the head unit was as good as gold, apologised (not his fault?) and wants it and the car it's attached to next Wednesday at 10:00.

 

I do seem to have had an attitude problem late last year as I got it wrong with several people who I thought were miserable chancers and who turned out to be sound. But, I also got it wrong the other way as well as people I thought were solid gold turned out to be shit and not worth the effort!

 

I blame it on the menopause!

[daveb47]

Just won euro lottery.........A whole £2.28.

Just gotta work out what to spend it on?

[Tamworthbay]

Just won euro lottery.........A whole £2.28.

Just gotta work out what to spend it on?

lottery ticket?