The grumpy thread

[taxi paul]

My mum passed away in the morning. A couple of hours later I was sat in alder hey kids hospital with my daughter, who had a chest problem. I am a foster carer so I didn't get two weeks off work. I wouldn't have wanted to anyway. I found it was better keeping busy. Has a former taxi driver myself . I wouldn't take a lot of notice because has you probably know. The reason the country is fooked is because the few people who know how to run it all smoothly. Are too busy driving a taxi. Can br applied to man Utd , liverpool and a host of other social and domestic problems.

[Rocket88]

My mum passed away in the morning. A couple of hours later I was sat in alder hey kids hospital with my daughter, who had a chest problem. I am a foster carer so I didn't get two weeks off work. I wouldn't have wanted to anyway. I found it was better keeping busy. Has a former taxi driver myself . I wouldn't take a lot of notice because has you probably know. The reason the country is fooked is because the few people who know how to run it all smoothly. Are too busy driving a taxi. Can br applied to man Utd , liverpool and a host of other social and domestic problems.

You poor bugger..............

[Lacquer Peel]

Nobody cares about total paid - the monthly figure is all people worry about.

 

I remember talking to a guy about his television which is the size of a fucking snooker table that he bought on the nevernever from BrightHouse or somewhere like that.

"its less than 20 quid a week!"

But you will be paying that for decades, the total will be way more than the telly is worth

"so?"

.....yeah. well, if you are happy with it.

"Its AWESOME, and its only 20 quid a week, whats not to like?"

There was a debate about this a while ago, someone on here got a TV and sofa via Brighthouse and didn't really justify it beyond saying "I want it now".

[DVee8]

Grump

Young lady in a newish swift,in the right hand lane of a roundabout,indicating right.

I  come along behind in the left lane going straight on,as we reach the exit,young lady goes straight on still indicating right i slam on and a short beep on the horn,she gives me the finger..

 

Two roundabout's later,i'm heading down hill nothing to the right,skip wagon to the left,again im going straight over. As i enter the roundabout the skip wagon pulls out and sets off.

The astra has fucking good breaks,again i get told to fuck off.

 

Has the highway code changed to do what the fuck you want?

[scaryoldcortina]

Over £13k to borrow a DS3 for three years?

 

How did you get to that? £4000 plus 36 payments of £59 is £6124...

[saucedoctor]

I don't understand that mentality. Do these people not worry about being in debt? Or feel like they're being taken for a mug? I don't have a credit card or an overdraft facility for those reasons. A couple of weeks back I was getting a gentle ribbing from my mates about having an old phone (Galaxy S3). I'm not paying £40-odd quid a month, though. And mine's PAYG so no nasty surprises. Paid out my ground rent recently so no more quarterly bills. I don't have Sky. I appreciate some people aren't in a position to do this, but putting yourself in chucky for stuff you don't actually need is baffling to me.

 

Sure, I'd like a new XF-R, and could get one, but I'll wait until they're about 8 years old ta.

[HH-R]

I don't think people care, easy come*, easy go. See loads of people with newish smartphones looking like they've been used as hockey pucks. Ring the network "my phone is knackered", yes we can put you on a new contract. It's only £60 a month now.

[MarvinsMom]

its the "I WANT IT NOW AND I CANNOT WAIT COS ITS AGAINST MY RIGHTS" or some such bollocks.

 

been of a certain age (41) i was always taught that if you cannot pay for it then you cannot afford it.

 

at work they think i'm nuts as i dont have a credit card or owe anyone any money. cos if i cannot afford it, then it don't get bought,,,,,,

[Craig the Princess]

How did you get to that? £4000 plus 36 payments of £59 is £6124...

Very good point, I'm blaming this chest infection, medication and Peroni 😉

[Cavcraft]

I've been there with the getting a new phone every 12/18/24 months and it took a long while to realise I didn't actually need one. Sim only on aging iPhone 4 (second hand) which is just beginning to show it's age.

 

One thing people do throw up with that balloon payment thing on new cars is that they will depreciate anyhow, so you sort of don't lose out. I still can't see it as anything other than renting or leasing it though. My excuse getting a new one was that I put a large deposit down and had the balance over 3 years, at which point I'll actually own it. And a which point it'll undoubtedly be worth about 11p.

[oldcars]

 

 

One thing people do throw up with that balloon payment thing on new cars is that they will depreciate anyhow, so you sort of don't lose out. I still can't see it as anything other than renting or leasing it though. My excuse getting a new one was that I put a large deposit down and had the balance over 3 years, at which point I'll actually own it. And a which point it'll undoubtedly raffle it.

fify

[Pillock]

You'll probably find a DS3 will depreciate about £6k in three years anyway, that honestly doesn't sound like a bad deal.

 

See, I do like a new phone every 9 months or so, but I use all my staff deals to get 40% off contracts. There's nothing wrong with paying an affordable sum of money for things you want (rather than need). I suppose for some people, the DS3 is a Want and the price is affordable.

[Richard]

I pay monthly and get a new phone every two years. I don't actually know what I pay, it's around £15. I've struggled to make the sums work any better than that for what I want.

[Craig the Princess]

My worry would be around job security with that level of financial commitment. Apart from the mortgage (if you ignore the deposit it is cheaper than renting anyway) I'm far too chicken to take on debt.

[cort16]

if you're shit with money (like me) a new car deal like that can help you budget. If you're spending say 120 a month on a new car then that's what you're paying every month.

 

http://www.smartlease.co.uk/vw-up-move-car-leasing-deals.html

 

You're not getting scuppered with a 500 quid bill come mot time or it suffers some malfunction and you're in for a random 300 quid repair one month. Most new car deals can get a service pack bundled in so you that an extra expense that's spread out.

 

If you're running an older car it's sensible to put money away every month but in reality who does that?

 

It's not good for repair garages but you can see the attraction.

[scaryoldcortina]

 

It's not good for repair garages but you can see the attraction.

 

That's my only real problem with it. Peoples inability to save and plan make "all in one" credit deals the best* way for them to deal with it. This puts all their car money in the hands of main dealers, financiers and manufacturers, while the rest of the motor trade gets hung out to dry.

[phil_lihp]

I wonder if you could make a contract model work for a garage like yours SoC as a way of competing with new car finance deals.

 

So, a customer pays you X amount per month for X amount of months/years. If the car doesn't break, great. If it does, they bring it to you and you fix it, they don't get charged extra. Maybe X amount of labour hours per month and so much in part costs included depending on the amount paid, options for a loan car etc extra.

 

You'd have to work out the contract properly of course so they don't buy a dirt cheap, broken car and make you spend a fortune mending it after 1 month's membership, plus whether you would cover tyres and other consumables but if it wa popular and you factor in the amount who would pay and not need any work each month, it would provide a more steady income for you and fit with the general public's preference for monthly subscriptions rather than up-front payments.

[cort16]

Yip the new car thing really solves the problem of not being able to commit to saving money for a rainy day in case something goes wrong.

Also everyones had that thing of their car having a run of issues and having to spend a couple of hundred quid a couple of months in a row. It's really easy just to think "fuck it I could have a new car for this".

[cort16]

I wonder if you could make a contract model work for a garage like yours SoC as a way of competing with new car finance deals.

 

So, a customer pays you X amount per month for X amount of months/years. If the car doesn't break, great. If it does, they bring it to you and you fix it, they don't get charged extra. Maybe X amount of labour hours per month and so much in part costs included depending on the amount paid, options for a loan car etc extra.

 

You'd have to work out the contract properly of course so they don't buy a dirt cheap, broken car and make you spend a fortune mending it after 1 month's membership, plus whether you would cover tyres and other consumables but if it wa popular and you factor in the amount who would pay and not need any work each month, it would provide a more steady income for you and fit with the general public's preference for monthly subscriptions rather than up-front payments.

 

There's a garage in Ayr did this a while back I'm not sure how it panned out.

[michael1703]

Ive got a customer that brought in their Hyundai Santa Fe, I mot'd it and advised it on rear tyres and brake pads, the customer replied "I think I better start looking around for something newer"!

 

So has gone out and bought a Bloated fiat 500 which is throwing up dash errors and has needed a tyre and a few bits already

[320touring]

I reckon the key from the garages point would be to do some basics- new brakes/full service/belts etc in advance of selling.

 

cost can be built into payments, and gives garage some peace of mind

[phil_lihp]

Yes but that's the point, you pay so much via direct debit and the up front costs are then minimal and the car gets serviced and MOTd for you at the right times as part of the deal.

 

Just a thought but it's how a lot of service industries work now and it is always worth looking at new ideas to try and stay with current trends of it keeps the business afloat.

[cort16]

It's true , so many folk have policies on central heating and domestic appliances but there's no real cover available for cars. Most of extended warranty companies are sharks and won't pay out . I know a lot of sale garages now just stick the warranty payment in the bank and will just fork out for repairs out their own pocket after being stung so many times with warranty companies not paying out.

[cobblers]

I used to slate people "signing their life away for a wank new car", but a few months back I spent a while doing the sums and stuff regarding what I've spent buying, selling and running my usual 10-15 year old hot hatches as dailies over the last 3 years and without giving my own time and grief any value, I could buy a brand new boring car on PCP for way less.

For about the same price I could have a brand new car that I actually really liked, so I did that.

I'm on an alright wage and have got to a point in my career where my time is actually fairly valuable and I just can't be booking days off to put a fucking clutch on something at the side of the road so I can get to work. I need a car that just works and if it doesn't then it gets dropped off at the dealers while I run round in their courtesy car til it's fixed. 

 

Once I've got the house sorted and stuff then we'll be moving somewhere with a bit more space and I can pick something shite to work on "when it suits me" but for someone with a steady income I reckon there's a lot to be said for "renting" a new motor on PCP.

 

I was gonna get mine on normal finance and pay off a massive amount when I sold my T25 and stuff, but with interest rates what they are (I pay 3.5%) when you can get a 3% savings account you might as well hang on to the money in the bank in case you need to use it for something.

[xtriple]

Leasing a car can be a very cost efficient way of having a car. I always liked my wife to have a new car, warranty, reliability and one thing less to worry about. However, no matter how I worked it out, showed her, she wouldn't lease a car. No, buy it outright and trade it in when a new one was needed.

 

She is a bank managers (when bank managers were actually in charge) daughter and didn't like borrowing money.

 

Me? I'm the son of a woman who spent 23 times more than she earned and had everything on credit so not worried in the slightest.

 

But, if you do your sums right, you can have a brand new car for the price of its depreciation only. To me, that's 'free' motoring...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: I know it's not 'free' and it's actually costing you loads but, you know, man maths....

[Angrydicky]

new cars

 

 

 

motor finance

 

 

 

main dealers

 

 

 

maintenance plans

 

I'm sitting here wondering if I've wandered onto Pistonheads by mistake. That Fiat above looks ghastly and generic. I'll stick to my 30+ year old motors, thanks.

 

I really do sympathise with the independent garage trade losing custom over this kind of thing. I use three independent garages myself, the largest of which runs a customer loyalty scheme which gives you the following, for £55 for the first year then £50 per year thereafter to renew. 

 

5% off parts (excluding oil/fluids etc)

 

10% off labour

 

Free MoT inspection (one per year)

 

Free loan cars (subject to availability)

 

Priority booking for MoT and servicing

 

Free MoT reminders

 

Free service reminders

 

Free cambelt reminders

 

Free air conditioning recharge reminders

 

Free body repair estimates

 

Access to non-fault accident management service

 

Free puncture repairs

 

Discount on tyres

 

Free technical help and advice

 

I'm not sure how successful it's been for them, but I'll ask next time I'm in there.

[Pillock]

Again, want vs need - maybe the customers who buy a new car when their 10 year old motor needs brakes are just looking for an excuse, it's the tipping point of "I want a new car but there's nothing wrong with this one" - ooops, suddenly there's something wrong.

[HH-R]

Sadly the next time my Kia fucks up then I will be on the new car train. The last three used cars I've had have been utter shit. Hearing the groaning it's making that I can't get to the bottom of it making me want to do it very soon. I just can't be arsed with the hassle any more, wasting days off work and getting it handed back with a different fault it went in with. Your hands are tied with using the same crap garages when there's a FTP or your work is based on driving round like mine, I can only really get it fixed on a weekend. After seeing how my car was horsed round when getting fixed the other week as well, it's really annoyed me. At least (hopefully) a new car will last 5 years without any major problems then just get another one for £90 a month before it's an issue again. This is a shame for the decent garage owners and mechanics like Scary.

[richardmorris]

Balfour Beaty update.

 

bridge

Ref: M3 junctions 2 to 4a smart motorway — Woodlands Lane Bridge Works

 

We are advising you of work we will be undertaking on behalf of Highways

 

England at Woodlands Lane and bridge.

 

A substantial amount of planned future maintenance work, including the full

 

resurfacing of the carriageway and important bridge reconstruction works will take

 

place while we have the smart motorway scheme traffic management in place. By co-

 

ordinating this work now, we will reduce the need for further work to be carried out

 

in this location, for a minimum of five years, once construction is complete and

 

therefore, minimise longer-term disruption to local residents.

 

We have assessed how the bridge may remain open for as long as possible while

 

work takes place. Work on the pathways, lanes leading to the bridge and installation

 

of signage, cones and traffic lights will start on Woodlands Lane and bridge on 21

 

March with traffic signals in place to manage traffic.

 

After the Woodlands Lane traffic management has been put into place we will start

 

works to divert the utilities which are attached to the bridge. A temporary structure

 

will be put into place to take the utilities before further work can begin on the bridge

 

Itself. Preparation works will continue until we are ready to demolish the old bridge.

 

At present we anticipate the closure of the bridge will not happen until May 2016

 

when the road will then remain closed for the duration of the works. We expect to

 

re-open Woodlands Lane following construction of the new bridge by late summer

 

2017.

 

In addition, we will be closing the M3 carriageway between junctions 2 and 3, so that

 

we can demolish the old bridge and its supports. The closure will take place during a

 

weekend, provisionally at the end of June or the beginning of July, from 8pm on a

 

Friday until 5.30am the following Monday. Construction of the new bridge will then

 

commence.

 

Should you have any queries please contact our community relations team by

 

emailing: [email protected].

[strangeangel]

I've been hearing mutterings about going back to work the day after my mum died. Apparently I'm being disrespectful and should of had at least a fortnight off. 

 

You do what's right for you. I went back to work the day after my Dad died, on the basis that I didn't want to sit in the house alone with my thoughts. As for those passing judgement on you, some people really could do worse than mind their own fucking business.