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The grumpy thread


outlaw118

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Using oil.

I had a new '99 astra van back in the day. I was doing 1000 miles a week plumbing all over the country. That van used a litre every tank full or 500 miles. I only had an esso fuel card and the oil was a tenner a litre. Anyway it went back to vauxhall where they stripped the head off and found nowt wrong. It was still using a litre every tank full 100k later. Some engines just use oil.

Another note. When I did take it back to vauxhall I'd checked the oil that morning and forgot to put the filler cap back on. You can imagine the mess when the dealer popped the bonnet ?

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What is it with people parking up with their lights on in car parks. This is obviously an Ignis but BMW owners seem to be worst for it. I see several of them every morning here. 

IMG_20191219_062842.thumb.jpg.468c99fc26cfae5cef678031bffec110.jpg

It makes it impossible to park next to them as you can't see shit out of your mirrors.

Drives me mad. 

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1 hour ago, HillmanImp said:

What is it with people parking up with their lights on in car parks. This is obviously an Ignis but BMW owners seem to be worst for it. I see several of them every morning here. 

IMG_20191219_062842.thumb.jpg.468c99fc26cfae5cef678031bffec110.jpg

It makes it impossible to park next to them as you can't see shit out of your mirrors.

Drives me mad. 

Dogging?

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9 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

That's about the size of it, though it's not actually seized - just producing a knocking noise. I haven't heard it myself, but I'm guessing it's some terminal unhappiness up at the top end caused by oil starvation.

It doesn't have an oil level gauge (something even my Phase 1 Lagunas had) - just the red 'engine fucked' light that pings on when it's, well, fucked.

I'm genuinely not sure how to feel here. It was unquestionably moronic to run the car for a week with the red light showing, but they're just so utterly confused as to how a modern car could have drunk a whole sumpful of oil in a matter of months - when none of their previous cars ever needed topping up between servicing (or, at least, never broke because of it).

They're taking the line that the garage mustn't have filled it properly when it was serviced, and I've tried to explain that it probably was filled properly - but some diesels, and petrols, need regular top-ups.

I've no particular experience with modern diesels beyond my hateful 1.9 JTD Alfa, so I can't offer much in the way of advice. They're just incredulous that it could be considered normal for a modern to burn through half a pint of oil a month.

While I think they've been very silly on several levels, I also feel desperately sorry for them. They're not car-savvy, their car is viewed more as a household appliance - so while it's easy for us to roll our eyes, to them this must feel a bit like your fridge breaking down, only for you to be told that you're meant to pull it out from the wall and check the refrigerant every week.

The dealer kinda has them over a barrel - they owe them the finance, so they're going to have to pay it off one way or another.

But I'd really want to know what the problem is. If it's been run bone dry, I'd expect the dealer to make much of this and explain why it's well outside their normal warranty. Their refusal to explain exactly what's caused the oil loss, beyond 'you need a new engine' is ringing my alarm bells. This place seems to specialise in ex-GB, ex-PCP cars probably sourced at auction...

It would be practically impossible to determine if it had enough oil in it when they bought it. As sad as it is I don’t think they’ve a leg to stand on personally, the dealer is probably acting on goodwill to avoid the potential for a Twitter post of ‘xx cars sold me a faulty car’ bollocks. 

Difficult to provide a diagnosis of exactly what’s gone wrong in a situation like that other than stripping the engine down, which costs money. They’ll not want to do that because they’ll be a couple of hundred quid down with an immobile car and in any case telling the customer what they already know - that it’s bollocksed. If it’s knocking I would hazard a guess it’s run very low on oil and the crank main bearings have been starved of oil, whichever way you look at it it’s another engine time. Probably actually cheaper to fit a used unit that fuck about replacing the bottom end with new parts - if that can even be done. 

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16 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Sorry but my opinion is that red light means danger and if in doubt, stop and Google it. 

I think that'll be their hard lesson from all of this.

I feel sorry for them, but also massively frustrated.

Their previous Kia was totally reliable, but they chopped it in for the Bini because the EML came on, apparently because the particulate filter needed cleaned out.

They really don't have the cash for a new engine, so I reckon their best bet is to sell the Bini for spares/repairs, settle up the remaining finance, and if there's any left over I'll help them buy a cheap snotter to keep them mobile - something like a Mk1 Yaris.

As an aside, when my last Laguna pissed out all its oil on the M2 last April, not a single warning light came on and the first I knew of it was a ferocious knocking noise from under the bonnet... I'd at least hoped for the 'full Renner' experience, Blackpool Illuminations style, with the big STOP warning and everything - but the only thing that ever came on was the airbag light, while it was being taken away.

Cars, hey?

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14 hours ago, MarvinsMom said:

i once melted the engine in a mark 2 ford focus, which was a company car.

i had the car serviced, in line with the manufacturer's requirements only for me to overheat and seize said car the day after it had been in dock.

why?

the dealer had given it me back with no water in it. not one drop......

and i only became aware of this once the temperature gauge jumped from normal to off the gauge red while stuck  in traffic in the middle of York.

ah happy dayz......

I once worked witha lad who bought a brand new Citroen ZX Volcane 16v after saving forever for it

After it's 1st dealer service it froze up on him 1 night,splitting the block

No coolant in it,only fresh water...

Dealer didn't want to have anything to do with it,claimed he must have swapped the fluids

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On 12/17/2019 at 9:14 PM, auntiemaryscanary said:

Luckily our machine is only 2.5 years old. WCPGW...

Mine slightly caught fire last weekend.  Annoyingly I ordered a new door interlock before I heard about the recall.  Not been able to get through to them so currently using the washing machine at work for free electrical win.  Mine is in my bedroom up an awkward staircase so it's easier to fix it than replace it with one I could have for free but if Hotpoint bring a new one they can have the fun of installation. ?

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I've smashed a chunk off a tooth. No pain fortunately, but been a while* since I've seen a dentist. Phoned them up, oh we've sacked you off. We can see you tomorrow.... for £50. Sorry, not interested in getting on the private customer gravy train. Ok, well nhs best we can do is 17th January.

Evilmas of being careful it is then.

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28 minutes ago, jakebullet said:

I've smashed a chunk off a tooth. No pain fortunately, but been a while* since I've seen a dentist. Phoned them up, oh we've sacked you off. We can see you tomorrow.... for £50. Sorry, not interested in getting on the private customer gravy train. Ok, well nhs best we can do is 17th January.

Evilmas of being careful it is then.

I paid £50 odd for my tooth to have putty or whatever they used to fix it. A repair on the NHS will be the £62.10 band.

https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/dental-health/how-much-will-i-pay-for-nhs-dental-treatment/

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Mr I'm on heroin Cactus collector man.... 

I wasn't there... "Theres a few scuffs I'm not happy with but I'll let it go"

 

He can gobble my fudge pot, there's fuck all wrong with the car. Bar, the rear towing eye cover is slightly battered in a certain light.

 

They charged me £7.10 for the extra day, even though it went back at 9am.

 

I still await the lack of servix history.

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9 hours ago, Sir Snipes said:

Yeah its not like a rwd engine where sometimes you can drop the sump and do a set of shells in situ. What a nightmare. 

 

Might not be possible. When Ford brought the Zetec out they wouldn’t provide torque settings for the crank shells. Their take on it was if the bottom end was fucked then that was that. New block and crank. 

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I've got a piss-kitchen.

Cat litter tray was getting a bit skanky, so did the usual of tipping the lot into a big black bin liner with a view to taking out to the wheelie bin. This particular bag was being a twat, and I really struggled to prise the flimsy lips apart (missus) so chose an unorthodox method of unpicking it from the bottom to expose the mouth.

Naturally, when I lifted the piss and shit sodden litter now suitably ensconced within the black hole, the bottom ripped and a veritable fuckton of soiled crapola poured all over the kitchen floor. Did a cursory clean up as late for work.

Came home from work and the house smells like a tramp's pants.

Terrific.

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Amazon prime have delivered* my parcel to me*. 
Not to worry though their excellent* customer service* could immediately assist* me. 
FFS, I really miss shops selling all the things I actually want to buy and having to rely on these tax dodging cockwombles and their army of self employed couriers instead. 

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