The grumpy thread

[MikeR]

10 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Common sense?  Why has the concept of "continue until a place of safety" seemingly gone out of people's heads?

Today there's someone stopped in lane 2 of a 70mph dual carriageway, shortly after a sliproad so people are likely to be distracted from looking for a stationary vehicle there.  Apparent cause?  A flat tyre.

There's a filling station no more than 400 yards ahead.  Seriously why would anyone with even a shred of common sense not continue slowly to there rather than stop where they did - or even pull off to the side of the road?

Or even put their damned hazards on for that matter...

It was a BMW of course.

Day before yesterday I had a very near miss when I encountered a Peugeot Partner overtaking a long string of traffic right here.

Problem was he was coming round a blind corner and was about four cars short of having anywhere to pull in to.  The only reason I didn't wind up embedded in the front of his van was that I was in the Invacar so was small enough to get the heck out of the way.  A normally sized car would at least have either made contact or ended up in the verge - any HGV and it would have been messy.

Aside from the whole double white lines, who the HELL would think that was even vaguely a sane place to overtake?!?

A lot of people have no clue about how a car operates and how much of a beating it can take , so when the little red light says stop , they stop , afraid the nice shiney car will fall apart about them , so unless a wheel has parted company ( which can happen ) keep on going to a place of safety where a 40 ton artic wont end your existance ..

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, MikeR said:

A lot of people have no clue about how a car operates and how much of a beating it can take , so when the little red light says stop , they stop , afraid the nice shiney car will fall apart about them , so unless a wheel has parted company ( which can happen ) keep on going to a place of safety where a 40 ton artic wont end your existance ..

Just been past the area again - They're still there!

[hairnet]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

RANT MELON FARMER

 

 

 

the last time i used the works van that happened

theyre in the outside lane and nosed into the concrete barrier

drove past them after taking half an hour to do maybe a mile an a half

front didnt look caved in but why leave it there

guaranteed the traffic wonbles would close stuff even tho they could attach a rope and pull it to the side

happens quite a lot - if it goes bang and stop then ok but if it gradually goes ping then wtf are you in the outside lane for

cue wanker signs and people shouting at them

 

[Low Horatio gearbox]

Putting together a bed for the Gfs son. 2nd hand from face ache or wherever   the seller carefully managed to loose a few screws/bits of hardware but the  " piss de la resistance" is..

(Yes it's a house fuse instead of a dowel- its luckily not a safety/strength critical part)

[Lankytim]

9 minutes ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

Putting together a bed for the Gfs son. 2nd hand from face ache or wherever   the seller carefully managed to loose a few screws/bits of hardware but the  " piss de la resistance" is..

(Yes it's a house fuse instead of a dowel- its luckily not a safety/strength critical part)

They’re  probably wondering why their kettles stopped working.

[camryv6]

11 minutes ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

Putting together a bed for the Gfs son. 2nd hand from face ache or wherever   the seller carefully managed to loose a few screws/bits of hardware but the  " piss de la resistance" is..

(Yes it's a house fuse instead of a dowel- its luckily not a safety/strength critical part)

That is a brilliant idea

[Metal Guru]

4 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Common sense?  Why has the concept of "continue until a place of safety" seemingly gone out of people's heads?

Today there's someone stopped in lane 2 of a 70mph dual carriageway, shortly after a sliproad so people are likely to be distracted from looking for a stationary vehicle there.  Apparent cause?  A flat tyre.

There's a filling station no more than 400 yards ahead.  Seriously why would anyone with even a shred of common sense not continue slowly to there rather than stop where they did - or even pull off to the side of the road?

Or even put their damned hazards on for that matter...

It was a BMW of course.

Day before yesterday I had a very near miss when I encountered a Peugeot Partner overtaking a long string of traffic right here.

Problem was he was coming round a blind corner and was about four cars short of having anywhere to pull in to.  The only reason I didn't wind up embedded in the front of his van was that I was in the Invacar so was small enough to get the heck out of the way.  A normally sized car would at least have either made contact or ended up in the verge - any HGV and it would have been messy.

Aside from the whole double white lines, who the HELL would think that was even vaguely a sane place to overtake?!?

Bet the BMW had run flats anyway.

[Zelandeth]

26 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

Bet the BMW had run flats anyway.

Was on a 71 plate (illegally spaced reg of course), so entirely likely!

[Lacquer Peel]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Just been past the area again - They're still there!

I blame TV and films where the characters abandon cars when there's a flat tyre even if they are being chased. 

The tyres is likely knackered anyway, better to destroy a tyre than be in a dangerous position 

[Zelandeth]

9 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

I blame TV and films where the characters abandon cars when there's a flat tyre even if they are being chased. 

The tyres is likely knackered anyway, better to destroy a tyre than be in a dangerous position 

No abandoning here, they were still sitting in it watching something on their phone.

[andy18s]

8 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

That Big Kahuna burger looked mighty tasty....

[Zelandeth]

Bloody sodding useless eBay app.

Yes, giving me a "this item is ending soon" notification 40 minutes *after* the time it actually ended at, that's really useful.  Thanks for that. Well done.

How about 30 minutes or an hour beforehand?  That would have been far more helpful...

[mitsisigma01]

Set an alarm on the phone, never fails 😬 don't rely on eBay for help

[MikeR]

M6 around Preston is Fubared again , so much for a 7 day weekend , even the roads are fucked up 7 days a week ...

 

[SRi05]

On 7/27/2022 at 2:19 PM, barefoot said:

Grumpfest - drove into Loughborough, I seldom buy a MacDonalds, but today I ordered two cheeseburgers & went to pay, '£2.38'. 'Well you've had that', I retorted, 'I've only got two quid'. - 20% fucking inflation. Then over to Pets at Home where a bag of kitty litter, that's like a bag of gravel for my kitten to shit in, cost me £15. And when I got home, the replacement knob for my Cobb barbie finally arrived. £8.40 for a plastic knob & £4 postage which took 9 days!

 

[MikeR]

feel sorry for any one on that M6 today , the burnt out lorry was being cleared up with a jcb and the southbound was one big car park , north bound would of been ok but for the rubber neckers , hope the lorry driver was ok ...

[fairkens]

Shame, there are some absolute furniture bargains to be had if you have a van and don't mind a bit of heavy lifting

[Wibble]

5 hours ago, fairkens said:

Shame, there are some absolute furniture bargains to be had if you have a van and don't mind a bit of heavy lifting

So true. We restore furniture for insurance companies and most modern stuff is total shite!

[AnnoyingPentium]

Basically being shut in at home now. Main road to Ayr is closed on weekends for work besides one hour, possibly until September. Road to Kirkmichael is closed for same duration. Only alternative is to go to Dalmellington, then the B741 for New Cumnock, go to Cumnock, then work my way to Ayr from there. Need tyres and can only go on a Saturday for an 0900 slot I've been offered. Not happy.

[Bren]

I adjusted the vectra's driver door check arm a few weeks ago. While doing so I let it fall into the door. This meant removing the trim panel.

When I put it back everything was ok. Now, on holiday 250 miles from home the window keeps sticking.

It's true - no good deed goes unpunished....

[Wibble]

1 hour ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Basically being shut in at home now. Main road to Ayr is closed on weekends for work besides one hour, possibly until September. Road to Kirkmichael is closed for same duration. Only alternative is to go to Dalmellington, then the B741 for New Cumnock, go to Cumnock, then work my way to Ayr from there. Need tyres and can only go on a Saturday for an 0900 slot I've been offered. Not happy.

Bloody hell, is that going to cause me problems @AnnoyingPentium? I’m heading up to visit my parents 9th August but on 13th we’re heading from them(Johnstone ish) to Cairnryan for the ferry for a few days in Ireland 🤔

[AnnoyingPentium]

2 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Bloody hell, is that going to cause me problems @AnnoyingPentium? I’m heading up to visit my parents 9th August but on 13th we’re heading from them(Johnstone ish) to Cairnryan for the ferry for a few days in Ireland 🤔

I don't think so if you go A75 then to A77 and work your way up to Ayr and then to Johnstone your usual way. Avoid going the A713 (Castle Douglas > Ayr, Galloway Forest Tourist Route) if you can help it as it's closed at Polnessan.

[Wibble]

10 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

I don't think so if you go A75 then to A77 and work your way up to Ayr and then to Johnstone your usual way. Avoid going the A713 (Castle Douglas > Ayr, Galloway Forest Tourist Route) if you can help it as it's closed at Polnessan.

Cool, thanks. Looking forward to trying the Maybole bypass instead of the depression of actually going through it!

[AnnoyingPentium]

16 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Cool, thanks. Looking forward to trying the Maybole bypass instead of the depression of actually going through it!

It's great. Used it a few times now as it's so much easier!

[Wibble]

1 minute ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

It's great. Used it a few times now as it's so much easier!

Fab, thank you 👍

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, Wibble said:

Fab, thank you 👍

Just watch as they may have brought back the temp 40 speed limit at one stretch.

[Mat.T]

Thanks to some nice kids from a local school my works Skoda pick up now looks like:

https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/witham-fire-live-updates-warning-7320281

Kids set fire to a bungalow which then in turn set fire to the workshop belonging to a mate of my boss. Along with various other buildings and the field next door. The Skoda was inside along with a Bentley Mk6 project, tools livelihood his works van.

We had to put a spare set of wheels on the Skoda and drag it out of the way for the insurance assessor to look at. I can't believe how rot free it was! The search is on for a similar vehicle, decent small pick ups seem few and far between.

[MikeR]

horse flies , they always find me , this time in the middle of my back , throu my T shirt ,   flying teeth ridden little bat stewards ....

[WillCarter]

Having a bit of a saga when it comes to buying a Rover 75. Know exactly what I want, but the universe seems to be fighting me all the way. All started a few weeks ago, found myself heading towards Wolverhampton to go and view a 75 that was (and still is actually) on eBay. Old boy was apparently giving up driving, had owned it since new, been a bit of a workhorse but in generally good shape. Got there and it had been fairly described cosmetically, nothing special, but a good spec and nothing that couldn't be freshened up. Agreed a price of £950 which would give me just over a grand left in the kitty to clean it up and was happy with the deal. That is until I took it around the block for a quick drive prior to handing over the readies. Absolutely no boost from the Turbo and the time it took the Autobox to downshift could be counted in minutes. Thanks, but no thanks and off back down the M6 we went.

A few days later on a Sunday evening another one appears on eBay, again Birmingham-ish based, this time a facelift model, but in my favoured Racing Green and in apparently immaculate condition. Quickly contact the seller, he suggests doing a video call viewing to save me a trip if it's not what I'm after which we arrange for the next day after work. Few messages go back and forth and it sounds like exactly what I'm after. Belongs to his father as a second car, but he's scaling back to just a daily at this point, but the Rover has wanted for nothing. We agree a price in principle and I head to bed looking forward to the video call the next day. Up early the next day for work, have an eBay notification. 'Sorry, car is sold, someone paid without even seeing it.' I'm fuming, but what can you do? It's gone and let's face it, he'd have been an idiot to turn it down.

Another week or two passes and another suitable candidate appears on my radar. Another eBay find, again in Birmingham (there's a theme here), this time at what appears to be a dealership. Make contact, the dealer calls me up and we have a good chat. I ask him for any faults or issues, he assures me that it's a fantastic example, that I won't be disappointed, drives like a dream, unmarked interior, all the stuff you want to hear. I tell him I won't be able to view it until the end of the week, not a problem as he won't be available until then anyway, so a viewing on Friday is arranged. Another call on the Friday to make sure I'm coming, again I'm assured that I won't be disappointed, he sells a lot of these and this is one of the best he's seen in a while. We get to the address and I'm surprised to find the car parked on the kerb outside a house rather than  dealership, not the end of the world though. Knock the door, an old man staggers up, thrusts the keys through the gap says 'it's got trade plates, take it for a drive' and shuts the door again. 

I'm somewhat confused but I'm here now so I go for a look round. First impressions are important when you're buying a car, and let's just say that this one wasn't really giving a great one. Every panel was marked or dented and the rear bumper had been stoved in at some point, sending the parking sensors haywire in the process. I'd pretty much already made up my mind at this point, but I thought I'd at least find out what a supposedly good one was like to drive. Get in and the unmarked interior was well, not unmarked. It was just an interior in average condition for its age, and certainly not deserving of the adulation it had been given over the phone. Started it up took it for a drive. Admittedly it pulled well, but it was joined by a symphony of clunks and knocks from the suspension when tackling even the tamest of undulations. If this is the best one he's driven in a while is like then I dread to think what the worst is. 

Get back to the house feeling a little insulted by the fact I'd committed four hours of mine and my partners Friday evening to it, so decide that I'll try an equally insulting offer of a grand (it's up for £2300) just to make myself feel better. Knock the door, same old man, start my spiel... 'nothing to do with me mate, I've never driven the thing, he just left it here'. And with that, the door was closed and that was the last I heard from either of them. 

Spend the weekend feeling pissed off and thinking I might as well just go and get myself a 3-Series or an A4 like everyone else. Get back to my Mums this afternoon who I'm staying with while our house purchase completes and her husband excitedly tells me that he's seen a 75 turning into the next street, it was CDTi Tourer just like I want, go and see if it's still there. I'm out of the door like a flash and around the corner, I walk up the street and there it is, the PERFECT 75! CDTi Auto, Connoisseur, Aquamarine, Meteor alloys, pre-facelift, it's basically the car I would have ordered had I stepped into the dealership in 2003. This is destiny surely? I've never knocked on anyone's door to ask about a car before but I'm not letting this one go.

The owner answers, I make the enquiry. He's never selling it. Can I leave my number just in case? No point. Why would he? It's absolutely perfect, I wouldn't sell it either. I thank him for his time and take one last forlorn look at the car.  Back to the drawing board.

[High Jetter]

I know it might seem like a waste of time, but the experiences help crystallize exactly what you do want, IMHO. Concentrate the search on CDTi Auto Tourers, Connoisseur, Aquamarine, Meteor alloys, pre-facelift.