The grumpy thread

[Shirley Knott]

Massive fucking grump here 

Stuck the wife's ropey MK4 Golf on for handbrake cables at our local tyre spot today as one snapped last week and I can't face spending the weekend underneath it (I was feeling lazy). Call comes in within half an hour to say they wouldn't do it without also replacing discs and pads as it wouldn't be 'safe to drive' without. Sigh ... The discs ARE on their last legs, but still have some life left in them.

I begrudgingly said get a price and call me back.... Another call within 15 minutes to say a rear brake line had miraculously burst as they pulled it into the workshop???

The bill for all this? £369. From what I can see the discs/pads/cables and line come in at £70 for me to buy as a punter, so they must be charging me circa £100 an hour 😑

I'm basically in a situation whereby the cars undrivable due to the incredibly  suspicious exploding rear line, so there's little choice other than to pay.

FML.

Back to fixing my own stuff from here on in I think.

 

[EyesWeldedShut]

34 minutes ago, gm said:

“this service has been delayed by the train crew being delayed by disruption”  

thankyou for your helpful help  

i have two connections to make today, this one is already 20 mins late - i guess i’m buggered 

Wife was plotting a Mother's Day trip down to the West Country to see her mum + her own two sprogs - train strikes on the Thurs & Sat plus disruption either side so she's stuck here with me.
Now should that be on the grumpy or the happy thread?

[Pieman]

/\ That same weekend I am going to Germany for work, having been given a provisional flight time by my boss I tried to sort getting to the airport by train.  They announced a train strike for that day about an hour after I did so. 🙄

[EyesWeldedShut]

[jakebullet]

Skools must be on strike. Have a basic program:

10 screech "Gi-oooooooorRRRRRR"
20 delay(random(10))
30 screech "For FUCKS sake"
40 increase volume
50 delay(random(5))
60 goto 10

[Zelandeth]

That's three times today at a retail counters in three separate motor factors I have had to ask in my head "Are you actually that clueless, or do you really just not want my business because you'll need to process a parts order?"

 

It is utterly fscking depressing.

[Datsuncog]

The last time I tried to buy parts from a motor factor, back in December, they just told me straight I'd be better off going online and looking for the bits myself.

It was an alternator and inlet manifold gasket set for a 2005 Yaris, so nothing wildly obscure or ancient.

Ultimately I did get the necessary bits via eBay, and while I appreciated their honesty and all, I'm not sure how that was much good for their business (or me - I ideally needed the bits within 48hrs, not a week).

Or maybe they do ok these days selling £30 wiper blades, £120 batteries and £20 bottles of polish, and can't be arsed with the hassle of obtaining actual parts anymore. I dunno.

[Zelandeth]

47 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

The last time I tried to buy parts from a motor factor, back in December, they just told me straight I'd be better off going online and looking for the bits myself.

It was an alternator and inlet manifold gasket set for a 2005 Yaris, so nothing wildly obscure or ancient.

Ultimately I did get the necessary bits via eBay, and while I appreciated their honesty and all, I'm not sure how that was much good for their business (or me - I ideally needed the bits within 48hrs, not a week).

Or maybe they do ok these days selling £30 wiper blades, £120 batteries and £20 bottles of polish, and can't be arsed with the hassle of obtaining actual parts anymore. I dunno.

I was after fuel hose.  

The last one I tried was the best...they flat out denied that ethanol proof fuel line even existed anywhere on the market.

I was after Gates Barricade line - and they are a Gates stockist.  

Excuse me while I go find a wall to bash my head against.

I have now given in and just ordered it from an online supplier (or rather the website of a brick and mortar outlet on the opposite side of the country) as I've now wasted nearly a week and have visited eight or nine actual outlets, none of whom could supply suitable line.  Including a fluid transfer specialist in addition to the actual motor factors.  What they gave me it turned out wasn't ethanol safe.

The other one which made me laugh was the place who handed me a roll of R6 rated (so not ethanol safe) line in a Pearl retail pack...complete with work drive hose clips already on the hose, not even proper fuel line clamps.  Then proceeded to proclaim that it was good quality stuff and he uses it on his own car.  If Pearl stuff has got to the point of being considered good quality I think we should just all give up and run for the hills.

For something that is so safety critical, the fact it's so bloody difficult to get hold of the right stuff is absolutely baffling.

It's not surprising we keep seeing pictures of classic cars having gone up in flames and being told to check our fuel lines...yeah, fine and good, but if you can't get the right bloody line checking them ain't going to do much good.

[MiniMinorMk3]

7 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

I was after fuel hose.  

 

For something that is so safety critical, the fact it's so bloody difficult to get hold of the right stuff is absolutely baffling.

 

Demon Tweeks is were I go to get fuel line.

Fuel Hose - Hose, Fittings, Adaptors & Accessories - Fuel & Oil System - Engine - Motorsport (demon-tweeks.com)

[Angrydicky]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

I was after fuel hose.  

The last one I tried was the best...they flat out denied that ethanol proof fuel line even existed anywhere on the market.

I was after Gates Barricade line - and they are a Gates stockist.  

Excuse me while I go find a wall to bash my head against.

I have now given in and just ordered it from an online supplier (or rather the website of a brick and mortar outlet on the opposite side of the country) as I've now wasted nearly a week and have visited eight or nine actual outlets, none of whom could supply suitable line.  Including a fluid transfer specialist in addition to the actual motor factors.  What they gave me it turned out wasn't ethanol safe.

The other one which made me laugh was the place who handed me a roll of R6 rated (so not ethanol safe) line in a Pearl retail pack...complete with work drive hose clips already on the hose, not even proper fuel line clamps.  Then proceeded to proclaim that it was good quality stuff and he uses it on his own car.  If Pearl stuff has got to the point of being considered good quality I think we should just all give up and run for the hills.

For something that is so safety critical, the fact it's so bloody difficult to get hold of the right stuff is absolutely baffling.

It's not surprising we keep seeing pictures of classic cars having gone up in flames and being told to check our fuel lines...yeah, fine and good, but if you can't get the right bloody line checking them ain't going to do much good.

I don’t know why you mess around. 
Next day, or 2-3 day carriage is available on most stuff nowadays.

I would have tried one or two local motor factors if I needed it same day, otherwise it’s ordered from the internet.

Growing up in Southend where I had three or four excellent old-fashioned motor factors packed with old stock parts, tools, paints, consumables and so on, Lincolnshire is pretty barren for the motor factors.

There’s three in Boston that I’ve found. One has a shop behind the counter but you can’t actually go and browse in it, you have to tell them what you want and they will fetch it for you.

The other two have a counter and shelves with their stock in a sort of warehouse behind which again, you’re not allowed to go into. One of which was ECP, and they were by far the most helpful.

I’d love to find a traditional motor factor with a decent shop I can browse within a 20 or so mile radius of home. Best I’ve found so far is Spilsby but they still have the majority of stuff out the back and not much in the shop itself!

[sheffcortinacentre]

5 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

The last time I tried to buy parts from a motor factor, back in December, they just told me straight I'd be better off going online and looking for the bits myself.

It was an alternator and inlet manifold gasket set for a 2005 Yaris, so nothing wildly obscure or ancient.

Ultimately I did get the necessary bits via eBay, and while I appreciated their honesty and all, I'm not sure how that was much good for their business (or me - I ideally needed the bits within 48hrs, not a week).

Or maybe they do ok these days selling £30 wiper blades, £120 batteries and £20 bottles of polish, and can't be arsed with the hassle of obtaining actual parts anymore. I dunno.

You answered your own question 

[sheffcortinacentre]

1 hour ago, Angrydicky said:

I don’t know why you mess around. 
Next day, or 2-3 day carriage is available on most stuff nowadays.

I would have tried one or two local motor factors if I needed it same day, otherwise it’s ordered from the internet.

Growing up in Southend where I had three or four excellent old-fashioned motor factors packed with old stock parts, tools, paints, consumables and so on, Lincolnshire is pretty barren for the motor factors.

There’s three in Boston that I’ve found. One has a shop behind the counter but you can’t actually go and browse in it, you have to tell them what you want and they will fetch it for you.

The other two have a counter and shelves with their stock in a sort of warehouse behind which again, you’re not allowed to go into. One of which was ECP, and they were by far the most helpful.

I’d love to find a traditional motor factor with a decent shop I can browse within a 20 or so mile radius of home. Best I’ve found so far is Spilsby but they still have the majority of stuff out the back and not much in the shop itself!

. they're banned under Darwinism 

[RoverFolkUs]

9 hours ago, Shirley Knott said:

Massive fucking grump here 

Stuck the wife's ropey MK4 Golf on for handbrake cables at our local tyre spot today as one snapped last week and I can't face spending the weekend underneath it (I was feeling lazy). Call comes in within half an hour to say they wouldn't do it without also replacing discs and pads as it wouldn't be 'safe to drive' without. Sigh ... The discs ARE on their last legs, but still have some life left in them.

I begrudgingly said get a price and call me back.... Another call within 15 minutes to say a rear brake line had miraculously burst as they pulled it into the workshop???

The bill for all this? £369. From what I can see the discs/pads/cables and line come in at £70 for me to buy as a punter, so they must be charging me circa £100 an hour 😑

I'm basically in a situation whereby the cars undrivable due to the incredibly  suspicious exploding rear line, so there's little choice other than to pay.

FML.

Back to fixing my own stuff from here on in I think.

 

Where are you getting discs, pads, handbrake cables from for £70? 

£369 sounds quite reasonable to me, admittedly the burst brake pipe sounds dubious 

£180-220 for discs and pads easily (to be done properly with half decent parts) - not just a pad slap with lashings of copper slip

Brake cables can be a bitch to do on VAG of that era because they will probably be seized into the guide tubes and break off, therefore needing new tubes as well as stripping out the rear half of the interior including the carpet.. 

Let's say a remaining £150-190 for the brake cables and replacing a brake line, also sounds ok. 

The option of just doing it yourself was there 🤷 sorry but it's hard to complain in that scenario!

[Datsuncog]

32 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

You answered your own question 

Yeah, probably did.

Stupid of me to try keeping local businesses going, really.

But if their core demographic mainly wants to buy spray bottles of Poorboy's World alloy wheel cleaner at £HFM?, then I guess they need to follow the money.

It'll be internet retailers only from here on in, whether I want it or not.

[Jazoli]

21 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Where are you getting discs, pads, handbrake cables from for £70? 

£369 sounds quite reasonable to me, admittedly the burst brake pipe sounds dubious 

£180-220 for discs and pads easily (to be done properly with half decent parts) - not just a pad slap with lashings of copper slip

Brake cables can be a bitch to do on VAG of that era because they will probably be seized into the guide tubes and break off, therefore needing new tubes as well as stripping out the rear half of the interior including the carpet.. 

Let's say a remaining £150-190 for the brake cables and replacing a brake line, also sounds ok. 

The option of just doing it yourself was there 🤷 sorry but it's hard to complain in that scenario!

I'd agree, the price quoted is quite fair to be honest, take it to Kwik fit and see what they quote, I bet it'll start with a 5.

[Ghosty]

2 hours ago, Angrydicky said:

I’d love to find a traditional motor factor with a decent shop I can browse within a 20 or so mile radius of home. Best I’ve found so far is Spilsby but they still have the majority of stuff out the back and not much in the shop itself

Have you asked Ruffgeezer? He's out that way.

[DavieW]

Radio Scotland reporter speaking to a school teacher on the picket line asking why they're striking/what terms do they want etc. 

Teacher replies "Myself and my colleagues.......". FFS, there's no hope for the next generation. 

[barefoot]

Enough is enough.

'How long will it take you to repair that?'  I asked the garage. And 'how long do you think this injury will take to heal?' I asked the nurse. I'm afraid, 'How long is a piece of string?' no longer cuts it with me. I've heard it just once too often & have been forced to place a length of string in my pocket, so that the very next time some glib fucker pipes up, I can reply, 'It's 73 mm, but I don't understand your point'.

[myglaren]

17 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

I was after fuel hose.  

The last one I tried was the best...they flat out denied that ethanol proof fuel line even existed anywhere on the market.

I was after Gates Barricade line - and they are a Gates stockist.  

Excuse me while I go find a wall to bash my head against.

I have now given in and just ordered it from an online supplier (or rather the website of a brick and mortar outlet on the opposite side of the country) as I've now wasted nearly a week and have visited eight or nine actual outlets, none of whom could supply suitable line.  Including a fluid transfer specialist in addition to the actual motor factors.  What they gave me it turned out wasn't ethanol safe.

The other one which made me laugh was the place who handed me a roll of R6 rated (so not ethanol safe) line in a Pearl retail pack...complete with work drive hose clips already on the hose, not even proper fuel line clamps.  Then proceeded to proclaim that it was good quality stuff and he uses it on his own car.  If Pearl stuff has got to the point of being considered good quality I think we should just all give up and run for the hills.

For something that is so safety critical, the fact it's so bloody difficult to get hold of the right stuff is absolutely baffling.

It's not surprising we keep seeing pictures of classic cars having gone up in flames and being told to check our fuel lines...yeah, fine and good, but if you can't get the right bloody line checking them ain't going to do much good.

Saw this a week or two ago.  Not very encouraging.

 

 

[Zelandeth]

14 hours ago, Angrydicky said:

I don’t know why you mess around. 
Next day, or 2-3 day carriage is available on most stuff nowadays.

I would have tried one or two local motor factors if I needed it same day, otherwise it’s ordered from the internet.

Growing up in Southend where I had three or four excellent old-fashioned motor factors packed with old stock parts, tools, paints, consumables and so on, Lincolnshire is pretty barren for the motor factors.

There’s three in Boston that I’ve found. One has a shop behind the counter but you can’t actually go and browse in it, you have to tell them what you want and they will fetch it for you.

The other two have a counter and shelves with their stock in a sort of warehouse behind which again, you’re not allowed to go into. One of which was ECP, and they were by far the most helpful.

I’d love to find a traditional motor factor with a decent shop I can browse within a 20 or so mile radius of home. Best I’ve found so far is Spilsby but they still have the majority of stuff out the back and not much in the shop itself!

Because aside from anything else I've been trying to find a decent factor around here since I moved here in 2014.  This was a good opportunity to scope out a bunch.

Also it turned into a bit of an investigation of just how poorly the situation seems to be being handled and how little knowledge there is of the problems presented by ethanol and what should be done about it.  

I also did order some from two different online suppliers a few months ago and what turned up was blatantly fake rubbish.  However I have since ordered from the web store of an actual classic car supplier recommended to me by an actual person rather than fake Google reviews so hopefully will have the right thing here soon.

[cobblers]

The only place I'd buy fuel hose from is here:

https://cohpro.com/

It's the bloke who also runs Brickwerks VW t25 parts shop.

He's reputable, understands what he's selling and buys direct from the manufacturer to be sure it is legit.

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, myglaren said:

Saw this a week or two ago.  Not very encouraging.

 

That's our own @richykitchy hosting the video, is it not?

Sobering stuff, all the same.

Interesting that it seems to be low-quality rubber causing many of the issues outlined, rather than E10 fuel per se - which ties in with so many other problems cropping up as aftermarket car parts seem to be of increasingly shoddy quality (see also: distributor condensers that don't work out of the box; clutches that fall apart within a few thousand miles; drop links that are completely shagged within six months).

[DavieW]

A new "social housing" development was built a couple of years ago behind our estate.  Already there's been a  murder, a house fire bombed and the Police are in the area every other week. Tonight I saw a scrote on a crosser, no lights or helmet razzing about.

Might be a good time to invest in some discreet CCTV. 🤬

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, DavieW said:

Might be a good time to

move, just sayin...

[PicantoJon]

Twunt of the Month for March has a strong contender already... 

[Shirley Knott]

On 2/28/2023 at 9:52 PM, RoverFolkUs said:

Where are you getting discs, pads, handbrake cables from for £70? 

£369 sounds quite reasonable to me, admittedly the burst brake pipe sounds dubious 

£180-220 for discs and pads easily (to be done properly with half decent parts) - not just a pad slap with lashings of copper slip

Brake cables can be a bitch to do on VAG of that era because they will probably be seized into the guide tubes and break off, therefore needing new tubes as well as stripping out the rear half of the interior including the carpet.. 

Let's say a remaining £150-190 for the brake cables and replacing a brake line, also sounds ok. 

The option of just doing it yourself was there 🤷 sorry but it's hard to complain in that scenario!

MK4 Golf spares are fairly affordable TBH, here you go....

Rear discs and pads £32 (Comline) fitted lots of these and they're decent, handbrake cables £18 (Febi)- Both of these from Carpartsinmotion.

The rear brake line in question joins at the trailing arm and is available as a single/solid piece (Pagid) from ECP for £20.

Total - £70

Also I appreciate I have the option to work on my cars myself, I almost always do and in future I'll look to continue.

TBH the main focus of the grump was that they were asked to replace handbrake cables alone, and IMO, despite having agreed this was no issue, they'd clearly decided to set about fitting discs and pads before asking (Almost certainly damaging the rear line whilst in the process), giving them no option but to call me with a cock and bull story about it being necessary to fit discs and pads before they could "Let the car go'",  and claiming the brake line miraculously exploded as they pulled it onto the ramp - Essentially at this point effectively having me 'over a barrell' and the car held captive.

Hope that make sense?

 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

On 3/1/2023 at 10:30 PM, DavieW said:

A new "social housing" development was built a couple of years ago behind our estate.  Already there's been a  murder, a house fire bombed and the Police are in the area every other week. Tonight I saw a scrote on a crosser, no lights or helmet razzing about.

Might be a good time to invest in some discreet CCTV. 🤬

A couple of years ago we had a murder in some woodland near us.  Two weeks later they caught the killer partially due to residental CCTV and a gamekeeper getting close-up snaps when he was challenged tresspassing.

We spent two weeks not really going out much at all (certainly not on foot) as it was a nasty, random attack.

I could see his house from the back bedroom window, along with all the Police.  Less than 100 feet from my back door.  That was harrowing. Spent several days avoiding the gutterprint journalists that were milling about while the Police searched the place.

It took the jury just over an hour to convict and the trial was cut short when, despite the defendant's guilty plea, the evidence was so compelling as to his guilt that they effectively withdrew their defence.  He got life with a minimum of 37 years and I think is in Broadmoor.

[Zelandeth]

Apparently someone installed a cloaking device in the Caddy today.  Must have been nearly driven into half a dozen times in the space of an hour or so.  I do wonder how much of it is just being an old silver wheelchair van makes people just think it's driven by a 90 year old they can bully out of the way.  Which works...as it turns out I don't enjoy car accidents so will invariably take action to avoid you when you merge into the space I was just driving in/do an emergency stop to avoid T-boning you as you pull out in front of me/evade when you completely balls up the lane layout on that roundabout and try to light-cycle me into the HGV to my left.

I seriously need to get a goddamn dashcam fitted.

Having been driving the Renault quite a bit over the last couple of weeks, there is *definitely* difference in how other drivers behave around it - in general people seem to give me way more room, the obvious BMW/Audi crowd aside, but we know there's no helping them.

[eddyramrod]

In another thread I mentioned that a box of diecasts had arrived.  It contained four, of which one is undergoing paintwork and one has been drilled for stripping.

Four little model cars.

I am soooooooooooo in the doghouse!  I managed to marry someone who simply doesn't understand about having a hobby, and especially a collection of, well, anything.  What's worse is that she constantly threatens to "chuck them all in the bin,", constantly exhorts me to do the same, and treats literally every new arrival as a targeted personal attack on her.

Apart from actually doing what she says and binning the lot, I don't know what to do.  I'm quite sure the only answer is to give in, but that would be like sawing off my own hands.  Yes, both of them.  Bloody women!

[High Jetter]

Oh that sounds shite. Has she no hobbies? Shirley she knew of your proclivities when she said "I do"