The grumpy thread

[Rhythm Thief]

Hypocrisy. Not "hypocracy".

[Cavcraft]

We're dog lovers and yet when I drove a Hyundai nobody called me an alsation buttie munching hypocrite.

[dollywobbler]

WTF?! I can't actually believe that people think it's bad to put remembrance stickers on the 'wrong' car! FFS. The point is to remember the futility of war and the bravery of those who fought. Modern day Germans are about as close to Hitler as Buddah. Most of the Germans doing the fighting were about as close to Hitler as Buddah. Cars don't even come into it.

 

Here's something for you. I never wear a poppy. I don't see why people should be applauded/hated for not publicly demonstrating a charity, even if it is such an emotive one.

 

In an attempt to lighten the mood, here's Jack Dee.

[Jozza]

Is there any main stream born and bred British cars left these days?.

 

Depends on how you define 'mainstream' and 'British'. Morgan is now the biggest wholly British-owned company that manufactures its own cars (since LTI shifted taxi production out to China) but even they buy in a lot of their mechanical components (BMW engines being the most obvious). It's hardly mainstream though.

 

Neither is Aston Martin which designs, engineers and builds its cars in the Midlands but is financed by a family from Oman and gets its V8s from Germany via Jaguar.

 

The Astra is built in Britain and styled by a Brit but designed, engineered in Germany and most of the bits come from there as well.

 

Jags and Land Rovers are nearly entirely home-grown (engines from Bridgend and Dagenham) but owned by the Indians. To my mind they are probably the most British mass-production cars left- British brands, British design, British engineering, British engines, British built, British headquarters, just Indian money.

 

The Nissan Qashqai was designed and is built in the UK using a high proportion of locally-sourced parts but ultimately is a Nissan. The other Brit-built Japanese cars are all designed in Japan and use varying amounts of UK content.

 

The MG6 was designed and engineered and is final-assembled at Longbridge using bits made in China, many of which are modernised MG-Rover cast-offs.

 

Somehow this all adds up to 1.3 million UK-built cars a year and we are in fact a net exporter of motor vehicles.

[theorganist]

Somehow this all adds up to 1.3 million UK-built cars a year and we are in fact a net exporter of motor vehicles.

 

Thankyou for that information. It does make me feel slightly happier.

 

Not sure if the Nissan Quasquai being designed in the UK is a plus point or not!!

[Negative Creep]

The Astra is built in Britain and styled by a Brit but designed, engineered in Germany and most of the bits come from there as well.

 

 

 

Someone acutally styled the new Astra? Blimey.

[Guest]

Someone acutally styled the new Astra?

 

Yep - and here he is - -- - - - -

[tonedepear]

We're dog lovers and yet when I drove a Hyundai nobody called me an alsation buttie munching hypocrite.

 

Not to your face, anyway.

[retrogeezer]

The Astra is built in Britain and styled by a Brit but designed, engineered in Germany and most of the bits come from there as well.

 

 

 

Someone acutally styled the new Astra? Blimey.

 

 

I thought they just looked at the new Renault Megane and thought 'that'll do' (or vice versa)

[Pete-M]

The Mk1 Golf cabriolet my mate Emma owns.

 

I don't think it's lasted more than two weeks at a time without breaking something fiddly and annoying to fix.

 

So far, two rear wheel bearings (these didn't stop it working), two sets of rear brake shoes, two rear brake cylinders, two front flexi hoses, two clutch cables, one fan belt, and now as the piece-de-resistance it's pulled the fucking clutch cable mount through the bulkhead - which isn't rusty, it's just stress fractured. It was fine when the garage fitted the cable, so I reckon they've twatted the cable to get it through the grommet and not said anything.

 

Which means I'm going to have to borrow a bloody a-frame, tow it to the welders with the Heep, get it sorted and tow it back. So much for a nice, quiet Saturday.

 

Cars, who'd have 'em?

[Pillock]

The Mk1 Golf cabriolet my mate Emma owns.

 

now as the piece-de-resistance it's pulled the fucking clutch cable mount through the bulkhead - which isn't rusty, it's just stress fractured. It was fine when the garage fitted the cable, so I reckon they've twatted the cable to get it through the grommet and not said anything.

 

It's a common fault on the Mk2 Scirocco too which shares a lot of ideas with the Mk1 Golf. There's actually a repair panel available

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-GOLF-MK-1-GTI- ... 0654676679

[Pete-M]

Pah, I'll whizz it up to autofusion and let Gray and Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave attack it for me.

[eddyramrod]

 

Come on, is it really so difficult to leave somebody's car alone and just BUY a set of used alloys? Fucking bastards, now my poor Mazda's worth exactly what it cost me. I'd be delighted to meet these people, preferably when I have a spade in my hand...

[theorganist]

Really sorry to see that Eddy, thats a really shitty thing to happen .

 

Is there much chance of you getting them back? Are the police pro-active with car crime over there?

 

I think a slow torture would be a fitting punishment!

[eddyramrod]

Thank you; and yes, I agree, the punishment should fit the crime.* The police do know about it, and return of a set of wheels is not unknown, so I'm hoping. They did send two officers out to see the car, and me, and then a CSI to fingerprint the car, but the baddies were wearing gloves, it seems. I'll have to wait and see.

 

* Lay the bastards down across the road and let me drive up and down a bit on the tyres they stole... To paraphrase a line from Crocodile Dundee: a slow-moving Mazda'll sure make a mess of you!

[nigel bickle]

Total bastards.

 

Can you find some steels to get it mobile again? Were the rims anything special -easy to trace?

[eddyramrod]

We're working on finding a set of old wheels we can use; steel, alloy, mix of both, doesn't matter. The alloys they stole are visible on my Mazda thread, in fact I gave the cops the rear 3/4 view, so maybe they'll turn up. It's just frustrating...

[Guest]

It's just frustrating...

 

Call me naive, but I didn't think that sort of scroaty bollocks went on in Cyprus. I thought folk were pretty tight with one another. Mind you, I can't believe a 323F is a particularly common car in those parts, so they might have been stolen to order. Find all the others on the island and put your parts on.

[eddyramrod]

You'd be amazed, they're actually quite plentiful here. The wheels are likely to fit other Mazdas too... We suspect the culprits are Romanian, as there seem to be gangs of that origin prowling the island at night looking for opportunities just like this. Andreas has lost wheel sets off other cars including his rental fleet, but as mentioned, it is possible for the wheels to come home. In fact one set did recently; a friend dropped into his garage to show off his "new" alloys and Andreas recognised them!

[Guest]

Horrible shit happening to good friends.

 

1. Mate in Maghull has had his car robbed. The cunts broke into his house (whilst him and his Mrs were asleep) went upstairs, took the car keys and her purse and camera. Why go to all that trouble for a knackered '07 plate Fiesta? What's that gonna be worth? £2-3k at best? Bastards. Police 'can't find' the car and 'can't find' any prints. 'A very professional job' quoth the Babylon. Brilliant.

 

2. Friend #2 in Stretford has had all the lead flashing stolen off the front of her house. Police were very sympathetic and useful, as always. 'We can't find them' say they. 'Don't take them on' they continued, 'They'll probably stab you'.

 

SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK.

[eddyramrod]

'We can't find them' say they. 'Don't take them on' they continued, 'They'll probably stab you'.

 

I might be missing something here, but in the light of this quote: what's the fucking point of having a police force?

 

Tony Martin should have been knighted.

[theorganist]

I might be missing something here, but in the light of this quote: what's the fucking point of having a police force?

 

A few years ago during choir practice a stone was thrown through the windows at church narrowly missing one of the choir. The police didn't want to know wouldn't even come to have a look this wasn't long after a hammer had been thrown throught the window at night when I was practicing the organ, it bounced of the organ and landed a couple of feet from me, one of the young organ students who was 11 ish and his mother. The police did turn up on that occassion as these idiots had been annoying a group in the church hall. All the policeman said when I showed him the hammer and the damage to the window was "I have always wanted to come in here".

 

Anyway the day after someone had dared to double park outside the post office (in a Capri) in Stourbridge High Street, not even causing an obstruction. Within a minute a panda car came roaring down the High Street and a young officious WPC jumped out of the police car yelling and tearing a strip of this guy like he had just commited armed robbery!

 

I try and have respect for the police but those couple of instances really put things into context as far as what the police think their role is.

[AnthonyG]

 

 

Bloody hell, thats the sort of thing that makes you leave the UK. Hope its fixed soon, surely any late 1980s 323 steels should fit?

 

Whats the story with the stuffed FB Victor or just pure coincidence?

[trigger]

Electric window regulators in a Mk3 are the most shittest basard things in the world. FACT. 2 hours later i still can't get the bastard thing out of the door as i can't get the glass out, I'm getting very close to sticking a sledgehammer through it.

 

Or pay a garage to fit one for me.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I'm really depressed and this is totally unlike me. The reason for that is that there have been some pre-2007 property taxes in Greece whose existence I was totally unaware of, and it transpires that I may well owe A LOT of dosh...as in over 50k. Which, of course, I don't have lying around in savings or anything. Worse still, it's Friday and I won't know the full extent of it until Tuesday or, at best, Monday evening.

 

I know it's only money, and I will probably find a way to pay in instalments or something, but I'm feeling completely sick...

[Rod/b]

Don't worry about it. Greece will go bankrupt and be up for sale for less than 50 grand by next month.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Don't worry about it. Greece will go bankrupt and be up for sale for less than 50 grand by next month.

 

Doubt it- the poor German taxpayer will keep paying for this shit...

[Negative Creep]

Bank increasing my overdraft payments. Can't complain as it was me who went overdrawn but now increases my financial woes. Just hope I can turn a good price on the BMW...............

[eddyramrod]

Bloody hell, thats the sort of thing that makes you leave the UK. Hope its fixed soon, surely any late 1980s 323 steels should fit?

 

Whats the story with the stuffed FB Victor or just pure coincidence?

 

(I thought requoting myself was just too incestuous...) OK, Mazda: yes, virtually any 14" 4 stud Mazda wheels should fit, just waiting for 3 or 4 to come available. And yes, if I still lived in west Lancashire I would more or less expect this kind of thing. But Paphos???????????????

 

Victor, ok, I have told the story before but: it was restored by my friend Andreas for his own collection. He had it parked on waste ground across the road from his home, until the council decided to remodel the roads round there, so he moved it, to an on-street space literally across the road from his front door. No problem. Until some silly bint decided to run the traffic light at high speed, whereupon she hit another car, which hit the back of the Victor (quite hard, as you can see) and shoved it into a truck that was parked beyond. Also quite hard. Needless to say, it's a write-off, which Andreas is gutted about. He's in negotiation for another one now so he can build one good car out of two. It's nothing to do with my Mazda, except that I left the car with Andreas at his garage, and he left it outside the back gate overnight. Locked up, with no battery on. You'd have thought it was fairly safe. Out of shot to the left is a row of inhabited houses, all with a good view. So much for Neighborhood Watch.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Finally, after over a year, getting round to fixing my broken Krups coffee machine. It only dispenses espresso drips, apparently a borked flow meter.

 

It took me the best part of an hour to remove the back, thanks to bloody security pin torx screws on it. I had to pry the little pin out with a tiny screwdriver on each screw. Why not put "WARRANTY VOID" foil stickers over normal screws? Security screws FFS. Much of the rest of the machine appears to be constructed from E-Z Snap plastic tabs as if designed by Ford's dashboard division.