The grumpy thread

[mnde]

Sunny, dry, not too cold (-3) now thats what I call a mild winter so far

I was dreading frozen locks and scraping the windscreen this morning, but funnily enough, although it was fffreezing, the cars weren't iced up at all, even though they were beginning to last night! The GSA still started first time too! Mark.

[retrogeezer]

I'm sat here in the warm stroking the kittens

oo-er misses!

[Guest]

Now it has begun, I can have a moan about bad winter driving.I was on a narrow street earlier which seemed to have random patches of sheet ice, yet looked absolutely fine. I was trundling along in second gear with the tiniest bit of throttle all the way down it, having to keep letting off the pedal every so often to stop the Charmant from launching itself into parked cars on either side of the road. Bit nerve-wracking but I took it steady and it was alright.Waiting to come on the other direction was a Mitsubishi L200 "Warrior" who despite having the advantage of seeing someone else struggle through the ice just floored it down the street like it was the height of summer, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw him buckarooing all over the road. What a prize buffoon.

[Mr H Sceptre]

Now it has begun, I can have a moan about bad winter driving.I was on a narrow street earlier which seemed to have random patches of sheet ice, yet looked absolutely fine. I was trundling along in second gear with the tiniest bit of throttle all the way down it, having to keep letting off the pedal every so often to stop the Charmant from launching itself into parked cars on either side of the road. Bit nerve-wracking but I took it steady and it was alright.Waiting to come on the other direction was a Mitsubishi L200 "Warrior" who despite having the advantage of seeing someone else struggle through the ice just floored it down the street like it was the height of summer, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw him buckarooing all over the road. What a prize buffoon.

Any fuck off great 4x4 pickup that contains the words 'Warrior' or 'Animal' pisses me right off. Nothing wrong with the vehicle, if you are a builder or farmer etc, its just the 'Warrior' & 'Animal' logos that I detest.

[Cavcraft]

Now it has begun, I can have a moan about bad winter driving.I was on a narrow street earlier which seemed to have random patches of sheet ice, yet looked absolutely fine. I was trundling along in second gear with the tiniest bit of throttle all the way down it, having to keep letting off the pedal every so often to stop the Charmant from launching itself into parked cars on either side of the road. Bit nerve-wracking but I took it steady and it was alright.Waiting to come on the other direction was a Mitsubishi L200 "Warrior" who despite having the advantage of seeing someone else struggle through the ice just floored it down the street like it was the height of summer, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw him buckarooing all over the road. What a prize buffoon.

Any fuck off great 4x4 pickup that contains the words 'Warrior' or 'Animal' pisses me right off. Nothing wrong with the vehicle, if you are a builder or farmer etc, its just the 'Warrior' & 'Animal' logos that I detest.

Is right. Also they're usually driven by the sort of baldy, midle aged cockhead 'thug looking' moron who can't quite afford a Range Rover or X5.

[warren t claim]

The only time winter driving used to really annoy me was when I was caught out by frozen deadlocks on a mk3 cav whilst stuck in the middle of nowhere. Of course I had de-icer but it was in the glovebox! I had to extract my rapidly shrinking knob and piss over and around the locks to unfreeze them and express my displeasure at the car for leaving me stranded!

[Milford Cubicle]

Nice mental images there.I have that to look forward to tomorrow, it's already -8C here.

[j-j]

Must have frozen really quick here because it was frozen water droplets all over the windows yesterday morning as though it had rained and then suddenly frozen.These were rather bloody hard to scrape off.Door lock was frozen but still turned stiffly.Passenger door lock doesn't work from the outside so I'm always a wee bit cautious of overdoing the frozen driver door lock in case if snaps its cock and I can't get in at all

[Guest]

I was a bit worried about iced locks with my C4.I've had to use the spare key for a while because the standard OMG plip flick thing shit its ring and snapped in half. While the key stayed in the ignition the car wouldn't start unless the whole lot was in one piece.It did become a bit of a ball ache, especially as the 'emergency' lock was the on the near side - thanks PSA, a bit of bloody cost saved there eh?Anyway my new OMG PLIP arrived today and was programmed. Citroen paid 75% of the cost because I proved they were shit! So I can open my doors by remote again.LOLZORS

[Cavcraft]

Mondeo Mk2 owners.Why the fuck is it that everytime I advertise something some cock with a Mk2 Mondeo offers me a swap when I clearly state I don't want one?I swear to God at times I think you must have to have a frontal lobotomy if you have a Mongdeo.The latest illiterate dicksplash has just offered me one with with no tax, about 2 weeks MOt and said 'you'll have to come to me to do the deal'.What fucking deal? I DON'T WANT A FUCKING MONDEO.

[Guest]

Mondeo Mk2 owners.Why the fuck is it that everytime I advertise something some cock with a Mk2 Mondeo offers me a swap when I clearly state I don't want one?I swear to God at times I think you must have to have a frontal lobotomy if you have a Mongdeo.The latest illiterate dicksplash has just offered me one with with no tax, about 2 weeks MOt and said 'you'll have to come to me to do the deal'.What fucking deal? I DON'T WANT A FUCKING MONDEO.

What is it you're trying to sell \ swap?

[CIH]

I had the bloody cold and fog to contend with today. It was actually really good as there was far less traffic knocking about than usual.Usual twatish driving but that's no surprise. Such as the Suzuki Jimny 4x4 creeping along at 20mph for 3 miles....

[Cavcraft]

Mondeo Mk2 owners.Why the fuck is it that everytime I advertise something some cock with a Mk2 Mondeo offers me a swap when I clearly state I don't want one?I swear to God at times I think you must have to have a frontal lobotomy if you have a Mongdeo.The latest illiterate dicksplash has just offered me one with with no tax, about 2 weeks MOt and said 'you'll have to come to me to do the deal'.What fucking deal? I DON'T WANT A FUCKING MONDEO.

What is it you're trying to sell \ swap?

That was for my Yamaha 125 scooter. I actually had a similar 'GR8' offer for my Toyota. I mean really, why would anyone ask me to swap a Mongdeo when a) I said I didn't want one and it's the same size twatting car as my Avensis anyhow?

[pogweasel]

1. the RAC. Me: yes, it's broken, it's the alternator. I can see it's melted to shit. Recovery pls!Them: OK, we'll send someone. Sometime later (after he had gone to the wrong street 10 miles away despite us giving him the postcode)...RAC man: Yeah, your alternator is burned out. It'll have to be recovered. But not by me. I'll have to arrange a truck. Just wait here for another hour and a half. Thanks for that.Why can't they just accept that the alternator IS goosed when I tell them it is, and save all the hassle and extra waiting about. Knobs. 2. Liverpool. Again. I think that's 3 weeks on the list, and justifiably so. Nuke now pls.

[RedSparrow]

I guess its the RACs policy to check the car themselves rather than beliving the caller to be correct, as I'd imagine 3/4 of the people who call haven't got a clue, even if they think themselves to be car experts.Bloody people. Why do customers come in when I am trying to watch Eastenders on iplayer?Why am I working on a saturday with a hangover?

[Tayne]

.

[Pillock]

1. the RAC. Why can't they just accept that the alternator IS goosed when I tell them it is, and save all the hassle and extra waiting about. Knobs.

Yeah, I had the same thing, same fault - dynamo had gone, after all the smoke escaped from it. Took 4 hours for a man to arrive and tell me the dynamo had failed, and that it needed recovering. Yes - I know. He didn't even open the back of his van, just looked at it and buggered off again. I did once have an RAC man spend two hours rebuilding a carb for me at the roadside though, that was a nice effort. We ended up on the back of a truck nevertheless, but it was nice he was willing to get his hands dirtier than just plugging in his laptop cable.Apparently if you phone up with a brake issue, they're not allowed to fix it by the side of the road and they'll automatically send a truck.

2. Liverpool. Again. I think that's 3 weeks on the list, and justifiably so. Nuke now pls.

I had a really good time in Liverpool once, a fantastic weekend.I don't remember leaving the hotel room though, apart from to go to the ice machine in the corridor

[FredTransit]

Don't get me on the RAC (and the AA come to think of it). They are wildly good and bad. First thing's first, and here's a tip. Tell them you are a fully qualified mechanic (they can't check, throw in a few terms like TDC firing order and points!) and you will magically miss out the wait for the stupid patrolman who won't even open his van. I found this out by accident after breaking down on the M40 and being told the van has to be seen by a qualified mechanic first. me "the injection pump's had it"them "How do you know this for sure? We have to have it seen by a qualified mechanic first"me "I am a qualified mechanic"Them "oh that's all right then, We didn't know the van had been seen by a qualified mechanic, I will send a recovery truck"Next, I was aware they weren't supposed to do anything with brakes, and yet on the one occasion I just wanted the van back, we got the only patrolman that was willing to first jack up the rear axle and put it in gear. Him "oh only one side is going round, must be the diff"Me "erm it's not a lim slip, that's what's supposed to happen" :lol:Then he fought the drum off, to find the liners had parted company with the shoes, jamming up the wheels. He then spent a fruitless half an hour on the phone looking for replacements (when I had a set at home) JUST GET A TOW TRUCK FFS!! :roll:Recently had (another) dropped valve on the way home from Wales. At least they just sent a tow truck, and what a diamond. On his way he called to tell me, and asked if I was hungry! Arrived with a pizza he didn't fancy, and even didn't come on with the H&S bollox of not letting me steer the van up the back of the truck.

[chester drawers]

2. Liverpool. Again. I think that's 3 weeks on the list, and justifiably so. Nuke now pls.

Where in Liverpool? I can appreciate you've got to go where the work is and that there's some complete shit holes but have you ventured out elsewhere in the City? I'm there for gigs most weeks and I love it. Best not take on any work in Winsford if you think the scally count's bad in Liverpool. On balance I reckon there's more there

[Cavcraft]

To be fair every experience bar one (out of bloody loads) I've had with the RAC have been very good, and they've saved my arse loads of times.

[FredTransit]

Cavette, drive a 25 year old transit ans see how good they are! Or is it just me?

[Mike D]

I always found the AA pretty good when i went through a monster spate of breakdowns in my van, when I explained it wasn't a diesel anymore but a petrol out an Audi they normally just sent a truck!!The first time it grenaded itself (still with the diesel) I rang them at 1am to find my cover had lapsed at midnight. Gutted! However, they were spot on and just continued my previous cover and I got the heap dragged back home in the morning as I told them not to bother dragging the poor bloke out of bed, and that i'd just kip in it if he turned up about 8

[Cavcraft]

Cavette, drive a 25 year old transit ans see how good they are! Or is it just me?

I think my last experience of them was when I broke down in a Transit oddly enough!1996 SWB diesel, had been down to 25mph on the M56, decided to come off at Helsby and it died right in the middle of some bloody traffic lights (near a gypo camp lol) when I had my daughter with me.Somehow managed to push it up a hill and called them out. Whilst waiting (about 45 minutes I think) we managed to pull some of the decals off it.Anyhow RAC fella diagnosed blocked injectors. He got it going and even followed me home to make sure I was ok which I thought was very nice of him.

[Cavcraft]

Soz and all that, supposed to be grumpy thread.Shopping:It's dog shit. I always start off with the best intentions when shopping with SWMBO and in the first few shops I'll offer my honest opinion on the clothes she wants to buy.However...by the time we've been in the fifteenth shop for the thirty third bastard time I'd tell her a binbag sellotaped to her torso looks wonderful just so I can get out of the shops.Why-oh-bleeding-why don't birds shop like most men? I go up town, look in a shop, see something I like, check if they have my size/I can afford it then buy it and walk out. Simple.Do I want to go to hundreds of tat emporiums to be jostled round and hold doors for ignorant twats who have no manners?Do I bollocks as like.When I'm Prime Minister people are going to get ten fucking minutes in each shop then get fired at by water pistols full of cat piss.

[Volksy]

+1My last shopping trip into the city was - Drive in, Park Car, go to ONE shop, pick two pairs of jeans, check sizes, buy, go back to car, drive home..Easy!

[pogweasel]

TBH, your shopping regime still sounds a bit girly. What's wrong with either (a) shopping on the internets, thus allowing you to simultaneously drink beer / eat tuck/ download amputee pr0n or whatever... or (b)just telling the missus "Oh and if you are going near matalan, get me some jeans, 34/32 loose fit, but if they are more than a tenner forget it..."Works for me. Haven't been "shopping" in years.

[Milford Cubicle]

( get me some jeans, 34/32 loose fit, but if they are more than a tenner forget it..."

You skinny bugger

[pogweasel]

Skinny? I wish!

[Volksy]

TBH, your shopping regime still sounds a bit girly. What's wrong with either (a) shopping on the internets, thus allowing you to simultaneously drink beer / eat tuck/ download amputee pr0n or whatever... or (b)just telling the missus "Oh and if you are going near matalan, get me some jeans, 34/32 loose fit, but if they are more than a tenner forget it..."Works for me. Haven't been "shopping" in years.

Hahawell because a) Had just bust the fly on my last pair of decent jeans, and had run out of cable ties to bodge them, and needed a pair for that eveningb) have no missus

[Milford Cubicle]

Skinny? I wish!

I can barely squeeze in to a 40" waist. I shoudl really lay off the Co-op tramp juice.