People's meddling I dislike

[dollywobbler]

Hirst's thread is great for where car manufacturers have not quite got it right, but what about where owners and inept garages have got it wrong?

IMPORTANT NOTE - this isn't another chance to slag off modified cars. This is more where people have unintentionally modified something.

 

Take this Stag for instance.

 

Am I the only one who gets so upset by the fact that the indicator/sidelight unit is upside down that I want to scream? It may seem trivial, but it really is WRONG.

 

Similarly, Land Rovers look CRAP when the sidelight is below the indicator, though Range Rovers are the other way around. I cannot find images of these - perhaps they're banned from the internet for being so wrong. They do exist.

 

Another favourite, presumably from the retards who fit windscreens, is putting the wipers on the wrong way around. Berlingos look particularly crap when this has happened but a friend turned up here in a hired Astra a few weeks ago and I was rather displeased to note that the wipers were the wrong way around on that too. Idiots. I'd've taken it back in a roaring huff.

 

Then there's fitting the wrong size of wiper blade. Is it really so difficult to take the blade with you into the shop? Sort it out!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Badges in the wrong place. Not misbadged cars, but where the badges have been removed and put back in the wrong place. I assume it's done out of ignorance because it's usually on completely standard cars.

[Shep Shepherd]

Cars that have been totally/obviously mis-badged by ignorant/thick people really get my goat, such as the base model Volvo V70 badged as a 'V70 R T-5' and the Alpina-badged Mercedes Benz C-Class I once saw.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

 

I like these generic 'sport' badges you see on almost any car.

[RoadworkUK]

Cars that have been totally/obviously mis-badged by ignorant/thick people, such as the base model Volvo V70 badged as a 'V70 R T-5' and the Alpina-badged Mercedes Benz C-Class I once saw really get my goat.

 

Halfords selling badges like this

 

 

And this

 

 

Really doesn't help any.

[RoadworkUK]

Mr Hatred just made the precise same point as me, simultaneously. The "Sport" badge is also uncanilly similar to the Renault "Sport" badge that came OEM on Renault "Sport" Clios. And now, thanks to your friendly chav honeypot motor factor, a Saxo near you.

[Negative Creep]

A pet hate of mine is manufacturers using the word "sport" in trim levels. Front fog lights and alloy wheels do not mean you have a sports car

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Do any manufacturers offer non wanky trim levels now? I have no idea of the hierarchy of Style, Elegance, Classic, etc. especially as they all have alloys and front foglights.

[morris_ital_lover]

As well as the wanky Halfords badges, the ability to purchase the real deal on eBay means that the great unwashed seem to think that buying an AMG badge/RS/M badges of ebay and sticking it on their wanky hatchback/diesel estate etc etc will fool everyone into believe that AMG tuned their Mercedes Vitaro/Vaneo etc etc

 

m0rris

[DavidB]

The other day I saw a 90's Range Rover with aftermarket headlights designed to look like the new Range Rover. Are council estate residents that competitive with their neighbours?

 

 

So general modern touches that can be added to older cars to make them look like the newer variant (if you're blind).

[Wilko220]

There are far too many fake Dolomite Sprints and Fiesta XR2s around...

[seth]

[dollywobbler]

 

Lol! Nice one Seth, and a very good point!

 

Here IS a modifying one, just to prove that I'm a hypocrite. I had access to a car that had been modified for a magazine dealing with quick gallic cars. It had a roll-cage fitted. All very sensible, especially as it had a loopy engine and begged to be thrashed. Problem was, the cage now prevented you from operating the window winders with the doors shut! I'd call that a design fault.

[Mike D]

My W210 has an AMG badge under the E320.... however, it was specced from new with the AMG suspension package and also the wheels... Obviously it hasnt the rip snorting V8 (sadly) but it still has AMG parts.....

[Alexg]

Badges in the wrong place. Not misbadged cars, but where the badges have been removed and put back in the wrong place. I assume it's done out of ignorance because it's usually on completely standard cars.

 

I hate that too. Often I'll see a car thats obviously had a rear boot paint only noticable due to the placement of the badges and it really bugs me. You'd think the lazy bodyshop employee couldnt take 2 minutes to find out where the badges should go rather than plonk them on anywhere.

[DavidB]

When someone has repaired broken, hanging interior trim. With wood nails.

 

Inexplicably snipping wiring, and then repairing wiring ... with SELLOTAPE!

[Timewaster]

Inexplicably snipping wiring, and then repairing wiring ... with SELLOTAPE!

 

I've seen it done with sticking plasters! Idiots. Might as well have used scotchlocks.

[Claypole]

People spending money on add on tat rather than repairing broken trim or parts - found this was by far the worst on all the Corrado's I've owned in the past.

 

One 16V had nearly all the lights/indicators cracked or damaged yet they'd splashed out on some shite 17" alloys instead of replacing the lights/lenses.

[cobblers]

Newish cars with aftermarket immobilisers. The car has the best immobiliser you can imagine built in to the actual ECU itself, but these idiots pay some cowboy the best part of £200 notes to fit a wanky Cobra immobiliser which only adds one extra thing to go wrong, and an extra annoyance when trying to start the car.

 

They are always really badly fitted - Splicing into the fuel pump feed and starter feed usually with poor solder joints and far too thin wiring. They always splice in the most obvious places, which makes them dead easy to bypass. I had the one on my mates saxo bypassed in about a minute.

 

See also the clifford alarm on another mates £800 saxo, which has "anti hijack" and locks the doors as soon as you start the car. If you open the door for any reason and don't tap a code into a little button, a minute later the fuel pump shuts off and the alarm starts blaring until you do. Again, fitted terribly.

[Guest]

 

Bentley badges on Chrysler 300C's

[dollywobbler]

Pink stuff! I can tell you're a girl by the way you're too busy chatting to pay attention to the road, so you can leave your acres of pink tat at home. I mean, pink fucking flowers?! Piss off. If you want flowers that badly, paint them on yourself with some Dulux. That'd be a proper job.

 

Powered by fairy dust? Presumably that's the contents of your head then?

[Cavcraft]

Badly aligned number plates really piss me off. My dad's 1978-ish brand new Cortina estate had a rear number plate which must have been fitted by a myopic piss head. It used to really annoy me.

[CreepingJesus]

Powered by fairy dust?

 

I'm sure those stickers don't just invite a visit from the style police - I'd imagine the drugs squad wouldn't be far behind.

 

As someone who fitted vinyl stripes to cars, and took pride in doing it properly, squint/kinked/bubbled vinyl really wound me up. Don't see that so much these days, it's been replaced by chrome 'monogram' letters. Preferably in an aesthetically offensive position and not in any sort of line, or even a jaunty angle.

[Barry Cade]

Badly aligned number plates really piss me off. My dad's 1978-ish brand new Cortina estate had a rear number plate which must have been fitted by a myopic piss head. It used to really annoy me.

 

 

LOL, that reminds me of years ago when I worked at a certain family owned Vauxhall dealers in Cupar. The dad was the company owner, and the sons ran dealerships- Cupar had Vauxhall and Subaru.. Anyway, Dad was retiring and sons got together and ordered a brand new Senator 24v for his retirement present, satin red and loaded with everything. The car came in and was made ready for handing over to him, at a small "do". He walked out into the workshop and was told this gleaming Senator was for him. He stood for a second and then said " Whoever did the PDi, find him and sack the bastard- If he can't even fit number plates straight for me, how does he treat our customers...." He did too! So I always have a very anal fasination with fitting number plates perfectly, and when I see a squint one, it reminds me of that day.... "Find him and sack the bastard" LOL

[Negative Creep]

The aftermarket exhaust on my MR2 is on the wonk. Mounts appear fine so I guess it was fitted that way but still annoys me every time I look at it

[morris_ital_lover]

LOL, that reminds me of years ago when I worked at a certain family owned Vauxhall dealers in Cupar. The dad was the company owner, and the sons ran dealerships- Cupar had Vauxhall and Subaru.. Anyway, Dad was retiring and sons got together and ordered a brand new Senator 24v for his retirement present, satin red and loaded with everything. The car came in and was made ready for handing over to him, at a small "do". He walked out into the workshop and was told this gleaming Senator was for him. He stood for a second and then said " Whoever did the PDi, find him and sack the bastard- If he can't even fit number plates straight for me, how does he treat our customers...." He did too! So I always have a very anal fasination with fitting number plates perfectly, and when I see a squint one, it reminds me of that day.... "Find him and sack the bastard" LOL

 

Am I the only one who can just imagine Bricktop (from Snatch) as this said Dad?

 

m0rris

[trigger]

^ That RR dashboard is amazing!, is it made from paper mache?!

[barefoot]

 

I like these generic 'sport' badges you see on almost any car.

 

I appreciate what you are saying & offer this, my beetle

 

 

which features a Porsche 'Boxster' badge with the S & T cleverly removed - "Boxer" like the engine.

Slate me all you like, it's been like that for a decade & I've not seen another - As an artist, I am a situationist.

[CreepingJesus]

Badly aligned number plates really piss me off. My dad's 1978-ish brand new Cortina estate had a rear number plate which must have been fitted by a myopic piss head. It used to really annoy me.

 

 

LOL, that reminds me of years ago when I worked at a certain family owned Vauxhall dealers in Cupar. The dad was the company owner, and the sons ran dealerships- Cupar had Vauxhall and Subaru.. Anyway, Dad was retiring and sons got together and ordered a brand new Senator 24v for his retirement present, satin red and loaded with everything. The car came in and was made ready for handing over to him, at a small "do". He walked out into the workshop and was told this gleaming Senator was for him. He stood for a second and then said " Whoever did the PDi, find him and sack the bastard- If he can't even fit number plates straight for me, how does he treat our customers...." He did too! So I always have a very anal fasination with fitting number plates perfectly, and when I see a squint one, it reminds me of that day.... "Find him and sack the bastard" LOL

 

He earned his reputation, didn't he? I worked at Laidlaws, so I heard a few tales!

A Vauxhall dealers back in Glasgow threw up an interesting one. Shortly after the launch of the Mk3 Astra, I realised that the cars we'd taken delivery of had bootlid badges in different places. Sometimes just a cm or two, sometimes swapped side-to-side. Bloody irritating, but you'd only really notice when they were all parked together.

One of the garage's regular customers bought two new Mk3's for his spoiled daughters. Identical 1.6 Si's, one black, one red: identical except for one minor detail. One tailpipe was oval, the other oblong. Being busy, they handed the non-mechanical PDI work off to us valeters, so I raised the issue. Nothing done about it, until the customer took delivery, and phoned up with some stern words. Wrong tailpipe rectified at VX's expense, with an apology!

Reg plates were die straight tho' - I made up templates for drilling the plates out!

[Lord Sterling]

Wanky aftermarket alloys

 

They look cheap and ruin the ride (If you have particularly over-sized alloys)

 

Poundland wheel-trims/universal floor mats

 

They just look wrong.

 

I'm a bit of a stickler for originality and OE items. All my current cars boast thier original alloys/wheel trims and OE floor mats.