Things that piss you off that shouldn't

[Genie]

6 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

I had a Cavalier for many years, and it was the best car I've ever had. Never gave me a day's trouble. 

I'm convinced that people's ideas that some car brands are 'good' or 'bad' are entirely down to the pot luck of the individual vehicle, which then ingrains a predjudice. 

Absolutely, I tried to show that with the fact I quite like Renault, which are on many peoples “no-go” list.

In between AA call outs ok the Vauxhall I was constantly changing, removing and cleaning parts too. I’ve never had to do that with any other car. It was just desperate to die.

[Stevo985]

34 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

I'm convinced that people's ideas that some car brands are 'good' or 'bad' are entirely down to the pot luck of the individual vehicle, which then ingrains a predjudice. 

That's probably the same with most things though isn't it? People work on personal experience.

I'd be very very reluctant to own a Samsung phone again because the one I did own I really didn't like at all. Now I know that Samsung make good phones and I'm probably in the minority, but it takes a lot to get over your own experience

[sidcow]

5 hours ago, Genie said:

They are known for shit cars full stop

I’m no car brand snob, I’ve had plenty of very cheap run arounds in my time and on the whole they’ve met my expectations.

Apart from the Vauxhall (Signum) I had. Absolute pile of shit. I had the AA out 4 or 5 times in 12 months. I think I’ve only ever used them one other time in about 20 years. 
It’s the only brand I would never ever go back to.

I had an H reg Astra for a few years and didn't have any problems at all. My brother in law has had about 6 or 7 Vauxhalls and not a bit of trouble with any of them. 

Edited April 2, 2021 by sidcow

[sidcow]

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

I had a Cavalier for many years, and it was the best car I've ever had. Never gave me a day's trouble. 

I'm convinced that people's ideas that some car brands are 'good' or 'bad' are entirely down to the pot luck of the individual vehicle, which then ingrains a predjudice. 

It's the same with household appliances. I've found them to be much of a muchness.  Replaced a reliable one with the same brand and it's been shit. Bought "top" brands and they've not lasted any longer.  I'll generally just buy the cheapest I can now.  Our longest lasting item is a Beko fridge freezer which is at least 15 years old, been moved house once and moved location 3 or 4 times.  Still chugging away. 

[sidcow]

31 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

That's probably the same with most things though isn't it? People work on personal experience.

I'd be very very reluctant to own a Samsung phone again because the one I did own I really didn't like at all. Now I know that Samsung make good phones and I'm probably in the minority, but it takes a lot to get over your own experience

To an extent. My kids insist on Apple phones.  The only phone brand we've ever had any problems with is Apple including one which completely died after 20 months, Apple couldn't get it started.

Yet they just won't even consider another brand. 

[villa4europe]

Iphones are slightly different cos of the IOS

I've got a Huawei cos the camera on it had the best write up... And then I'm shit at taking photos and only use the basic settings... But because of android the others are all pretty much the same 

I did go to Chinese brand TV that I've never heard of, TCL, and I'm really happy with it, punch best hew phones 2021 in to Google and websites like stuff will tell you 6 or 7 new Chinese brands making supposedly really good phones 

Will happen with everything, the Chinese are coming and they're too cheap to ignore 

[bannedfromHandV]

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

I had a Cavalier for many years, and it was the best car I've ever had. Never gave me a day's trouble. 

I'm convinced that people's ideas that some car brands are 'good' or 'bad' are entirely down to the pot luck of the individual vehicle, which then ingrains a predjudice. 

I don’t know about that, I mean some cars are known for being problematic either in terms of overall/general performance or getting parts replaced (Alfa’s), I’ve known a few people who’ve had Renaults and I’m pretty sure they’ve all had electrical problems at some stage.

But yeah, to your point, anyone can have a bad experience with any car really, always going to be an element of pot luck.

[bickster]

8 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

But because of android the others are all pretty much the same

This isn't true. Different manufacters handle Android in different ways with permissions in the background. Our driver app is Android based and if the driver is using his own phone to run the App, we never know if it will work properly until we test and install the App on that phone. One example of this is background use of the processor, some makes and models absolutely forbid use of the processors for Apps in the background (which is essential for us), there are certain models that shut an App down as soon as its in the background and as our App links in to the Google Maps App, it's just unworkable and we cannot access the permissions to change it. We think they do it to improve their battery performance. It's definitely done by individual manufacturers.

Having said that, Apple rules on Apps in the App Store and that it won't allow two Apps to run in conjunction with each other means that Android is still the better solution for us.

[rjw63]

1 hour ago, Genie said:

Absolutely, I tried to show that with the fact I quite like Renault, which are on many peoples “no-go” list.

In between AA call outs ok the Vauxhall I was constantly changing, removing and cleaning parts too. I’ve never had to do that with any other car. It was just desperate to die.

Ex Vauxhall Carlton driver here. The brakes were a nightmare. Caliper slides constantly sticking and wearing out one side of the pads down to the metal.

No idea how I put up with it for five years.

[Xela]

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

I had a Cavalier for many years, and it was the best car I've ever had. Never gave me a day's trouble. 

I'm convinced that people's ideas that some car brands are 'good' or 'bad' are entirely down to the pot luck of the individual vehicle, which then ingrains a predjudice. 

I had a mark 3 Cavalier (G reg). Absolutely loved it. I was 20 when i had it, so having a 2 litre 'luxury' car was ace. It was a CD model, so quite highly specced, and in a nice aubergine colour. The velour seats were the comfiest I have ever sat in! Car seats nowadays are rock hard and uncomfortable.

[blandy]

19 hours ago, Xela said:

How long do car batteries last nowadays? My Audi is on its original battery (14 years)

12 months ago, my car MoT passed, but they said "your battery is on its way out, it's only at 50% of original capacity, it really needs changing"

I ignored them, it was (I thought) just a bit flat 'cus the car hadn't been used because of the fungus clampdown. I put it on charge when I got the car back and it's been fine.

last week, took the car to the same garage for it's MoT. My car MoT passed again, but they said "your battery is absolutely fine, but it's a bit low, we'll stick it on charge for you"

Hmmm.

Which brings me on to a scam. They also said "has the timing belt been changed?"

No, I said - the car's only done 18,000 miles.

Well, Audi say it needs changing at 5 years - do you want us to do a quote?

So I looked it up on the internet. Audi Germany say 130K. No time limit. VW/Audi UK have created this 5 year time interval as a money spinner, basically. Charge loads of (private) customers 500 quid a time to change something that's absolutely fine. Interestingly, fleet owners don't get the 5 year recommendation, probably because servicing is included in the price they pay, so any belts changed at 5 years would be at the dealer's expense, not the customers.

Clearings, the lot of them,

[Xela]

58 minutes ago, sidcow said:

It's the same with household appliances. I've found them to be much of a muchness.  Replaced a reliable one with the same brand and it's been shit. Bought "top" brands and they've not lasted any longer.  I'll generally just buy the cheapest I can now.  Our longest lasting item is a Beko fridge freezer which is at least 15 years old, been moved house once and moved location 3 or 4 times.  Still chugging away. 

You're not wrong. When I was little I remember my folks buying a new Sharp TV and VHS combo from the Sharp centre (in Wylde Green I think). It replaced one of those Ferguson TV's with the wooden panels that used to come on a frame and casters, so you can tell the era  

They had that TV for over 20 years and it was still perfect. They only got rid as the analogue signal was about to be turned off. 

They've been through about 3 'modern' TVs in the last 15 years. 

[sidcow]

The irony with cars is that there is a very strong perception that the expensive German brands are quality and reliable, yet they always perform badly in the JD Power Survey. Another case of clever branding overruling reality. 

[bickster]

It's a bit of a tradition of mine to celebrate Happy Dead Jesus Day with a bout of all day drinking in a pub, mainly because it's one of the few public holidays where you don't have to go to work the next day.

It really is peeing me off today that I can't do it, last year not so much because the lockdown was still pretty much a novelty on HDJD but now a year into this mess, I'm really not enjoying the fact I can't do it today.

[chrisp65]

We had a VW Beetle, once we had some salary I loved my VW Golfs and had a few eventually working up to a nearly new one that still had warranty.

It always sounded like a diesel, which I thought was odd, for a petrol. They assured me it was absolutely fine, a characteristic of that engine as it was particularly fuel efficient.

First service out of warranty, I get a phone call, your engine is knackered mate, properly knackered, needs a new one. It’s probably just about financially viable, it’ll cost a few thousand, do you want us to do it?

I said yep, crack on and replace the engine.

Later the same day the VW manager phoned and said he needed to give me the price to make sure I understood how much it would cost.

I told him I wasn’t interested in the cost as I had a copy of every letter I’d handed them at every service since new saying it was a dud, so I wasn’t paying, he was.

Long story shortened: VW paid in full and gave me compo, when the local franchise gave me a copy of the email saying we know the engine was duff all along, but see how much you can get him to contribute.

 

[Xela]

Interesting views on cars. My Dad was very much a typical working class man growing up and the standard car brand for that demographic tended to be Ford. So the old man had a collection of Fords growing up, with a Morris Marina thrown in for some reason. He would only really consider Ford, Vauxhall and BL. The rest he had views on: French cars - unreliable. Italian cars - rusty. German cars - for posh people. Japanese cars - boring. His dream car was a Jag XJ6 or 12. He never owned one though. His views mellowed and in later years he has owned Beamers, Audis, VWs and a Subaru! 

I guess that coloured my early views on cars. First car was a Metro, then a Cavalier. 

For me, the peak era for cars was mid/late 80's to mid/late 90's. This was the combination of cars looking modern and being reliable, plus having some new useful features (PAS, ABS, air con, airbags) but not being overly loaded with superfluous driving aids and unnecessary complications. 

Cars today just don't really appeal to me. They've lost their individuality in the main. We're in an era of shared platforms and cars all resembling jelly moulds due to safety legislation. I drove a new Corsa recently, which is just a rebadged Pug 208, and it felt huge but was claustrophobic as well due to the thick A and B pillars and the high window line. Felt like I was in a Panzer advancing on Stalingrad. 

Sorry for the waffle  

[blandy]

12 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

VW paid in full and gave me compo, when the local franchise gave me a copy of the email saying we know the engine was duff all along, but see how much you can get him to contribute.

On the general cars thing, check of a lot of the problems people have are down to dealers, not manufacturers, I reckon.

The whole car dealership universe is riddled with proper bad 'uns - though there are really good ones too. I guess any business which is all about mass sales of high value items is going to contain a significant number of dodgepots - too much money "available" to resist.

[Stevo985]

1 hour ago, blandy said:

12 months ago, my car MoT passed, but they said "your battery is on its way out, it's only at 50% of original capacity, it really needs changing"

I ignored them, it was (I thought) just a bit flat 'cut the car hadn't been used because of the fungus clampdown. I put it on charge when I got the car back and it's been fine.

last week, took the car to the same garage for it's MoT. My car MoT passed again, but they said "your battery is absolutely fine, but it's a bit low, we'll stick it on charge for you"

Hmmm.

Which brings me on to a scam. They also said "has the timing belt been changed?"

No, I said - the car's only done 18,000 miles.

Well, Audi say it needs changing at 5 years - do you want us to do a quote?

So I looked it up on the internet. Audi Germany say 130K. No time limit. VW/Audi UK have created this 5 year time interval as a money spinner, basically. Charge loads of (private) customers 500 quid a time to change something that's absolutely fine. Interestingly, fleet owners don't get the 5 year recommendation, probably because servicing is included in the price they pay, so any belts changed at 5 years would be at the dealer's expense, not the customers.

Clearings, the lot of them,

My car is currently telling me I need an oil change. I've had it (from brand new) for 6 months. And because of lockdown I've only done about 3,000 miles.

How can it possibly need an oil change already? I know it used to be the case that you'd need to change oil a bit more regularly, but surely these days it should be less than that

[Xela]

My car has the service warning light on. It is due as its been 2 years since the last service, although only done 10k miles in that time. Erdington Audi ring me every day without fail. I'm thinking of reporting them for stalking!  

 

[Davkaus]

41 minutes ago, blandy said:

 

The whole car dealership universe is riddled with proper bad 'uns - 

Also known as salespeople