Some car forums are hard work
Discussion
In my (admittedly short) experience of forums, the most helpful bunch have been the classic MG owners. When I bought my MGB I was clueless and for a period of time I was convinced I had bought a dog but the people on MGEXP talked me through everything until I had fixed it. Mostly old American blokes who live and breathe MG, the sort with hats, belts, wallets and whatever other tat you can buy with the logo on, so I never really fitted in but it's a great place for very technical advice even if most of it does go over my head.
Surprisingly the MGB fb group is even better with a more relaxed atmosphere and the same helpful bunch of people. It's probably about 50% admiring and appreciating other people's cars and 50% advice. The only forum argument (outside of PH
) was on there though. Some old codger couldn't get his head around why a 19 year old apprentice didn't want to spend £2k+ on a 1.5k car to fix a patch of rust the size of a pound coin...
Unsurprisingly, the Polo groups I am part of are all about lows bro, and any suggestion that modifications aren't always the way forward is met with confusion. The group is full of people that are old enough to know better spending hundreds or thousands of pounds on an 18y/o 1.0l Polo, usually involving very low suspension, very stretched tyres and some fancy writing on the windscreen. I can't even begin to imagine what sort of person spends £1k on a set of wheels for a car that's worth £600 tops
When I posted asking if anybody had a standard Polo GTi (I know ) for sale I got absolutely nothing.
Surprisingly the MGB fb group is even better with a more relaxed atmosphere and the same helpful bunch of people. It's probably about 50% admiring and appreciating other people's cars and 50% advice. The only forum argument (outside of PH
) was on there though. Some old codger couldn't get his head around why a 19 year old apprentice didn't want to spend £2k+ on a 1.5k car to fix a patch of rust the size of a pound coin...Unsurprisingly, the Polo groups I am part of are all about lows bro, and any suggestion that modifications aren't always the way forward is met with confusion. The group is full of people that are old enough to know better spending hundreds or thousands of pounds on an 18y/o 1.0l Polo, usually involving very low suspension, very stretched tyres and some fancy writing on the windscreen. I can't even begin to imagine what sort of person spends £1k on a set of wheels for a car that's worth £600 tops
When I posted asking if anybody had a standard Polo GTi (I know ) for sale I got absolutely nothing.xjay1337 said:
Scirocco Forums and facebook page.
Very cliquey.
Without sounding like a know-it-all
I am one of the few people that actually do mods themselves and understand how their car works so you get annoyed when constantly people ask dumbass questions like "what colour should I paint my wheels" or "where can i get black badges".
Then you get spineless little pricks who will side with whatever the "masses" agree with.
Very interesting group of people.
Do you own a Scirocco?Very cliquey.
Without sounding like a know-it-all
I am one of the few people that actually do mods themselves and understand how their car works so you get annoyed when constantly people ask dumbass questions like "what colour should I paint my wheels" or "where can i get black badges".Then you get spineless little pricks who will side with whatever the "masses" agree with.
Very interesting group of people.
You've never said.
My personal experience is that model-specific forums tend to be harder work, not sure why. I was an active member (under a different name) on BabyBMW and Z4 Forum and found them both a bit frustrating. Maybe it's a BMW thing, but being a bit self-deprecating I liked to point out the faults with the specific cars, and the images of the drivers, which didn't always seem to go down well.
The BabyBMW crowd in particular didn't like a member pointing out that the 1 Series is a little bit st (and yes I still have mine), nor the Z4 Forum guys that driving a Z4 is considered a bit camp.
Compare to BMW Enthusiasts, a brilliant forum mainly consisting of older BMW owners who held regular social events and just were so helpful and tolerant. A lot of this was down to the mods I think, but always a great place to find welcome constructive advice.
The BabyBMW crowd in particular didn't like a member pointing out that the 1 Series is a little bit s
t (and yes I still have mine), nor the Z4 Forum guys that driving a Z4 is considered a bit camp.Compare to BMW Enthusiasts, a brilliant forum mainly consisting of older BMW owners who held regular social events and just were so helpful and tolerant. A lot of this was down to the mods I think, but always a great place to find welcome constructive advice.
I used to frequent the Corvette Forum but stopped a while back as there's a couple of right nuggets on there that diss everything people say and then go miles off topic.
"Should i buy a classic C3 or a more modern C5 to use as a DD" Answer buy a C4.
"who should I get to respray my £30k 1968 car now i've lovingly restored it over many years" Answer I painted my £2500 C4 with a brush and roller, it's also easier for painting over when i damage it.
"Should i buy a classic C3 or a more modern C5 to use as a DD" Answer buy a C4.
"who should I get to respray my £30k 1968 car now i've lovingly restored it over many years" Answer I painted my £2500 C4 with a brush and roller, it's also easier for painting over when i damage it.
I've been quite lucky with internet forums:
Triumph 2000 register: Very helpful, not cliquey. FB group now a bit infiltrated by teens from Aus/NZ who are all about the lows, but apart from that, I found it very good and friendly.
UKPassats: Again, very helpful and knowledgeable and, perhaps surprisingly, not all about the "Dub scene". Sometimes had a tendency to heap praise on even the worst mods.
bmw5.co.uk: What these guys don't know isn't worth knowing. My experience is mostly limited to the E34 section, and they seem to have wondrous little tricks here and there that really help. Also aren't afraid of calling a crap shack a crap shack, which is quite refreshing.
Triumph 2000 register: Very helpful, not cliquey. FB group now a bit infiltrated by teens from Aus/NZ who are all about the lows, but apart from that, I found it very good and friendly.
UKPassats: Again, very helpful and knowledgeable and, perhaps surprisingly, not all about the "Dub scene". Sometimes had a tendency to heap praise on even the worst mods.
bmw5.co.uk: What these guys don't know isn't worth knowing. My experience is mostly limited to the E34 section, and they seem to have wondrous little tricks here and there that really help. Also aren't afraid of calling a crap shack a crap shack, which is quite refreshing.
Triumph Man said:
geeks said:
PH down to a tee!geeks said:
Triumph Man said:
geeks said:
PH down to a tee!Triumph Man said:
geeks said:
Triumph Man said:
geeks said:
PH down to a tee!Some forums are definitely more hard work than others but then I guess it depends on the type of cars.
I've been on various Renault forums in my time and found the RS Megane forums to be quite a mature, pleasant place to post. Very little snobbery and generally quite easy going. I found the Twingo forum I was on, had a younger vibe to it, again a nice place with a lack of snobbery but could tell it was a younger audience. Saab forum I was on, I found to be quite hard work, bit of an old fashioned feel to it.
Worst forum I came across was the MR2OC. Mate of mine had been a long term member and said it was a really friendly bunch. I signed up even though I didn't own an MR2, I'm open minded enough to have a read etc. Moment they realised I owned a French hot hatch there ended up being pages of unpleasant replies, criticising the car, insulting me etc. To the point where I had more than one member actually PM me and apologise for how badly a number of forum members had responded. The level of snobbery was amazing considering that many were driving 15+ year old cars worth 1500 quid, you'd think they were driving super cars.
I've been on various Renault forums in my time and found the RS Megane forums to be quite a mature, pleasant place to post. Very little snobbery and generally quite easy going. I found the Twingo forum I was on, had a younger vibe to it, again a nice place with a lack of snobbery but could tell it was a younger audience. Saab forum I was on, I found to be quite hard work, bit of an old fashioned feel to it.
Worst forum I came across was the MR2OC. Mate of mine had been a long term member and said it was a really friendly bunch. I signed up even though I didn't own an MR2, I'm open minded enough to have a read etc. Moment they realised I owned a French hot hatch there ended up being pages of unpleasant replies, criticising the car, insulting me etc. To the point where I had more than one member actually PM me and apologise for how badly a number of forum members had responded. The level of snobbery was amazing considering that many were driving 15+ year old cars worth 1500 quid, you'd think they were driving super cars.
Trabi601 said:
davepoth said:
I drive a Rover 75 and I am a little offended by the above - one of the things that makes people a casual racist is making gross generalisations based on superficial characteristics, you know..
You may well have one, and you may well have a point. But there is no getting away from the fact that the 75 and ZT appeals to a demographic of people who tend towards casual racism, St. George's flags and pubs with flat roofs.easytiger123 said:
Trabi601 said:
davepoth said:
I drive a Rover 75 and I am a little offended by the above - one of the things that makes people a casual racist is making gross generalisations based on superficial characteristics, you know..
You may well have one, and you may well have a point. But there is no getting away from the fact that the 75 and ZT appeals to a demographic of people who tend towards casual racism, St. George's flags and pubs with flat roofs.Triumph Man said:
Ah that would be why I haven't seen many ZTs/75s on the road recently. They are all parked in airport car parks whilst the owners are in France taking on the Russians...
I have just returned from France in a truck and the last thing I expected to see was a MGZT but saw a British reg one near ST Quentin .Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff