I don't want a new bloody car. I want my old one back....
Discussion
Lowtimer said:
So it's on the original suspension, cooling system etc?
I suggesta better thread to ask on would be this one:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Yes ok I'll try that then. I suggesta better thread to ask on would be this one:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Thanks
datum77 said:
The mobile phone manufacturers are guilty of the same thing. Why a manufacturer doesn't market a phone that JUST sends/receives calls and texts, but does nothing else, beats me. I have no need of a smart phone with all the attached and complicated technology, (I also don't want to look a jerk staring at a piece of plastic while out in the world).
They do. Go to Asda. I had an alcatel onetouch somethingorother for 10 months last year. Only downside is it uses nokia style text input ie pressing 5 four times to get a K or whatever. And the ringtone was so naff people would give me "you look poor" looks 
As for cars, I loved my e46 330ci in the short time I owned it. But it had major problems and I lost £9k over it.
A3 I bought for £11k and 6 months later I reverse-px'd it. They would only give me what WBAC would give me. £7k. So I lost around 3-4 grand there.
The BMW I bought for £5.5k it was a 2003 with 90k. I had been told to buy based on condition and spec and not age nor mileage. It looked and felt really good so I bought it there and paid a deposit.
When I picked the car up having signed all the paperwork and paid in full I had a 330ci and £1.5k left from the £11k I had 6 months ago.
When I drove the car home it felt completely different. I am 100% sure they swapped all the brakes and suspension over to another car in the interim period between deposit and purchase. 2 days later the fanbelt started squealing. I video it and take it back to the garage who tell me there is no problem, until I show the video when they backpedal very quickly. I presume they just tightened it rather than replacing it. They even tried to charge me an "admin fee" for fixing it under warranty yet said there was nothing wrong with it?
Lots of money spent trying to "fix" it later I sold it to WBAC for £2k. £11k to £2k in 2 weeks. When they auctioned it, there was a s
t load of damage report on the auction file. Ie, had had crash in past, needed work etc. All the things that never showed up on the RAC HPI check that I did on it. Seems WBAC / BCA get a better HPI than RAC offer?
Some garage further up country bought it at auction and the next day they sold it for...£5.5k which is the price I bought it from this garage for.
So yes I got mugged off, garage warranties are worthless, I wasn't as assertive back then, and they took advantage of an ill family member when trying to sell to me (wouldn't stop ringing me, they rang about 10 times per day, found my home phone number from companies house, rang me on that all day long too) they essentially bullied me into buying it.
I type all the above as context because I would LOVE another e46 330ci (a manual post facelift one) but there are so many mutton dressed as lamb out there that unless you go to Hexagon and pay £20k for one, it would just be on the back of my mind all the time. "Is this going to break?" Or I hear a rattle and think some suspension part needs replacing etc.
A3 I bought for £11k and 6 months later I reverse-px'd it. They would only give me what WBAC would give me. £7k. So I lost around 3-4 grand there.
The BMW I bought for £5.5k it was a 2003 with 90k. I had been told to buy based on condition and spec and not age nor mileage. It looked and felt really good so I bought it there and paid a deposit.
When I picked the car up having signed all the paperwork and paid in full I had a 330ci and £1.5k left from the £11k I had 6 months ago.
When I drove the car home it felt completely different. I am 100% sure they swapped all the brakes and suspension over to another car in the interim period between deposit and purchase. 2 days later the fanbelt started squealing. I video it and take it back to the garage who tell me there is no problem, until I show the video when they backpedal very quickly. I presume they just tightened it rather than replacing it. They even tried to charge me an "admin fee" for fixing it under warranty yet said there was nothing wrong with it?
Lots of money spent trying to "fix" it later I sold it to WBAC for £2k. £11k to £2k in 2 weeks. When they auctioned it, there was a s
t load of damage report on the auction file. Ie, had had crash in past, needed work etc. All the things that never showed up on the RAC HPI check that I did on it. Seems WBAC / BCA get a better HPI than RAC offer?Some garage further up country bought it at auction and the next day they sold it for...£5.5k which is the price I bought it from this garage for.
So yes I got mugged off, garage warranties are worthless, I wasn't as assertive back then, and they took advantage of an ill family member when trying to sell to me (wouldn't stop ringing me, they rang about 10 times per day, found my home phone number from companies house, rang me on that all day long too) they essentially bullied me into buying it.
I type all the above as context because I would LOVE another e46 330ci (a manual post facelift one) but there are so many mutton dressed as lamb out there that unless you go to Hexagon and pay £20k for one, it would just be on the back of my mind all the time. "Is this going to break?" Or I hear a rattle and think some suspension part needs replacing etc.
Edited by twoblacklines on Tuesday 21st February 09:29
Missed this post when it originally appeared and can only agree with all of the OPs sentiments. I still own a last generation car (or maybe a few generations ago) and having watched friends buy new stuff I'm at odds with it all. The electronic handbrake has to be one of the the biggest overcomplications of what was a simple device. Totally agree with the poster describing the ballache of having to turn the engine on just to roll the car a few feet either way when shuffling cars on the driveway for washing or whatever. Keyless entry, push button start, e-brakes, infotainment screens spelling out instructions and informing you of things. Getting into the car, putting the heater and radio on and pulling away is like doing a pre flight check these days when in old cars it was a turn of the key, push/turn a couple of buttons bish bash bosh.
I suppose we're seen as luddites these days and simple tastes are still catered for by way of the c1/aygo style city cars and the Dacia Sandero, just a shame they're basic in all respects with piddly little engines. But it's the way of the world now, mollycodding people who I guess need mollycoddling. You only have to look at the incessant sodding adverts for the Amazon Echo. Alexa, can you tell me where it all went wrong!?
I suppose we're seen as luddites these days and simple tastes are still catered for by way of the c1/aygo style city cars and the Dacia Sandero, just a shame they're basic in all respects with piddly little engines. But it's the way of the world now, mollycodding people who I guess need mollycoddling. You only have to look at the incessant sodding adverts for the Amazon Echo. Alexa, can you tell me where it all went wrong!?
Toyoda said:
Missed this post when it originally appeared and can only agree with all of the OPs sentiments. I still own a last generation car (or maybe a few generations ago) and having watched friends buy new stuff I'm at odds with it all. The electronic handbrake has to be one of the the biggest overcomplications of what was a simple device. Totally agree with the poster describing the ballache of having to turn the engine on just to roll the car a few feet either way when shuffling cars on the driveway for washing or whatever. Keyless entry, push button start, e-brakes, infotainment screens spelling out instructions and informing you of things. Getting into the car, putting the heater and radio on and pulling away is like doing a pre flight check these days when in old cars it was a turn of the key, push/turn a couple of buttons bish bash bosh.
I suppose we're seen as luddites these days and simple tastes are still catered for by way of the c1/aygo style city cars and the Dacia Sandero, just a shame they're basic in all respects with piddly little engines. But it's the way of the world now, mollycodding people who I guess need mollycoddling. You only have to look at the incessant sodding adverts for the Amazon Echo. Alexa, can you tell me where it all went wrong!?
I'm going to be devil's advocate and pick apart your complaints. Nothing personal, just find it interesting how different people perceive things! In my opinion it's because everyone here is trying to use current generation cars in a last-generation kind of way.I suppose we're seen as luddites these days and simple tastes are still catered for by way of the c1/aygo style city cars and the Dacia Sandero, just a shame they're basic in all respects with piddly little engines. But it's the way of the world now, mollycodding people who I guess need mollycoddling. You only have to look at the incessant sodding adverts for the Amazon Echo. Alexa, can you tell me where it all went wrong!?
Toyoda said:
Totally agree with the poster describing the ballache of having to turn the engine on just to roll the car a few feet either way when shuffling cars on the driveway for washing or whatever.
What's wrong with turning the car on to move it a few feet? As opposed to awkwardly leaning half into the car to release the handbrake, then pushing the car, but not so fast that rolls away, then catch it and pull it to a stop, then awkwardly lean into the car to pull the handbrake (hope the car's not on a hill while you do this).Up until recently this was worthwhile because cars aren't designed to be started and stopped too frequently. Now we have start/stop so mechanically the car will cope with it just fine, and keyless technology so you don't even have to fumble around with turning the key anymore. So why is it a ballache to start the car? Think about it, it's actually not really any more or less effort, it's just a different ballache than the ballache you've become accustomed to.
Toyoda said:
Getting into the car, putting the heater and radio on and pulling away is like doing a pre flight check these days when in old cars it was a turn of the key, push/turn a couple of buttons bish bash bosh.
Really? I unlock the door with the keyfob, or maybe just by being near the car if I have keyless entry. I jump in the seat, I depress the brake or clutch, I press the start button, no fiddling with keys required. The climate control is already set how I like so no need to fiddle there, the cabin will get up to my preferred temp automatically, and that's assuming I haven't started the car from my phone to get it warmed up in advance. It automatically connects to my phone via Bluetooth and starts playing my music without me having to touch anything. Heated seat/windscreen/wheel is one button press away. Info screens are there if I'm curious about how many miles I've got left in the tank or anything else. I pop the box into Drive, and the handbrake is disengaged automatically as soon as I press the accelerator.This is far less hassle than the oldschool ways. It was always a pre-flight check - you just got used to it...
Venturist said:
a load of millenial BS
I think we'll agree to disagree. You're justifying all this technology somehow making things easier or better, when there was nothing wrong with how things were. Change for the sake of change is not progress. Dropping a proper handbrake and wheeling the car back or forth a few feet is quicker and easier than having to turn on the engine on, regardless of whether it may flood the engine or not. Syncing your ipod with your car, what about the majority of drivers who don't have all their music collection on their phone, or who prefer the radio (be it DAB or good old FM). You say the climate control is set just how you like it, but what if you want to be cooler or warmer than you were when you last got out of it or if you want to blast the windscreen as it's misted up. I don't need a message to check tyre pressures or that a service is due at some point in the future as I am not stupid.Sadly on this thread you're fighting a losing battle, hence why most people ignored your post on page 3.
Toyoda said:
I think we'll agree to disagree. You're justifying all this technology somehow making things easier or better, when there was nothing wrong with how things were. Change for the sake of change is not progress. Dropping a proper handbrake and wheeling the car back or forth a few feet is quicker and easier than having to turn on the engine on, regardless of whether it may flood the engine or not. Syncing your ipod with your car, what about the majority of drivers who don't have all their music collection on their phone, or who prefer the radio (be it DAB or good old FM). You say the climate control is set just how you like it, but what if you want to be cooler or warmer than you were when you last got out of it or if you want to blast the windscreen as it's misted up. I don't need a message to check tyre pressures or that a service is due at some point in the future as I am not stupid.
Sadly on this thread you're fighting a losing battle, hence why most people ignored your post on page 3.
I'm 27, not sure if that's a millennial or not...? I know I certainly take the piss out of millennials, especially special-snowflake, unable to handle criticism type behaviour Sadly on this thread you're fighting a losing battle, hence why most people ignored your post on page 3.
I can leave you to your echo chamber if you like, but I thought it interesting to discuss the subject from both sides. I'm not trying to convince anybody, it's food for thought.
"Nothing wrong with how things were", no, but then there was nothing "wrong" with horse-drawn carriages, or manual chokes, or cassette tapes. There's no reason we can't try to make little improvements.
Not sure what you're getting at with the climate control example. If I want to change the temperature I simply rotate the temperature dial as needed. If I need to blast the windscreen (which I don't because it's heated - but if I did) I press the windscreen blast button. Erm...
Also not sure I understand your radio/DAB example. Bluetooth does not preclude the other music sources.
Tyre pressures and safety indicators, no petrolheads like you and I don't need those reminders. But the majority of people *are* stupid (or to be fair to them, just completely disinterested in such things, like I am with my washing machine) and it's a lowest common denominator type thing. I will happily accept a superfluous tyre pressure reminder, if it means there is much less chance of coming across Mavis driving toward me on a country road with 3psi in two of her tyres.
Lowtimer said:
Not necessarily. Just had the factory paint off my 17 year old which had been quite badly beaten up cosmetically under previous ownership. There were scratches and minor dents and bird-poo etched craters all over it, and 160K miles of chips and dinks. It had quite a few surface blisters and scabs on it, rear arches, tailgate, couple on the sills and A pillars. Looking at it hard last autumn I thought it was time to get on top of it before it started really getting its teeth into the car, and I was braced to find at least one horror story somewhere, because that's always what you seem to find when you take the paint off a car. But, apart from the bonnet leading edge where stonechips had gone untreated for years under previous owners (easily replaced by a solid one off a scrapper for £30) there was nothing serious on the car at all. All the scabs and spots were purely light surface stuff which wire-brushed straight off to shiny metal. I think it was more down to poor paint prep on the original paint job than anything else. We didn't have to weld anything at all and there wasn't a single hole anywhere. I put new factory wings on just because it seemed a shame not to while the car was in pieces, but tbh the old ones would have cleaned up as easily as the rear arches did.
Underneath it was all completely solid too.
How much were the BMW wings if you don't mind me asking? Planning to refresh mine next year as it needs a little bit of paint sorting and the offside wing has some little bubbles coming through on the arch.Underneath it was all completely solid too.
BTW an E39 has got quite a lot of electronics in it. But they've been around long enough that people have worked out what's going to break and made software tools to talk to all the modules, which takes away the scare factor.
Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 21st February 13:35
Venturist said:
Really? I unlock the door with the keyfob
Ubiquitous for a quarter of a century.Venturiat said:
or maybe just by being near the car if I have keyless entry. I jump in the seat, I depress the brake or clutch, I press the start button, no fiddling with keys required.
What does that actually add? Woo. It means you can leave your keys in your pocket/handbag, rather than having to press a button to unlock the car, then insert the key and give it a little turn. Do you actually manage to get into your house when you get home?Venturiat said:
The climate control is already set how I like so no need to fiddle there, the cabin will get up to my preferred temp automatically
Not unusual in the 1980s.Venturiat said:
and that's assuming I haven't started the car from my phone to get it warmed up in advance.
To do that would be illegal in the UK.Venturiat said:
It automatically connects to my phone via Bluetooth and starts playing my music without me having to touch anything.
Cheap and easy aftermarket a decade ago.Venturiat said:
Heated seat/windscreen/wheel is one button press away.
Not unusual in the 1980s.Venturiat said:
Info screens are there if I'm curious about how many miles I've got left in the tank or anything else.
Fuel gauges have been ubiquitous for most of the last century.Venturiat said:
I pop the box into Drive, and the handbrake is disengaged automatically as soon as I press the accelerator.
What does that actually add? Can you not manually lift that little lever?There's far too much "because we can" technology, and it's becoming commonplace primarily because of spec-sheet bling feeding into complacency and indolence.
Venturist said:
I can leave you to your echo chamber if you like, but I thought it interesting to discuss the subject from both sides. I'm not trying to convince anybody, it's food for thought.
"Nothing wrong with how things were", no, but then there was nothing "wrong" with horse-drawn carriages, or manual chokes, or cassette tapes. There's no reason we can't try to make little improvements.
It's fine, I do understand both sides, having experienced these gadgets in use in the real world in friend's cars. I have one friend who de-activates the electronic handbrake in his Citroen and waits for the confirmation on the infotainment screen that it has successfully been released before pulling away. Talk about overcomplicating a process. How is that progress over manually dropping a handbrake? Toomany2cvs hits the nail on the nail on the head with the phrase of 'because we can' technology, that's only there for that very reason."Nothing wrong with how things were", no, but then there was nothing "wrong" with horse-drawn carriages, or manual chokes, or cassette tapes. There's no reason we can't try to make little improvements.
It's a shame you seem to think those with a mindset to me are against progress, as we're not. I do see the appeal in air con/climate control as opposed to winding down a window, and (to some extent) EFI over manual chokes but it's change and tech for change and tech's sake that I don't agree with.
Toyoda said:
It's fine, I do understand both sides, having experienced these gadgets in use in the real world in friend's cars. I have one friend who de-activates the electronic handbrake in his Citroen and waits for the confirmation on the infotainment screen that it has successfully been released before pulling away. Talk about overcomplicating a process. How is that progress over manually dropping a handbrake?
Misusing something doesn't make it bad.wst said:
isusing something doesn't make it bad.
How is it misusing? When you push the release button there's a marked delay in the cable releasing. You can hear it whirr while it disengages so it's sensible to do as the car tells you and wait until it has confirmed that it has done what you asked it to do. I mention a Citroen but it's the same in VAG cars I've been in. In the Citroen, I would guess that it would release automatically when you pull away (as it does in the others), but sometimes there is a need to manually press the release button, as opposed to pulling away. As I say, how is adding so many supplementary stages of complication a step forward. Because it's designed for normal operation to be "lift clutch when in gear, and it disengages".
You can use Microsoft Word to make posters, but it's not the intended use of Microsoft Word and so complaining about how it's a hassle to use to make posters is, frankly, silly.
(The purpose of an electronic handbrake is for better cabin packaging, just like how some autos have column shifters as they don't need a mechanical linkage in the floor to take up boatloads of room...)
You can use Microsoft Word to make posters, but it's not the intended use of Microsoft Word and so complaining about how it's a hassle to use to make posters is, frankly, silly.
(The purpose of an electronic handbrake is for better cabin packaging, just like how some autos have column shifters as they don't need a mechanical linkage in the floor to take up boatloads of room...)
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