Stupid things non petrolheads say....
Discussion
HereBeMonsters said:
Early last year, girl at work bought a brand new Fiat 500. No idea how, because I know how little she is paid, but the £199 a month seemed like a bargain to her, to replace her Mum's old Civic ("it needs new tyres and brakes soon, which I just can't afford") with something shiny.
Now she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
Please keep us updated on thisNow she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
Track Rod said:
Colleague is looking to buy a new car:
Colleague: 'I'd really like to get a Golf'
Me: 'Why a Golf?'
Colleague: 'Cos they're really fast, aren't they?'
Me: 'Well, it depends on which model'
Colleague: 'No, I've been in my mate's Golf, it's really fast'
I.Give.Up.
..I love this thread!!
Convince him to buy the most weedy Golf there is then laugh at him Colleague: 'I'd really like to get a Golf'
Me: 'Why a Golf?'
Colleague: 'Cos they're really fast, aren't they?'
Me: 'Well, it depends on which model'
Colleague: 'No, I've been in my mate's Golf, it's really fast'
I.Give.Up.
..I love this thread!!
ORD said:
over_the_hill said:
Dr Jekyll said:
Must admit I preferred my instructors principle back in the 70s. 'Only change gear when you can't think of anything more useful to do'.
There is an element of sense in that. If you are turning a corner, negotiating any other hazard, overtaking etc. then you shouldn't really be changing gear in the middle of it.The problem, though, is that modern students don't seem to be taught to think about what they are doing to the car, nor about what the car is trying to tell them. They just drive "by the numbers" and are surprised when sometimes scary things happen, as they have no concept of how to re-establish control over a wayward motor car.
I agree. I have spoken to people who drive fast but don't know which wheels of their car are driven, let alone what to do if they encounter dangerous understeer, etc.
Constant speed is the most stable state, presumably - no acceleration or deceleration to change the distribution of mass and grip between front and back. I try to keep speed constant mid-corner. I might be wrong.
Constant speed is the most stable state, presumably - no acceleration or deceleration to change the distribution of mass and grip between front and back. I try to keep speed constant mid-corner. I might be wrong.
This is in danger of getting moved to the 'advanced driving' thread 
I was taught to get into a suitable gear for the upcoming corner, one that gives a degree of control and flexibility (clue: it won't usually be fifth/sixth) and to set speed for what you can see ahead. If you need to brake to achieve that, get the braking done before you begin to turn the wheel. If, on entering the corner, it opens out, apply throttle to take advantage of the additional view you have. If the corner tightens, ease off the throttle, as (assuming your gear choice was a good one) you'll not need brakes to slow mid-corner. It's the absolute bottom line of driving, really - drive only on the portion of the carriageway which you can see to be clear, and can reasonably assume will remain clear. Anything else is "too fast", regardless of what the little signs with numbers on are telling you.
ETA: My driving instructor, Barbara, was awesome. She didn't like dawdlers, got us out onto 'A' roads and DCs as much as possible, and somehow managed to instill confidence into us, but without arrogance. She also raced MGs at weekends, and was pretty good at that, too. Two weeks of instruction, 3 students to a car, meant I had about 25 hours of instruction at the wheel but, because we were sat in the back when the other two students were driving, I got to 'earwig' on 50 more hours of instruction, and to see the mistakes others made first hand.
Having to take the test 3 times helped knock any idea about my "driving God" status out of me. (Unduly hesitant at roundabouts was first fail, second was 'examiner had to intervene for safety reasons' because I went too far the other way. I put it down to pressure/nerves, and Babs argued my case for me, and only her report got me a reprieve, and a third test. I owe her a lot, and wish all instructors were like her).
I was taught to get into a suitable gear for the upcoming corner, one that gives a degree of control and flexibility (clue: it won't usually be fifth/sixth) and to set speed for what you can see ahead. If you need to brake to achieve that, get the braking done before you begin to turn the wheel. If, on entering the corner, it opens out, apply throttle to take advantage of the additional view you have. If the corner tightens, ease off the throttle, as (assuming your gear choice was a good one) you'll not need brakes to slow mid-corner. It's the absolute bottom line of driving, really - drive only on the portion of the carriageway which you can see to be clear, and can reasonably assume will remain clear. Anything else is "too fast", regardless of what the little signs with numbers on are telling you.
ETA: My driving instructor, Barbara, was awesome. She didn't like dawdlers, got us out onto 'A' roads and DCs as much as possible, and somehow managed to instill confidence into us, but without arrogance. She also raced MGs at weekends, and was pretty good at that, too. Two weeks of instruction, 3 students to a car, meant I had about 25 hours of instruction at the wheel but, because we were sat in the back when the other two students were driving, I got to 'earwig' on 50 more hours of instruction, and to see the mistakes others made first hand.
Having to take the test 3 times helped knock any idea about my "driving God" status out of me. (Unduly hesitant at roundabouts was first fail, second was 'examiner had to intervene for safety reasons' because I went too far the other way. I put it down to pressure/nerves, and Babs argued my case for me, and only her report got me a reprieve, and a third test. I owe her a lot, and wish all instructors were like her).
Edited by yellowjack on Wednesday 18th June 21:20
HereBeMonsters said:
Early last year, girl at work bought a brand new Fiat 500. No idea how, because I know how little she is paid, but the £199 a month seemed like a bargain to her, to replace her Mum's old Civic ("it needs new tyres and brakes soon, which I just can't afford") with something shiny.
Now she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
So she doesn't get the fact that she never paid a £7000 sum? She and the friend are going to be very out of pocket....Now she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
BHC said:
HereBeMonsters said:
Early last year, girl at work bought a brand new Fiat 500. No idea how, because I know how little she is paid, but the £199 a month seemed like a bargain to her, to replace her Mum's old Civic ("it needs new tyres and brakes soon, which I just can't afford") with something shiny.
Now she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
So she doesn't get the fact that she never paid a £7000 sum? She and the friend are going to be very out of pocket....Now she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
sparkyhx said:
BHC said:
HereBeMonsters said:
Early last year, girl at work bought a brand new Fiat 500. No idea how, because I know how little she is paid, but the £199 a month seemed like a bargain to her, to replace her Mum's old Civic ("it needs new tyres and brakes soon, which I just can't afford") with something shiny.
Now she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
So she doesn't get the fact that she never paid a £7000 sum? She and the friend are going to be very out of pocket....Now she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
I've met a few of these 'old cars are too expensive so I'll finance a new car' types. Never sure whether they are stupid or simply dishonest with themselves. If they want to finance a new Corsa then I've no problem with that.
At work the other week a colleague was telling me her Qashqai +2 is surprisingly fast. Upon enquiring what engine it had she told me it was a 1.5 turbo diesel. Definitely faster than my old BMW because it's newer.
At work the other week a colleague was telling me her Qashqai +2 is surprisingly fast. Upon enquiring what engine it had she told me it was a 1.5 turbo diesel. Definitely faster than my old BMW because it's newer.
Bungleaio said:
sparkyhx said:
BHC said:
HereBeMonsters said:
Early last year, girl at work bought a brand new Fiat 500. No idea how, because I know how little she is paid, but the £199 a month seemed like a bargain to her, to replace her Mum's old Civic ("it needs new tyres and brakes soon, which I just can't afford") with something shiny.
Now she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
So she doesn't get the fact that she never paid a £7000 sum? She and the friend are going to be very out of pocket....Now she's accidentally up the duff, and she wants to buy a small house with her boyfriend. Sold the Fiat to get money for the deposit, she's got his 07 plate Corsa to get to work with, as he commutes on the train now.
She's now asking my advice, as she's stopped making her car payments because "I don't have the car anymore". No amount of trying to explain that she has the value of the car in her bank account will make her see. She's asking for the number of a friend of mine who's a lawyer to "take these people to court to stop harassing me".
How she sold it with finance owing, I have no idea, but she got around £7k for it, so far more than she's paid on the finance so far. I think she sold it to a mate of a mate, and now thinks the person who bought it off her should be paying for it. She just does not understand the concept.
In the meantime I've told her she has to pay the finance company the outstanding payments (she's cancelled the direct debit herself) or she'll be finding it very difficult to get a mortgage. She's still indignant that "this has happened to me". She's going to speak to her Dad about it tonight. I will report back.
HereBeMonsters said:
To be honest, I don't quite understand how this works either - does she have to keep paying the monthly, or can she use the £7k she got for selling it to pay it off in one go? I don't think there's a balloon at the end - I warned her against such things when she bought it, and it was a very basic model pre-registered by the dealer.
Depends on the agreement, but usually they can be settled early if you have the readies. May work out cheaper to settle or not depending on how the interest is calculated.Hearing non-motorbikers say "Oh, I'd love a bike, but I wouldn't ride one, I'd kill myself on one".
What is that all about? Usually uttered by someone who drives a prosaic diesel family car. What, you're soooooo crazy that you couldn't trust yourself to five minutes on a bike without dying three times over? Is it that they're scared of getting on a bike, their judgement clouded by pre-conceived notions about the inherent dangers of bikes?
I've heard this one a few times recently, as well as other people saying "careful on that bike; deathtraps, the lot of them...". Yes, there is something mystifying about piloting something that won't balance under it's own steam, and accident statistics are skewed by reckless young riders coming a cropper quickly, or the stereotypical DAS BAB having a nasty accident on the back of their brand new Ducati.
The funniest thing is that some of the people who make these comments are dreadful drivers, suffering from SUV-mentality, as they call it in America: crash, but avoid the results. Most bikers ride to the anti-SUV mentality, namely concentrate and avoid accidents entirely. The funniest thing is that I've even heard this line from petrolheads, a long time CTR owner no less! He craves racey handling, high bhp/weight ratios, revvy N/A engines and outright thrills, apparently like many a petrolhead bored with heavy, numb turbo 4 pot cars. He should try a bike!
What is that all about? Usually uttered by someone who drives a prosaic diesel family car. What, you're soooooo crazy that you couldn't trust yourself to five minutes on a bike without dying three times over? Is it that they're scared of getting on a bike, their judgement clouded by pre-conceived notions about the inherent dangers of bikes?
I've heard this one a few times recently, as well as other people saying "careful on that bike; deathtraps, the lot of them...". Yes, there is something mystifying about piloting something that won't balance under it's own steam, and accident statistics are skewed by reckless young riders coming a cropper quickly, or the stereotypical DAS BAB having a nasty accident on the back of their brand new Ducati.
The funniest thing is that some of the people who make these comments are dreadful drivers, suffering from SUV-mentality, as they call it in America: crash, but avoid the results. Most bikers ride to the anti-SUV mentality, namely concentrate and avoid accidents entirely. The funniest thing is that I've even heard this line from petrolheads, a long time CTR owner no less! He craves racey handling, high bhp/weight ratios, revvy N/A engines and outright thrills, apparently like many a petrolhead bored with heavy, numb turbo 4 pot cars. He should try a bike!
m444ttb said:
I've met a few of these 'old cars are too expensive so I'll finance a new car' types. Never sure whether they are stupid or simply dishonest with themselves. If they want to finance a new Corsa then I've no problem with that.
At work the other week a colleague was telling me her Qashqai +2 is surprisingly fast. Upon enquiring what engine it had she told me it was a 1.5 turbo diesel. Definitely faster than my old BMW because it's newer.
This makes me angry-ish just reading it. And the worst thing is all these comments people make, they're being dead serious and somehow it seems non-petrolheads are always correct.At work the other week a colleague was telling me her Qashqai +2 is surprisingly fast. Upon enquiring what engine it had she told me it was a 1.5 turbo diesel. Definitely faster than my old BMW because it's newer.
m444ttb said:
I've met a few of these 'old cars are too expensive so I'll finance a new car' types. Never sure whether they are stupid or simply dishonest with themselves. If they want to finance a new Corsa then I've no problem with that.
My conversation with someone who leases a new Vectra every few years is they need to know what the monthly cost is so they can included it in their budget. If it goes wrong the dealer will sort it.Will not listen to the fact that the money saved could be put into the bank to more than deal with any problems that may happen.
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