One make/model forums
Discussion
Has anyone else found that UK one make/model owner forums are all bloody awful? The ones I have to refer to most often are:
UK Jaguar Forum - pompous old farts usually with no technical knowledge, cliquey as hell, mostly boring ownership stories that include polishing the car a lot;
US Jaguar Forum - knowledgeable very keen to offer real in depth help;
UK Volvo Forum - same as Jaguar but without the polishing. True hatred of any model newer than their own;
US Volvo Forums - fixing things with string and glue with great technical knowledge, very keen to share;
UK MX5 OC - like the "Ask a total prick from an internet forum" piece on SniffPetrol. I remember when the NC came out half the forum rushed to pour scorn on it for every trivial detail, seizing on every way their NA/NB with holes in it could be considered better, and now they do the same for the ND. Bleating about how influential the MX5 "community" is so Mazda should take note. Right-o mate, they really care about the 4th owner buying it for £4k market; and
US Miata forum - dead helpful and very knowledgeable, great love for all the models and recognition that they all serve a budget/desire
Is this just because of the petty and envious nature of many Brits, or have I just been unlucky in buying cars owned by w
kers 
UK Jaguar Forum - pompous old farts usually with no technical knowledge, cliquey as hell, mostly boring ownership stories that include polishing the car a lot;
US Jaguar Forum - knowledgeable very keen to offer real in depth help;
UK Volvo Forum - same as Jaguar but without the polishing. True hatred of any model newer than their own;
US Volvo Forums - fixing things with string and glue with great technical knowledge, very keen to share;
UK MX5 OC - like the "Ask a total prick from an internet forum" piece on SniffPetrol. I remember when the NC came out half the forum rushed to pour scorn on it for every trivial detail, seizing on every way their NA/NB with holes in it could be considered better, and now they do the same for the ND. Bleating about how influential the MX5 "community" is so Mazda should take note. Right-o mate, they really care about the 4th owner buying it for £4k market; and
US Miata forum - dead helpful and very knowledgeable, great love for all the models and recognition that they all serve a budget/desire
Is this just because of the petty and envious nature of many Brits, or have I just been unlucky in buying cars owned by w
kers I'm a member of a Vauxhall forum which is also a club, and they've been absolutely tremendous. Very welcoming, encouraging and they organize a few friendly events (which I've yet to attend).
They didn't even mind when I ripped apart a car (to use on track) that I imagine they'd like to see preserved.
But then I don't think many Vauxhall owners have a superiority complex.
They didn't even mind when I ripped apart a car (to use on track) that I imagine they'd like to see preserved.
But then I don't think many Vauxhall owners have a superiority complex.
I used to be a member of a UK site for Seat Cupra cars, this was back in the day when the current generation was the Cupra R 225, which I owned at the time. Lots of photo guides on how to do jobs, good technical knowledge and helpful members for fault diagnosis and fixes, some good modification and tuning info.
It was otherwise dull though. Back then there were only a handful of Cupra cars so there wasn't much to talk about. I only used it for the technical stuff and never visited it again after I sold the Cupra R to buy a Civic Type R.
It was otherwise dull though. Back then there were only a handful of Cupra cars so there wasn't much to talk about. I only used it for the technical stuff and never visited it again after I sold the Cupra R to buy a Civic Type R.
Lotus 7 Club site went from brilliant to very frustrating - There used to be some real characters on there, as well as a wealth of knowledge on just about anything. The usual spats and fall outs, but then got ruined by an 'Mr I reply to every thread' character, as well as a move to a members only forum, and a data migration that seemed to lose a load of the hugely valuable old Tech Talk posts. So, loads of people left for a Facebook group.
Sold my Se7en a few years ago, and no longer use it - not sure if anything has changed for the better.
Sold my Se7en a few years ago, and no longer use it - not sure if anything has changed for the better.
Boxa.net (Porsche Boxster forum) is great. Good bunch of folks on there, some really knowledgable ones too. Not cliquey, and debates generally offer more intelligence/considered responses than the mire that most GG PH ones after a couple of pages of posts end up in.
Camaro5 is mainly US based, but also pretty good.
MR2 one was good years ago, but not been there for a long time.
I think you might have been unlucky
Camaro5 is mainly US based, but also pretty good.
MR2 one was good years ago, but not been there for a long time.
I think you might have been unlucky
As above, cliosport has always been a good source of advice including very specific info on the cup race cars which we own and had ecu problems with.
Seloc is great, loads of people from here on there judging by usernames, wealth of technical info, vendors posting on help topics without pushing a sale, never preachy and always good banter.
Lotus talk (us site). A hell of a lot of tech info and diy guides, largely as the us owners have little/no dealer network to support them. Helpful but can be hard to get a Brit sense of humour across, they don’t do banter.
Seloc is great, loads of people from here on there judging by usernames, wealth of technical info, vendors posting on help topics without pushing a sale, never preachy and always good banter.
Lotus talk (us site). A hell of a lot of tech info and diy guides, largely as the us owners have little/no dealer network to support them. Helpful but can be hard to get a Brit sense of humour across, they don’t do banter.
In my experience any time adults organise around a single area for leisure purposes it turns into a complete nightmare.
The only one marque forum I occasionally frequented was an Integrale one years ago and it was puerile and divisive.
I could never figure out why a bunch of strangers would waste hundreds of hours every year being nasty to each other and barely mention the actual subject they were supposed to be there for once.
The only one marque forum I occasionally frequented was an Integrale one years ago and it was puerile and divisive.
I could never figure out why a bunch of strangers would waste hundreds of hours every year being nasty to each other and barely mention the actual subject they were supposed to be there for once.
MB here 
Some of the UK forums are a bit poncey, some are OK. But the US forums are very well informed and frequented.
I think it's a combination of bigger population, more Mercs sold, and enthusiastic self reliant owners. They have big well equipped garages, love doing manly stuff with tools and cars, filming and uploading it.
A cultural thing.
Some of the UK forums are a bit poncey, some are OK. But the US forums are very well informed and frequented.
I think it's a combination of bigger population, more Mercs sold, and enthusiastic self reliant owners. They have big well equipped garages, love doing manly stuff with tools and cars, filming and uploading it.
A cultural thing.
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