Same "premium" make car club experiences
Discussion
I'm wondering if anyone else finds same make car clubs to be be exceptionally cliquey. I've been a member or a boxster forum and a Maserati forum and on both websites I've been poo pooed, talked down to, had false claims made by others and quite frankly rude behaviour from the get go.
Compare that to "lesser" car brands and there's never been an issue. I'm welcomed, I feel my contribution is accepted even though I still share the same views.
In both examples I own(ed) a car where lots of newbies could benefit from my experiences with it, and despite being completely open about specific challenges, I end up with hostilities that are completely unnecessary and a reason why I'm on neither forum now.
I'm bemused by this experience and the one place is have thought would have this is on a multi brand website not a singular one.
Does anyone else have this type of experience?
Compare that to "lesser" car brands and there's never been an issue. I'm welcomed, I feel my contribution is accepted even though I still share the same views.
In both examples I own(ed) a car where lots of newbies could benefit from my experiences with it, and despite being completely open about specific challenges, I end up with hostilities that are completely unnecessary and a reason why I'm on neither forum now.
I'm bemused by this experience and the one place is have thought would have this is on a multi brand website not a singular one.
Does anyone else have this type of experience?
It's like everything - some are good clubs and other are less good. I have been a member of quite a few over the years and met some total weirdos (!).
At the end of the day, yes you may drive the same car as someone else but if that's all you have in common then it's a bit of a waste of time. I am not bothered about fixing cars and some club members get off on that sort of thing. I once made the mistake of going to Le Mans Classic with a certain car club - what a laugh that was.
Each to their own and all that.
At the end of the day, yes you may drive the same car as someone else but if that's all you have in common then it's a bit of a waste of time. I am not bothered about fixing cars and some club members get off on that sort of thing. I once made the mistake of going to Le Mans Classic with a certain car club - what a laugh that was.
Each to their own and all that.
SidewaysSi said:
It's like everything - some are good clubs and other are less good. I have been a member of quite a few over the years and met some total weirdos (!).
My findings also. Very hard to break it down by make or 'prestige' level. Even the type of car.Most of mine have been online but there have been some meet ups.
BMW M140i owners club on Facebook was my low point. Chock full of argumentative, trolling bellends to the point that i left after only a few months. The i30N group however is friendly and super helpful, despite the same platform, same type of car, same mix of modders and non-modders, ages, backgrounds etc. All questions get loads of genuine help and advice, and they organise regular meet ups which always go off without incident.
I think the reason you flounced off the Maserati forum is that you poo pooed the well meant good advice you were given at the time and came across as rude and obnoxious yourself. No doubt you probably won’t agree, but that’s certainly how it looked.
The depth of knowledge on there is incredible and well worth taking advantage of
The depth of knowledge on there is incredible and well worth taking advantage of
SidewaysSi said:
It's like everything - some are good clubs and other are less good. I have been a member of quite a few over the years and met some total weirdos (!).
At the end of the day, yes you may drive the same car as someone else but if that's all you have in common then it's a bit of a waste of time. I am not bothered about fixing cars and some club members get off on that sort of thing. I once made the mistake of going to Le Mans Classic with a certain car club - what a laugh that was.
Each to their own and all that.
Yes indeed. There does seem to be a collective of focusing on fixing cars in whatever form that looks like. At the end of the day, yes you may drive the same car as someone else but if that's all you have in common then it's a bit of a waste of time. I am not bothered about fixing cars and some club members get off on that sort of thing. I once made the mistake of going to Le Mans Classic with a certain car club - what a laugh that was.
Each to their own and all that.
It's certainly not a trend I've noticed on PH and previously when there were more mixed car clubs.
Certainly on the Porsche GB forum, I was treated like an underling when I mentioned my previous car to the Carrera was a Subaru STi.
You could feel the snobbery of some who probably couldn't tell one end of a spanner from another but could afford the latest GT2, one ended up getting quite racist (which was odd).
Just ignored it.
You could feel the snobbery of some who probably couldn't tell one end of a spanner from another but could afford the latest GT2, one ended up getting quite racist (which was odd).
Just ignored it.
[
What's the saying? If you keep meeting people who are a pain in the arse maybe they're not the problem?P5BNij said:
I think the reason you flounced off the Maserati forum is that you poo pooed the well meant good advice you were given at the time and came across as rude and obnoxious yourself. No doubt you probably won’t agree, but that’s certainly how it looked.
The depth of knowledge on there is incredible and well worth taking advantage of
quote=Mr Spoon]I knew you would pipe up with your rubbish. The depth of knowledge on there is incredible and well worth taking advantage of
Not sure about "premium make car clubs" because I'm not sure I've ever owned a "premium make car" but I've generally found most single make car clubs to be pretty much as you'd expect - huge pools of useful technical knowledge but also full of very loud people who are entirely invested in the brand in question and hence will go mental if someone says anything bad (or indeed objective) about them. And yes they can be pretty cliquey.
That's certainly just as true of the Lotus forums I've used as the Skoda ones so I don't really think it's a snobbery thing. The one club it wasn't true of was the MG owners club, curiously, although that might simply be because it's been about 15 years since I was a member.
That's certainly just as true of the Lotus forums I've used as the Skoda ones so I don't really think it's a snobbery thing. The one club it wasn't true of was the MG owners club, curiously, although that might simply be because it's been about 15 years since I was a member.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 14th December 07:31
Gary C said:
Certainly on the Porsche GB forum, I was treated like an underling when I mentioned my previous car to the Carrera was a Subaru STi.
You could feel the snobbery of some who probably couldn't tell one end of a spanner from another but could afford the latest GT2, one ended up getting quite racist (which was odd).
Just ignored it.
Yea it's all a bit weird. I found the Caterham club a bit err, interesting!You could feel the snobbery of some who probably couldn't tell one end of a spanner from another but could afford the latest GT2, one ended up getting quite racist (which was odd).
Just ignored it.
Gary C said:
Certainly on the Porsche GB forum, I was treated like an underling when I mentioned my previous car to the Carrera was a Subaru STi.
You could feel the snobbery of some who probably couldn't tell one end of a spanner from another but could afford the latest GT2, one ended up getting quite racist (which was odd).
Just ignored it.
Yes, I found a lot of hierarchical nonsense on there too. I stopped going to meet-ups as I couldn’t stand the cliques - you were pretty much ignored with a lowly Boxster. The GT boys were treated like royalty and might as well have been standing in their own roped off area. You could feel the snobbery of some who probably couldn't tell one end of a spanner from another but could afford the latest GT2, one ended up getting quite racist (which was odd).
Just ignored it.
Seems to me like there's been a personality clash in this case. OPs initial description reads like he was expecting established forum members to immediately respect his as an expert - which is never going to happen.
That said, some places are just full of w
kers. I've been to neither forum so couldn't say.
The way I try to live my life is if it smells of poo everywhere I walk, I check my own shoes first...
That said, some places are just full of w
kers. I've been to neither forum so couldn't say.The way I try to live my life is if it smells of poo everywhere I walk, I check my own shoes first...
Edited by Baldchap on Tuesday 14th December 08:19
Fiesta ST group on FB, always quite amusing, usually Kyles and Kaydens asking about Decats and stage three turbos on a car insured as a standard one, plus added pops and bangs, they also really like the word "Nonce" and drop it in everywhere, whether in context or not, generally friendly, spelling is atrocious, crashes frequent and sometimes inexplicable, obviously if it doesnt get nicked first.
MLite BMW group, full of throbbers in otherwise standard leased M140i's (at the time) tuned to 450 bhp, usually replete with a number plate with FU or similar in it, generally had the impression they were one payment from bankruptcy despite pretending otherwise. Big obsession with spec/options.
350Z FB group, was American biased, lots of angry chaps with guns, one had a neighbour ask him to be a little quiet when returning in the wee small hours, he claimed to have done donuts on his lawn as a response, maybe sometimes just listen to what someone says instead of taking anything that can be considered criticism as massively negative and react against it aggressively.
Audit TT UK, very friendly, good bunch, united against a common foe, the MK1 TT and its strange ways.
MLite BMW group, full of throbbers in otherwise standard leased M140i's (at the time) tuned to 450 bhp, usually replete with a number plate with FU or similar in it, generally had the impression they were one payment from bankruptcy despite pretending otherwise. Big obsession with spec/options.
350Z FB group, was American biased, lots of angry chaps with guns, one had a neighbour ask him to be a little quiet when returning in the wee small hours, he claimed to have done donuts on his lawn as a response, maybe sometimes just listen to what someone says instead of taking anything that can be considered criticism as massively negative and react against it aggressively.
Audit TT UK, very friendly, good bunch, united against a common foe, the MK1 TT and its strange ways.
RS246 was a turning point for me, when I was researching an RS6 purchase.
I never posted much past the introduce yourself stage (3-4 posts) before seeing how the longer term members seemed to be on a right power trip, with anyone else who happened along.
Biggest bunch of self obsessed morons outside of a flat roofed pub.
I never posted much past the introduce yourself stage (3-4 posts) before seeing how the longer term members seemed to be on a right power trip, with anyone else who happened along.
Biggest bunch of self obsessed morons outside of a flat roofed pub.
Mitsubishi Lancer Register - seemed inclusive to start with but quickly seemed to be just the 'old boys' who didn't want to welcome in the newer crowd
Evo owners on FB - pretty useful/helpful but full of part time bedroom traders trying to over inflate prices when selling and undercut people when buying
R53 mini group - again useful and helpful when needed but full of some very interesting characters who I assume are quite lonely in the real world
MK3 Focus RS group - never any drama but over 50% of topics are around the values of cars which becomes tiresome
Evo owners on FB - pretty useful/helpful but full of part time bedroom traders trying to over inflate prices when selling and undercut people when buying
R53 mini group - again useful and helpful when needed but full of some very interesting characters who I assume are quite lonely in the real world
MK3 Focus RS group - never any drama but over 50% of topics are around the values of cars which becomes tiresome
3 perfect examples of how different groups can be:
1) The 106 Rallye owners group - a 1500-car run will never spawn a big group, but they're the friendliest, best group of car enthusiasts I've ever met. Always willing to share help, on day gatherings if someone has a problem everyone rallies round with tools and parts etc, fantastic.
2) Fiesta ST150 owners - the expected mix of chavs, weirdos and normal folks, mostly OK but some dodgy folks remapping and engine-swapping without telling their insurance etc. Yet at their core still pretty helpful etc.
3) Jaguar X150 owners club - almost exclusively stocked with boomer Geralds who are new to social media and either parrot ridiculous untruths from the car world, or refute anyone else's opinion. Lots of naming of cars, lots of leapers retrofitted.
1) The 106 Rallye owners group - a 1500-car run will never spawn a big group, but they're the friendliest, best group of car enthusiasts I've ever met. Always willing to share help, on day gatherings if someone has a problem everyone rallies round with tools and parts etc, fantastic.
2) Fiesta ST150 owners - the expected mix of chavs, weirdos and normal folks, mostly OK but some dodgy folks remapping and engine-swapping without telling their insurance etc. Yet at their core still pretty helpful etc.
3) Jaguar X150 owners club - almost exclusively stocked with boomer Geralds who are new to social media and either parrot ridiculous untruths from the car world, or refute anyone else's opinion. Lots of naming of cars, lots of leapers retrofitted.
I've posted about this before in the context of how awful UK based Jaguar forums are, with a lot of clueless Geralds talking about polishing cloths and sharing pics of diesel X-Types with stick on chrome bits, whereas on US forums you have people rebuilding gearboxes on the kitchen table, trawling proper old scrap yards for bits, and machining new parts for NLA stuff.
It's the same with Mercedes Benz; "enthusiasts" talking about "upgrading" the interior lights in their C220d to LEDs in the UK and proper serious car enthusiasts in the US cobbling together new hydraulic lines to get ABC working and changing the timing chains on a quad cam V8 on the driveway in the snow.
If you want any real technical help you need to be on a US based forum IMHO.
One exception, and I guess it's down to age of the model, the ND MX5 forums are particularly awful, with middle aged men giving their car infantile names and using them in every post, Americans with fully working limbs discussing the merits of the automatic transmission MX5 (
), and long threads about the mad ass times when you took your car over 3500RPM.
It's the same with Mercedes Benz; "enthusiasts" talking about "upgrading" the interior lights in their C220d to LEDs in the UK and proper serious car enthusiasts in the US cobbling together new hydraulic lines to get ABC working and changing the timing chains on a quad cam V8 on the driveway in the snow.
If you want any real technical help you need to be on a US based forum IMHO.
One exception, and I guess it's down to age of the model, the ND MX5 forums are particularly awful, with middle aged men giving their car infantile names and using them in every post, Americans with fully working limbs discussing the merits of the automatic transmission MX5 (
), and long threads about the mad ass times when you took your car over 3500RPM.The way I've read posts by the OP on both this and the Maserati forum has certainly shown up what looks to me like inconsistencies.
I believe that the crux of the argument is about subframes. The OP thinks it's a non-issue and massively overblown. The consensus on the Maserati forum is that it could be a massive PITA.
Then, on Pistonheads, the OP posts about his Maserati having the subframe treated for rust, and gearing up to get his car back in 2024.
I believe that the crux of the argument is about subframes. The OP thinks it's a non-issue and massively overblown. The consensus on the Maserati forum is that it could be a massive PITA.
Then, on Pistonheads, the OP posts about his Maserati having the subframe treated for rust, and gearing up to get his car back in 2024.
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