Things I Don't Like

[TomsFocus]

The DVLA shutdown this weekend was very odd, it was planned in advance, but they shut down pretty much everything altogether, made it awkward for anyone buying cars this weekend!  

As for Doctors...it can't take that long to become a GP, all they seem to do is refer you to a real Doctor...  Obviously if you're a specialist surgeon that takes a while, kind of important to get things right first time doing that though.  

You can just change the CV gaiter if no grit has got in there yet, don't need to change the whole joint.  

 

[zain611]

@TomsFocus planning I might change that gaitor then along with the auxiliary belt as that looks worn. Need to service the car and take it for MOT. Hopefully nothing comes up especially as I've done only around 2000 - 3000 miles since the last one lol.

Yesterday went out with the family and came off a dual carriageway. On the slip road have to go around to get off the junction but first have to give way to cars. My dad was driving and was on the left lane. Went around to go off then someone in a white Nissan micra quickly turned into his lane nearly clipping the car. At the traffic lights my dad went out his car and had a word with the driver. From what my dad said the driver said to him to go back in his car. After that incident my mum and even my dad said to me to never do that. That guy beforehand was on the dual carriageway driving fast in that little white shoe. After driving for 3 years I don't feel sorry for bad drivers and in my view I'd say my dad might of put a bit sense in him. It was a stubborn old guy so would be difficult for someone like that to change. 

[TomsFocus]

3 minutes ago, zain611 said:

@TomsFocus planning I might change that gaitor then along with the auxiliary belt as that looks worn. Need to service the car and take it for MOT. Hopefully nothing comes up especially as I've done only around 2000 - 3000 miles since the last one lol.

Yesterday went out with the family and came off a dual carriageway. On the slip road have to go around to get off the junction but first have to give way to cars. My dad was driving and was on the left lane. Went around to go off then someone in a white Nissan micra quickly turned into his lane nearly clipping the car. At the traffic lights my dad went out his car and had a word with the driver. From what my dad said the driver said to him to go back in his car. After that incident my mum and even my dad said to me to never do that. That guy beforehand was on the dual carriageway driving fast in that little white shoe. After driving for 3 years I don't feel sorry for bad drivers and in my view I'd say my dad might of put a bit sense in him. It was a stubborn old guy so would be difficult for someone like that to change. 

The aux belt on those engines is really easy so it's worth doing before it snaps if it's looking a bit crispy. Have a look at 'stretch boots' for the CV gaiter, saves having to remove the cv joint. just to change the gaiter.

I'd agree with your Mum about talking to bad drivers...you never know what people have got in their cars these days, baseball bat, machette, even just a hammer/screwdriver/Stanley knife can cause you major injuries.  It's just not worth it.  I worry about that in rural Suffolk...let alone London!!  

[zain611]

@TomsFocus thanks tom 👍 hopefully then those 2 bits will be changed when it gets serviced. MOT is due on the 7th but been busy with the room. 

Yeah when I first started driving I never cared about bad drivers but now after driving for 3 years and feeling 'comfortable' driving I just can't tolerate them now. I don't try to retaliate even though I think it would get their attention and put a bit of sense in them. Even my dad said to me yesterday after that 'don't do what I did' I'd say the one thing which really makes my blood boil is queue jumpers. I'm sure these people can get fined as they are driving on the wrong side of the road. 

[jace1969]

2 hours ago, zain611 said:

@Turvey I was looking at doing medicine as a degree but from what I've seen and heard it doesn't look great. Medical school is about 5 years from what I remember and you'd be around past your mid twenties when you graduate from there and you start off as a junior doctor. From there you'd slowly build yourself up as a proper doctor but you'd probably be near to or over your 40s when you become that which makes me wonder if it's worth it. Yeah pay is good but you'd have lived half your life just to get to that stage. I've learnt in college also a medicine degree has the most people committing suicide due to the large amount of stress people have to put up with. 

I also kind of don't like doctors. They don't really interact with people unless they have to. They are kind of reserved people which I don't like. I volunteer in my local hospital and found the nurses to be the nicest people. I'd say it comes down to academic life. Someone who dedicates their life to studying would just become socially retarded which can shape them when they get older. 

 

@iantt is that a common problem on the focus? On my fiesta I have to change the CV joint as the gator has slightly broke but not letting in dirt. Also need to get the MOT done. 

I agree with you here,i have been a carer for my mom and now my dad for over 15 years from the start and been to different hospitals and seen different consultants/doctors even our own GP's and never read from the same page,i have learn so much being hands on living 24/7 carer and been through training for a few hours on all different stuff which is involving the care side of stuff being elderly people my mom and now dad and being full on with there problems they had or dad has now.

We have better advice/help from our nurses that come round every week and they have helped me and advised me on stuff.

Im touching 50 now and the biggest life change i ever done was take on caring but the best feeling you get in the world being your parents and would never change anything.

[TomsFocus]

I don't like how quickly major things seems to change...

Been to the Ford dealer today for a wander around the over-priced cars...and found since I was last there they've built an entire new showroom across the car park for Peugeot and Citroen... 😮

Was disappointing tbh though, nothing really caught my eye as I was hoping it would.  Cheapest Focus' are over £9.5k and condition wasn't great either.

Also looked around Vauxhall and Kia (next door to Ford and PSA) bit nothing interesting there either.

Am I just getting to that age where I no longer like modern cars?

 

[iantt]

buy an old one then lol

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803084366098?radius=1500&postcode=wr112ln&year-to=1970&advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&sort=sponsored&year-from=1900&page=1

[zain611]

@iantt insurance probably would be cheaper for the zodiac as its a classic car. I don't think it would be a thrill to drive even though it has a 2.6.

Even for me it's hard to pick a newer car. I'm starting to like the newer 3 series but that's mainly because of its good 3 litre diesel engine. The latest audi A7 looks good but audi are overpriced compared to other German makes. Also kind of like the look of the latest mondeo ST line. 

 

When I saw the zetec s mk6 fiesta and that it came with a cheap to run diesel engine I quickly fell in love with it that I started looking for one 6 months later. Been over a year now owning it and hope I can keep it for many years. Its basically an ST but with different wheels, smaller engine and no ST badges on the seat and exterior. 

[iantt]

i was only joking about the zodiac. lol but no tax, no mot and cheap classic insurance of £80 a year. fuel would be the expensive part of owning an old ford. 

[TomsFocus]

9 hours ago, iantt said:

i was only joking about the zodiac. lol but no tax, no mot and cheap classic insurance of £80 a year. fuel would be the expensive part of owning an old ford. 

I really like the Zodiacs tbf, my Dad had a few back in the day as well lol.  There are a few really tidy ones that come to the local retro meets.  They sound great as well, not like todays cars that are basically silent due to noise regs.

That said, MOT and tax exempt is great until you have to actually drive the car...my mate's just bought an old Beetle...seems like a complete death trap atm!   So many MOT fails on a car that is still legally allowed on the road. 😮 

 

 

[TomsFocus]

10 hours ago, zain611 said:

@iantt insurance probably would be cheaper for the zodiac as its a classic car. I don't think it would be a thrill to drive even though it has a 2.6.

Even for me it's hard to pick a newer car. I'm starting to like the newer 3 series but that's mainly because of its good 3 litre diesel engine. The latest audi A7 looks good but audi are overpriced compared to other German makes. Also kind of like the look of the latest mondeo ST line. 

 

When I saw the zetec s mk6 fiesta and that it came with a cheap to run diesel engine I quickly fell in love with it that I started looking for one 6 months later. Been over a year now owning it and hope I can keep it for many years. Its basically an ST but with different wheels, smaller engine and no ST badges on the seat and exterior. 

It's not so much picking a new car, I know it has to be petrol and small capacity turbo...and in something with a smooth ride which really means Focus sized or bigger and with the sort of spec I want, so in practice it's basically got to be a 1.0 Focus Titanium lol. But when I went to buy the Mk2 it jumped out at me, I guess it was the xenons, privacy glass, chrome tailgate trim and full leather interior as options, it wasn't 'just another Focus'  which they all seem to be these days.  They don't seem to have any options, all just totally standard. The paint and interior trim don't seem to be so hard wearing either, a lot of wear on the steering wheel and gearknobs of 30k cars, and scratches and swirls in the paint.  £10k for that as well...  I did see a TitX privately for sale but that's still well above my budget sadly.  I'm also being put off the EBs with all the reliability issues, coolant issues, clutch issues, fuel pump issues, etc.  How hard can it be to make a car that doesn't have major potential faults and is cheap to run.

[zain611]

@TomsFocus why not go back to a fiesta? Could look at getting a mk6 ghia with the 1.6 diesel engine. Obviously get it with service history so you know the turbo had been getting nice new oil annually and no crud has builded up in the oil feed pipe filter. I'd say I'm kind of lucky getting this zetec s I have now. The previous owner was a no good liar saying things had been done on it and he hadn't sent receipts for it. Thankfully looking in the service book it had stamps of being serviced for 5 years by the owner before the previous owner and that thankfully kept the oil feed filter spotless. Yeah I had to spend £275 getting all injectors reconditioned as one was leaking but it drives like a new car now. 

[Stoney871]

I don't like that I just collected my glass mounted Ford Fair entry photo from my local post depot and it is smashed to pieces even though the packaging clearly states it is very fragile.
Why couldn't they have processed then on site like last year?

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)

[TomsFocus]

20 hours ago, zain611 said:

@TomsFocus why not go back to a fiesta? Could look at getting a mk6 ghia with the 1.6 diesel engine. Obviously get it with service history so you know the turbo had been getting nice new oil annually and no crud has builded up in the oil feed pipe filter. I'd say I'm kind of lucky getting this zetec s I have now. The previous owner was a no good liar saying things had been done on it and he hadn't sent receipts for it. Thankfully looking in the service book it had stamps of being serviced for 5 years by the owner before the previous owner and that thankfully kept the oil feed filter spotless. Yeah I had to spend £275 getting all injectors reconditioned as one was leaking but it drives like a new car now. 

The ride on the Fiesta is too harsh unfortunately, I'd have bought a Mk7.5 Titanium X EcoBoost if the ride wasn't so bad.   I'm never buying another DV6 engine lol.  I was constantly worried about the turbo and injectors on the Mk2 Focus despite it having full history and me doing 6k changes, just wasn't worth all the worry, which is why I'm now being put off the 125ps EcoBoosts as well.  Whatever car I buy this time has to last me at least 3 years so diesel is definitely out. 

13 hours ago, Stoney871 said:

I don't like that I just collected my glass mounted Ford Fair entry photo from my local post depot and it is smashed to pieces even though the packaging clearly states it is very fragile.
Why couldn't they have processed then on site like last year?

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)
 

A fragile sticker doesn't help much when it's at the bottom of a parcel force yoke under a load of heavy parcels.   Glass isn't really postable unless it's wrapped well enough to be dropped from 6ft without damage.  It would've been much safer to hand them out on site as you say!

[Stoney871]

At the moment the parcel sounds like a bag of gravel.

I've emailed the company, hoping they will replace out of courtesy.

No point trying to claim from Royal Mail, their compensation procedure is so convoluted and biased the chance of getting any satisfaction from them is zero.

 

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TomsFocus]

On ‎8‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 9:25 AM, TomsFocus said:

...when I went to buy the Mk2 it jumped out at me, I guess it was the xenons, privacy glass, chrome tailgate trim and full leather interior as options, it wasn't 'just another Focus'  which they all seem to be these days.  They don't seem to have any options, all just totally standard.  

So...one jumped out at me today...  Panther black Titanium X with appearance pack and full leathers as well...  But it's way too far away and also more than a grand over budget.   I really don't like Autotrader suggesting 'cars I might like' that aren't within my search criteria lol! 😒 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201808049142379

[zain611]

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

So...one jumped out at me today...  Panther black Titanium X with appearance pack and full leathers as well...  But it's way too far away and also more than a grand over budget.   I really don't like Autotrader suggesting 'cars I might like' that aren't within my search criteria lol! 😒 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201808049142379

Doesn't look bad to be honest. That's not a bad price also for a 15 plate car. In years to come it's hard for me to decide whether or not to get diesel. I love the torque and how it doesn't struggle to move off with weight on it including luggage and passengers. It's also hard to stall from what I can tell on my fiesta. Only thing I think about is if my annual mileage is good for the DPF and EGR. That 330D I was looking at I read that it likes doing high mileage and that will prolong the life of the DPF and EGR. A new DPF is £2000 and EGR is £500 however I don't know if that price is supplied and fitted. 

[TomsFocus]

13 hours ago, zain611 said:

Doesn't look bad to be honest. That's not a bad price also for a 15 plate car. In years to come it's hard for me to decide whether or not to get diesel. I love the torque and how it doesn't struggle to move off with weight on it including luggage and passengers. It's also hard to stall from what I can tell on my fiesta. Only thing I think about is if my annual mileage is good for the DPF and EGR. That 330D I was looking at I read that it likes doing high mileage and that will prolong the life of the DPF and EGR. A new DPF is £2000 and EGR is £500 however I don't know if that price is supplied and fitted. 

I'm starting to get DPF issues on the Golf now, it was only a matter of time with my mileage, especially now the A3 has gone so all the short trips are now being done by the Golf as well as the longer ones.  At least the Golf comes with a DPF light on the dash unlike the Focus, so far it's not been bad enough for the light to come on but it won't be long.  Plus the gearchange indicator tells you to change down when it's doing a regen to keep the revs up so easy to tell when it's doing a regen, though I do feel a bit self conscious doing 30 in 3rd to keep it happy.  

However, the regens still start at daft times.  On Wednesday and Thursday this week I did 35 mile trips, and it started stuttering on the way back on Thursday so I knew it was due a regen...yet it chose to start the regen on a 4 mile trip yesterday afternoon which obviously failed...and again on each two mile trip back home as I stopped at the shop on the way back.  Cooling fans going mental every time I stopped, so I was worrying about the battery charge as much as the DPF soot loading lol!  I've got a couple of 12 mile trips to do today so hopefully it'll complete the regen then but traffic and roundabouts may make it fail again today.

I also know the EGR is on the way out, but as long as it fails before October VW will replace it for free under the TBM...I'm not intending to keep the car past September as it'll cost £1000 to replace the EGR out of warranty... 😮 

So yeah, I like diesel torque, £30 to tax, and an easy55-60mpg average but modern diesels are just too much hassle and stress for those of us that aren't daily motorway commuters.

[zain611]

@TomsFocus agree there. The longest distance I do daily is 10 miles to uni but haven't been going since May due to holiday. I mainly do short trips such as taking mum to places or going to volunteering work which is only 3 miles. The fiesta doesn't have a DPF and the EGR has been blocked so hopefully there won't be that issue. Car runs good. I'm surprised also I did just over 1000 miles when looking at the mileage in MOT. Kept thinking I did more. Nothing said also about emissions which I was happy about. I never see smoke from it ever when I have driving. Probably the occasional smoke when start up.

I didn't even know you had a golf. Your experience also questions me whether to plan on getting the 330D. The petrol equivalent is slower surprisingly and more money. 

[TomsFocus]

31 minutes ago, zain611 said:

@TomsFocus agree there. The longest distance I do daily is 10 miles to uni but haven't been going since May due to holiday. I mainly do short trips such as taking mum to places or going to volunteering work which is only 3 miles. The fiesta doesn't have a DPF and the EGR has been blocked so hopefully there won't be that issue. Car runs good. I'm surprised also I did just over 1000 miles when looking at the mileage in MOT. Kept thinking I did more. Nothing said also about emissions which I was happy about. I never see smoke from it ever when I have driving. Probably the occasional smoke when start up.

I didn't even know you had a golf. Your experience also questions me whether to plan on getting the 330D. The petrol equivalent is slower surprisingly and more money. 

Yeah, I haven't done well with cars at all this year lol, I'm still in the same position as I was 4 years ago when I bought the Mk2 1.6TDCi, in that I need diesel running costs but can't have a modern diesel due to my mileage. 

The mk2 had to go at the beginning of this year due to the DPF delete and new MOT regs.  Though I've regretted selling it now, should have kept it for another 6 months considering how much I lost on the Mk3 and A3.  (However, at the time I wasn't expecting my Nan to pass away and leave me some inheritance a few months later).  So I bought the Mk3 Focus to replace it, could only afford an early Mk3 and only a diesel one at the time, but that turned out to be a huge mistake, I hated it as I've said on here many times lol, still don't know how much was normal or how much was actually faulty though. 

So then I bought the A3 back in May which drove very smoothly, had no DPF and had ice cold air con...but the ride was too harsh so I couldn't drive it far without making myself ill, second huge mistake, so I was having to keep using the Focus for longer journeys with no AC, trying to avoid traffic and never being able to trust it. 

So I bought the Golf 2.0 TDI 140 Bluemotion 2 months ago - it cost a lot less than the Focus but with nearly the same spec, same running costs and has ice cold air con and a very smooth ride, both of which I couldn't have done without in the heatwave so I don't regret buying the Golf.  However, at the time I didn't realise it'd had the VW emissions fix (3rd mistake? ) so that's why the EGR is on the way out, and the fix can cause other issues as well, but as VW give you a warranty on engine parts for 2 years after the emissions fix it's still covered for now, just hoping it doesn't leave me stranded in the meantime.  And the plan was always to buy a petrol (most likely EcoBoost Focus) before winter anyway...the issue is just finding a good one within budget now.  I'm hoping a facelift EcoBoost will be far better than the prefacelift diesel, but if it's not I really don't know what car I'll go for, can't find anything equivalent.   I've now sold both the Mk3 and the A3 so have as much budget as I'm ever going to have, hence putting in a lot of effort now to find a decent, long term car within the next month or so.

 

Unless you get a job well out of the city and start doing long, fast commutes I really wouldn't recommend a DPF equipped car with your current drives!  I've done 1500 miles in the Golf since the beginning of July and even that's still not enough due to the type of drives I do!

[zain611]

Have you looked at any mercs? My dad serviced a E350 and that was fast and had a really smooth ride. Mercs I've found to be cheaper than the other German manufacturers. A 2015 C class are going for around £12k which is about £6k less than the BMW and audi equivalent. The Corsa I mentioned a while ago with the headgasket leak my dad I think fixed the problem using a solution. His friend sold the car to him as his wife got a new car. I've driven that Corsa in the alley and its a nice car to drive. Really light steering and a decent ride. Only thing I'd comment on is reliability as this car has around 53k miles and the headgasket went. 

One thing I like with petrol is the sound. That's something I miss from my little 3 cylinder Peugeot. Don't know if I might just get a petrol zetec s a year before the charge comes and swap bits over from the current car. I've been quoted £999 for insurance for a ST in 2 years which isn't bad but there's that worry about reliability. I've also been quoted £730 for my current car in 2 years so might be good to get the petrol zetec s to keep insurance down. 

[TomsFocus]

54 minutes ago, zain611 said:

Have you looked at any mercs? My dad serviced a E350 and that was fast and had a really smooth ride. Mercs I've found to be cheaper than the other German manufacturers. A 2015 C class are going for around £12k which is about £6k less than the BMW and audi equivalent. The Corsa I mentioned a while ago with the headgasket leak my dad I think fixed the problem using a solution. His friend sold the car to him as his wife got a new car. I've driven that Corsa in the alley and its a nice car to drive. Really light steering and a decent ride. Only thing I'd comment on is reliability as this car has around 53k miles and the headgasket went. 

One thing I like with petrol is the sound. That's something I miss from my little 3 cylinder Peugeot. Don't know if I might just get a petrol zetec s a year before the charge comes and swap bits over from the current car. I've been quoted £999 for insurance for a ST in 2 years which isn't bad but there's that worry about reliability. I've also been quoted £730 for my current car in 2 years so might be good to get the petrol zetec s to keep insurance down. 

I don't think a Merc is going to be cheaper to run than a Focus lol.  I need the £30 tax and 45+mpg of the 1.0 EcoBoost.  It's the only petrol engine that offers those sort of running costs without being ridiculously slow in a Focus sized car.  

[zain611]

52 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I don't think a Merc is going to be cheaper to run than a Focus lol.  I need the £30 tax and 45+mpg of the 1.0 EcoBoost.  It's the only petrol engine that offers those sort of running costs without being ridiculously slow in a Focus sized car.  

Yeah true there. The stats of the ecoboost engine in that focus makes that engine the petrol equivalent to the DV6 engine. Im planning either to get a E90 320i or 325i or just stick with the petrol zetec s. The BMW is faster but will drink more however in 2 years my mileage might drop a lot which may make petrol not a problem. Mainly comes down to budget. The petrol zetec s are a lot cheaper than the diesels and I could pick one up with low miles for around £1700. Also won't have to worry about little mods as I can swap bits from the current car including some extras like the red dash and seats. Stuff like window tints, heated windscreen would need to be already on the car. 

[jace1969]

I don't like Google Earth showing me good up to date images which is good...........but.........street view its 2009 so i see the shops by me what they were 9 years ago.

Weird or what.eeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr.

[Turvey]

1 hour ago, jace1969 said:

I don't like Google Earth showing me good up to date images which is good...........but.........street view its 2009 so i see the shops by me what they were 9 years ago.

Weird or what.eeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr.

What?!! 2009 was 9 years ago? Surely you lie? I could have sworn it's only a couple of years ago! God, I must be getting old 😟