Trivial things you don't understand/mildly annoy you

[Benzel]

The Peugeot passed down from my Dad to me has done 150k and the only thing that goes wrong with it is the electric windows keep dying. Not that, that annoys me. Hopefully it annoys Samdy.

[Samdy Gray]

Hopefully it annoys Samdy.

Very much so.

My Peugeot was one big tale of woe. It was sold to me with below legal limit brakes, although I had been presented with an MOT pass certificate and a receipt for new brake pads. That was soon put right when I pointed out to the seller that he'd not been very honest with me and that I should perhaps take up the matter of the dodgy MOT with VOSA/trading standards. Next, the exhaust fell off. Quite literally. In the middle of Tesco car park. I also had countless bulbs blow because of the dodgy French electrics. The final straw was when I was quoted £1,200 to replace the clutch and flywheel before it disintegrated and took the rest of the engine & gearbox with it.

Thinking I'd had enough with this, I thought I'd make it somebody else's problem and trade the car in. Carshop were my mugs of choice. They didn't even perform a mechanical inspection of the Peugeot and actually gave me a very good trade in price for it considering I knew (but they didn't) that it needed £1k+ worth of work. I drove away in a nice shiny Vectra, laughing into the sunset as I waved goodbye to the French piece of shit that I left on the forecourt. Samdy 1 - 0 Carshop.

That was June 2009. Fast forward to Christmas day 2009 and, with a heavily pregnant wife, the alternator on the Vectra catastrophically failed. Luckily family came to the rescue and it was fixed a few days later. Late January 2010 and, with wife about to drop at any moment, the exhaust gas recirculation valve (no, I have no idea either) decided it no longer wanted to play ball and left me with a car that wasn't driveable. Not good when I could have to make a dash for the hospital at any time. Thankfully I sourced a new EGR and replaced the fubar'd one a day or so later. All was fine, I got the wife to the hospital ok. After a year of trouble free motoring (unless you count losing a wing mirror) the Vectra developed a rather annoying bang when driven over bumps. Turns out a front coil spring was broken. Now, you can't just change one single spring so I got both fronts changed a few days before the MOT was due and duly sent it in knowing that all was hunky dory. Wrong. The MOT found that infact one of the rear springs was broken as well, so within the space of a week or so I had all 4 springs replaced. When I heard the squealing from the brakes yesterday and then found that one had seized I was not happy to say the least. Thankfully that wasn't as bad as expected, but I can assure you that it will only be a matter of time before the car is back in the garage having one thing or another fixed. Now I am most certainly not laughing, but I'm sure that if Carshop knew of my troubles they probably would be. Samdy 1 - 1 Carshop.

So yes, consider me annoyed.

[stfcinbmth]

Make your next car a Honda Sam 

[Bewster]

Make your next car a Honda Sam 

but not a Jazz, they are driven far too slowly 

[stfcinbmth]

but not a Jazz, they are driven far too slowly 

MPG 

[Simon Pieman]

Just don't buy your next car from the cunting Carshop, not heard one good thing about them.

[Samdy Gray]

Just don't buy your next car from the cunting Carshop, not heard one good thing about them.

You would've thought I'd learned my lesson after buying a car from Eddie Akers.

Apparently not.

[Bewster]

MPG 

Can't argue with that. I'm over at the BIC on Saturday

[Benzel]

Very much so.

My Peugeot was one big tale of woe. It was sold to me with below legal limit brakes, although I had been presented with an MOT pass certificate and a receipt for new brake pads. That was soon put right when I pointed out to the seller that he'd not been very honest with me and that I should perhaps take up the matter of the dodgy MOT with VOSA/trading standards. Next, the exhaust fell off. Quite literally. In the middle of Tesco car park. I also had countless bulbs blow because of the dodgy French electrics. The final straw was when I was quoted £1,200 to replace the clutch and flywheel before it disintegrated and took the rest of the engine & gearbox with it.

Thinking I'd had enough with this, I thought I'd make it somebody else's problem and trade the car in. Carshop were my mugs of choice. They didn't even perform a mechanical inspection of the Peugeot and actually gave me a very good trade in price for it considering I knew (but they didn't) that it needed £1k+ worth of work. I drove away in a nice shiny Vectra, laughing into the sunset as I waved goodbye to the French piece of shit that I left on the forecourt. Samdy 1 - 0 Carshop.

That was June 2009. Fast forward to Christmas day 2009 and, with a heavily pregnant wife, the alternator on the Vectra catastrophically failed. Luckily family came to the rescue and it was fixed a few days later. Late January 2010 and, with wife about to drop at any moment, the exhaust gas recirculation valve (no, I have no idea either) decided it no longer wanted to play ball and left me with a car that wasn't driveable. Not good when I could have to make a dash for the hospital at any time. Thankfully I sourced a new EGR and replaced the fubar'd one a day or so later. All was fine, I got the wife to the hospital ok. After a year of trouble free motoring (unless you count losing a wing mirror) the Vectra developed a rather annoying bang when driven over bumps. Turns out a front coil spring was broken. Now, you can't just change one single spring so I got both fronts changed a few days before the MOT was due and duly sent it in knowing that all was hunky dory. Wrong. The MOT found that infact one of the rear springs was broken as well, so within the space of a week or so I had all 4 springs replaced. When I heard the squealing from the brakes yesterday and then found that one had seized I was not happy to say the least. Thankfully that wasn't as bad as expected, but I can assure you that it will only be a matter of time before the car is back in the garage having one thing or another fixed. Now I am most certainly not laughing, but I'm sure that if Carshop knew of my troubles they probably would be. Samdy 1 - 1 Carshop.

So yes, consider me annoyed.

Note to self - avoid the Car Shop.

You watch me pop up in this at midnight saying I'm stuck at work because my 306 won't start!

[Gethimout]

Samdy - Is none of that covered under warranty?

[Simon Pieman]

You would've thought I'd learned my lesson after buying a car from Eddie Akers.

Apparently not.

You live and learn. At least they took the Pug off you for a grand, imagine if you'd have to have paid the £1,200 to get that repaired.

[Samdy Gray]

Nope, both cars were out of manufacturer warranty when I bought them.

Carshop only give a 3 month warranty.

[sonicyouth]

If it's any consolation I've had my A3 a year now and had more problems with it than I did with my Clio that I had for three years.

[Samdy Gray]

So, the conclusion is:

German cars = shit
French cars = not quite so shit

[sonicyouth]

In my experience, that makes sense. I also inheirited my mum's 94 Clio when I passed my test and never had a problem with that so it's 6 years of blissful Clio driving and 1 year of A3 driving peppered with broken suspension arms and dodgy electrics.

I still do love my A3 though