I remember when motor cars were simple to fix.

[oldwheels]

Nostalgia is a great thing but nowadays cannot be bothered fettling cars. I had an Austin A60 once where the sills were rust welded on to rust I think. I got very good at welding tinfoil with an old style arc welder. The welders that worked for me were all ex shipyard and anything less than about 1 inch thick threw them completely. I have just taken delivery of a 3 year old Peugeot Partner Tepee where the computer systems are driving me round the bend.
Yesterday went to the local recycling centre and when moving off a warning of danger of fire came on in the middle of the dash. The only suggestion from the selling dealer is that it probably was warning of ice and not fire and I had misread it. It goes back in next week for a towbar and get this checked out. Without everything being computerised I would not have this problem, mebbe just catch fire with no warning or mebbe just skid on unseen ice.

 

[screenman]

Nostalgia is a great thing but nowadays cannot be bothered fettling cars. I had an Austin A60 once where the sills were rust welded on to rust I think. I got very good at welding tinfoil with an old style arc welder. The welders that worked for me were all ex shipyard and anything less than about 1 inch thick threw them completely. I have just taken delivery of a 3 year old Peugeot Partner Tepee where the computer systems are driving me round the bend.
Yesterday went to the local recycling centre and when moving off a warning of danger of fire came on in the middle of the dash. The only suggestion from the selling dealer is that it probably was warning of ice and not fire and I had misread it. It goes back in next week for a towbar and get this checked out. Without everything being computerised I would not have this problem, mebbe just catch fire with no warning or mebbe just skid on unseen ice.

That would have been and ice warning nrmally set to come on at 4c.

 

[Piemaster]

Yesterday went to the local recycling centre and when moving off a warning of danger of fire came on in the middle of the dash. The only suggestion from the selling dealer is that it probably was warning of ice and not fire and I had misread it. It goes back in next week for a towbar and get this checked out. Without everything being computerised I would not have this problem, mebbe just catch fire with no warning or mebbe just skid on unseen ice.

Is that the Game of Thrones special edition?

 

[Saluki]

I had an all singing and dancing car once. I got so fed up with the thing - Mini Cooper somethingorother - that I handed it back and have had an old style Nissan Micra for a goodly while now. The M reg one died last year, I now have a posh 5 door S reg one. I can do the stuff that I need to do on it and new tyres are only £35 each. When the old chap dies, I'll look for another one.
That blimmin' Mini bleeped at every available opportunity. Too cold? Bleep, bleep. Too warm? peep peep. Traction control noises, door noises, seatbelt demands if you took it off a bit early in a carpark. What a flaming racket. Don't get me started on the run-flat tyres. More bloody bleeping.

 

[oldwheels]

Thanks screenman you are probably correct but I have been out in colder weather with no warnings. There were puddles of water which combined with the cold may have triggered the sensor.
In the good old days I had every scrapyard in Vale of Leven sussed out as my assistant manager had worse cars than me and frequently phoned the office for a tow into work from wherever he had broken down.

 

[screenman]

Thanks screenman you are probably correct but I have been out in colder weather with no warnings. There were puddles of water which combined with the cold may have triggered the sensor.
In the good old days I had every scrapyard in Vale of Leven sussed out as my assistant manager had worse cars than me and frequently phoned the office for a tow into work from wherever he had broken down.

Is it a diesel, if so it may have a blocked air filter light.

 

[oldwheels]

It is 1.6HDI diesel. Blocked air filter light means nothing to me but will pass it on. Thanks.

 

[Illaveago]

Nostalgia is a great thing but nowadays cannot be bothered fettling cars. I had an Austin A60 once where the sills were rust welded on to rust I think. I got very good at welding tinfoil with an old style arc welder. The welders that worked for me were all ex shipyard and anything less than about 1 inch thick threw them completely. I have just taken delivery of a 3 year old Peugeot Partner Tepee where the computer systems are driving me round the bend.
Yesterday went to the local recycling centre and when moving off a warning of danger of fire came on in the middle of the dash. The only suggestion from the selling dealer is that it probably was warning of ice and not fire and I had misread it. It goes back in next week for a towbar and get this checked out. Without everything being computerised I would not have this problem, mebbe just catch fire with no warning or mebbe just skid on unseen ice.

The old warning system of impending fire was smoke!

 

[Piemaster]

Ah, the joys of old electrical systems. I'm looking at you Lucas
Sure the electric vehicles will bring new joys of their own on that front. Apparently the Rimac Richard Hammond crashed kept re-igniting for days afterwards as batteries kept failing in a chain reaction.

 

[Drago]

Hi-Tech blade using the latest technology = regular already pricy blade from Bosch repackaged and then price doubled.

 

[screenman]

Hi-Tech blade using the latest technology = regular already pricy blade from Bosch repackaged and then price doubled.

Business overheads through the roof, customer has to pay more. The average main dealer will be very lucky to retain 2% of turnover as profit, that is a fine line to tread. Blame your councils who are charging massive taxes, the huge cost of insurance, wages and the list goes on and on.

To add, I have found a difference between cheap and not so cheap blades, nobody regrets buying quality.

 

[Drago]

Indeed, but there's quality, and there's, er, quality.

For example, BMW and Peugeot source their touch up and spray paints from the same manufacturer. Same product (bar the shade), same packaging (bar the printing), yet BMW charges almost 3 times as much as PSA do.

Volvo oil filters made by Mann and Hummel - the Volvo branded filter costs double the price of the identical Mann and Hummel branded item. The same with MAHLE and BMW.

Ditto Bosch wiper blades...OE suppliers to the German big 3, but buy identical items with Bosch branding and the price difference is again huge.

Unpainted plastic bumper for a Peugeot 3008 costs about 60 Euros to manufacture. I know this because my Dad financed the plant that manufacturers them. Buy the same item from your friendly Peugeot dealer and they'll bend you over to the tune of £500 for one.

I appreciate actual dealers margins are slim and they usually work to the Woolworths business model, relying on large turnover to accumulate profit. However, the car manufacturers mark ups on components is absolutely massive, and in many cases an identical item from the same source can be bought substantially cheaper. This has zero affect on "quality".

 

[screenman]

Not disagreeing with that lot Drago, but that is manufacturers not the garages.

 

[Drago]

Roger that Bro.

 

[perplexed]

The old warning system of impending fire was smoke!

The first warning I had of a behind-the-dashboard mini fire on my 1970s Beetle many years ago, was the lights going even dimmer than they normally were and a plume of smoke from the switch...