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I hate Volkswagen I like when the world is quiet though!

MildredHubble said:
some wonky design when it comes to actually working on them.
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I had trouble with a little Suzuki once and asked a mechanic what's the best way to get to the starter motor. He laughed and said with those you have to start by taking the tail lights out.

That wasn't far from the truth, you just about had to drop the whole engine out.
 
Gerald Wilgus said:
I agree - I had a VW Rabbit - the one with the fuel pump relay issue. Plus mine would chew up a CV-U-joint about every 6 months. After that, I got a Toyota.
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See! Japanese engineering! :-)

I have heard about lots of issues with the Golf (our version of the Rabbit). I have heard lots of stories about fuel relays, electric windows spontaneously opening on rainy days, wheel bearing issues. The CV joints on my dad's car had to be replaced recently.

To put things in perspective, my car is a Nissan 1987 vintage with it's original inner CV joints. The car is about 85% original. The bits that aren't are the bits that are supposed to have a finite lifespan. And those bits only needed replacing once!
 
Outdated said:
I had trouble with a little Suzuki once and asked a mechanic what's the best way to get to the starter motor. He laughed and said with those you have to start by taking the tail lights out.

That wasn't far from the truth, you just about had to drop the whole engine out.
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Yeah I've heard some people talk about Suzuki's being a bit on a nightmare! Some people I've known bought cars for practically pennies because the previous owner thought it wasn't worth the expense to repair a relatively new car. One needed some serious investigation to figure out the problem, but it turned out to just need a new catalytic converter. They paid £200 for the car and £300 for the diagnosis/repair and had a car worth about £4000 for they're trouble. So that was a happy ending! :-)
 
MildredHubble said:
See! Japanese engineering! :)

I have heard about lots of issues with the Golf (our version of the Rabbit). I have heard lots of stories about fuel relays, electric windows spontaneously opening on rainy days, wheel bearing issues. The CV joints on my dad's car had to be replaced recently.

To put things in perspective, my car is a Nissan 1987 vintage with it's original inner CV joints. The car is about 85% original. The bits that aren't are the bits that are supposed to have a finite lifespan. And those bits only needed replacing once!
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My "fun" car is a 2001 Toyota MR2 Spyder. Runs like a charm and so light (2,000 lb) that parts wear well. I take it out on Track Days and it is a blast. Not fast, but nimble in cornering.
 
Gerald Wilgus said:
My "fun" car is a 2001 Toyota MR2 Spyder. Runs like a charm and so light (2,000 lb) that parts wear well. I take it out on Track Days and it is a blast. Not fast, but nimble in cornering.
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My car is kinda similar. Not a rear wheel drive like the MR2 but it's such a fun car in the corners. And it can be pretty vicious off the line! It only weighs about 765kg so it doesn't need the most powerful engine in the world! :-)
 
I had a Hyundai die on me once, I took it to a dealership and they told me the engine management computer needed replacing and it was going to cost $2800. I said I just needed to organise some finances and I'd get back to them.

Straight home, on the net, I bought an original Hyundai engine management computer for that model, $180 free postage. That arrived 48 hours later and I went back to the dealership with it in my pocket.

I made conversation with the sales rep and asked him if he could show me where the computer was, he reached in and pulled away the kick panel next to the accelerator pedal. I reached in and just pulled the dead card out of the socket, then I pulled the one out of my pocket and compared the two and showed it to the rep. "Looks just like this one." I said and plugged the new one in.

The car started straight away, then I handed him the copy of my invoice to show his boss. I don't like getting ripped off.
 
Outdated said:
I had a Hyundai die on me once, I took it to a dealership and they told me the engine management computer needed replacing and it was going to cost $2800. I said I just needed to organise some finances and I'd get back to them.

Straight home, on the net, I bought an original Hyundai engine management computer for that model, $180 free postage. That arrived 48 hours later and I went back to the dealership with it in my pocket.

I made conversation with the sales rep and asked him if he could show me where the computer was, he reached in and pulled away the kick panel next to the accelerator pedal. I reached in and just pulled the dead card out of the socket, then I pulled the one out of my pocket and compared the two and showed it to the rep. "Looks just like this one." I said and plugged the new one in.

The car started straight away, then I handed him the copy of my invoice to show his boss. I don't like getting ripped off.
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Dealerships love to squeeze as much money out of you as possible! A lot of the time these days they will refuse to do even the most basic of jobs without first doing a "complimentary vehicle check" which is just fancy talk for a fishing expedition to find as many "faults" with your car as they can. They will then come up with various excuses to justify why they simply can't replace your headlamp without installing several thousand pounds worth of work they deem "necessary".

Hyundai told me that they could cut me a new key for my car for £180. I had locked my keys in the car on a day as snowy and cold as today oddly enough! I declined of course and walked to the Pound Shop and bought a pair of scissors roughly the shape of the key. I went to the shed and found a large pair of vise grips. I shoved the scissors into the lock and fixed the vise grips onto them to act like a leaver. A few swift turns of the contraption and I was in! I didn't even damage the lock!

The dealership called me back about 20 minutes later to see if I wanted them to come and sort out a new key. I told them that £180 was a bit steep and had opted for an alternative. They tried to haggle, not realising I had solved the problem. I told them if they could compete with £1 we had a deal. They wouldn't take my word for it and accused me of winding them up. I told them to wait and see if I ever got back in touch, then strangely, the phone went dead! Lol!
 
MildredHubble said:
....but it turned out to just need a new catalytic converter.
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With that same Hyundai, I was driving to a mate's place in Melbourne. As I drove up the Westgate Bridge it lost all power, by the time I got to the apex I was back in second gear with angry traffic building up behind me. As soon as I got over the crest the car was back at full power again.

This behaviour repeated a couple more times on my journey. Playing with it in my mate's driveway we couldn't find anything wrong with it, but we both heard a distinct rattle in the exhaust. I dropped the hot dog chamber off the exhaust, sure enough the catalytic converter had vibrated and chipped itself away at the mountings.

It was rolling around free and when I went uphill it was blocking the exhaust. I used a big brass dolly to smash it all out of there and remounted the empty chamber. I got much better fuel economy after that.
 
Outdated said:
With that same Hyundai, I was driving to a mate's place in Melbourne. As I drove up the Westgate Bridge it lost all power, by the time I got to the apex I was back in second gear with angry traffic building up behind me. As soon as I got over the crest the car was back at full power again.

This behaviour repeated a couple more times on my journey. Playing with it in my mate's driveway we couldn't find anything wrong with it, but we both heard a distinct rattle in the exhaust. I dropped the hot dog chamber off the exhaust, sure enough the catalytic converter had vibrated and chipped itself away at the mountings.

It was rolling around free and when I went uphill it was blocking the exhaust. I used a big brass dolly to smash it all out of there and remounted the empty chamber. I got much better fuel economy after that.
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Yes, the catalytic converter can be a bit of a mixed blessing. It cuts emissions a bit but it kills performance. There's a bit of cottage industry here in the UK for (very illegal) "de-cat" kits. They might improve economy and performance but you can get into a lot of trouble for doing it. I suppose you have to be caught first, but often the sorts of people who do that are routinely pulled over by the police! :smileycat:

Oh and some more snowy shenanigans outside, there's a van pulling some sort of digger and it's stuck at a junction spinning it's wheels...

IMG_20221215_073850_561.jpg
 
Outdated said:
You could earn a quick few bob on the side here, offering to help push. Cash only! :)
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I would try to help out but my back and knees aren't up to it :-( I maybe might have been able to but all the fun with my dad's car has definitely put that possibility to bed :-/ I do feel a bit bad just sitting here watching.

Here's the "ultimate driving machine" completely flummoxed by a bit of ice and a small incline...

IMG_20221215_080106_011~2.jpg

You may just be able to make out the rear wheels spinning!
 
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