What made you 'Shake your Head' today?

[mayevora]

1 hour ago, Rambo said:

My advice is to return the car to them and get your money back in full NOW.

That car will never be right. It's a "Friday" car. Get your money back and vote with your feet. There are plenty of other cars out there.

You are correct. It’s most definitely a Friday car. Saying that we are on ‘free motoring’ for the next 4-5 weeks at least so in my opinion no hurry. Also soon as we hand it back and say money back, we’ve no car so this way at least it gives us a month to go car shopping again.

[Escape]

8 hours ago, mayevora said:

Still surprises me though that a main dealership can’t diagnose a fault with all the plug ins and diagnostics available to the actual manufacturers.

Maybe that's exactly the problem. Today 'technicians' rely only on what the diagnostic computer can tell them. So if the issue is something the electronics can't detect, like a broken or pinched wire, they'll just keep throwing parts at it with a good chance of never finding the actual cause. I do hope things work out!

[ramjet]

You’re right about that. About 20 years ago, I met some friends of one of my daughters. One was an apprentice mechanic. I was under the bonnet of my Toyota Corolla at the time. He pointed at the distributor and asked me what it was.

He was a third year and told me that all cars had electronic ignition now so they weren’t taught about how a distributor works or what they even look like. 

[Escape]

To continue on the same subject, and very much on topic: a customer was coming back from Denmark in their classic motorhome (a '82 MB based Hymer) and called me to say it was occasionally misfiring. I gave him some pointers for a quick check, for lose wires etc, but as they're not to mechanically minded I couldn't really get into things beyond the distributor cap over the phone.

Sure enough, next morning it refused to start... They tried all I told them as good as they could, with the limited tools they had and then called assistance. As it was a Saturday, the towing company decided to just leave them at the camping site and only come out on Monday. That alone would be enough for me to be very much not amused already!
On Monday, the guy came out, didn't even bother to check anything (I had stressed them to ask whatever mechanic showed up to check out the distributor, as I suspected a fairly easy fix) and towed them to a VW garage as that was close by. They're in Germany, it's an old MB chassis, with a 2.3 petrol engine as used in huge numbers of cars in the 70s and 80s, I'm sure there would have been an MB garage somewhere with some understanding of that engine 🙄. The VW technician comes out, sees there's nowhere to plug in his diagnostics and decides they wont bother so it needs to be transported somewhere else.
Luckily, their assistance covers getting the vehicle back home if it can be repaired locally. The people are giving a courtesy car (fair enough) and 10 days later the camper arrives at my Workshop. I cleaned the cap and points and got it started that very same evening! To be fair, it's not yet running as it should, far from it, but I didn't have much time yet to investigate deeper nor the new parts to install. So I'm sure a half competent mechanic willing to spend a bit of time could have gotten them back on the road right there and then as well. Only upside, my repair will cost them less and the transport to Belgium was all covered by their insurance. But they were very lucky this happened on the way back and they were not in a hurry, otherwise it could have ruined their holiday or seriously interfered with work etc.

[drdoom]

Just retrieved Mrs Doom from the carpark where her '21 Nissan has again failed to start, the second time in a few weeks. Bloody idiot software quite possibly responsible for the breakdowns, and assuredly the bad comedy of useless, unintelligible icons presented on the dash screen as helpful.

Meanwhile on the drive home, a tale told of the millennial numpty "working" at the front desk of Mrs' fitness club, seated in fetal position on the floor behind counter, anxiously thumbing away a text on her tightly clutched phone. Nice work we've made of society over recent decades . . . . 

[Escape]

A lot less funny, in the local news this morning:

A couple days ago 2 scrotes broke into a bakery. The owners discovered them and managed to overpower and detain them until the police arrived. So far so good, they spent the night in jail. And then they were released! 😲 Seems they were illegal immigrant and despite the facts being proven, the prosecution and immigration services saw no reason to keep them locked up until their trial. As they hadn't actually stolen anything... They promptly returned to the scene of the crime to pick up their car. Giving the owners of the bakery some verbal abuse while there. The victims are, understandably, quite upset and don't feel safe anymore as they fear the thus will return, possibly in greater numbers. Why shouldn't they, if it is made this obvious they can get away with anything??

Makes my blood boil, our world is going mad. 😞 I wonder if the owner had shot the scrotes, would he have gotten off so lightly as well? No doubt he would have been made an example of and seen his life ruined. We need a change, and the sooner the better! 

[ramjet]

Saw the same thing at work today. Walking over to make a coffee. 11/12 people sitting out in the new outdoor eating area. 2 people talking to each other.

Everyone else, thumbing through who knows what. 

[ramjet]

8 minutes ago, Escape said:

I wonder if the owner had shot the scrotes, would he have gotten off so lightly as well? No doubt he would have been made an example of and seen his life ruined.

Following on with the establishments wonderful logic, the owner would probably have been charged with two counts of murdering two citizens, as they hadn’t stolen anything.

Maybe they were lost and broke in to the bakery looking for directions? Seems feasible.

If they are illegal immigrants, why weren’t they detained and deportation actions commenced?

[C8RKH]

On 12/11/2023 at 07:56, mayevora said:

You are correct. It’s most definitely a Friday car. Saying that we are on ‘free motoring’ for the next 4-5 weeks at least so in my opinion no hurry. Also soon as we hand it back and say money back, we’ve no car so this way at least it gives us a month to go car shopping again.

Do you have it in writing, simple clear English, that they are formally offering, and you have accepted, the extension of the 1 month "right to return" to 2 months?  If you don't have in writing good luck with that. So, send them an email, and confirm receipt, stating that they have made that offer and you have accepted it, and if you hear nothing from them to the contrary, their acceptance is deemed to have been given.

Main dealers are just as likely (maybe more so) to shaft you than any other dealer as they have many places to hide, and a lot of experience doing it.

2 hours ago, ramjet said:

two counts of murdering two citizens

As illegal immigrants they weren't citizens and are not entitled to citizenship. That'd be an interesting discussion in court.

I agree with deportation actions. To my mind you have ONE chance. After that, the second strike, you're taken to the coast. Put on a bright pink Lylo, with a bottle of water, and towed out to international waters. Good bye.  Oh, OK, maybe that's harsh. You're given a bottle of water and one way ticket back to where you came from, and escort to the plane door and your seat.

[Rambo]

2 hours ago, ramjet said:

Saw the same thing at work today. Walking over to make a coffee. 11/12 people sitting out in the new outdoor eating area. 2 people talking to each other.

Everyone else, thumbing through who knows what. 

Probably looking at TLF 😉

[Rambo]

40 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

Do you have it in writing, simple clear English, that they are formally offering, and you have accepted, the extension of the 1 month "right to return" to 2 months?  If you don't have in writing good luck with that. So, send them an email, and confirm receipt, stating that they have made that offer and you have accepted it, and if you hear nothing from them to the contrary, their acceptance is deemed to have been given.

Main dealers are just as likely (maybe more so) to shaft you than any other dealer as they have many places to hide, and a lot of experience doing it.

I totally agree.

What happens when you go back and ask for your money based on the extra month warranty and they say "Joe Bloggs left last week. We never knew anything about that"

You MUST get it in writing.

[r3nault]

1 hour ago, C8RKH said:

I agree with deportation actions. To my mind you have ONE chance. After that, the second strike, you're taken to the coast. Put on a bright pink Lylo, with a bottle of water, and towed out to international waters. Good bye.  Oh, OK, maybe that's harsh. You're given a bottle of water and one way ticket back to where you came from, and escort to the plane door and your seat.

This side of the world, the lilo would probably just wash back to our shores. But you’ll love this one, Andy. The previous conservative government put a law in place which allowed them to cancel passports of visa holders or immigrants who commit crimes… makes some sense, one would argue. But in some cases it would make a person stateless, for example if they weren’t given citizenship by their country of birth. Thus they could be held in immigration detention indefinitely without charge. Anyhow, it was tested in court and the judges found it to be unconstitutional to make someone stateless, so now those who have completed their sentences are being released… and I suppose there will be surprised faces all round when this incentivises more people to try the same shenanigans with the carrot of free citizenship!

[C8RKH]

Wow @r3nault.

I can understand the "stateless" issue but to be honest there should (one would have thought) be very few immigrants who weren't granted citizenship at birth. But then the issue will be that the immigrant will claim that they will be subject to prejudice/harm/death if they return to their "home" state and then international law probably kicks in to say you cannot deport them. So either way, the State is Fubar'ed.

It's one of the things that really pisses me off in the UK. We get a lot of economic migrants, mostly young men. They are not fleeing wars and/or oppression, they've just been told that if they go to Europe they'll get a "free" and better life. Over the past 18 months for instance we've have a massive influx of Albanians who have been trafficked here by criminal gangs. They're mostly men and have been sold the "dream". The Liberal piss ants claim we need to help them, but my view is WTF and why?  I mean, my 29 year old daughter went to Albania for a holiday this year. She loved it. She felt safe. So what are those men really fleeing? The short answer is they are not fleeing, they are trying to fleece us in the UK and are being manipulated by people trafficker groups!

As soon as we start to talk about migrants and asylum seekers, the "Liberal softies" makes you believe that they are all innocent and fleeing tyranny whilst fearing for their lives. It is complete and utter bullshit. 

A percentage are, for sure. And we have a duty to protect them.

The rest, quite literally, we just need to round them up, put them on a boat/plane and send them back from whence they came with a little postcard from the UK Govt. that says "thanks for visiting now fook off back home and don't bother coming back".

I stopped donating to the RNLI as soon as they started picking illegrant migrants up on the French side of the Channel and bringing them to the UK. By doing that, they make them our responsibility. Crackers.

It costs us a minimum of £55,000 per year, per migrant, to feed, clothe, house and educate them. The bill is over £4bn a year. We just cannot afford to keep throwing sums like this around. Our education, health, social and housing systems and facilities cannot cope.

Because we have allowed ourselves to be "softened" by the Left (and the ECHR etc) we believe and view all migrants as being worthy. They're not. As I said before, genuine asylum seekers we need to adopt, protect and care for. Absolutely. But not economic migrants. They should be thrown at as soon as they are identified. End of.

By wasting money and resources on those who are not worthy, we are taking away our ability to better provide for, and care for, those that are worthy. It's the same with our benefits system and why I loathe benefit cheats. They are taking money and resources away, illegally, from those who really need it. It's why i think benefit cheats should be tarred, feathered, and paraded through the community for all to see and identify, and then, they should be put to work, as a punishment, in the community that they have harmed.

I guess my views will be seen as right wing, fascist, racist and extreme. I really do not think they are, and am happy for people to educate me. My values system is grounded on "fairness", and people abusing the system is not fair. End of. It takes away from our ability to truly make a difference to those that really need our support.

[Escape]

4 hours ago, ramjet said:

If they are illegal immigrants, why weren’t they detained and deportation actions commenced?

No doubt that would hurt their feelings and be in violation of some human right. We must keep giving them chances.

[r3nault]

@C8RKH We agree it is unfair and unjust for anyone to abuse or exploit any system of rules. The nature of systems and rules is such that bad actors will always seek loopholes and exploits (embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, criminal acquittals based on technicalities of how the case was tried etc etc).

We certainly have different stances on the extent to which bad actors represent a population, or how to treat for such, or the complexities of the issues you described. As I said before, I've no interest in ascribing 'labels' to your view - nor the description of opposing views as "Liberal softies", "Left" etc - as I believe such black/white viewpoints only serve to limit the discourse on the issue ("if you don't agree with me, you must be an xx xx"). Simple policies responding  to complex issues will always result in injustice, one way or another.

Since you've put the call out for education / information, you may find these scholarly articles interesting to skim:

https://publications.iom.int/es/system/files/pdf/migration_research_leaders_syndicate.pdf#page=191 (pages 191-195)

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/16118944221077412

I'm not suggesting these are offering solutions to all the problems you've noted - as, again, complex issues are not easily resolved. And in case anyone wants to try and put words in my mouth, I am in no way defending the incidents we have noted: illegal immigrants being released, people looking to exploit well-intentioned systems etc. I am simply saying: it's not that easy.

[C8RKH]

Thanks for the reference material @r3nault I have book marked and will read on the train tomorrow.

It's good we can agree and disagree. I do realise it is not going to be a simple solution, but the simple solution put forward by the "Liberals" (apologies for the label) that we just roll over and let everyone in and give them free stuff is not a sustainable answer and will create huge social division and socio-economic problems and battles down the line.

Cheers!

[r3nault]

@C8RKH I agree, Andy!

It is a shame political leaders seem to aspire only to popularity, not to actual leadership. Last I checked, leadership required one to have the courage to make difficult decisions which might not always be popular.

[ramjet]

Australia just had to release a lot of foreign people that were held in detention as a court decided it was unconstitutional.

The kicker? Every one of them is a criminal in their own country. If the media is to be believed, there are murderers, assault on women, I think peadophiles and several others. We must not have extradition with these countries.

I don't think we should care whether we have extradition with wherever they came form. Put them on a plane and send them back.

[Escape]

Unsurprisingly, there has been some commotion in the media after the victim made it public the criminals were released and came back to confront him. So the justice department had to issue a statement: as the guilt of the suspects appears clear, no further investigation is necessary and there is no need to detain them until their trial next year. WTF?? Maybe the hope is they'll just move on, maybe to UK were I'm sure they'll find some lefties to give them a warm welcome on their escape from the harsh Belgian prosecution.

[exeterjeep]

Mike Brewer not happy....obviously not T packed but still had 2 cop cars 

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/hold-out-your-hands-wheeler-dealer-mike-brewer-wrongly-pulled-over-by-cops-while-filming/293119

follow up comments on X not very complimentary to the police - including this one...

It's quite surprising how little of the law the police know, I once spent 25 minutes explaining MOT exemption and 40 year old cars to 2 traffic cops that pulled me, when I showed them the relevant law online on my phone they said I could have made the site myself

[Chillidoggy]

Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.

[C8RKH]

50 minutes ago, Escape said:

maybe to UK were I'm sure they'll find some lefties to give them a warm welcome

They've already put the kettle on and the scones are in the oven so they'll feel nice and welcome.

[Escape]

1 hour ago, Chillidoggy said:

Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.

I'd pull him over as well given the chance. 😛

[Sparky]

I'd prefer to push him over.

[madmax]

At least if these men were sent back from whence they came, they'd be reunited with their families, wives, girlfriends and children - the people they left behind to hold the fort whilst they searched out a 'better life' - bless!

I find myself shaking my head a lot these days as the UK disappears, bit by bit.

It's actually rather depressing......................😒