Worst thing you've done to your car

[obi_waynne]

What is the worst thing you've done to your car?

I got it stuck in mud once, wheels spinning like mad and they dug right in it took a tractor to get us out.

I also used wet and dry sandpaper on the screen to remove scratches and ended up hazing the whole thing!

The things we learn not to do over the years eh!

 

[HDi fun]

Buying it in the first place

 

[T9 man]

Installing a Simota induction kit once upon a time.

 

[HDi fun]

What's one of those?

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Buying it in the first place

That was a very predictable response
Thought that this face would have been more appropriate given your experience with the VW.

 

[HDi fun]

I know, I need to back off a bit. It's an old joke now. Yes, it was a panic purchase. I do accept that cars do go wrong and when you are the other side of 100,000 miles it's reasonable to assume there will be some bits and pieces needy of attention. It's the cost of VW OEM parts that worries me.

ONE Parking sensor for my Passat is £120.

One for a BMW is around £12!! Peugeot and Nissan price these little sonar things similarly.

Since the VW ones cost £120 each the why do they fail at all?? Surely the price reflects the quality of the component!! Or not?

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

I guess that cars are a bit like people in that some with hi mileage/years wear out a bit slower than others

My wife says that I am hi maintenance in that I have had a rotator cuff opp,cataracts fixed, elbow opp to remove bits and bobs,hearing aids,both knees recoed/replaced etc so now hopefully I am all ready for a few years of trouble free living.

 

[HDi fun]

That was a very predictable response
Thought that this face would have been more appropriate given your experience with the VW.

Give me a Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Seat, Skoda, BMW etc etc instead of this Passat. It's rubbish. PD engine is amusing to drive with it's all at once torque delivery. I actually quite like the engine. It's the thing it's bolted to, ie rest of the car that I do not like.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Hopefully you can upgrade to something better soon .
I think that the Korean/Japanese cars are good buying and reliable.

Hard to pass on a KIA with a 7 year unlimited mileage or Hyundai 5 year warranty.

Wonder if you can pick up a Lexus for a good price as they seem to be at the pointy end of the reliability lists ?

 

[HDi fun]

Anything other than VW. I've had no issues with NIssan, Peugeot, BMW etc. Even 1980s Renaults, Rovers and Fiats were better than this thing. The Passat was a panic purchase, rather than a considered one. I do understand that older cars will require some running repairs. The problem with this car is the eye-watering cost of them.

I like the Kia and Hyundai brands, the only thing is that they don't offer anything more than minimally adequate performance.

Greater part of the problem is that I have virtually no income, I am now a carer.

 

[T9 man]

What's one of those?

An induction kit with an integral cold air feed ducting. Brought up the engine fault light constantly, then clogged up the MAF with its copious amounts of oil used to capture dirt particles from the air. Once I got the same RAC man out to me twice in one month, I knew then the ruddy thing had to go.

 

[MikeMcCarthy]

My brand new type 1 crankshaft with all type 4 journals . Should have been indestructible in my turbo engine. We have been having a nightmare with proper bearing clearance setting this crank up. A word to the wise , when I set up my bearing clearance I measure my crank journals with a Mic , then calibrate my bore gauge to the Mic. The difference should be your clearance . After setting it up I could feel something not right and it drove me crazy , found out this VERY expensive crank was ground off center on the number 1 journal when I put it in V blocks and checked runout. . I had to send it out today to get it reground.