Paint on cars.

Mine is covered in minor scratches and dings, which are a massive pain to fix and so not worth doing.

I’d like the body panels made out of a some kind of durable polymer. Like that Citroen Cactus SUV, but all over.

Having to press print multiple times on a networked printer system – the times I have walked over the way to find nothing have come through…

I had to change a HID bulb on my BMW this morning. There’s a hatch in the wheel well liner that can be opened with the wheel on full lock, although wheel off would be far easier, and then a weatherproof cover over the bulb to twist off, then the bulb itself. Never done it before, but took about 10 minutes from start to finish and I had to do it twice, once to remove the old bulb to see which type it was, then refit and drive to Halfords to buy the replacement, then again and fit the new bulb. Wasn’t too bad. Halfords wanted £40-45 to fit it.

IIRC, the Rover 75 was bumper off to change the headlight bulbs…

I stopped worrying about the paint on my car when the door to the gas meter blew open and put a 4 inch scratch down to the metal in the bonnet.

Wooden prosthetics used to love my old whalebone stump !

Bloody greeenpeace !

Aaaargh , Aaaargh !

Did you just crash with a piratey error?

Volvo was great for changing bulbs. Open bonnet, pull out a locking pin (with your hands, no special tool) then the entire headlight assembly slides forwards out of the car so you can open it and change the bulb. The bmw has the hatch in the wheels arch as above, not looking forward to having to change that!

Have we done number plates for bikes yet? Sorry, haven’t read the whole thread… but some lawyer was on the Today program this week advocating that (and I remember not cropping up a few months ago on here).

Because WiFi and Internet don’t seem to reach quite big chunks of DCCs area…..

If by “Wifi and Internet” you mean mobile data connection – then the ones I’ve bothered to check (whilst waiting for friends to scrape together or otherwise obtain enough change) had relatively good 4g.
And I’d suggest that VERY few would be somewhere you couldn’t get standard phone signal to allow you to use one of the “call this number to pay” systems.

🙂

^that. Constables.

My vote goes to touch screens in cars. Impossible to operate without taking your eyes off the road for (too) long periods. Prone to misfire when your finger is jolted off target. And they look manky with greasy fingerprints.

As someone who’s job involves driving around pretty much every example of modern production cars and commercials, I agree with all my heart! The use of mobile phones is banned, for obvious reasons, but equally annoying and distracting touch-screens are being introduced in more and more cars!
And I also agree with comments about electronic parking/handbrakes – bloody horrible things, and again so many cars have them fitted.
These are two things that were deciders when I bought my new car; there are others, I like the way it looks, and drives, the driving position suits me perfectly as it’s a crossover, it has a heated screen, satnav, CarPlay, etc, but it has actual knobs for the radio and aircon, and a fairly large infotainment screen which is a touchscreen but needs minimal touching, and it has an actual handbrake. It also has an electronic hill hold capability, as it’s got a semi-auto ‘box, and that works really well, but it’s no substitute for a proper handbrake.
I could compile a pretty extensive list of all the things that increasingly annoy me about modern cars, but honestly, life is too short, and it’ll just make me cross!

it has an actual handbrake. It also has an electronic hill hold capability, as it’s got a semi-auto ‘box,

I’m sold. What is it?

Changing the bulbs on modern cars is near impossible.
My old polo was a breeze, reach inside take out dead bulb, replace with new.

My Puma took 45 minutes to replace a bulb, it required a large Torx wrench, which I had to source from a specialist tool supplier, the removal of four Torx bolts, the radiator grill, a couple of drain tubes, the entire headlight unit, and the back of the unit to get at the bulb. Then reverse the process. That procedure was listed under ‘roadside repairs’ in the handbook! Yeah, in the dark, in pissing rain or snow…
Oh, how I laughed when I had to change a sidelight bulb…
My Octavia took approximately five minutes.

I’m sold. What is it?

Ford EcoSport, ST-Line model. It also has a sideways opening hatch, which does polarise opinion, but I happen to like it – I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve smacked my head on the lock on a regular hatch, when it’s not opened to its full extent.
Great motor as well, the 1.0 Ecoboost engine is really nippy, mine is the 125Hp version, it can be tweaked up to 170, but that’s the limit of the turbo – chucking a chunk of money at it will get just over 200hp, from a 998cc three-cylinder!

Mine;

Covid vaccinations !

Oh, I like that.

The Ecoboost engines are just insane.

Covid vaccinations !

Ah, it’s twenty to 12, just about right for “home from pub chucking out time.”

Electric opening tailgates on cars. Having spent a few weeks with cars with this feature at various times at no point have I thought ‘wow, this is so much better than lifting it or closing by hand’ usually I think, why is it so f@%##ing slow and annoying

Pretty good feature IMHO. Mine also has a release button below the steering wheel and by the time you press this, get out of the car and walk to the rear the boot is open.

apologies if already said (not read the whole thread) the tories.

Oh yes, I was wondering whether to rant about wooden worktops or Belfast sinks, and picked the worktop.

Belatedly coming to this, I don’t get it. I’ve had Belfast sinks for nearly 10 years now and the only problem I’ve had was when I wore a Ti ring and scuffed up the sink. Came out fairly easily with some barman’s friend cleaning powder stuff. Other than that, never had a problem.

Enamel sinks now, there’s something I can’t deal with. Have to remove it and take it to a specialist to get it reenameled, and the in-place solutions are shonky. Bleurgh.

And I agree entirely on wodden countertops

My Puma took 45 minutes to replace a bulb, it required a large Torx wrench, which I had to source from a specialist tool supplier, the removal of four Torx bolts, the radiator grill, a couple of drain tubes, the entire headlight unit, and the back of the unit to get at the bulb. Then reverse the process.

You were doing it wrong then – I changed mine in the car park at work with an assortment of bodge tools I found around the building. It wasn’t easy, but it certainly was a particularly demanding job and didn’t take me 45 minutes.

The Amazon Prime PIN code entry screen on my TV App.

Impossible to enter the PIN without anyone who can see the screen from reading the number.

Numbers are hashed out but you have to use a number pad to enter them, and each selection is highlighted in orange – pointless.

On that,

Virgin’s parental controls.

“This content is 12+, if you’re viewing it then you’ll have to enter your PIN.”

Enter the only PIN I’d likely ever have set.

“Sorry, that’s wrong.”

Enter their default code 1234

“Sorry, that’s wrong. A third incorrect entry will lock out your account.”

Well, shit. I just wanted to watch TV for an hour before I go to bed, instead I’m going to have to spend an hour ****ing about with a TV remote before going to bed.

I have never to my knowledge set a PIN code. I don’t want a PIN code. I’ve reset it now after deploying a degree of language that is also age-inappropriate but not protected by a PIN. The youngest person in this house is 22, swears more than I do (which is a feat in itself) and is theoretically leaving in a week. I neither need nor want this functionality. But nowhere, anywhere on this system, on the app or on the TV box or online or anywhere else can I find an ‘off’ option.

Smart Motorways.

How that ever got off the proposal stage is beyond me.
OBVIOUSLY that’s a moronic idea.

I had to change a HID bulb on my BMW this morning. There’s a hatch in the wheel well liner that can be opened with the wheel on full lock, although wheel off would be far easier, and then a weatherproof cover over the bulb to twist off, then the bulb itself. Never done it before, but took about 10 minutes from start to finish and I had to do it twice, once to remove the old bulb to see which type it was, then refit and drive to Halfords to buy the replacement, then again and fit the new bulb. Wasn’t too bad. Halfords wanted £40-45 to fit it.

Really? I always get Halfords to change mine, you lose a few man points, but every time it’s the same “Do you want this fitted for £5?” why yes I do, then a nice chap with a box full of tools and I suppose at least some training and experience will spend 30-45 mins swearing at my car until they’re in. I’d pay that all day long.

Some of the best third-placed teams getting into the knockout stages of a big football competition thereby taking away all of the excitement of the final group matches for supporters of those teams.

FFS

Virgin’s parental controls.

I only use my Virgin box as a PVR (it only has free to air channels on it). Pretty much the only thing I record is F1. For some reason it wants me to enter a PIN to watch F1 if I watch it before 9pm even though C4 highlights show is generally shown live at 7pm ish

Really? I always get Halfords to change mine, you lose a few man points, but every time it’s the same “Do you want this fitted for £5?” why yes I do, then a nice chap with a box full of tools and I suppose at least some training and experience will spend 30-45 mins swearing at my car until they’re in. I’d pay that all day long.

I worked in Halfords as a student. I wouldnt let them touch either my bike or my car. You get some genuinely knowledgeable staff, but the majority don’t have a clue.

I always get Halfords to change mine, you lose a few man points, but every time it’s the same “Do you want this fitted for £5?”

Except that Halfords have a list of cars they won’t replace headlamp bulbs on. Which includes almost all the cars where it would be worth getting someone else to do it. So if they are prepared to take your fiver, you know that you should have done it yourself.

Holding the final of the World Test Championships in England in June.

Day 5 and so far we’ve had 160 overs total, that’s just over 5 sessions worth. We’ve lost 8 sessions to rain and bad light, and even with a spare day to make up time, unless the Captains contrive a declaration chase this looks like a draw.

Inventing a game to be played in an atlantic archipelago that has to stop for rain.

Smart Motorways.

How that ever got off the proposal stage is beyond me.
OBVIOUSLY that’s a moronic idea.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09kxjnc

08:00 – 12:30

Nothing is ever that simple.

Needless complexity.

Phones that are glued together and not screwed. Makes changing the screen or battery a proper chore.

Can we go back to worktops. I see it all the time in American YouTube videos but have also seen it in the UK occasionally.

Who in their right mind would tile a kitchen or bathroom worktop?!

That’s gonsta be hella nasty in short order.

Phones that are glued together and not screwed. Makes changing the screen or battery a proper chore.

Disagree. Makes them very water resistant and is easy to open with a spring metal spudger. IPA and playing cards are your friends once you can slot a card in just dribble IPA into the slot give it a second and slide the card, repeat.

Shops that close at midday on a Saturday. Especially useful when you have to find some new safety boots for Monday.

I always get Halfords to change mine, you lose a few man points, but every time it’s the same “Do you want this fitted for £5?”

Except that Halfords have a list of cars they won’t replace headlamp bulbs on. Which includes almost all the cars where it would be worth getting someone else to do it. So if they are prepared to take your fiver, you know that you should have done it yourself.

I worked there back when they introduced this service and the amount of fun we used to have due to the ‘Do Not Fit’ list being near-useless was immense. One that sticks in the mind was a customer agreed to having the headlight bulb being fitted and went off to B&Q while it was done. They came back 20 mins later to find the whole front of their car disassembled across the car park, bumper, grille, foglights, wheel liners, the works. One of the Saturday boys had thought it was a good idea to go back in store and grab the Haynes manual for that car (think it was a Laguna, could be wrong though as it was 20 years ago!) and started following it. To his credit he did get the bulb fitted and the car back together fine but the sight of looking out of the office window to see a load of bits scattered round the car park was amusing!

The Amazon Prime PIN code entry screen on my TV App.

Impossible to enter the PIN without anyone who can see the screen from reading the number.

Numbers are hashed out but you have to use a number pad to enter them, and each selection is highlighted in orange – pointless.

It’s single use and only valid for a few minutes.

pic.twitter.com/7Ao7z0h8QK

— strange online sellers (@StrangeSellers) June 25, 2021