Halfords

[Chalky]

 

The thing that amazes me is how s - l - o - w Midgets, Sptifires, MGBs etc are compared with modern cars.

 

My Skoda turbodiesel would knock spots of any of them, including going round corners. I think it's called "advancing technology".

 

Probably, but will your Skoda still be going in 40 years time and will you still be able to get spares for it?

[matty40s]

The reason given for ethnic cleansing is usually that the targeted community is potentially or actually hostile to the "approved" population.^{[weasel words]} Suddenly your neighbour becomes a "danger" to you and your children. In giving in to the FUD, you become as much a victim of political manipulation as the targeted group. Although ethnic cleansing has sometimes been motivated by claims that an ethnic group is literally "unclean" (as in the case of the Jews of medieval Europe), it has generally been a deliberate (if brutal) way of ensuring the complete domination of a region.

Irish jokes are a class of ethnic jokes, generally based on stereotypes of the Irish people.

A group of Irish jokes originate from the time Ireland was under British colonial rule. The "Irish joke" originates in the simian portrayal of Irish people in British comic magazines of the mid-late 19th century - depicting the Irish as stupid apes given to agrarian and alcohol-fuelled violence against their benevolent and tolerant British masters. Punch magazine was a particular notorious purveyor of this type of comedy. In the context of the 'Laissez Faire' policy of the Great Famine and the following mass displacement of the following three decades, a great many Irish view the Irish joke as, at best, offensive and, at worst, as similar to "nigger" jokes against blacks or holocaust jokes targeted at Jews. All these forms of humour have, at their core, the debasement of their subjects to the point of dehumanising them so that malevolent acts against them are less offensive - or even justifiable.

or you could just laugh.

[dor]

Halfords do seem to stock little these days and can take an age to get parts in. Motor World don't look very promising, but very often if you order a part in the morning they will have it there in the afternoon. Obviously have a good set-up with the motor factors.

 

 

ETA: when I needed new disks for my Honda, Halfords needed a week to get them, but the Honda dealer got them overnight AND cheaper!

Edited June 5, 2015 by dor

[Nightwatch]

Tights and a Mini (and mini skirts) brings back memories, don't think my back would hold up in a Mini these days.

Id give a darn good try though. Unlikely to get the chance.

[pquinn]

or you could just laugh.

I suppose i could...............if i found negative stereotyping funny.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Hi ya Pquin,

I'm sure you're right,,,But I'm far to thick to understand that !.

[nicknorman]

I suppose i could...............if i found negative stereotyping funny.

Surely the Irish must have some anti-English stereotyping jokes you could redress the balance with? Of course there is an argument that in a PC-perfect utopia all such jokes should be banned, but most people would find that a bit depressing and dull. Always with the proviso that you can take as well as give such jokes.

[larkshall]

Probably, but will your Skoda still be going in 40 years time and will you still be able to get spares for it?

Probably, out of the VW parts bins

[Machpoint005]

Probably, but will your Skoda still be going in 40 years time and will you still be able to get spares for it?

 

I will have worn it out long before then!

There are, however, hundreds of 10 and 15 year-old Skodas running around with more than half a million miles on them.

Spares are mainly common to the Audi/VW/Seat/Skoda parts bin so there's a very good chance they will still be available. I'm not really concerned, though -- I certainly won't still be going in 40 years' time!

[mango]

Does Halfords stock books of Skoda jokes?

[Machpoint005]

They are all old, very old!

Hadn't you heard -- they are Peugeot jokes now.

As my Grandad used to say -- cars are a lot like beers. There are no bad 'uns, just some better than others.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Isn't that 'Car-ist' !

[Machpoint005]

Isn't that 'Car-ist' !

 

"...just some better than others."

 

I've nothing against the cars, just the drivers of some marques.

Why is it that BMWs appeal so much to inconsiderate twerps? There's nothing much wrong with the cars (apart from the rear wheel drive, overpricing, astronomical service costs ...),

[mattlad]

You don't need a code reader...There's a website that deals with all the 2CV's problems.

 

Recycle My Car

Nowt wrong with a Deux Chevaux! If it's a good 'un it may be worth a bit too. You can get almost everything you need for them, try here:- http://the2cvshop.co.uk/home.htm

[OldGoat]

 

"...just some better than others."

 

I've nothing against the cars, just the drivers of some marques.

Why is it that BMWs appeal so much to inconsiderate twerps? There's nothing much wrong with the cars (apart from the rear wheel drive, overpricing, astronomical service costs ...),

 

I think the above answers your question; only a twerp would ignore the overpricing (etc) issue.

 

BTW Audi are the new BMV drivers....

Nowt wrong with a Deux Chevaux! If it's a good 'un it may be worth a bit too. You can get almost everything you need for them, try here:- http://the2cvshop.co.uk/home.htm

A great car - in its place. Just like my aged Seagull outboard - both do the job - but with loads of caveats!!!

[nb Innisfree]

A great car - in its place. Just like my aged Seagull outboard - both do the job - but with loads of caveats!!!

I first read that as 'cravats' Proper Seagull owners would never be seen without one.

[Dave_P]

Probably, but will your Skoda still be going in 40 years time and will you still be able to get spares for it?

And does your skoda make you grin from ear to ear every time you drive it? I'm sure most narrowboaters would agree that time length is the least important thing in determining the worth and enjoyment of a journey. Edited June 5, 2015 by Dave_P

[Guest]

 

I think the above answers your question; only a twerp would ignore the overpricing (etc) issue.

 

BTW Audi are the new BMV drivers....

A great car - in its place. Just like my aged Seagull outboard - both do the job - but with loads of caveats!!!

Great outboards. I too have one.

[PaulD]

Does Halfords stock books of Skoda jokes?

16 valve Skoda - 8 in the engine and 8 in the radio

Open top Skoda - skip

Double the value of a Skoda - fill it with petrol

Skoda heated rear window - keeps your hands warm when pushing it

 

I'll try to remember the others.

 

Paul

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Last night, I went to Halfords.

 

I almost feel that I should have opened with "Bless me Father, for I have sinned", and that I should now be saying my "Hail Marys"

 

I knew before I ventured there that once you remove the bit that sells bikes, and the bit that sells car audio systems and the camping section and (well you get the picture), there is very little of Halfords that actually concentrates upon what I vaguely hoped was its core business.

 

However, due to a busy day at work, I needed somewhere that would be open a little later, so I entered the unholy temple, and wandered over to the unloved back corner.

 

There, not quite arrayed in front of me, were a paltry few air filters, an unimpressive selection of oil filters, and really not much else.

 

I looked, and looked again, nowhere could I see the fan belt that I was looking for. In fact, more to the point, nowhere could I see any fan belts.

 

Clearly, coming shopping at 7pm after a long day at work had addled the brain, and I simply couldn't see for looking.

 

So, I enquired of the nearest employee "please could you direct me to the fan belts"

 

"We don't stock fan belts any more"

 

"That seems rather odd for a car spares shop"

 

"no call for them. if you give me your registration number, I can order one for tomorrow"

 

"I would like a 1050mm belt, Z section"

 

"We can't do that, we need the registration number"

 

"this isn't going to work"

 

"yes it will, our system knows every registration number"

 

"77774"

 

"I can't find that, what make and model is it"

 

"BMC 1.5"

 

"Can't find that, sorry"

 

Exit stage left without a fanbelt!

 

So, I will just go to a proper shop instead!

 

As an aside, can anybody confirm that Z section is the correct belt for a BMC 1.5?

 

It has a heavy duty alternator and is going through belts. Either they slip or you get it tight enough to not slip and it snaps a belt. My thoughts are that usung a XPZ or SPZ belt may offer better grip without getting it too tight, or that an A section belt may prove a bit more resistant to a bit more tension than a Z section

Reading your post I got a distinct sense of deja vu as it exactly mirrored my experience in Halfords. The only noticeable difference was that I was carrying the worn out Halfords drive belt from my boat! I have also received some pretty dumb 'advice' in their stores as well. Whilst in the Bath area I carried out an oil change on the boat however the local council will not allow you to go into their recycling centres unless you can prove residence in the area, living on a boat doesn't count as residence. Whilst in Halfords purchasing something else (a bike part, they do those!) I queried at the advice counter if they had any suggestions as to what I could do with waste oil to be told 'Tip it down the drain',to describe my reaction as flabbergasted rather understates it .

 

As far as replacement drive belts go however I went to the local branch of CES http://www.cesuk.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=6&id=6&Itemid=20 with the old drive belt and they supplied me with a correct replacement on the spot.

[mango]

16 valve Skoda - 8 in the engine and 8 in the radio

Open top Skoda - skip

Double the value of a Skoda - fill it with petrol

Skoda heated rear window - keeps your hands warm when pushing it

 

I'll try to remember the others.

 

Paul

Thank you. In the old days it was push and go whether they would start.

[mango]

Great outboards. I too have one.

I remember Seagulls outboards well. Very simple and the only fault that one of the cylinder would stop firing.

 

You also had to remember to use two stroke mixture to oil the plugs.

[Paul C]

What's wrong with rear wheel drive?

[boots]

From my experience BMW's don't like snow/icy conditions compared to many front wheel drive cars

[Guest]

What's wrong with rear wheel drive?

 

Absolutely nothing 99% of the time. But both BMW's I had were utterly useless in the ice and snow. The the 320i Auto was the worse. It had a 'manual' option which you would think would have allowed you to force it it to set off in a higher gear to help prevent wheel spin, however 'computer says no' and it would always drop you back into first meaning trying to get up any sort of snowy or icy gradient was a PITA.

 

But most of the time it was a great car to drive. (and yes unlike some other BMW's the indicators worked!)

 

 

Both Jan's MX-5's were nearly as bad but both being manual box meant you had a fighting chance of making some progress.