thistledo
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Posts posted by thistledo
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A wee update on the brake discs and pads seeing as few helpful people chipped in about this. Stopped by Deutsch Tek today, very friendly chap called Craig looked at them and concluded roughly 50% worn on the rear and 60% worn on front pads and that the discs don't need replaced. I was quite shocked as that's miles off needing "done in a month" from my regular garage.
As I said before I did know the owner of the garage for a long time, whilst I was quite angry I was thinking something isn't right here, the guy has been sound for years so it's not adding up. Phoned and got through to him, asked who worked on the car and then explained what I'd discovered. He straight away said, he'd had a few misdiagnosis on cars recently with the same name on the job sheet, that the mechanic has been sacked, (garden leave) he was very apologetic and assured me if this had gotten on the ramp the work wouldn't have been carried out if not needed. Fair play to him, can't ask for much more than that.
@alta-pete good call on Deutsch Tek my friend, thanks.
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6 hours ago, Wacky said:
I posted this on the wrong thread.
Why do folks sit at traffic lights with their foot on the brake, the high level brake lights blind the folks at the back of you ya feckin arsehole. Use the feckin handbrake and be a bit more considerate, have you never sat behind a ringpiece like yourself and thought “that’s feckin annoying?
HANDBRAKE!
A lot of modern automatics and probably manual cars as well have this electric handbrake with autohold, so when it stops it's essentially using the footbrake to hold the car and dazzle cars behind them unless you actually engage the handbrake. I've got one, I've never verified this though and could be talking complete shite. What you're talking about used to annoy the f**k out of me, but now I don't care as I'm probably getting my own back inadvertently.
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18 hours ago, Leith Green said:
If only I had known, I could have popped in and asked how much !
I was sitting in traffic outside it (well the lights at the Sainsburys petrol station) an hour ago after dropping my son back off at his gaff in Glasgow !
Awch I'm being dramatic maybe, it's just to drop it off I'd be getting either a subway then train or a couple of trains back then about 30 min walk home. Annoying if I'm needing to get back to work.
Anyway, I actually called the guy at Deutchtek, he asked what the mileage was and if the wear indicator was on, the mileage is only 30k and no wear indicator. He seemed a bit surprised a garage was recommending both at this stage, so I'm heading down to see him this week for him to have a look. I'll reserve judgement for now, but I'll be pretty pissed off with the other garage if this doesn't need done for a while.
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22 minutes ago, alta-pete said:
Only on the basis of being a Partick fan, have you tried DeutschTek just off Woodlands Road? (admittedly 10/15 years ago now but) when I had an Audi they were great with me although it was only for routine servicing..
Ah well no, even though I'm out that way for most home games, it's a bit of a trek, but ye know maybe worth a call if they'd charge me less than a grand. Thanks.
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16 hours ago, mathematics said:
Is it Audi Tecknik, just off the M8, that you go to?
It's not, but I have heard they can be on the more expensive side as well. It's a place in East Kilbride, I don't want to mention them directly as I've known the owner for a long time and has helped me out multiple times where my old performance cars have let me down. I like the guy, but I just can't justify the costs, I think the labour part of the cost was £240+VAT, it's just getting a bit much now.
15 hours ago, beefybake said:Brembo have for some time gone downmarket, and offered a cheapo range of brake parts. The Brembos at Eurocarparts are little different to the others
that ECP sell, except they have a Brembo badge on the boxes.
15 hours ago, UsedToGoToCentralPark said:Can't disagree with this.
Have a look on ebay for delphi disks and pads, can't go wrong with them and you'll get an idea of price.
Didn't realise Brembo had gone that, back in the day I remember them being a go to for big brake upgrades. I'll have a look at delphi thanks.
13 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:Does it have an electric handbrake?
Today learned someone got an MG sunroof "repaired" by Arnold Clark. Car there over a month and returned to them with bird shite on their seats and soaking wet carpets. Still stunned anyone uses them for repairs tbh.
We had someone with a Vauxhall that shuts down and won't start when hot. Declined our offer of sending the ECU (which was showing as the fault after a 2 minute computer check) away fro testing, as they wanted it taken to the "dealer", which turned out to be Arnold Clark. 6 weeks and £1000 later its still not fixed (they've not touched any ECU apparently, the costs are entirely labour costs) and they've been told by the "master tech" to disconnect the battery with the ignition on every time the car dies, and it should start and run again for a bit.
It is an electric handbrake yeah, 71 plate so fucking everything is electric and has a sensor.
11 hours ago, Loonytoons said:I'm pretty slow a car maintenance but I'd be able to do front pads in an hour with shite tools, double checking my work and having to jack up a corner at a time.
Correct tools and know-how and £96 sounds about right in the non-ripoff market. Guessing that's £37.50p/h plus vat and 2 hours work. That's what my garage charges anyway.
In the ripoff market you're possibly well north of £150 per hour plus VAT.
Phone local independents for quotes and see if you can get positive reviews from friends and associates.
Thanks for that, it sounded very reasonable considering the alternatives I've seen, think I'll be likely giving them a wee call today then. Yeah as I mentioned further up, it's £240 plus VAT for the labour from my regular garage, never used to be anywhere near this, I get the cost of living and wanting to look after skilled staff, but their comes a time it's just not worth the extra.
2 hours ago, Leith Green said:I am also an Audi driver and use a local Audi / VW specialist (AVW Autocare, Gilmerton Road, Edinburgh).
They charge £55 per hour plus VAT, but they are excellent, have done some things FOC for me as well as saved me a pile of cash on items like the (fucking shitey) Audi Pre Sense faults.
Not the pads, but another big job - last year I got charged £550+VAT for supply and fit of the Timing belt / Water pump kit. Based on what I know is the Main Dealer cost, that was pretty reasonable.
Main dealers are daylight robbery.
That sounds fairly reasonable, pity i'm a bit further west, could do with someone like that nearby, finding a new garage that are good at what they do and not total rip off merchants is gonna be difficult I think.
Thanks for the replies troops.
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1 minute ago, UsedToGoToCentralPark said:
What make/ model of vehicle is it? Also what brand of disks and pads did you pick from ECP?
Audi Q5, I'd like to point out I don't drive like a dick, can use my indicators and usually go out my way to be a very courteous driver as I know how many utter wanks own Audi's. Didn't even want to get the car, needed something bigger for the family though and I actually love it now.
Parts were all Brembo, they seemed to be the most reasonably priced parts and a brand I know usually make good brakes.
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2 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:
By the time Hampden has been paid for, there would be no money for the clubs.
Yeah maybe bad example, a neutral venue perhaps.
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Just got a quote for new discs and pads all round for over £1000 from a place I've went to for many years, they are seen as a more specialist place, but their prices have been really rocketing since Covid / cozzy livs (sorry) anyway went onto euro car parts and priced up all the parts I need, plus fitting option for around £530 the fitting cost was like £96 on the website, which you just pay when the work is done apparently, this seems really low and worried they might not be that good, but googling the reviews seem like they are pretty decent (4.8 stars)
Not sure whether to go for it or not or phone about some places. Anyone used the euro car parts and fitting option before? Can't imagine they'd use poor garages since it's selected through their website.
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Play off final for promotion to Premier should be one game at Hampden instead of two legs.
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22 hours ago, velo army said:
Not initially knowing that this was a fake school wedding really made its mark on how I read the rest
.
Read this multiple times and was very confused. Gonna blame tiredness.
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On 29/03/2024 at 20:30, mathematics said:
A few weeks into my son’s life and the binmen decided not to empty the bin, which was full to the brim with shite [literally] . The lack of sleep and that incident had me looking for doors to kick down. I’d never been so angry at such a seemingly minor issue.
Reminds me of a time when my first kid was about 4 months and basically decided not to sleep during the day as well as still needing up to feed at nights so we were fucked and some utter bellend mobile tyre fitter parked his van across my driveway, with flashing lights on and outside shouting shortly after I'd just gotten the her to sleep and subsequently woke her. To say I had a go at him probably puts it mildly and I was no doubt overreacting, but f**k me man sleep deprivation and a crying child will change you.
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What oddball owns this alias then? Failing miserably at a wind up.
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19 hours ago, Venti said:
Like having 1 lightsaber hilt & everyone brings their own kyber crystal.
Ye know that's exactly what I was thinking.
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On 10/04/2024 at 08:19, The Moonster said:
Sorry to pull this up after months but is this not an entirely normal thing to do? The toothbrushes are designed in this way for this exact reason, no? It'd be utterly insane buying 5 separate toothbrushes that all had interchangeable heads.
Didn't expect that to start quite the debate on the topic, I just thought it was funny imagining them all lining up at the toilet waiting for the communal toothbrush. Can confirm it was 5 of them, maybe just a bit much, perhaps the mum and dad could have shared one and the kids another.
Not the greatest examples of tightfistedness so I'll retract it from being a "tremendous tale of tightfistedness" to "a tale of moderate thriftiness in the face of financial adversity" if that helps.
There were actually some much better examples from him, he was well known for it, but copious amounts of alcohol and not a lot of sleep over the last few years have probably blasted any such memories well an truly out of my brain.
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5 minutes ago, welshbairn said:
Ismaning? I originally booked a hotel there but Garching looks much easier to get back to after the game, so I cancelled it.
The very one. I told him just to go with Garching, I think there may have even been spaces in the same hotel, so I don't really know why he did that.
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On 10/03/2024 at 14:19, Don Diego De la Vega said:
Booked to stay provisionally in Garching on the outskirts of Munich for the Germany game, seems to be decent transport links if not overly exciting,. anyone been there or staying there too?
Me and my brother also in Garching, on @welshbairn's recommendation actually. Looked nicer and better priced than the city centre options at the time. A mate of mine is in the next wee town over as well.
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9 hours ago, SH Panda said:
In real terms it's still a bit below 2022 highs so may have a bit to go. No doubt there will be at least a bit of a correction this year too.
There's a a good argument that these highs are bad for society overall. Pretty much every rich person, and certainly every politician and person of influence, will be invested in the stock market. Any spike like this only excarcebates inequality, and it's been rich man's heaven since 2010.
A counter analysis to Capital by Thomas Piketty pointed out that real nominal incomes of the wealthy hasn't changed much in previous decades, and the US has seen a surge in wages at lower levels for the last few years. However, most wealth appreciation comes through assets like equity and property, so salary disparity is becoming a less robust measure of inequality.
Most people will have some pensions in the stock market but there's a decent chance they are invested in wildly underperforming life strategy funds, or even worse in the moribund FTSE index.
My portfolio is 97% ETF weighted and most of that is in the US (frankly, I wish all of it was), on capital accumulation alone since November I've more than the annual median salary. And thats not through working or doing anything productive.
The game is rigged, and if you're not benefitting from it you're paying for it.
Tl;Dr check your pension allocation, and invest what savings you have in low cost tracker funds. Never too late to start.
For the last decade or so China has waged a bit of a war on its wealthy asset owning class (or at least stopped bailing them out, and severely restricting outward capital flows). The UK certainly has neither the balls nor means for this though so you should be fine.
I think you're fairly spot on there. Mine are a mix of index trackers and higher risk tech / north US funds. You really can't go too far wrong with them, as long as you're investing regularly. I don't agree entirely on life strategy funds, but that's because I have the LS 80% equity in Vanguard, while there's been dips in the last 2 years it's well up since I've been investing.
With the way tax in Scotland is going, paying particular attention to the amount and where you invest your pension in could be particularly beneficial long term.
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Ach I voted without reading the poll, a revolutionary war against the establishment I'd be there with bells on. Other than that, nah.
Although if it was more or less just like Kelly's heroes then yeah I'm probably back in.
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Everyone with an S&P 500 fund investment. Same actually applies to anyone heavily weighted in North America / US tech firms.
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23 hours ago, velo army said:
Coming through for this, but I haven't watched us win live in over a decade.
Apologies in advance.
Sincerely.
A. Jonah
Fucksakes
Was looking forward to this as well.
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Surprised at the lack of match thread for this guaranteed thriller of a cup tie. Hopefully the Jags can continue our play-off retribution against relegation zoned Livi this time.
With a break this weekend and hopefully no injuries I'd quite fancy us, so we'll probably lose.
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Hey wait a sec...
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On 26/01/2024 at 19:33, scottsdad said:
Before she trimmed the bush, or the other thing?
The other thing, although I've no idea if the curtains matched the drapes then or now.
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Don't really understand this suggestion of untrained / semi-trained boots on the ground approach being mentioned. Get a bunch of weans to pilot cheap drones with bombs, far better off that way.
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Car advice
in The General Nonsense Forum
Posted
Could be yeah, although as soon as I asked who worked on the car he was straight in with what had been happening before I could elaborate. We may never know, now that I know the going rate for the work I'll probs trade it for something newer this year.