revtothelimit - motorbike forum

I worked in the motor trade for many years and bought and sold my own cars for a number of those. Like any trade that operates unregulated, it is full of chancers and, well, crooks for want of a better word! Not all are though and when you offer a service such as car buying/seling, if you do it right, the customers will come back time and time again.

Back then (70s & 80s) clocking cars was incredibly commonplace as was buying service history from written-off cars and opening up your non serviced car's service book and swapping the pages, which took seconds by just opening the staples. £100 blow overs (resprays) were the order of the day for high mileage cars such as ex taxis and second-hand engines, gearboxes, and diffs were changed in hours with ones from breakers.

Ringing and cutting and shutting was also commonplace, but sometimes cutting a straight quarter into a car was better than the repairs done by some of the hapless twats that professed to be "auto body specialists"!

The biggest crooks and the most deceptive was actually the public though. It's no different today for them either whilst the Motor Trade has had to up its game due to accountability. I've heard on many a car and bike forum people saying, its fucked I'll part ex it and somehow this is acceptable, but folk don't like it when Dealers do it as well!

Taipan wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:04 pm clocking cars was incredibly commonplace

Apocryphal or not, opening up the back to find the note "oh no not again".

And, of course, how Quentin Wilson got his nickname.

Taipan wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:04 pm
The biggest crooks and the most deceptive was actually the public though. It's no different today for them either whilst the Motor Trade has had to up its game due to accountability. I've heard on many a car and bike forum people saying, its fucked I'll part ex it and somehow this is acceptable, but folk don't like it when Dealers do it as well!

Not entirely. If I had a vehicle that wasn't running well and I took it to a dealers to part ex I wouldn't list all the things that I thought might be wrong with it and as a Dealer I'd expect them to know more about mechanics than I do.

My acquaintance said his Mrs often said "I don't know how you sleep at night" to which he would reply "Quite well actually" and that's the difference - conscience. I have a big one and was surprised that he seemed like a nice guy but was actually a bit of a

A very long time ago I remember a phrase from VD which was something like "it only seems perverse the first time" which was funny, yet very true. My Mum used to say "familiarity breeds contempt", same thing but with nicer words.

Taipan wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:04 pm I've heard on many a car and bike forum people saying, its fucked I'll part ex it and somehow this is acceptable, but folk don't like it when Dealers do it as well!

I'd expect a dealer to be able to spot a fucked vehicle, to expect a punter to do the same is a stretch.
Either way it's one of the reasons I hate buying / selling a vehicles with a passion, I'd sooner scrap a car than deal with dealers or the great unwashed public trying to pick the bones clean.

Thinking back....... hold on this is tricky........nope, I haven't sold a car in my life, except one which went on ebay for spares which some dodgy dealer put back into circulation, only ever sold one bike too

Trinity765 wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:57 pm

Taipan wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:04 pm
The biggest crooks and the most deceptive was actually the public though. It's no different today for them either whilst the Motor Trade has had to up its game due to accountability. I've heard on many a car and bike forum people saying, its fucked I'll part ex it and somehow this is acceptable, but folk don't like it when Dealers do it as well!

Not entirely. If I had a vehicle that wasn't running well and I took it to a dealers to part ex I wouldn't list all the things that I thought might be wrong with it and as a Dealer I'd expect them to know more about mechanics than I do.

Of course, and that why any vehicle coming in is appraised, but note I used the word deceptive because that's what a lot are and intentionally so too! PX value agreed on the car in its current guise. On the day of sale the PX vehicle is nothing like the car you agreed a value on. We'd often see things like batteries swapped for a dead one. Alloy wheels swapped out with steels, or just wheels replaced with ones with dodgy tyres. Stereos removed. Trim swapped/removed. Spare wheel and tools missing, etc blah. We went through it so many times, that in the end we'd actually tell people to not park outside but to bring the car to the showroom and then someone would look it over whilst we were doing the paperwork. I cancelled many sales over it too.

Went to see a friend at her work. One of her drivers parked their van like this -



Ok, it was possible to move the bike. But it was a challenge to get it off the side stand first

I did go and ask her to give him a slap for me cos he's a fuckwit!!

Perhaps he wanted access to the door

slowsider wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 7:49 pm Perhaps he wanted access to the door

Nah - the only reason I parked there is that I know they aren't using the door at the moment - wouldn't risk it during the winter!! LOL He's just a dick!

Noggin wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 7:37 pm

Bloody hell do they burn rust off cars in France

F..ing two-step identification!

I like the concept, but it becomes really really irritating when you live on the edge of the known world with flakey mobile reception. After 3 or 4 attempts with no text I give up, then 1/2 an hour later all 4 turn up.

Salt. Little white bastard

It's bloody everywhere. I've been told to cut my salt intake right down.
So that rules out the obvious stuff and gonna start cooking from fresh.
But there's so many foods that you don't imagine salt to be a danger.

Finding lots of info on Google.

Main surprise to me is cheese. Especially blue cheese which I love. It's about 1.4 g of salt per 100gm


Even tinned tuna. Got some John West stuff. Bloody whole gram per small 100 gm tin.
Bread is now out.
Even too much salt in Cheerios.

But no salt in beer

Amazon leaving parcels on my doorstep! If I pop out and they turn up, I talk to him through the ring doorbell and tell him to take it next door. This happens often enough that he doesn't ask which neighbour, as soon as I talk through the doorbell, he just replies, "Ahh to next door okay". As I was driving today and didn't answer, the thick twat couldn't work out what to do all on his own so he just left the big parcel on the doorstep for all to see.

Yorick wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:52 pm Salt. Little white bastard

It's bloody everywhere. I've been told to cut my salt intake right down.
So that rules out the obvious stuff and gonna start cooking from fresh.
But there's so many foods that you don't imagine salt to be a danger.

Finding lots of info on Google.

Main surprise to me is cheese. Especially blue cheese which I love. It's about 1.4 g of salt per 100gm


Even tinned tuna. Got some John West stuff. Bloody whole gram per small 100 gm tin.
Bread is now out.
Even too much salt in Cheerios.

But no salt in beer

I hate salt. Spoils a meal for me. Never had it growing up and just don't have taste for it.

Do you not have traffic light labelling on food over there?

Taipan wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:56 pm

Yorick wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:52 pm Salt. Little white bastard

It's bloody everywhere. I've been told to cut my salt intake right down.
So that rules out the obvious stuff and gonna start cooking from fresh.
But there's so many foods that you don't imagine salt to be a danger.

Finding lots of info on Google.

Main surprise to me is cheese. Especially blue cheese which I love. It's about 1.4 g of salt per 100gm


Even tinned tuna. Got some John West stuff. Bloody whole gram per small 100 gm tin.
Bread is now out.
Even too much salt in Cheerios.

But no salt in beer

I hate salt. Spoils a meal for me. Never had it growing up and just don't have taste for it.

Do you not have traffic light labelling on food over there?

It's the hidden stuff problem. I never put any on food.

The cheese and tuna are both UK stuff

On a similar note, I read the back of a dried cranberries packet a while ago. The cranberries themselves made up c. 30%, the rest was pineapple juice and sugar. Go figure.

I've now found a brand which is about 70% cranberries, and they're much less sweet and more cranberry sour, but that's still a lot of bloody sugar.

Yorick wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:58 pm It's the hidden stuff problem

You're gonna be one of them sad bastards that reads every label in the supermarket

MrLongbeard wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:10 pm

Yorick wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:58 pm It's the hidden stuff problem

You're gonna be one of them sad bastards that reads every label in the supermarket

If it keeps me alive, then yes.

Yorick wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:13 pm

MrLongbeard wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:10 pm

Yorick wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:58 pm It's the hidden stuff problem

You're gonna be one of them sad bastards that reads every label in the supermarket

If it keeps me alive, then yes.

I do. The traffic light system really helps.

You eat out quite a bit too don't you? Spanish are heavy users of salt, so watch that. It's worth getting blood pressure monitor and monitor your BP and note any differences or spikes and think about what, or where, you ate the day before.

https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/check-the-label

Taipan wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:34 pm

Yorick wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:13 pm

MrLongbeard wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:10 pm

You're gonna be one of them sad bastards that reads every label in the supermarket

If it keeps me alive, then yes.

I do. The traffic light system really helps.

You eat out quite a bit too don't you? Spanish are heavy users of salt, so watch that. It's worth getting blood pressure monitor and monitor your BP and note any differences or spikes and think about what, or where, you ate the day before.

https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/check-the-label

I bought a monitor and kept 2 weeks records in excel. The doc yesterday liked this.

We only eat out once a week so we'll be a bit more careful.
And our monthly trip down to Playa Blanca will be OK as we always have the huge salad

Taipan wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:34 pm

Yorick wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:13 pm

MrLongbeard wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:10 pm

You're gonna be one of them sad bastards that reads every label in the supermarket

If it keeps me alive, then yes.

I do.

Yes, I do too, drive the missus up the wall, soooo mnay hidden carbs in sooo much stuff