Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

It seems like they're wasting money by using two different types of bolts. The extra cost of the Audi bolt could be amortized by placing larger orders and getting a lower unit price.

Apparently this is the reason behind it :rolleyes::

That's the German sense of humor.

"Joke's on you, you bought a VW!" as they used to say. "It's not a car, it's a Volkswagen!" (Evidently, if you want an actual car from VW USA, you have to buy an Audi or better... :p) :mrgreen:
 
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How many cents are they saving per car on that decision?


Short term or long term?

It seems like they're wasting money by using two different types of bolts. The extra cost of the Audi bolt could be amortized by placing larger orders and getting a lower unit price.

Yeah, the "cheaper bolt" is more complex and is probably more expensive in the first place. So they could save tons over the long term by using the simpler bolt in the first place, not to mention all of the recalls that will probably happen too.


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With my Dad in the hospital, I have been spending a lot of time in and around the town the hospital is in. I see they really have a thing for personal plates there too. I couldn't figure it out until I dropped my Mom and sister off at a local grocery store and it hit me. There are only 15 or 20 different vehicles being driven by the town's populace and they have to have the custom plates to tell which car is theirs!
 
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One of my bosses from my previous job just bought a 2003 Boxster. I've never liked the early Boxsters, but his is an exception. The car looks really nice, and I am slightly jealous.
 
One of my bosses from my previous job just bought a 2003 Boxster. I've never liked the early Boxsters, but his is an exception. The car looks really nice, and I am slightly jealous.

I drove my mother's newly-purchased 2003 the other day for the first time on public roads (still iffy with manual). I'm not sold on the guage cluster but I kept finding myself going way faster than intended.... must be a good sign.
 
A friend of mine got his car stolen during the night. Apparently a common practice with car thieves is that they leave the car parked on the street somewhere for a few days to let it "cool off" in case it has got a GPS tracker or something. Luckily, those particular idiots who stole his car have decided to leave it in a restricted parking zone not a kilometre away from his home, where it was recovered by the traffic wardens who were just about to give it ticket.:lol:

It's still missing the radio, the ignition assembly and everything else he left in the car that was of any value, though.<_<
 
A friend of mine got his car stolen during the night. Apparently a common practice with car thieves is that they leave the car parked on the street somewhere for a few days to let it "cool off" in case it has got a GPS tracker or something. Luckily, those particular idiots who stole his car have decided to leave it in a restricted parking zone not a kilometre away from his home, where it was recovered by the traffic wardens who were just about to give it ticket.:lol:

It's still missing the radio, the ignition assembly and everything else he left in the car that was of any value, though.<_<

feel sorry for your friend. Why would they bother with leaving the car someplace and then coming back for it? Why not just take what you can and bolt, leave the car.

That's what they did on my old Polo (the old "screwdriver through the doorlock" trick... stole my stereo, CDs, and thats basically all there was of value)
 
Hm. I just realized I keep virtually nothing at all of value in my car. I keep a GPS system in there, hidden in the center console, but that's about it. I suppose the stereo could be considered valuable, but it's the stock VW one from when it was new which is, quite frankly, crap. :dunno:
 
Yeah, nothing of value in my car either, other than my FM transmitter which no one here would be able to use since it's a Zune only plug
 
My GPS is built-in to the dashboard (screen folds away so you may not even notice it), and the radio is very much bespoke with no obvious way to remove it. The one thing I'm worried about is the rims, I have funny shaped lugnuts that require a special adapter but I'm sure that's not going to stop someone who knows what they're doing. Hopefully they'll notice the repaired scratches and decide not to bother :rolleyes:
 
Well, none of the stuff in his car was of particularly high value either - some cheap-ish walkie-talkies, sunglasses, phone charger etc. The radio was a bespoke factory unit too. Then again it was a Skoda Octavia and about every fifth car sold here is an Octavia, so a factory radio for an Octavia is still a pretty "liquid asset". Which is really a problem to owning a Skoda/VAG car in general. Literally every other car on the street here was made by VAG, which means that every halfwit knows how to get into one and the parts are in high demand.
 
I've been thinking, despite the fact I prmised myself not to look at anything to do with the car until after exams; should I get new wheels for the Saab. It currently has 15" ones, and I'd like to get some 17"ers.

o0nw1w.jpg


They just look a bit small to me (and smaller in reality).

There is a set of 4 of these on sale on ebay currently, with potential to go for around ?100 (including tyres, which I've emailed about the condition of - the wheels need refurbishing though). But I think I want ones with 3 spokes, like these.
sbpl54.jpg


Hopefully they'll go for a high enough price that I'll let them go, especially since they're in Wales so I'd have to get them couriered home. I should really be looking for something to collect on the way home from uni... :p

Also I still haven't decided if I'm keeping the car or not yet. Keeping it would mean a project just sitting on the drive at uni next year (we have a big driveway for our house, and I wouldn't use it to drive to campus).
 
That car should only have wheels with 3 spokes; makes it unique.
 
Hmm you're very right. I didn't buy the car to blend in, especially in the 'I have a car and I'm 19, so it is a corsa as that's all I can afford' category... :p I know theres a Saab scrabyard near Bedford, which is an acceptable detour off the M1 on the way home. Also I was born there so I'm sure the parents wouldn't mind seeing places they lived etc. Hopefully they'll have a bonnet too.

Edit: Scrap that; I was getting 2 breakers mixed up. The one I was thinking about is just off the M25; result (although the other way round to the way we would normally go), and the one near Bedford is actually a fair bit away from the town itself, the opposite side to the M1. But I know they have parts in the same rare green. I'll call them I guess nearer the time.
 
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Or like a Ford Mustang? :p Or the Mercury Capri?

3spokewheels.jpg
 
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I meant that 3-spoke wheels make that Saab look more unique than any other car with 3-spoke wheels.
 
Saabs and the Viper.

1995-Dodge-Viper-RT-10-red-st.jpg


:D
 
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