Since im a woman and into my cars i am often approached for help from women who are looking to buy a car to which i have no problem in doing although i think im going to stop all help as some people cannot be helped!

 

For instance my niece was looking for her first car, was set on a Clio, wanted it in blue and it needed to have alloys. Right ok thats not too hard, spend hours trailing auto trader and what have you, find about 6 possibilities that pretty much match her requirements and have the necessary history, T&T, dont come from dodgy dealers and look acceptable ect ...then to find out while ive been doing all this she buys a silver Clio that has had one side poorly re-sprayed, had it springs cut to lower (literally cannot see the top of the tyre) has bolt on naff after market bits and an exhaust you can fit your head in...WTF!

 

Then a work collogue has now asked for help, wanting a car under £500, under 100k miles, T&T and most of all wants it to be reliable (in other words, easy to work on!)

Ive found literally loads of cars, tried to explain to her to basics in looking for second hand cars, shown her loads of nice examples, all close location wise that even i would go for. She has now told me she has found a Corsa B, with over 120k miles on, no hisotry, looks absolutely knackered located 80miles away...seriously why do i bother! 

 

Car people and non car people should not associate together..its frustrating! 

I feel your pain. my mrs and her family have a grudge against anything with over 40k on it and older than 5. no concept of reality at all. For my mrs first car she had a price limit of 4k and wasn't allowed to view anything before 07. So she ended up in a less than perfect colt. which she now hates. I tried and I tried and I tried to convince her that an older car with better history is worth much more than a new cheaper car.

 

Oh well.

Don't bother or it will be your fault if it goes tits up !

Reminds me of Matt1Chelski's topic about him helping his mate find a car; he became frustrated too

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/298811-arggghhhh-do-people-really-choose-a-car-like-this/

Thats the other reason im not helping people any more, im not been made responsible for a shed of the car

Don't bother or it will be your fault if it goes tits up !

 

The same reason I don't help anyone with computers anymore. By helping you enter into a lifetime support contract.

Oh yes aspman ,"it was fine until you had a look " now you need to pay to get it fixed !

This also works in revers on Brisky. A poster comes on and says "I fancy a new car. Either a Fabia or a Polo, small diesel and must be manual, help guys?". Next thing is peeps post, "you should get the Honda Vtec, it's much better", how about the A6 DSG estate? lots more car for your money", "have you thought about a Sherman tank, they're great" and so on.

 

I hate helping people to individually pick a car. I prefer to recommend cars in a price range, how to perhaps get a better deal and so on. But to actually go to the trouble of pointing a specific car out (and doing all the research necessary), is a guarantee into a world of pain :(

Edited 18 March, 201412 yr by Lady Elanore

Yes sister in law asked me to find her a TT, I found one ,we went to see it, she liked it, then another of her friends had seen a M2 for £800 quid more and a convertable in LONDON a 430 mile round trip and 4 hours each way if no traffic , 2  photos from 10 feet away at dusk, I said stay clear it is £5200 cheaper than any other, she went to see it with that friend the car only just started ,swirls everywhere , a damaged hood and kerbed alloys .Luckily she did not buy it, then decided to go for the one I showed her, it had gone! . She then asked me for advice again, I said dont listen to your mate! 

Not to mention now that i have offered to help she now expects me to go with her to look at it (and im guessing she wants to me to go to Newcastle) i really dont want to seem nasty to her as she is a friend but i have better things to do then go look at some crappy Corsa B

"If you want to get in touch with your inner chav do it without me"

There's an irony in here somewhere: last time I recommended a car to someone, it was an Octavia MkII 1.4T DSG. The bloke loved it.  

Don't bother or it will be your fault if it goes tits up !

This.

There's a lot of people that believe that once you offer any help or assistance you've agreed to a lifetime commitment.

A friend of ours owns a burger van and a carpet cleaner that he does some work with, he was looking on the web for a new car and we spotted a Octy estate with towbar for a couple of grand, instead, he went for a more expensive Citroen Xzara Picasso that caused him nothing but bother, then he sold that and bought another one the same, nothing but bother from that too, then he bought another 2 of them, then sold 1 and then got bother from the other so he bought a VW T4 van, replaced the front wings and rear wheel arches then sold it to a builder and bought a Pug Boxer van, then sold that for a Bipper and that cost him £800 for a new wiring loom not that long ago.

Sometimes you can't do anything to help people, no matter how many times you try.

So don't bother.

Yeah but at least he didn't end up with a Skoda! They are no fun with all their working and stuff!

Yeah but at least he didn't end up with a Skoda! They are no fun with all their working and stuff!

Mine broke down before it was 2 years old :(

Sometimes the pain is pleasure,  once the pain stops.

 

If you never buy or drive a lemon you might never appreciate a good car in the future.

& with the passage of time you often forget, and remember how good fun those lemons were.

Sometimes the pain is pleasure,  once the pain stops.

 

If you never buy or drive a lemon you might never appreciate a good car in the future.

& with the passage of time you often forget, and remember how good fun those lemons were.

My Pug was a lemon. Don't want one of those again, or another lemon.

I also get asked for advice but I prefer it when somebody says I have X thousand to spend and need a car for work/school run ect and then I am happy to give my time and try and suggest a selection of models suitable for the job within their budget. Once the car they want has been picked finding one at the right price/mileage/age should not be that difficult ?

@aspman

I feel your pain!

My sister recently spent £10,000 on a car, she didn't test drive it, just said to the salesman my brother will test drive it and if he says it's OK I'll have it.  That was a few weeks ago and she's still talking to me.

A colleague wanted me to go with him to look at a motorbike he was considering buying.

I rode it. The frame was bent. I told him to walk away.

He bought it.

A couple of years later he emigrated, and he seemed quite affronted when I refused to sell it for him after he'd gone

Not to mention now that i have offered to help she now expects me to go with her to look at it (and im guessing she wants to me to go to Newcastle) i really dont want to seem nasty to her as she is a friend but i have better things to do then go look at some crappy Corsa B

Do you want me to burn it out for you to save the hassle? 

swmbo's friend wanted me to go look at a clio a few years back, i wnt looked and told her to walk away we will go look around at other garages,

 

I found a little polo in red the colour she wanted with fsh and plenty of T&T,

 

Next time i saw her it was parked on her drive and she had it 3 years and used and abused it and it just kept going even when it rolled down her drive and wrote her neighbours transit van off,

 

She loved it, so sometimes it does go to plan

I've tried in the past, with mixed success.  It depends if they genuinely want the advice and if you are telling them what they want to hear.