Not so long ago we have been celebrating 1st day of Spring. We said 'bye bye' to snow and 'hello' to warm weather. For every driver out there this also means that its time to take his summer-tires out of basement and go to workshop. It is also time for checking our car technical condition after winter.
my car
Im a lucky (or unlucky) owner of almost 9 year old Saab 9-3. I simply love this car and would like to keep it in great condition for as long as it is possible. But as you probably know this car isnt the most popular one on our streets.. and this leads to 2 major things:
expensiveness of parts to this model
difficulty with finding these parts
But I still love this car for its uniqueness..<3
Few weeks ago I was in workshop to change my tires and make some technical review. First funny thing was that mechanist had no idea how to lift the car up on their machines because of unique chassis structure and low side spoilers ( sport 'aero' version) :P finally they ended up lifting every wheel separately on standard elevator swearing like old shoemaker.
Second situation which I found funny was where 1 of mechanics had to move a car a bit. So he got into the car with key and after short period everybody heard something like 'WTF? Where is the ignition switch!?!'. For those who didnt know – in saabs ignition switch is on the right side of seat just next to gear – box.
But not every moment was so funny. After whole review I decided to ask about 'repairing' the lcd display of SID (Saab Information Display). It turned out that they dont repair it and I have to buy whole new one. I asked how much would it be for new SID. “3500PLN” was the answer 0o. So my jaw wend down and I realized that im not in that dire need of fully functional SID. Besides.. later I have found in Google that there are some electronics who 'regenerate' it for just 150PLN which I think is worth trying.
But back to the topic :) I have paid like 100 PLN for whole 'operation'. 30 PLN for changing tires and like 70 for checking rest of devices. Which i think wasnt that big price for having my car tuned up for new road conditions.
Lets discuss the dangerous cars on our roads problem. Which used to appear in media from time to time. I havent managed to find appropriate article in English but here are some short polish links connected to this issue:
First Article
Second Article
Their both refer to corruption problem in polish workshops. Is it really so easy to go trough technical review even without showing a car?
If its true than this could mean that old cars in terrible condition are peacefully riding on our roads without any consequences. And in my opinion they can be as deadly as drunk drivers or sick and old peoples mentioned by Michal Dobrzanski in his comment to previous post. And whats about foreign drivers from Litwa? As i know from my own experience they drive like crazy and their cars are usually some 10-14 yr old passats with rust on their cars body.
www.bjandtony.com
So, suming up... What do you think about corruption problem in polish workshops?
What could be made to actually eliminate dangerous cars?
And maybe some offtopic idea..
What do you think about car sellers who bring dangerous cars from abroad and cheat on their condition to sell tham at the higher price?
- I almost bought that kind of car some time ago, but luckily i checked it registration plates in google and found out true about it on some dutch website.
-s3580
In my opinion there is two group of people who owned dangerous cars. People who don't care about condition of they cars, and people who tuned they cars of own way. Cars with rust, with no brakes and lights are the same danger on road like cars with all "black windows", too small tires tight on whell and lights called XENON from allegro without sprinkling and auto leveling.
ReplyDeleteHeh, almost everything in my car i do on my own. It's my hobby and i do it with pleasure. I have two set of wheels so i do change it myself.
BTW. 30 zl it's quite nice price... :)
(s3572)
ReplyDeleteYep I dream about buying a Ariel Atom sometime...but for sure I'll end up driving some 5-7 old year crap until it dies not caring about replacing any of it's parts.
I agree in case of technical condition - a suspension, steering, lights - these should be perfect. But rust in car body doesn't hurt anyone. Even better when leaving car alone at night. I feel much more peaceful when I leave for night my Polonez than parents Honda. And when somebody scratched my Poldek... well shit happens it can't look worse :D.
ReplyDeleteBut in workshops they pick on that rusty places to make you come again and pay for tests again. So I understand why people try to cheat in that situation. It's cheating anyway car owners or workshops owners...
“What do you think about car sellers who bring dangerous cars from abroad and cheat on their condition to sell them at the higher price?”
ReplyDeleteOf course I think that they are cheaters ;)
It’s really hard to buy a secondhand car. When you go to see an offered car it’s necessary to take someone who is a car expert. Otherwise you may be cheated.
What about ten years old VW passat::
http://www.moto.allegro.pl/item614590954_vw_passat_kombi_1_8t_tiptronic_10_1999.html
Does it look very dangerous? Not safe? I don’t think so. The main problem is human factor.
In 2005 the bad condition of cars was the cause of 1% cars` accidents.
Below I paste a link to report about cases of cars` accidents.
http://www.wste.pl/seminaria/prz_wyp_drog_zalewski.ppt
"What do you think about corruption problem in polish workshops?"
ReplyDeleteWhat can we think? Were you expecting that someone would say that it is great and he is taking advantage of this situation? :)
Of course it is bad, illegal etc.
It is annoying when I hear someone is starting up his engine in his old car... it takes him ages, it is load and it stinks... I'm not saying that every old car is supposed to be kept away from the roads.
First of all we should decide when a car is starting to be old and when it is still "ready for action" :)
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ReplyDeletePolish workshops are the worst.
ReplyDeleteThose that I can really recommend:
a) Windows, changes and repairs -> "Goldenbay" on Al.Krakowskie 35. Changed my front window professionally not with a hammer in 2h for only 380zł with an original Pinklington window.
b) "Izpol" behind Orlen on Prymasa Tysiąclecia.
They've fixed my entire engine after another polish workshop destroyed it.
c) Feu Vert services for fast muffler changes that don't need welding.
d) "Rogujski ASO" when You need to change Your tires. Fast, good and they offer my favourite tires from Uniroyal, mainly the Rainsport series.
e) When it comes to Opel ASO then I can recommend You "Abexim". They aren't cheap.
They have an agreement with "Lakiernictwo Wyszyński" and "Izpol" that I've mentioned earlier.
f) Car Audio. I can recommend You "Video Car Audio" in Arkadia, level -2. There works a really nice guy who knows what he's doing and his prices aren't sky high. He
I need someone who can fix my bumper, can You recommend someone? I have a chafe on the right bumper side (somebody didn't noticed....:-( )
A cars age is defined by it's condition, and that's period. I like it when my car looks like a new one even though it's 9 years old.
i own a 1992 yamaha motorcyle (over 17 years old!)..
ReplyDeletethat is a true piece of junk. i've already spent more money on repairs and spare parts than the motorcycle's worth.
and safety? nightmare. i am nervous all the time.
but.. i love motorcyles and buying this crap was the only way to start riding.. :)
now i am saving money for something newer.
I agree with all of you. Many cars shouldn't be on road, some of them are old another after accident, but looks like new. I think that you should decide if you feel confident driving your car and 100% sure that your car is safety to environment. I personaly know people who drives twenty years old car and it is in better condition than five years old car brought from abroad.
ReplyDeleteAgain. Corruption, dishonest car sellers.
ReplyDeleteIt may look funny at first, but if you want to eliminate cheating in workshops you should stop cheating at school ... . It is hard to get rid off such behaviours in society where cheating is commonly accepted.
I have 12 year old car but it's in really good condition, first owner of this car was 80 years old:D This car almost most of his life spends in a worm garage, and almost all km's made on highways to Vienna at summer.. ( I have still original muffler!!! But it was of course hit almost everywhere (80 year old driver):D But there is no rust on or under it:)
ReplyDeleteHowever, its terrible to see old BMW with rear drive, with bold guy inside driving 160km/h on turns during rain.. :] Also Polish buses are in terrible condition... there should be more restrictions about technical condition in Poland!
I also confirm that bad car conditions is quite dangerous on our roads. I remember that once i was driving through Powstańców Śląskich on bemowo i saw funny effect of propably bad condition of the car (but not mine of course). There was a car trying to get into the road from high curb. Driver wanted to join the trafiic from my right side. So he turned max his wheels left and slowly goes forward, but when his front left wheel felt from the curb it crashed. When normal wheels lok sth like that | his looks like that / . I didn't see what happen next because i had to go further. Probably he didn't screw up his wheel tought or maybe his wheel ball bearing was too old.
ReplyDeleteMaciej Bielski said...
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to get rid off such behaviours in society where cheating is commonly accepted.
Exactly! So we should try to solve this problem when it starts... at home, told children how to behave in this sick world hehe :}
it is not so easy to keep a car in perfect shape. I have a 17 year old honda, which is in very nice condidion but I admit that maintaining her in good shape is both costly and difficult. another problem is finding a good garage. If you know any worth mentioning do not hesitate. ;o)
ReplyDelete