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My across-the-road neighbour (70+) does this too, with a brand new VW, even when it?s pouring down. There are some others with strange motoring habits near me too. One always drives with his interior lights on at night. Another (20?s this time) drives past my house, which is on a bend, leaning hard over to his left as though on a motorbike. Then there?s the one whose garage is at the bottom of a fairly steep drive. He always arrives home, switches off the engine then opens the garage door. He then gets back in, starts the car and drives it into the garage. After the third borrowing of my battery charger I suggested he keep the garage keys separate from the car keys and leave the engine running. I also explained the possible employment of gravity in the process.
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I can only speak for one person here, and he's a retired chap who lives a few doors away from me. His reason is quite clearly that he doesn't like people parking outside his house. I'm quite clear on that because he's mentioned it quite forcefully to other neighbours when they have used "his" space, even for a few minutes.
I don't like to extrapolate, but I'm sure a proportion of those people who appear to do this for no reason do it from the same motives.
BTW, this chap buys a new car every three years; the old ones must be sold with a nice low mileage for very high prices to ignorant punters. In his defence, though, he does give it some gas when he does get moving.
V
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my dad does this as an attempt to encorage kids to play football in the street somewhere else
having had his front (house) window smashed by footballs several times, often knowing which kids did it, experienced that in practise he will have to fund the new window as the parents will not pay up, and that if you take the ball off them the police threaten you with arrest (even when the kids are kicking the ball directly at the window on purpose as an obvious attempt to try and break it)
the car is a sacrifical object there in front as the only practical way of encouraging the kids to go somewhere else
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the car is a sacrifical object
That's it - you have summed up the western Cult of the Car perfectly.
Devotees worship the idol, which is kept in a special shrine called a garage. It is daily taken out , washed and waxed, and then reverently put away again.
The most devout parade the idol around the roads, challenging others in mock ritual fights to scratch or dent it. This damage is lovingly repaired at enormous expense.
Some, perhaps through being too poor to afford a proper shrine, or because they also worship other idols, keep their cars in the drive or the road.
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It gives them something to do before and after the post office closes. :)
I recall an elderly neighbour who used to push his car out of the garage every morning. Saved petrol or something.
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It's obvious most of you are growing old and losing your marbles.:-)
Surely you must remember you drive the car out of the garage at 8am because:
experience tells you by 9am you will have forgotten where you put it and:
by 10am you will not remember the colour and:
by 12 am .. "I don't have a car".
I'll get my coat.
madf
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I suspect that it?s a combination of FotheringtonThomas?s ?it's just a couple of old 'uns trying to out-do each other? (although we?re talking Metros etc here) and GroovyMucker?s ?they've developed habits?.
I reckon it?s just part of their everyday procedure of opening up the house, and the car is put out in the same way a grocer would display produce outside his shop.
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It's when the put the car out - and then check the oil level of the cat.
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It's when the put the car out - and then check the oil level of the cat.
lol, poor puss ;) the mind boggles!
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The mention of Green Meany has bought all the old codgers out from their garage/workshops - the list was all the things I can easily get -but could never afford Kwaker - had a poor second best a Suzuki GT550 ram Air -only sold it four years ago with 13k on it - probably as well I couldn't have greenie as would more than likely killed myself. The Suzuki didn't handle much better - not as good as the old T110 pre unit - now the grand dads will come out. - The Desmo Duke was also one I wanted.
Dave
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It's force of habit. They get the car out ready to go to work, and only then remember that they retired some years previously. When it's time to arive home after work they return the car to the garage and only then remember they haven't been to work!
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L\'escargot.
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How do you know we havn`t been anywhere during the day :)
We wait while you have all cleared off to work, give it until the rush hours over then go off to the coast, having a laugh as we are now permanently on holiday :):):) Then we get back home before you and the rushhour and stick the car outside so we can fool around with all the tools and gadgets in the garage.
The car outside also means its on `standby` for anything that takes our whim as we have also tossed our work diaries away and now operate on an instant pleasure seeking basis as our freedom means we do not have to wait.
Sometimes however just looking at the car is enough, especially if a cloud passes over as we know that we can clear off somewhere tomorrow.
In these instances we put our feet up in the garden drinking iced beer and having a laugh at everyone rushing about.
Putting the car outside daily is also a positive statement to the community that we are still around and have survived another night without a visit from the Grim Reaper.
Regards
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>> It's when the put the car out - and then check the oil level of the cat.
> lol, poor puss ;) the mind boggles!
Haven't tried this with mine (but then I'm not retired.) Where does the dipstick go?
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I have been known to push the car out of the garage, but only to access the Chateau Barchetta range of red wines, which are maturing gently in cabinets behind the tailgate.
BTW it´s an underground carpark with limited temperature variation. The reds seem to love it down there.
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Perhaps it's one of those strange things they do in England, like using a washing up bowl to do dishes in, instead of the perfectly usable kitchen sink. When I was living over there, I did my dishes in the sink itself, to the horror of friends. They couldn't give me a good explanation apart from the one starting with "My mum always..."
Green Meanies? I had the very first of the H2 Kawasakis and it was bright blue. Could it lift the front wheel? Oh yes... I'm not sure how I survived, but when you're young you don't think about survival. Now in my fifties, I've still got a 1982 Suzuki Katana. I don't take the car out of the garage every day just for air though.
I recently moved house, and two car garages were common, but we needed space for three, which we eventually found. Caveat: This is in New Zealand, where motoring is still for the most part pleasurable.
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and of course it's not something that 20 yr olds do is it? Of course not, nor 30, 40, 50 - perish the thought lol
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like using a washing up bowl to do dishes in instead of the perfectly usable kitchen sink. When I was living over there I did my dishes in the sink itself to the horror of friends. They couldn't give me a good explanation apart from the one starting with "My mum always..."
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Gosh, how true. I've always used the sink, but I am the only person I know who does. People spend thousands on fitting out a kitchen with all the latest equipment from Naff, and then use a tatty plastic bowl to wash up in. They probably wonder what the dishwasher is for.
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Doing it in the sink scratches it. Much cheaper to replace a cheap bowl than the sink. Also you use less water and the water stays warmer longer. If I can think of any more reasons I'll let you know. ;-)
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Gosh how true. I've always used the sink but I am the only person I know who does.
We use the sink. You can get more in it than you can in a bowl. I think people use a bowl to save water. Then they waste water by leaving the tap dripping. Incidentally, I have a theory that leaving a tap dripping erodes the tap seat and makes it progressively more difficult to stop it dripping.
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L\'escargot.
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"like using a washing up bowl to do dishes in"
So that when you get a filthy plate you can bung the bulk of the detritus over the side and not unnecessarily dirty up the water in the sink. It's all in the pursuit of efficiency, you know.
Tssk.
V
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More efficient, using less water and able to rinse as you go. If you drop a glass directly into the sink it is more likely to chip than in a bowl. Having said that we use a machine ;~)
Back to the original thread, I presume these are the same elderly drivers who spent up to two hours queuing for petrol during the last 'crisis' who then could only fit less than £1.50 worth in - the amount they had used queuing probably. In our village the petrol station eventually allowed some locals to queue jump (ie me!) if you really needed the petrol, although we still had the rationed amount.
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Washing dishes is for wimps:-)
madf
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So that when you get a filthy plate you can bung the bulk of the detritus over the side and not unnecessarily dirty up the water in the sink. It's all in the pursuit of efficiency you know.
I let the filter in the dishwasher do that. It saves blocking up the sink outlet. Then the grey water that comes out of the dishwasher can be used for watering the garden, which saves on the use of fresh water, which can then be used for washing the CAR, after I have pushed it out of the garage.
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fresh water which can then be used for washing the CAR after I have pushed it out of the garage.
Ooh look, something motoring related. Thankyou Cliff & deepwith. Now perhaps others could follow suit and steer this back to motoring discussion.
DD.
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Ask these people to check their insurance documents.
The excess can be greatly increased if you tell the insurance company that it's garaged and it is then damaged or stolen while on the road outside their house.
These old folk need to worry more - it exercises their brain :-)
I also remember the Kwak triples, and the memorable quote from a newly launched 'Bike' magazine:
You need to a man with a neon capital 'M' to ride this bike.
I would also add that you would need a man's wage to keep it in petrol.
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I also remember the Kwak triples and the memorable quote from a newly launched 'Bike' magazine:
Those Kwak triples would pass anything but a garage. Amazing loony machines.
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My elderly next door neighbour does the same with their remaining Ka.
He definitely wants to discourage people parking outside his house. Moaned to me about covenants when friends parked outside our house. Claimed all vehicles had to be parked on driveways. Was talking nonsense as the covenants only applied on our property and obviously to our own vehicles.
Neighbour also recently sold their other similarly treated Ka and it was snapped up as a one owner low mileage vehicle.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Ask these people to check their insurance documents. The excess can be greatly increased if you tell the insurance company that it's garaged and it is then damaged or stolen while on the road outside their house.
I think the full wording is 'where is it normally parked overnight', so they'd be fine.
For that matter my car is normally garaged, but every week or so I leave it out overnight in order to wash it the next day (on-topic link - I do this because I'd hate to just start it up, move it out of the garage, then switch off again, must be terrible for the engine!). I'm pretty sure that doesn't break the terms of my insurance.
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Visitor parked outside our house this morning. When they left our house , car was damaged due to woman across the road hitting car.
£2000 (Two thousand) of damage estimated to visitors car. SWMBO heard nothing.
Perhaps parking on the driveway is a sensible idea.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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I agree with Pugugly, the retired man needs to spend at least an hour in the garage sharpening chisels, mending things and looking for things he's lost.
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