VR6 Hoses.....rant enclosed..

[__Andy__ 0]

right here goes...

 

ive very recently acquired a vr which was in a bit of a sad state, like the majority of us on here im a genuine enthusiast and find it a shame to see what could be a perfectly good car broken up for spares instead of having a bit of hard graft and effort put in to restore it to its former glory, this leads me back to the vr ive just got..it needs a few bits and bobs but i could see potential in it so i bought it...

 

the main thing i need are the top and bottom rad hose's..quite a common part to go wrong on these after all most of these hoses at the very least (unless already replaced) are now pushing 14 years or more use... so i got onto the dealer and sat down swiftly after being told the top hose is £88+ vat... and that the bottom hose is £26

+vat but there is only one of these left at the factory so its a 50-50 chance of getting it... so what did i do next of course i came to the one place where i knew i would at the least get some solid advice from like minded people, the corrado forum.. this left me with a couple of options.. a brand new 7 piece samco hose kit including clips for £229 or horrificly overpriced second hand hoses.. whilst im happy to bite the bullet and buy the samco's i want to get the car running first as cheaply as possible before i start throwing serious money at it, afterall my valver still needs a few bits and bobs to get it how i want it and that is my priority.

 

basically what grinds me is why certain people find it necessary to take advantage of enthusiasts and try and rip them off where possible, ive helped out many people on here and quite often given parts away for free just to help people out, in return ive experienced the same kind gesture for when ive been stuck...which is why i enjoy thius forum so much more then any other car or vw forum on the net.. there are so many genuine honest people on here its just a shame there are a handfull of people that sometimes tarnish it for the rest of us...

 

there are some positves going back to the hoses tho, after a dozen or so phone calls all over the country i have found a couple of suppliers that can provide the smaco hoses individually.. ive been quoted £45+vat for the top hose and iirc £19+vat for the bottom hose... please note these prices include a trade discount of 25%... only problem is they can take between 3-4 weeks before being sent out.. this may be the only option i have at the moment unless i can find some sensibly priced second hand ones...

 

anyway thats whats been grinding my gears of late, and for future reference if anyone needs any hoses for a vr and would like the samco ones then please dont hesitate to contact me as im more then happy to get them at trade price for you.

 

regards,

 

Andy

[GlosterOx 0]

Andy,

 

Might be able to help out short term, PM sent.

 

Ian.

[__Andy__ 0]

Andy,

 

Might be able to help out short term, PM sent.

 

Ian.

 

thats great cheers ian.

[Dude VR6 0]

Andy I read the thread your on about, and know how you feel. I've had dealings with the guy before, as he put the cars on eBay. He's not an enthusiast like most of us on here, but a bloke that just buys and breaks Corrado's and puts them on here. The only thing he's interested in is making money, and not helping fellows like us.

[VR6 0]

Andy, just some feedback from our point of view.

 

I know exactly where you're coming from but we (could just be me; I can't speak for the other Mods), are well aware of the issue with people just using this site free of charge to a) break cars that this forum is dedicated to b) profiteer from it and c) do absolutely nothing in return.

 

On the one hand, it's unfair to discriminate in individual cases where someone is obviously just here as a trader but on the other I hate seeing genuine long-standing members feeling pissed off.

 

What do you think? Should we be stamping stuff like this out or is it the case that it's a free world (despite Andi and the forum members actually paying for the server costs), and let people trade as they like?

[VR6 0]

It might also be worth reading in conjunction with this:

 

http://www.the-corrado.net/.archive/forum/viewto ... 14&t=99562

[Toad 0]

(despite Andi and the forum members actually paying for the server costs)

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Quite a lot of us do make regular donations to the forum. This isn't some half arsed free forum, people pay to keep it going, quick and advert free. It was primarily set up by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts to discuss the cars, and the market place became part of that, for enthusiasts to trade parts and cars between themselves, not for profiteers to take advantage of the wane in availability of parts.

[VR6 0]

I was also going to mention the tireless, ultra-friendly, crack force Mod team who also devoate their many (often unseen) hours to running this place. ButI don't need to tell you about that :grin:

[fla 9]

i do think that many memebers, myself included, do enjoy the forum and try as best as we can to reciprocate any assistance given as far as possible. It would be preferable for any new seller to ahve a significant post count before being able to trade. I must admit i've benefitted immensely from teh knowledge imparted here, i dont think i've contributed nearly as much as i would like to or should have done, but there's still time! I've also been stung quite heavily too, from dodgy sellers, which quite a few mods did their best to assit with, but we didnt get anywhere at all unfortunately.

Profiteering is out of order especailly on our forum so there should be perhaps warning to the guilty parties via the mods to wise up or be banned.

[__Andy__ 0]

Andy, just some feedback from our point of view.

 

I know exactly where you're coming from but we (could just be me; I can't speak for the other Mods), are well aware of the issue with people just using this site free of charge to a) break cars that this forum is dedicated to b) profiteer from it and c) do absolutely nothing in return.

 

On the one hand, it's unfair to discriminate in individual cases where someone is obviously just here as a trader but on the other I hate seeing genuine long-standing members feeling pissed off.

 

What do you think? Should we be stamping stuff like this out or is it the case that it's a free world (despite Andi and the forum members actually paying for the server costs), and let people trade as they like?

 

That's great feedback and i completely agree, Imho exploiting the forum and it's members should be stamped out. After all the entire moderating team and administrating team all give up your spare time just to keep this place going which is highly appreciated.

 

As Tom Pointed out this forum doesn't run for free..a lot of us actively donate monthly and annually to help keep the forum going, this place is invaluable in it's wealth of knowledge and welcomes new members with open arms, however when people exploit this it's unfair not only on the members but most of all all the moderating team and admin team who give up plenty of thier spare time to keep this forum the place it is.

 

I personally have benefitted hugely from being a member on here ad will always try to help out as and where I can, I dnt think I can say the same for certain other individuals.

 

If people wish to make a business and profiteer from corrado's and thier parts then this isn't the place for them..eBay etc is more then accomadtaing for this and charges accordingly.

 

Just my 2p

[1xshaunx1 27]

i'm new and totaly agree having read the threads that set this off

[bristolbaron 10]

I'm sitting on the fence a bit on this one..

 

Earlier in the year I bought a cheap G60, tidied it up, swapped a few choice parts over to my main G60 and sold it on, making a small profit.

A couple of months ago I bought a poorly 8v and am in the process of tidying that up and will sell it early next year, hopefully also making a small profit on it.

 

Whilst dealing with both cars, I became very aware that I could break them, making a fair amount from doing so. I haven't not done so in any kind of moral obligation to the cars, but rather because I've enjoyed the process of tidying them up.

 

These cars are worth a great deal as parts.. Selling individual bits at reasonable prices would make a very good return if you bought a non runner, whilst also keeping other cars on the road.

 

Breaking is by no means a quick buck, there's a lot of effort required and I do feel a decent profit is deserved. Next year I am highly likely to buy at least one car with the intention of breaking, as I will be in a position to do so. My intentions are reasonable prices, quick updates and delivery and a forum donation based on total profit.

 

What I won't be doing is selling parts at at least double their true value, aware of the fact there's nowhere else to turn. I wonder what the income tax implications are of breaking 5 cars at the same time?

[Rob_B 0]

How about everytime you sell something over say £30, you donate £1?small donation for privilege of using the forum.

On a slightly different note, at least the cars are being broken on here, not somewhere we dont use.

 

edit. I've just read the thread in question and these are my thoughts.... If the guy is a trader, then yeah perhaps he should be giving something back. If he is a trader, then he is out to make money (which is fair enough). I don't think people should be using emotional blackmail to try and make him sell something for a price that is no good for him. Please don't let this turn into a witch hunt.

If he has something that you want, then you either buy it or you don't. If it's too much, then don't buy it.

If he is an enthusiast, then he may want to help you out, but only if you are nice to him! telling him they are way to expensive and slating him is obviously going to get his back up.

we can't blame him for trying to make a few quid, especially on a for sale section!

[hombre_paulo 0]

Maybe a mandatory donation to the forum prior to being able to advertise in the for sale section should be introduced. Would certainly put potential "trader only" registration from joining, and those that did still sign up purely for a profit would be giving something back to the forum.

 

Alternatively a gentlemans agreement could introduced between forum members to include a line in all sales that "£x will be donated to forum". This helps fund the forum but also should different genuine enthusiasts sales and those from profiteerers. I`m not looking to stop people selling expensive parts or breaking cars on the forum, as people will only pay what they want to pay, but they should at least be giving something back to the community as they are benefitting.

[__Andy__ 0]

How about everytime you sell something over say £30, you donate £1?small donation for privilege of using the forum.

On a slightly different note, at least the cars are being broken on here, not somewhere we dont use.

 

edit. I've just read the thread in question and these are my thoughts.... If the guy is a trader, then yeah perhaps he should be giving something back. If he is a trader, then he is out to make money (which is fair enough). I don't think people should be using emotional blackmail to try and make him sell something for a price that is no good for him. Please don't let this turn into a witch hunt.

If he has something that you want, then you either buy it or you don't. If it's too much, then don't buy it.

If he is an enthusiast, then he may want to help you out, but only if you are nice to him! telling him they are way to expensive and slating him is obviously going to get his back up.

we can't blame him for trying to make a few quid, especially on a for sale section!

 

I agree with what you are saying, however it's not emotional blackmail or a witch hunt.if the prices are too expensive then people will not buy the parts simple as that..hence why there are still so many parts still available.I agree it's up to the certain individual to decide what they would like to charge for the parts etc but I generally find most people are v accomadting on here and genuinely happy to help another enthusiast out, just aggravating when someone is taking advantage of anothers situation...but yea you are right ie don't buy the parts if they are horrendously overpriced and that's why I will not buy the parts.

 

If it's being run as a business then I think some sort of donation should be made to the forum, afterall the certain individuals are only after the access to us enthusiasts that need the parts so why should the forum provide that service to them and receive nothing in return.

 

Only a lighter note I've always seen it as good business practice to sell more vume at a lower rate then v small volume at an increased rate. All in Imo of course...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Which bit of the top hose is split? You can buy 32mm joiners and lengths of silicon or rubber hose and remake the section. It won't be as pretty, but cheaper than £100 for a new hose!

 

The quality of VAG's hoses is exceptional though. They usually only split from to excessive engine movement, caused by soggy or broken engine mounts.

[Rob_B 0]

i do 100% agree that if you are using this forum for business use, then you should contribute to the forum.

[__Andy__ 0]

Which bit of the top hose is split? You can buy 32mm joiners and lengths of silicon or rubber hose and remake the section. It won't be as pretty, but cheaper than £100 for a new hose!

 

The quality of VAG's hoses is exceptional though. They usually only split from to excessive engine movement, caused by soggy or broken engine mounts.

 

Cheers for the heads up kev, sadly it's perished at the end which joins to the rad. Am hoping to have one sorted soon, just a shame the lead time is so long from Samco

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Ah OK. Too far gone to just snip the perished bit off and reattach it?

[__Andy__ 0]

Ah OK. Too far gone to just snip the perished bit off and reattach it?

 

It's well and truly knackered unfortunately :(

[swiftkid 1]

At the end of the day everyone wants to make a profit, I for one would certainly not buy something and then just sell it on for less unless I had to. Saying that I am more than prepared to sell things for what i paid for them just to help like minded enthusiasts out, but there is making a profit and then theres taking the piss.

 

I really hate seeing people buying corrado's just to break and then charging insane prices for parts, I managed to save a VR and slowly but surely its getting back to its former glory and along the way I feel like alot of people have helped me out and I have tried to then help out in return, thats what make this community such a friendly place. I don't agree with forcing charges on people as paypal has become a farce now and i find that usually when i want something, its either bank transfer or i pay paypal fees if i want the added security so i lose out, in the same way if sellers were forced to donate then im betting prices would just get upped to cover costs.

 

In my opinion we should do what VR6OC has done and not allow members to post below a certain post count to stop people signing up, selling stuff then buggering off.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

In my opinion we should do what VR6OC has done and not allow members to post below a certain post count to stop people signing up, selling stuff then buggering off.

 

That has been suggested a few times for this forum but an action plan has yet to be formalised.