The Oz Civ Group: A Collective Weapon of Mass Distraction

[Alexander's Horse]

congrats. Did you take that new job?

[Hydey]

The Ute is stuffed again.

this is a transcript of my phone call to the repairer.

"you ****ing ****, my ****ing transmision is ****ing stuffed a ****ing gain, you ****ing better fix it or I will ****ing kick your ****ing arse "

[finbar]

You think you've got problems? Mrs finbar's immaculate Honda Prelude was stolen from right outside the house last Sunday week. Found the following Thursday in Strathfield, stripped to the point of it being a write-off. Five years old, mint condition, and fewer than 30,000 kms.

[Hydey]

I hope you find who did it and feed them to Dermot

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by finbar
You think you've got problems? Mrs finbar's immaculate Honda Prelude was stolen from right outside the house last Sunday week. Found the following Thursday in Strathfield, stripped to the point of it being a write-off. Five years old, mint condition, and fewer than 30,000 kms.

You ought to move mate..............somewhere in Europe maybe.

[Alexander's Horse]

I don't think finbar has off street parking - though you wouldn't expect car theft where he lives. Probably the work of an organised gang stealing for parts.

Honda parts are very expensive.

[Alexander's Horse]

otoh, it could have been Hydey. Apparently a man was seen boarding the Southern Aurora at Strathfield with what looked like Honda parts but he claimed they were for his ute.

[finbar]

Originally posted by DrSpike


You ought to move mate..............somewhere in Europe maybe.

Tais-toi!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
I don't think finbar has off street parking - though you wouldn't expect car theft where he lives. Probably the work of an organised gang stealing for parts.

No, we don't have off-street parking, unfortunately. Next door has. If you recall, we're below street level, so we would, effectively, have to build a raised platform to create off-street parking. Next door did it about 15 years ago and it cost them $10,000. Lord knows what it would cost these days.

Yes, the Police told Mrs finbar it was the work of an organised parts gang. They knew exactly what they wanted and took exactly what they wanted - half the engine, the bonnet, windows, etc - and didn't otherwise trash or burn it.

Honda parts are very expensive.

Indeed. The Prelude's front seats are worth $2000 each, apparently.

The truly annoying thing is that the insurance payout is obviously calculated on the car's age, so it's a payout on a 5 year old car. Whereas it was in mint condition, with only 30,000 kms on the clock, so it's real worth was far in excess of the payout.

The ultimate bastard is that Honda discontinued the Prelude a couple of years ago. No one knows why, because it was a stunning car for its price, and they sold every single one they built. Thus every Prelude owner - it was Mrs finbar's third one - who wants another one has to try something else. Unfortuntely, the only Honda that remotely resembles the Prelude - a coupé - is the Integra, which is a much tinnier, poorly designed version.

So for the past week, Mrs finbar has been looking around for a replacement. She had narrowed it down to a Honda Accord - the model they've heavily tarted up as a substitute for the Prelude, even though it's a four-door sedan rather than a coupé - or a Peugeot 307. She drove both and was leaning towards the Accord because she thought it felt a bit like the Prelude. I drove them both this morning and the Accord feels nothing like the Prelude. It feels like what it is - a tarted up, mid-range, four-door sedan. Whereas the Peugeot 307, while slightly smaller, has a lot of character.

Thus she takes delivery of a 307 on Tuesday. With an alarm fitted!

[deity]

Originally posted by Hydey


I hope you find who did it and feed them to Dermot

Yikes...

[finbar]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
though you wouldn't expect car theft where he lives.

I forgot this bit. Less than twelve months ago, an amateurish attempt was made to steal my Honda Civic. They took out the driver's window leaving glass all over the road and inside the car, couldn't bypass the immobiliser, just about wrenched the steering column out trying to do so, leaving it hanging by a couple of wires. The bastards who stole Mrs finbar's Prelude, OTOH, were professionals, doing it quickly, cleanly and very quietly, leaving no sign they'd ever been there. Except, of course, the space where the car had been parked.

Just about everyone in the street has had a car vandalised or broken into at one point or other.

The problem with our street is, ironically, that which makes it so nice. It's dead quiet at night with virtually no through traffic and no pedestrians. And it runs off busy Miller Street. So it's a magnet for villains coming from Miller Street looking for a dark, very quiet little oasis chockers with relatively upmarket cars they can vandalise, break into or steal pretty much undisturbed.

[Hydey]

Saturday ute report

I took it back to the repairer at 8 am this morning.

I told him exactly what was happening

He said it wasn't possible for a brand new transmission but would have a look

about 9:30 he comes into the waiting room and rather sheepishly said that he had stuffed up, did not connect up the electronics properly.

10 am I get it back and now it seems ok

who is around tonight ?

[Alexander's Horse]

I'm around.

[Hydey]

so you are

[Alexander's Horse]

ready around 9.30

Not a bad session last night