Reply to: Bloody vandal kids

[BlasterBates]

I had the same problem and just sold the keyed car today. It was annoying and even though it was old and cheap it still bugged me that someone would do it.

Have got free vandalism cover with my insurance company now for the new car but touch wood nobody will key it.

I have free vandalism cover but they wouldn't pay for a repair when some vandal smashed a beer bottle on the roof. Covers tyre slashing and that's about it. Might be worth reading the small print and bumping up the cover if you're worried. Beer bottle dents on the roof cost a fortune (£700), but scratches on the paint work can be done as a job lot, when you've collected enough of em.

Someone suggested just putting a flashing red led visible from outside. Looks a bit spooky as you can see it from quite a distance, sort of what kind of fancy defence system has tis guy installed and puts thugs and vandals off.

[Lockhouse]

My first car was a 1964 Mk1 Consul Cortina 1200. It was light green with white flashes and door pillars and someone had put Corsair wing badges on the side. It had a whiplash aerial that clipped behind the driver's door and chrome hubcaps and rims. Pure Essex class.

[threaded]

That's a blast from the past.

Saw a Ford Cortina on the road today.

Reminded me of when my dad bought a new one.

I regularly see quite a few Ford Cortinas. One of the Princes over here has a small collection of them and drives them round and about.

[RichardCranium]

Saw a Ford Cortina on the road today.

I'm always surprised how many Ford Capris are still on the road. Usually with full body kits, a rear picnic table and 6 fog lights too, of course.

I assume Jackie Stewart's wife wasn't an actress.
"There are new reclinging front seats" - yes, we know
"Wider rear track for better roadholding" - so you now only need 2 sacks of cement in the boot...

And if the Missus (a Martin Shaw luster) sees this, I'll have to buy a Capri myself.

[Clippy]

Tell me about it

A ford orion - when was that taken, 1994?

23 May 2007. It's still running - got through its MoT two weeks ago, and reached 173,000 miles on the way home on Friday

That's a blast from the past.

Saw a Ford Cortina on the road today.

Reminded me of when my dad bought a new one.

[TinTrump]

Just gone out to the car and found my car mirror pushed back which has happened probably a dozen times in the last month. Look over at wifes car and bloody bastards had ripped it off breaking the plastic where it is attached to the door. I'm pretty sure it would be kids doing it and they probably laughed their ass off when they did it.

I met one of the people who do this sort of thing. When I worked in Brum a lad started work at the same place as me, in his mid 20's, lived near me, a couple of miles from the city centre as it happened. Seemed OK, a bit full of himself.

Invited him to join my friends and I out one evening and as soon as he'd downed a couple of beers started putting on a daft act of being loud & "look at me, I'm a nutter". I had misgivings about then moving to a nice pub that had a lock-in at the weekend. He behaved OK there until we left around 2am. He was trailing behind my group & when I went to see what he was up to, he was using his biker boots to kick wing mirrors off cars parked in the street. Obviously I was pretty furious & he stopped but semed to think he was the man by vandalising property. In fact a total knob.

[mudskipper]

I'm sure back in the day (mid '80s) even the roughest kids at school wouldn't have done this sort of thing.

Early/mid 80s kids used to break off car aerials and scratch the side of the car with them. Remember all the cars driving around with bent coathangers where there aerial had been snapped? I don't think things are so much different now than then.

[BrilloPad]

Makes me please I stick with my 9 year old peugeot. Got a reconditioned engine 2 years ago so hope there are many more years with it yet.

[SlimRick]

Find the biggest lad in the area and recruit him into your "security business". Chances are he'll know the kids doing the damage, or he is the one doing it. He'll get known as a hired thug which will do his street cred no end of good - and you'll get known as someone who has hired thugs at his disposal. It's a win/win situation All for the modest sum of £20 per week. You can even branch out into the loan shark business once you have your collectors on board.

[threaded]

When I were a lad working on the railway there were a few little darlings that used to hang bricks using fishing line over the bridges in front of the 125s. Remember being told to look out for them, and the other little terrorist things they got up to.

If you remember when the 125s first went into service there were lots of stories of broken, blown out windows. Turned out many were caused by half bricks being thrown at the trains as they passed.

[MaryPoppins]

He was from Telford and was visiting me in Brum.

I think you will agree that the M54 is a fast road when not busy.

Bit of an odd motorway really...

[The_Equalizer]

Mate of mine was driving down the M54 a couple of years ago and someone threw a brick from one of the bridges which hit his windscreen, luckily not the middle of it. Nearly caused him to crash and he was very shook up afterwards. I swear he would have ripped their throats out if he had caught them - not that he could being on the motorway. Forgot about that one till you mentioned bricks.

Ah the old bricks off a bridge number. It's always been a bit of a favourite in Belfast that one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/2270547.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3768635.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6069010.stm

[conned tractor]

My local (motorway)

He was from Telford and was visiting me in Brum.

I think you will agree that the M54 is a fast road when not busy.

[MaryPoppins]

Mate of mine was driving down the M54

My local (motorway)

[conned tractor]

Mate of mine was driving down the M54 a couple of years ago and someone threw a brick from one of the bridges which hit his windscreen, luckily not the middle of it. Nearly caused him to crash and he was very shook up afterwards. I swear he would have ripped their throats out if he had caught them - not that he could being on the motorway. Forgot about that one till you mentioned bricks.