The trouble with cheap stuff
Discussion
Is that you can't get spare parts.
So the decisions was - Halfords bike rack £235 or Thule for £535. The Thule was much much better quality but I was being a cheapskate.
I've had the Halfords for 6 weeks when someone drives into it breaking the wheel bay which if it was the other rack is available for £36 from Thule.
Now in this story, there's a happy ending as the rack is now £360 and the guy who drove into it has stumped up for a new rack on the basis I give him my damaged one which seems fair to me but that kind of damage really shouldn't right off a piece of equipment like that.
I'm just glad that we live in a world of unlimited resources and don't have to worry about extending the life of things.
So the decisions was - Halfords bike rack £235 or Thule for £535. The Thule was much much better quality but I was being a cheapskate.
I've had the Halfords for 6 weeks when someone drives into it breaking the wheel bay which if it was the other rack is available for £36 from Thule.
Now in this story, there's a happy ending as the rack is now £360 and the guy who drove into it has stumped up for a new rack on the basis I give him my damaged one which seems fair to me but that kind of damage really shouldn't right off a piece of equipment like that.
I'm just glad that we live in a world of unlimited resources and don't have to worry about extending the life of things.
I'd disagree. I have an Aldi pressure washer I bought in 2017. Something went wrong with it, and much to my surprise there's a sticker on the side, with a website address, where pretty much every single spare part is available.
For something like a bike rack, why not buy second hand? I paid £75 for a superb Thule rack that I've had for years...
For something like a bike rack, why not buy second hand? I paid £75 for a superb Thule rack that I've had for years...
Try eBay, there are people who make an income from buying stuff and breaking it.
Bike racks, roof bars, trailers, I frequently buy decent second hand stuff, then sell it for the same / a small loss etc, like a long term rental, plus you learn what to look out for in terms of future bargain.
My dads just spent a small fortune Thule bike rack, it’s flipping massive, I prefer the Towbar mounted hang on jobbie, much smaller footprint
Bike racks, roof bars, trailers, I frequently buy decent second hand stuff, then sell it for the same / a small loss etc, like a long term rental, plus you learn what to look out for in terms of future bargain.
My dads just spent a small fortune Thule bike rack, it’s flipping massive, I prefer the Towbar mounted hang on jobbie, much smaller footprint
Hmmmm. I went through a number of ryobi petrol garden multi tools. Thought I spent good money, kept failing, kept getting replacements under warranty
Bought an Aldi one for maybe £130. They’re the strimmer, hedge trimmers type.
It’s had serious hammer over the years at my house and my rentals. Broke a spool head: just a stupid plastic catch
You are right, Aldi cannot help
Proper old school lawnmower shop: yep, you need one of these.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to swap it out to a much better quality item, but it’d be a grand.
Bought an Aldi one for maybe £130. They’re the strimmer, hedge trimmers type.
It’s had serious hammer over the years at my house and my rentals. Broke a spool head: just a stupid plastic catch
You are right, Aldi cannot help
Proper old school lawnmower shop: yep, you need one of these.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to swap it out to a much better quality item, but it’d be a grand.
Spare tyre said:
Op, what was the model of original rack, let’s me see if I can find the part
Thank you so much for the offer - very kind. It's this one.https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-racks/towbar...
Ari said:
Pistom said:
but that kind of damage really shouldn't right off a piece of equipment like that.
Sorry to be that guy, but it's 'write off', not 'right off'.It comes from writing off (removing) an asset from a balance sheet due to it no longer having any value.
Hard-Drive said:
I'd disagree. I have an Aldi pressure washer I bought in 2017. Something went wrong with it, and much to my surprise there's a sticker on the side, with a website address, where pretty much every single spare part is available.
For something like a bike rack, why not buy second hand? I paid £75 for a superb Thule rack that I've had for years...
Good post - I think I should change the thread to "The trouble with me is .... I'm a lazy fecker.For something like a bike rack, why not buy second hand? I paid £75 for a superb Thule rack that I've had for years...
I bought my last rack for £135 and sold for £95 which I thought was good value for the length of time I had it.
Pistom said:
Spare tyre said:
Op, what was the model of original rack, let’s me see if I can find the part
Thank you so much for the offer - very kind. It's this one.https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-racks/towbar...
Could keep you eye out for a cheap broken one in the future and repair it that way, what a sod though
Spare tyre said:
I thought it might be, simply Cant find any bits, what a sod
Could keep you eye out for a cheap broken one in the future and repair it that way, what a sod though
Thanks but the guy who hit it has offered to buy it off me for the new price so it's not too bad on this occasion but many things such as lawnmowers, power tools, domestic appliances etc are just write offs for simple reasons.Could keep you eye out for a cheap broken one in the future and repair it that way, what a sod though
austinsmirk said:
Hmmmm. I went through a number of ryobi petrol garden multi tools. Thought I spent good money, kept failing, kept getting replacements under warranty
Bought an Aldi one for maybe £130. They’re the strimmer, hedge trimmers type.
It’s had serious hammer over the years at my house and my rentals. Broke a spool head: just a stupid plastic catch
You are right, Aldi cannot help
Proper old school lawnmower shop: yep, you need one of these.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to swap it out to a much better quality item, but it’d be a grand.
My Ryobi petrol strimmer was the biggest pile of poo I ever bought. Would never run properly no matter what I did with it, or what grade of fuel was used in it, or what fuel/oil mixture. It wouldn't start, then when it did it would die if throttled up. I got so fed up trying to start it one day I literally smashed it to pieces and bought something else.Bought an Aldi one for maybe £130. They’re the strimmer, hedge trimmers type.
It’s had serious hammer over the years at my house and my rentals. Broke a spool head: just a stupid plastic catch
You are right, Aldi cannot help
Proper old school lawnmower shop: yep, you need one of these.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to swap it out to a much better quality item, but it’d be a grand.
Rich Boy Spanner said:
My Ryobi petrol strimmer was the biggest pile of poo I ever bought. Would never run properly no matter what I did with it, or what grade of fuel was used in it, or what fuel/oil mixture. It wouldn't start, then when it did it would die if throttled up. I got so fed up trying to start it one day I literally smashed it to pieces and bought something else.
In a way, I’m rather relieved to read this. I thought it was just me that couldn’t get the bloody thing to start. I also smashed mine to bits as well….My Ryobi rotavator went the same way.
Never bought anything Ryobi since.
I rebuilt a thrown away Stihl strimmer for £33 and it started 2nd pull….
Spare tyre said:
Pistom said:
Spare tyre said:
Op, what was the model of original rack, let’s me see if I can find the part
Thank you so much for the offer - very kind. It's this one.https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-racks/towbar...
Could keep you eye out for a cheap broken one in the future and repair it that way, what a sod though
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.ph...
Edited to add link to manufacturer version:
http://buzzrack.com/galleries/e-hornet-2/
Edited by vikingaero on Friday 24th March 07:34
vikingaero said:
That's very similar to the updated Buzz E-Hornet 2:
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.ph...
Edited to add link to manufacturer version:
http://buzzrack.com/galleries/e-hornet-2/
Well spotted!!!https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.ph...
Edited to add link to manufacturer version:
http://buzzrack.com/galleries/e-hornet-2/
Edited by vikingaero on Friday 24th March 07:34
So it's produced by King Rack in Taiwan.
Looking at this again, it wasn't just the much cheapness which attracted me to it - I love the tow hitch connection and the tilting function but having owned it, I have little confidence in the tie straps and the wheel holders are not great.
In any case - I'm still fed up over not being able to get spares.
Rich Boy Spanner said:
austinsmirk said:
Hmmmm. I went through a number of ryobi petrol garden multi tools. Thought I spent good money, kept failing, kept getting replacements under warranty
Bought an Aldi one for maybe £130. They’re the strimmer, hedge trimmers type.
It’s had serious hammer over the years at my house and my rentals. Broke a spool head: just a stupid plastic catch
You are right, Aldi cannot help
Proper old school lawnmower shop: yep, you need one of these.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to swap it out to a much better quality item, but it’d be a grand.
My Ryobi petrol strimmer was the biggest pile of poo I ever bought. Would never run properly no matter what I did with it, or what grade of fuel was used in it, or what fuel/oil mixture. It wouldn't start, then when it did it would die if throttled up. I got so fed up trying to start it one day I literally smashed it to pieces and bought something else.Bought an Aldi one for maybe £130. They’re the strimmer, hedge trimmers type.
It’s had serious hammer over the years at my house and my rentals. Broke a spool head: just a stupid plastic catch
You are right, Aldi cannot help
Proper old school lawnmower shop: yep, you need one of these.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to swap it out to a much better quality item, but it’d be a grand.
I have one of B&Q's MacAllister petrol strimmers. When I asked my local garden machinery emporium if they would service it they just laughed, and even B&Q don't sell replacement strimmer heads for it. It's noisy, unwieldy, smokes like Oliver Reed and it takes a different sequence of operations to get it to start each time I use it.
The trouble is, it's bloody brilliant and will chew its way through absolutely anything! A friend who is quite senior at Kingfisher's Power tools department knows it well and admitted that it's a bit rough and ready but will probably never, ever die. On this basis i treated it to a new fuel filter and spark plug last year.
I also have a fair collection of Lidl's Florabest garden tools and they're all made in Germany and are absolutely brilliant. The only time I've needed a spare part, I found it on Amazon.
So I think the trouble isn't with cheap stuff per se, it's cheap, crap stuff.
The trouble is, it's bloody brilliant and will chew its way through absolutely anything! A friend who is quite senior at Kingfisher's Power tools department knows it well and admitted that it's a bit rough and ready but will probably never, ever die. On this basis i treated it to a new fuel filter and spark plug last year.
I also have a fair collection of Lidl's Florabest garden tools and they're all made in Germany and are absolutely brilliant. The only time I've needed a spare part, I found it on Amazon.
So I think the trouble isn't with cheap stuff per se, it's cheap, crap stuff.
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