What a disapointment!

[CCCP-1985]

Today i splashed out and took a trip to Halfords to ogle over their 'professional' tool range, the sort of price range of tools you expect to last a lifetime!

Anyway, finaly picked a nice little 3/8 drive socket set, reduced from £70 to £29.99. also a 8 half inch breaker bar to complete the set at £8.99. All from there pro range.

Got home and decided to try the ratchet before packing it away for christmas and typical, it jammed if any strain was put on it in either direction.

So half hour drive back to Halfords tomorrow to get a replacement ratchet

Is it just me but everything you buy seems to be defective within 5 minutes

I have a half inch Kamasa socket set from the 70's and the ratchet still works like new, my father bought a Sealey pro range socket set couple years ago and within 6 months and a couple of uses later, the ratchet had jammed up

[Hoodoo]

I wonder sometimes about modern equipment. I have a small set of sockets, drivers etc with a ratchet handle that cost £5 ten years ago. It still works fine!
Regards,

[GadgetBoy]

Halfords Pro range is usually very good. You just got unlucky with that one.

Get yourself a Halfords Trade Card and you'll be surprised how much money you can save. Search on here, there's a post or two on getting one.

[thunder-skin]

I have an old 1960s/70s Halfords ratchet, you know the type, just looking at it its bound to break within seconds, but its been hit with a hammer, used AS a hammer, jumped on (undoing wheel hub nuts), and generally abused all its life by me and my dad (it was his originally until it found its way into my toolkit, ahem ) and it still works perfectly as a ratchet

[CCCP-1985]

Well second ratchet later and it only jams ocassionaly, so were getting there

Anyway while i am on a rant, i have a 1999 Skoda Felicia 1.9 diesel with 129000 thou on the clock, bought for £200, bullet proof, a 1976 Lada 2102 1.2 with 450000 thou kilometers on the clock, bought for £65 and almoust bullet proof for it's age, very happy

Bought the missus a 2005 Ford Focus 1.6 LX, 65000 on the clock, full ford service history (not that means much), one owner, bought for 2400 and i have to say, WHAT A PIECE OF ABSOLUTE JUNK! Never starts, parts seem to just fall of it every time we use it, there's more condensation in the engine than a turkish steam room

Maybe i'm just having bad luck with things but i took one look at my Lada and thought ok so the design was old even then, they are riddled with poor build quality but atleast i don't need a degree from NASA to pop the bonnet and the ride quality is second to none

Most disapointed my friends

[GadgetBoy]

A Ford? Have we taught you nothing?

There are few things with 4 wheels I have more hatred for than Fords.

[thunder-skin]

My dad keeps making jokes about my cars, yet it was his Ford Focus that gave up on the A1 motorway (coil pack). Plus its got lights up on the dash ( for cat and seatbelt), after 85000 miles its now gutless, it drinks oil (a litre a month), and has been rusty since 5 years old (tailgate mainly).

[CCCP-1985]

Replaced the clutch release spring the other day, that ford quoted £240 to do and my local garage said they wouldn't touch and now i find water in the spark plug wells, ruining the new plugs that should've been changed 6 thou ago

Honestly folks, looking at my lada, even in bits and with 35 years of abuse, it's better built than a brand new Ford

[LINCSLADA]

I bought a hilka 1/2 drive socket set about three years ago its had loads of abuse and still going strong..I have a thing about draper expert tools now though

Cheers Gav

[Gunsnlada]

I've been working for a Ford Dealership as a mechanic for the past year and a half, I was my hands very carefully every night to make sure it doesn't stains my Lada, they are absolute CRAP .

[Justin Case]

One thing I have learned from this forum – other than that Lada owners seem to stubborn, extremely generous, I'll-fix-it-or-die-trying types – is how important it is to have the right tools... even if you have to make/modify them yourself.

The Lada is perhaps one of the only true 'teaching' automobiles still being manufactured. From it, I have learned many things: if I had to attempt the kinds or repairs/modifications I've managed to do on my vehicle on nearly any other make (Ford included, although I'd NEVER buy one ) I would have given up long ago.

My Niva has taught me just how much one can get done with just a few truly high quality tools... as well as what a waste of time and money a few other supposed 'miracle' or 'specialized' tools turned out to be.

Long live the 13mm chrome-vanadium wrench... the meter-long steel-tube cheater bar, and the 10-pound Jonno!

(Oh, and my uber-discount Polish no-name brand 1/2 socket set has YET to let me down!)

[Tracer]

One thing I have learned from this forum – other than that Lada owners seem to stubborn, extremely generous, I'll-fix-it-or-die-trying types – is how important it is to have the right tools... even if you have to make/modify them yourself.

I call it "creativity"