![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I've heard about this thing called "rest". It's not the same as sleep. I can sleep loads, but never feel rested; likewise, I'm always up until 3am no matter what because my brain doesn't shut off.
I don't want sleep, but I'd like a rest.
I'd like a rest from taxes and "the cost of living" devouring my income faster than I can produce it.
I'd like a rest from finding yet more things wrong with my car.
I'd like a rest from being told, when I am thinking "finally, weekend" that I need to get some articles in for Monday. As if I'd already been told this.
I'd like a rest from my tools migrating around the house, largely because I've moved them in a rush and forgotten what I've done with them.
I'd like a rest from nature constantly making whatever progress I made in the garden utterly meaningless in the blink of an eye.
I'd like a rest from my own constantly whirring brain.
Aside from the obvious there, the Volvo has thrown a beauty of a "simple task" at me. The engine seals are calmly blowing out. This is due to the PCV - Positive Crankcase Ventilation - system getting blocked. A fairly critical and established bit of car fuckwittery whereby oil fumes are recycled rather than burned/allowed to escape - in the old days, you just had a hose and a flametrap between the crankcase and the inlet manifold and burned off the fumes (and released the pressure in the engine) - these days you have a network of pipes, valves, condensers... and it's still, usually, not too much hassle to service.
Volvo stuck it under the inlet manifold. Pretty much all of it. So to clean the PCV system - something which is a case of "regular maintenance" - you need to remove the fuel injectors, the inlet pipework, the inlet manifold... you get the idea. It's supposedly easy, but I'm already facing up to replacing the front spring seats; and if I had the budget, I'd be replacing all the suspension.
I hate knowing about cars and being a perfectionist. I hate wanting my car, be it a £40,000 luxury thing or a £40 banger, as good as I can make it - if something clonks or rattles, I'll fix it. It's why bangernomics escapes my skillset; I can't tolerate a rattly broken sunvisor, broken side repeater (it's only £6! Why the hell would you NOT replace it, but instead, stick it in backwards half-out of the car!), rattling bootlid trim, peeling roof strips, blown dash bulbs, misaligned bumpers... you get the idea.
And if I can't fix it, it just becomes worse, because then I have to pay for and trust someone else to do it.
*sighs*
I had a thought today. Car refits. Why doesn't anyone do it? Charge a flat fee - say for a medium-sized car, £2,000 - and replace all the common wear items. Let's take the 850 as an example: when they're 10 years old, or about 150,000, there are a number of common wear items, and some that could be replaced or checked anyway:
Suspension front and rear - lots of rubber bushes that wear out, plus dampers and so forth. I reckon a trade cost of the parts involved would be about £350 if done in large enough numbers.
Brakes - disks and pads, caliper seals, and flexible pipes plus regular pipes if they show signs of damage.
Clutch.
Thermostat; cooling system pressure checked and cleaned.
Catalytic convertor and 02 sensor.
Fuel injector seals.
Full service with timing belt, PCV system replacement, new cam seals and cap unless absolutely perfect.
Valet and body inspection; additional charges for replacing broken items, but routine greasing of all internal mechanisms and replacement of window seals and guides. Basic body work repairs if needed but not massive remedial work, just tidying stonechips or minor rust.
The basics would be much the same for all cars, after all. Include a 12 month warranty on the work, that specifically doesn't include items not checked. Do the same for smaller cars for less; do different levels, but make sure that what is presented is basically a very good condition, clean, mechanically sound car with another three years of life in it.
Would people pay for it? It seems to make ecological sense, to me...
I don't want sleep, but I'd like a rest.
I'd like a rest from taxes and "the cost of living" devouring my income faster than I can produce it.
I'd like a rest from finding yet more things wrong with my car.
I'd like a rest from being told, when I am thinking "finally, weekend" that I need to get some articles in for Monday. As if I'd already been told this.
I'd like a rest from my tools migrating around the house, largely because I've moved them in a rush and forgotten what I've done with them.
I'd like a rest from nature constantly making whatever progress I made in the garden utterly meaningless in the blink of an eye.
I'd like a rest from my own constantly whirring brain.
Aside from the obvious there, the Volvo has thrown a beauty of a "simple task" at me. The engine seals are calmly blowing out. This is due to the PCV - Positive Crankcase Ventilation - system getting blocked. A fairly critical and established bit of car fuckwittery whereby oil fumes are recycled rather than burned/allowed to escape - in the old days, you just had a hose and a flametrap between the crankcase and the inlet manifold and burned off the fumes (and released the pressure in the engine) - these days you have a network of pipes, valves, condensers... and it's still, usually, not too much hassle to service.
Volvo stuck it under the inlet manifold. Pretty much all of it. So to clean the PCV system - something which is a case of "regular maintenance" - you need to remove the fuel injectors, the inlet pipework, the inlet manifold... you get the idea. It's supposedly easy, but I'm already facing up to replacing the front spring seats; and if I had the budget, I'd be replacing all the suspension.
I hate knowing about cars and being a perfectionist. I hate wanting my car, be it a £40,000 luxury thing or a £40 banger, as good as I can make it - if something clonks or rattles, I'll fix it. It's why bangernomics escapes my skillset; I can't tolerate a rattly broken sunvisor, broken side repeater (it's only £6! Why the hell would you NOT replace it, but instead, stick it in backwards half-out of the car!), rattling bootlid trim, peeling roof strips, blown dash bulbs, misaligned bumpers... you get the idea.
And if I can't fix it, it just becomes worse, because then I have to pay for and trust someone else to do it.
*sighs*
I had a thought today. Car refits. Why doesn't anyone do it? Charge a flat fee - say for a medium-sized car, £2,000 - and replace all the common wear items. Let's take the 850 as an example: when they're 10 years old, or about 150,000, there are a number of common wear items, and some that could be replaced or checked anyway:
Suspension front and rear - lots of rubber bushes that wear out, plus dampers and so forth. I reckon a trade cost of the parts involved would be about £350 if done in large enough numbers.
Brakes - disks and pads, caliper seals, and flexible pipes plus regular pipes if they show signs of damage.
Clutch.
Thermostat; cooling system pressure checked and cleaned.
Catalytic convertor and 02 sensor.
Fuel injector seals.
Full service with timing belt, PCV system replacement, new cam seals and cap unless absolutely perfect.
Valet and body inspection; additional charges for replacing broken items, but routine greasing of all internal mechanisms and replacement of window seals and guides. Basic body work repairs if needed but not massive remedial work, just tidying stonechips or minor rust.
The basics would be much the same for all cars, after all. Include a 12 month warranty on the work, that specifically doesn't include items not checked. Do the same for smaller cars for less; do different levels, but make sure that what is presented is basically a very good condition, clean, mechanically sound car with another three years of life in it.
Would people pay for it? It seems to make ecological sense, to me...
