Anyone out there?

[Pee Gee]

I joined the forum just recently but can't help noticing many questions/queries go unanswered. Is this a new site that hasn't picked up many members yet?  Honda's are so common I would expect to see many posts every day.  Am I missing something?

[florin_cars]

The problem for any forum is Facebook since 10 years ago...

[Trevor]

Unfortunately, florin_cars is correct.

A lot of people tend to use Facebook as it is easier and more accessible than maybe logging into a forum.

However, the level of response in a forum is usually likely to be more reliable and accurate than FB along with moderated comments.

The forums rely on members signing up and also assisting with other members' issues with their cars otherwise the posts tend to go unanswered (for a few days at least).

 

[Pee Gee]

35 minutes ago, Trevor said:

Unfortunately, florin_cars is correct.

A lot of people tend to use Facebook as it is easier and more accessible than maybe logging into a forum.

However, the level of response in a forum is usually likely to be more reliable and accurate than FB along with moderated comments.

The forums rely on members signing up and also assisting with other members' issues with their cars otherwise the posts tend to go unanswered (for a few days at least).

 

It's interesting though. I was on a Volvo forum for a while and daily there would be many posts, and I was also a member of a Lexus forum and still lots of daily new posts, even though Lexus are less common.

[Trevor]

This is true, and the Lexus forums I know are buzzing.

The more posts on here would rank the site higher in Google searches so I guess with more posts the site would be more 'viewable' to the masses.

 

I still maintain that forums are still the way forwards as social media is very transient, the info is there one day and gone the next 😞

 

[florin_cars]

On 12/15/2021 at 8:57 AM, Pee Gee said:

It's interesting though. I was on a Volvo forum for a while and daily there would be many posts, and I was also a member of a Lexus forum and still lots of daily new posts, even though Lexus are less common.

 

 

I like one model only from Lexus but let's say the truth, those forums I believe that are busier because Lexus are more expensive to repair and parts hard to find 😛

...unlike Hondas 😄

 

 

On 12/15/2021 at 9:12 AM, Trevor said:

This is true, and the Lexus forums I know are buzzing.

The more posts on here would rank the site higher in Google searches so I guess with more posts the site would be more 'viewable' to the masses.

 

I still maintain that forums are still the way forwards as social media is very transient, the info is there one day and gone the next 😞

 

 

Like one FB group admin told me, the posts are going in a black hole and you can't find them anymore.

[Trevor]

florin_cars ...... true on both accounts I would say 

[Pee Gee]

20 hours ago, florin_cars said:

 

 

I like one model only from Lexus but let's say the truth, those forums I believe that are busier because Lexus are more expensive to repair and parts hard to find 😛

...unlike Hondas 😄

 

 

 

Like one FB group admin told me, the posts are going in a black hole and you can't find them anymore.

To be honest I found Lexus parts easy and cheap to get from the US. Even with shipping and taxes they were a fraction of UK prices.  I do miss my V8 though!

[Trevor]

On 12/17/2021 at 4:17 PM, Pee Gee said:

To be honest I found Lexus parts easy and cheap to get from the US. Even with shipping and taxes they were a fraction of UK prices.  I do miss my V8 though!

 

Have been thinking about getting parts for my Harley direct from the states as prices so much cheaper and better range, but not sure on the import duty costs though?

[Pee Gee]

1 hour ago, Trevor said:

 

Have been thinking about getting parts for my Harley direct from the states as prices so much cheaper and better range, but not sure on the import duty costs though?

What makes a huge difference is weight, the heavier the item the more the cost. I ordered my parts from Rockauto and found that if I chose FedEx they would calculate and include taxes so there was nothing else to pay.  As an example, I bought two front upper control arms, the Lexus UK price was £1,114, the TOTAL price I paid including shipping was £93!  Naturally they weren't OEM but the quality was excellent.

Which brings me to another question. The CR-V is incredibly popular in the US, and Rockauto have an abundance of parts but does anyone know if for instance steering and suspension parts are the same?  I know the engines are different but I'm assuming the rest is the same.  Well worth a look at their site for Honda parts. Things like brake discs are out due to weight but things like control arms and ball joints are much much cheaper.

[Trevor]

That's really handy to know.....will look up costs on FedEx later today 🙂
Bought a back panel (light and thin but width of the car) for my 71 Mustang years back and go hit with a huge bill from UK Customs for import duties which cost more than the panel itself. Saying that, I ordered something from Ford UK and took 5 days, this panel took 4 days from door to door - almost fell over when it turned up so quick 🙂

 

CR-V components would I imagine be standard across the board in most respects apart from LHD compared to RHD steering/suspension components.
Beyond that, I would probably compare part numbers but if the same then its got to be cheaper to ship it in sometimes.

 

[Pee Gee]

7 hours ago, Trevor said:

That's really handy to know.....will look up costs on FedEx later today 🙂
Bought a back panel (light and thin but width of the car) for my 71 Mustang years back and go hit with a huge bill from UK Customs for import duties which cost more than the panel itself. Saying that, I ordered something from Ford UK and took 5 days, this panel took 4 days from door to door - almost fell over when it turned up so quick 🙂

 

CR-V components would I imagine be standard across the board in most respects apart from LHD compared to RHD steering/suspension components.
Beyond that, I would probably compare part numbers but if the same then its got to be cheaper to ship it in sometimes.

 

As an example, a front control arm for a CR-V is about £40 complete with ball joint and bushes from Rock, so 20% Vat is added to that by FedEx and there's just their shipping charge on that. A strange system but it seems to avoid any other customs charges, unless you have parts posted, then you get clobbered!  You're a lucky man to have owned a 71 Mustang. I once owned a 69 Chevrolet Chevelle in a rare right hand drive, I'd love to have had it later in life when I could afford to run it!

[Trevor]

14 hours ago, Pee Gee said:

As an example, a front control arm for a CR-V is about £40 complete with ball joint and bushes from Rock, so 20% Vat is added to that by FedEx and there's just their shipping charge on that. A strange system but it seems to avoid any other customs charges, unless you have parts posted, then you get clobbered!  You're a lucky man to have owned a 71 Mustang. I once owned a 69 Chevrolet Chevelle in a rare right hand drive, I'd love to have had it later in life when I could afford to run it!

 

So the trick is to not have it posted but sent by FedEx courier instead? Did not know that, that's where I was going wrong then.

 

A 69 Chevelle, holy moly !!!  would love one of those....in fact any early American Muscle Car would be ideal now

[Pee Gee]

46 minutes ago, Trevor said:

 

So the trick is to not have it posted but sent by FedEx courier instead? Did not know that, that's where I was going wrong then.

 

A 69 Chevelle, holy moly !!!  would love one of those....in fact any early American Muscle Car would be ideal now

A 60's Corvette is of course the dream!

[Trevor]

Mopar muscle for me!  would love a 1969/70 Challenger or Charger 440 or 426 Hemi.....

 

.....note to oneself - play the lottery tonight 🙂

[Pee Gee]

4 hours ago, Trevor said:

Mopar muscle for me!  would love a 1969/70 Challenger or Charger 440 or 426 Hemi.....

 

.....note to oneself - play the lottery tonight 🙂

If you win, remember me!😁

[Trevor]

🙂

 

[Lord_Protector]

new member im here 😃

[Pee Gee]

4 hours ago, Lord_Protector said:

new member im here 😃

👍👍👍

[hughezee]

Sorry to swing back on topic folks 🙃 social media has a lot to answer for regards forums, communities alike 😢 you can use it to direct traffic to the site, but it can backfire too. 

[Trevor]

11 hours ago, hughezee said:

Sorry to swing back on topic folks 🙃 social media has a lot to answer for regards forums, communities alike 😢 you can use it to direct traffic to the site, but it can backfire too. 

 

This is very true but I think it may have had its day now so maybe forums will come back once more?

[hughezee]

40 minutes ago, Trevor said:

This is very true but I think it may have had its day now so maybe forums will come back once more?

 

Everybody always avoids Facebook in conversations these days, had some really funny looks when talking to people especially when I say you can find my business on Facebook, check out my reviews etc it's like you've literally spat in their face. However, without Facebook presence it is like committing commercial suicide in business, me personally I hate Facebook. Nevertheless, when you see all these car groups with so many members and they appear to thrive, I just don't get it. 🙃
I had a Facebook group for one of my car communities and it was getting the numbers, yet killing my main site...  I would get new members from Facebook but not interaction or posts, but when forum members started moving to Facebook 😬 I ditched it and things started to even out and one thing I learned very quickly, its the quality of the members, not quantity. 

Edited January 4, 2022 by hughezee

[Trevor]

Exactly what has been occurring here and other sites.....there seems to be very little to be gained from linking with Facebook nowadays.
Not only that but the Facebook content is mostly unreliable and not based on true fact or science, and more like throwing darts at a diagnostic chart which leads to parts unnecessarily being replaced