Complaints about noisy exhaust. .....

[M12MTR]

Hi all; I was subject to a bizarre verbal  'attack' tonight.... by my neighbour of nearly 10 years.

Long story short but I reversed the Box out from my garage to retrieve the lawn mower to cut the grass.... This was 4pm.

When I went to put my cars back in place.... on my drive.... The woman next door was twitching her blinds then she came out and verbally abused me ..... "....What's all that noise..... messing with your car's again..... ".... and made comments (which I won't repeat here) about me, my character, my job, and basically I was a "nuisance neighbour" and that she "has written it all down over the years....".

All very bizarre. I have lived here for 10 years and never once intentionally tried to upset anyone. 

Do you think this is Porsche envy???? ;-) 

(Lol by the way). Thoughts invited.

[MG]

Some people don't understand that some of us suffer from petrolheaditis, is your lawn mower petrol ?

[PaulQ]

Did you ask to see what she had written down over the years ?

Seems very odd !

[M12MTR]

5 minutes ago, MG said:

Some people don't understand that some of us suffer from petrolheaditis, is your lawn mower petrol ?

Nope..... a Worx electric. ... always leaves a great lined lawn effect..... we'll recommended.  ;-) 

[MG]

Like Paul stated a little odd mate.

[M12MTR]

3 minutes ago, PaulQ said:

Did you ask to see what she had written down over the years ?

Seems very odd !

No TBH I didn't at the time..... she seemed quite perplexed with me so I thought it best to be polite.

The thing that shocked me was she questioned my job and that somehow I wasn't suitable for it. Very bizarre.

Like I said I've always gone out if my way to be polite.... in fact I have fixed / repaired / installed software / fixed their cars / polished / helped MANY times in the 10 years we've been here.

Such a shame.

[M12MTR]

1 minute ago, MG said:

Like Paul stated a little odd mate.

Yeah I agree.

I will try to be quiet (er) when reversing the Box from now on. But TBH the JCW exhaust is louder lol.

[PaulQ]

Sounds like she has bottled up something/things over the years.

Maybe something else has happended in her life that has triggered this ?

I would try and have chat with her if it was me.

[topradio]

Neighbours can be funny beasts sometimes, they can take offence at the slightest things.

I am very aware of my noise footprint & after starting the 981 I wait 30 seconds before driving past nearby houses as it is very loud just after starting. I don't know why this is, it may be a function of the PSE or something to do with how the fueling is done when the engine is cold but it is noticeably louder.

[Daniel Joseph]

Wow!  So she "has written it all down over the years..."   If that's true, then she sounds like she has rather too much time on her hands, or is just a bit nuts.  ?  How was your relationship with her before this?  Did you have any clue that she was less than happy with you?

The Boxster is hardly a noisy car, certainly not at manoeuvring speeds, so her outburst seems completely unwarranted.  Actually, your mower (if petrol powered like mine) is probably noisier and more irritating than the Boxster!

My philosophy in dealing with neighbours is to be endlessly patient and polite, but don't get too close to them.  It's only an accident of geography that has you living next to them, so there is no reason to expect to become friends (although great if you do).  Nobody EVER wins in a neighbour dispute and the war of attrition is truly exhausting.  Those "Neighbours at War" programmes on TV are so depressing.  Unless one of you moves away, you're stuck, with no escape.  If you do decide to move, then you will be asked by the buyer's solicitor to declare any neighbour disputes, which might put your buyer off.

My advice, for what it's worth, is grit your teeth, pretend the incident never happened and greet her with a polite hello the next time you see her.  Unless she really is nuts, she will probably be feeling embarrassed by her outburst and will be grateful for your good manners and forbearance.

Good luck!

 

[MG]

Not the obvious solution but you could always try to placate her and find out what the real issue is, 

I did have something similar at my previous house many years ago with my neighbour , this was centered on me starting the motorbike in the mornings to commute..

My bike was standard with standard exhaust and I never let it warm up on the drive.....I continued startiing the bike every morning but by befriending him the issue disappeared......I even started receiving Christmas cards :-) 

 

[ragpicker]

Sounds like it's time to do a coolant change to me.

re fill the coolant and then spend a good few hours getting all the air locks out by running it at 5krpm with frequent blips to 7krpm to burp it.

but then again I don't think I've ever been a particularly good neighbour.... 

[Boxstercol]

14 minutes ago, Daniel Joseph said:

Wow!  So she "has written it all down over the years..."   If that's true, then she sounds like she has rather too much time on her hands, or is just a bit nuts.  ?  How was your relationship with her before this?  Did you have any clue that she was less than happy with you?

The Boxster is hardly a noisy car, certainly not at manoeuvring speeds, so her outburst seems completely unwarranted.  Actually, your mower (if petrol powered like mine) is probably noisier and more irritating than the Boxster!

My philosophy in dealing with neighbours is to be endlessly patient and polite, but don't get too close to them.  It's only an accident of geography that has you living next to them, so there is no reason to expect to become friends (although great if you do).  Nobody EVER wins in a neighbour dispute and the war of attrition is truly exhausting.  Those "Neighbours at War" programmes on TV are so depressing.  Unless one of you moves away, you're stuck, with no escape.  If you do decide to move, then you will be asked by the buyer's solicitor to declare any neighbour disputes, which might put your buyer off.

My advice, for what it's worth, is grit your teeth, pretend the incident never happened and greet her with a polite hello the next time you see her.  Unless she really is nuts, she will probably be feeling embarrassed by her outburst and will be grateful for your good manners and forbearance.

Good luck!

 

Lots of good advice.

I would have probably told her to fek off!

[M12MTR]

^^^ Thanks Boxstercol .... I tried to like this but I've 'liked 5 times today already'.

And yes I'm VERY proud of myself I didn't say that...... The old me would've  lol......

[Daniel Joseph]

20 minutes ago, Boxstercol said:

Lots of good advice.

I would have probably told her to fek off!

Thank you, Boxstercol.  I'd like to think I'm generally, cool, calm and collected. ?  On the other hand, there is a spotty youth living near me who has recently acquired a moped with a VERY noisy exhaust.  He is obviously a NEET, since he endlessly rides around our town at 15mph and 120db!  As a law abiding pillar of the community with no previous convictions, what do you think I would get for taking a baseball bat to said youth and his detestable hairdryer on wheels? 

[Stuart21UK]

2 hours ago, M12MTR said:

No TBH I didn't at the time..... she seemed quite perplexed with me so I thought it best to be polite.

The thing that shocked me was she questioned my job and that somehow I wasn't suitable for it. Very bizarre.

Like I said I've always gone out if my way to be polite.... in fact I have fixed / repaired / installed software / fixed their cars / polished / slept with her daughter MANY times in the 10 years we've been here.

Such a shame.

...that'll be it then

 

BTW what is the job you do and why did she think you were unsuitable?

Sweepstake anyone?

[M12MTR]

Ha ha. Her daughter is a p1g.... so no that's not it. Nice add though.

My job? I'm a teacher of 15 years ...... and a bloody hard working one at that. I consider myself to be good at it too.

I think she was ranting to question my character? ?? As in I'm a "nuisance neighbour" (even though I'm not) and that she has nothing better to do (they're retired) than twist about me going about my own business. 

From the 10 years living here all was great until just before Easter: I came home one day to find her husband had ripped down the separating fence between our back gardens; he proclaimed he was putting a new fence in - great I thought - then he only did half - from what they could see their side - as they couldn't see behind his shed - but from our side it was a swap shop job: new fence for 3 metres then old fence for last 3 metres. I asked if he was continuing down - he said "no it's fine from our side". Twit.  Then I checked our deeds and property plans: turns out it is OUR fence: so he had committed criminal damage / attached the new fence to our detached garage and left half of it dropping to bits and looking really shabby. I asked him to rectify it he said "the fence stays as it us!". I politely told him no - and to remind him what we practice in schools  (he is a retired teacher) and that legally, morally and ethically he is in the wrong - and to do that to a neighbour is pretty shocking. He persisted in his stance and said "I've fixed that fence long before you moved here". I retorted that that does not transfer ownership to him - he told me to get the old fence from his skip and put it back up!! Patronising and churlish.

I watched over the next 2 days whilst they finished the remainder of his fence on the other side of his garden: with mine still looking half done.

I asked him again to repair MY fence. He refused. I stated that I would take it further legally. (I had, but not told hum this then, spoken with a solicitor and the police - it was clearcut: he had broken the law and he woukd be nade to recify the fence at his expense). 

After another day or 2 he then (eventually) agreed to extend the fence to cover my full border line: but he wanted me to pay half for the extra wood and labour: I was fine with that and it was completed over the Easter break. It cost an extra (only) £120 FFS halved. So 60 quid. 

So a total waste of everyone's energy.

The neighbour mentioned tonight, when ranting at me, something about the fence.

I think is at the heart of her outburst.

Nowt as queen as folk as they say.

[M12MTR]

This is how the neighbour wanted to leave MY fence;

"I'm alright Jack" springs to mind.

[Daniel Joseph]

That's it then: nothing whatsoever to do with your Boxster or noise, just a simmering resentment over the fence.  Good for you in calmly standing your ground and getting it fixed properly.  Your neighbours sound like the sort of people you really want to keep at arms length.

Just smile sweetly and be annoyingly cheerful when you see them.  That will really wind them up!

[Filbee]

And make sure you buy a petrol lawnmower ASAP 

[Daniel Joseph]

10 minutes ago, Filbee said:

And make sure you buy a petrol lawnmower ASAP 

Actually, for maximum annoyance value, you need a two-stroke engine.  A garden blower would fit the bill nicely. ?

[mike597]

I'm glad i don't have neighbours

[ians]

If what she claims is true ( she's been writing down all your bad behaviour over 10 yrs.) then its a lot more than just the fence. If it wasn't you, it would be someone else in your place. You did the right thing.

[M12MTR]

Thanks for your input folks - and yeah I think she has nothing better to do with her time TBH.

I did notice on Saturday, whilst washing 2 cars on my drive, that the blinds were twitching - but nothing was said (to me anyhow). I did have the radio on - but deliberately played it quietly - as I have always listened to the radio when washing / polishing a car. My behaviour / habits have not changed over the 10 years. 

(I may start cutting the grass at 7am from now on though !).

I can't understand why the husband didn't come out - he was in - to either back her up or reign her in - either way it was an unprovoked outburst and totally shocking. Maybe I am a nuisance and he agrees.

If that is the case then let them get on with it - their problem not mine (I'm not a nuisance BTW).

[Jason986S]

I have a pain in the ass neighbour, who ironically complains if I park outside my own house (shared double width driveway access to our separate drive driveways). Apparently it makes it too difficult for her to drive her KA around our car - yet her husband had been getting his Mondeo Estate out every morning for over 2 years with no issue. Go figure 

They even went as far as knocking on my door to shout in our face, having their budget solicitor write us a letter full of lies, then still asking us to move our suitably parked vehicles (which was normally only a visitor staying for a matter of minutes). 

What makes it more hilarious, is they have a 2 car drive and 6 cars & a noisy as hell motorbike he likes to run/rev at 10pm. So their rust buckets are parked everywhere on this private 7 house cul-de-sac. Irony?

Continue as if nothing has happened. You won't waste any energy arguing. And they will gain no satisfaction in winning a battle by making you change your behaviour (which is fine anyway). I meerly exchange a nod and a smile if we cross paths outside. 

Annoyingly my petrol mower is broken so using some poxy electric Flymo for now.

I've always had aftermarket/noisy exhausts on all my weekend cars, but never had a complaint. Neighbour opposite is a petrol head so one less to worry about, the rest don't bat an eye lid.