To think my neighbour is a snob, and a very strange one at that?

[Bluemonkeyspots]

My car is in the garage today for a service so told dd this morning she would have to walk home, not a problem she does this most days anyway. Sat earlier and I see my neighbour driving into our street and dd is in the car so I go to the door to check everything is ok and this is the conversation that followed

Me- "hi, everything ok"

Neighbour- "yes fine, dd just wanted a lift home in a BMW today "

Me- "sorry?"

Neighbour- "yes, since you were not there at pick up dd thought it would be nice to get a lift in a BMW"

Me- "dd, did you want a lift in a BMW?"

Dd- "what's a BMW"

Neighbour- "aahhhh come on now dd, it must have been nice sitting in a BMW?"

Dd- (looking totally confused) "yes, thanks for the lift home"

Me- "thanks for that"

Then she smiled and walked off.

Was lovely that she offered dd a lift as it was starting to spit rain but was this really such a treat.

To put it into context a bit my car is average but only six month old, the BMW in question is very old (nothing wrong with that my last car was old) but I feel I'm missing something by neighbours attitude.

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

I thought cars only needed servicing annually, at most. Just shows how much I know about them. Probably about as much as your DD .

[Bluemonkeyspots]

Spb we only have the one car so it's "my car" though if its pissing rain and it needs filled with petrol it suddenly becomes "your car"

[beitou]

Our cars are the big one and the little one.Which one are you taking dear? Im doing more miles so I'll take the little one. Ok dear.

[StephenFrySaidSo]

they normally do softkitty but some manufacturers 'recommend' you do it every six months (because they get money out of you more often that way and Renaults are notorious for needing lots done every service)

[treaclesoda]

ah, but what sort of BMW was it? I mean, I remember at school there was one boy who was sneered at behind his back because his dad had a bottom of the range BMW. Can you imagine the shame?

[MusicalEndorphins]

I don't think she was being a snob, it sounds more light hearted. My ds would joke around about it being a treat being in his beloved 1994 Toyota, which is an old beater and on it's last legs. (or should I say last "wheels"?) DH & both DS's all have that same sense of humour your neighbor seems to have, so I get it.

[MusicalEndorphins]

PS. I actually forget ds's car's age, but about 19-20.

[fiverabbits]

Years ago friends of ours came to see us one Sunday afternoon. The man insisted we went to look at his BMW which he said cost him £4000. Then his wife said it will cost you more than that by the time you pay off the loan. How we kept a straight face I don't know and any way we would sooner had our Ford Cortina !

[Madmum24]

Oh this reminds me of a friend who never mentioned having a car, they were refered to as the merc and the beamer both clapped out ancient pieces of rust If I phoned her and asked where she was, she wouldn't say "I'm in the car at the school gates", it was "I'm sitting in the beamer/merc at the school gates".

[WeAreSeven]

My dsis has SN's, I think possibly autism but never actually diagnosed.
When she was little, she was obsessed with cars and knew the individual sound each car made.
Once, Dad was looking after her. Mum was out. Mum drove a Renault 4. Dsis was sitting on the floor playing, couldn't see out of the window. A car drove up the road. Without looking up, dsis said "That's an R4" She listened for another minute and said "It's not Mammy's R4 though" Dad looked out and it was a Renault 4 and not my Mum's!

[WiddleAndPuke]

When I met my now DH we went to a dinner attended by, among others, his DS (then 9) and one of DSSs mum's friends. This friend is possibly the most pretentious and affected women I've ever met. Anyway we were introduced and the conversation pretty much went:

Me: Hi! Nice to meet you!
Her: Oh hellow! (DSS) likes it when I take him for a drive in my PORSCHE!
Me: Oh, nice......

[WiddleAndPuke]

I can identify:

Reliant Robins
Old style Minis
Buses
Old Beetles
Farm vehicles

I think that's it.

[dazzlingdeborahrose]

Will now hang around my children's friends and try to force them into my car whilst shouting 'It's a BMW, wouldn't you love to have a drive in a BMW? You can come back to dazzling close for a bbq. It'll be cooked on a Weber. Don't worry about the mess. I can soon clean that up with my Dyson' except I don't have a dyson. I have a henry. I have failed the brand name challenge. I am ashamed

[LadyClariceCannockMonty]

'because no-one is ever pulled into a car or van by abductors?'

Things like that happen SO rarely.

"only witness- can you describe the car that took your sister?"
"yes it was a black Vauxhall astra- reg number abc 1234"

A lot of people could probably say, rather than 'no', 'yes it was a black van, medium-sized, reg number abc 1234'.

I think the weirdest/snobbiest part is that the woman must have phoned her DH to tell him she'd given dd a lift 'in tee BMW' and the DH felt it important enough to talk to the OP's DH about it.

Like I said, perhaps they haven't got much to do

[Crowler]

What a funny story OP! You can dine on it for years.

[PigletJohn]

I haven't got time for this, I've got to polish the supercharger on the blue Daimler.

[HormonalHousewife]

This has really made me smile.

Partly because i am also guilty of some of these crimes of snobbery

We have a few cars so we tend to call them by their brand names and I have to admit I have used the phrase beamer once or twice although never in public and I will try to control this in future 'cos it can obviously be construed as a bit knobby.

Its a fantastic story OP it will make you smile for years.

[StephenFrySaidSo]

"'because no-one is ever pulled into a car or van by abductors?'

Things like that happen SO rarely."

but do happen all the same. aswell as the ones that aren't successful.

"A lot of people could probably say, rather than 'no', 'yes it was a black van, medium-sized, reg number abc 1234'."

that's good. the more information the better.

[GhoulWithADragonTattoo]

I actually think this is a joke. The neighbour knows that her car is actually old and scruffy but that normally BMW is regarded as a prestige brand. So she jokes that your DD wanted a go in a BMW (even though actually not anything special in this case). I think it's quite amusing. It would be a snobby thing to say if the BMW was pristine :)

[LadyClariceCannockMonty]

"Things like that happen SO rarely."
'but do happen all the time'.
Not sure of your point, Stephen.

As for my comment, the point is that your examples were at two extremes – someone who could identify make and model as well as colour and licence plate against someone who just said 'no'. Not particularly realistic, IMO –I think most people would be somewhere in the middle and identify the colour and size and maybe the plate or some of it, if not the make/model.

[StephenFrySaidSo]

"–I think most people would be somewhere in the middle and identify the colour and size and maybe the plate or some of it, if not the make/model."

and like I said, that's good. the more information the better.

"Things like that happen SO rarely."
'but do happen all the time'.
Not sure of your point, Stephen.

you have misquoted my comment. I didn't say "but do happen all the time" I said "but do happen all the same.

which was my point- rarely isn't never.

[DeWe]

Our neighbours offered ds a ride round in their new sportscar. He was very excited (age 6). They'd just had it delivered and came out to find him prowling round it admiring it from all angles, so they offered him a ride with the roof down. He doesn't know about car makes particularly (if it was planes it would be a different matter!) so wouldn't be impressed by saying it's a BMW, but was just loving the car.
If the neighbours had said to me he wanted a drive in their BMW I wouldn't think of it as snobby, just that he was loving their new car.

I can only identify cars (other than Beetle and Mini) if I can read the name on the back.

[LadyClariceCannockMonty]

Sorry, Stephen, yes, I misread it!

What I was trying to say about your 'black Vauxhall' comment was that your two examples, of the two ways you seemed to be suggesting people would respond to the question, were both extreme. I don't think a lot of people would have NOTHING to say about the physical characteristics of a van, but you seemed to be suggesting that, unless someone could identify make and model, they would simply reply 'no' to the question, which I really don't think would be the case.

[LisaMedicus]

I am nearly fifty and I wouldn't recognise a BMW. Actually I wouldn't recognise a Ford Focus and that's the car that DH drives.

Are there classes I could take?

[YoureBeingADick]

lisa I can sign you up to my intensive 1 week course if you like

lady fair enough, it wasn't what I meant but If that is the way it comes across then I understand your comments.