Are car are forums dying? is facebook killing them off?

[Magicmat]

Hi all,

a bit of a negative title to the thread but i've noticed a real shift in loads of the forums that i've been visiting after some time away. I wondered if i could bounce my frustration off you all?

I've been out of the car and drift scene for about 4 years but have now returned with a new project (R32).. and in doing so i've been returning to alot of the forums i use to visit, classic mini forums to sell car parts i've been hording, forsale and wanted threads on driftworks, skyline, SXOC sites to buy parts for the skyline but they are all really quiet.

Even the chat pages on here are really quiet, im looking at the threads and on the first page there are threads that are weeks old?

Whats going on?

- is it that we are all having kids so have no time? (i find myself in this boat)

- its summer, so everyone is on their jollies?

or is it facebook which has changed the dynamic?

Is the facebook 'forsale groups' which have taken posts away from the forums? While facebook forsale groups are easier to upload photos to, there about 10 different pages for drift/skyline parts. Making the job of finding parts increasingly hard!

then on the flip side, skyline and mini forums just seem dead empty, is this again due to facebook pages?


I feel like an old man returning to the world, saying whoa this is not okay !



my gripe list atm is

- there are too many facebook groups to follow
- you cant easily scroll through them
- Photobucket being #$%^#$ have made hosting photos so much harder

and dont get me started on the driftworks parts for sale section, my favourate past time was to browse long lists of wanted parts, just looking to see if there is something nestled in my garage that someone may want .. but i guess its been combined because there have been so few threads?

.. okay, rant over ... Anyone have any thoughts?

[dan_evans]

I was thinking this sort of thing yesterday but mainly aimed at Traders on this forum, you don't see many group buys or any promo codes being thrown around anymore. When I was doing the UKSC forum there were a ton of things for sale by traders, offers etc.. There used to be a "how to" section as well that was really good for people learning etc

A lot of the things you look at on forums now are all blocked by photobucket for some reason.

[Magicmat]

they are blocked by photobucket, because they decided to start charging stupid money for there subscription service !

I went to buy a car cover from 800bhp .. but the posts in that forum are years old ! YEARS

[zeppelin101]

There's been a shift, but facebook et all doesn't really offer the same level of discussion that a forum does so knowledge sharing and even sensible sale of parts is not the same as it has been. Has anyone actually sold anything via facebook marketplace? I've had plenty of things advertised on there with people "registering interest" but no actual messages. So in my mind that doesn't work at all.

It's always been difficult to sell valuable things as well but it has gotten worse I think. There seems to be limited appreciation for the value of "stuff" and a consideration of price vs quality. I think that one is probably down to ebay and the availability of cheap shit that kinda works. If you have something interesting to sell and its priced as such it's total pot luck as to whether you find someone willing to part with the cash or whether you'll get people trying to bash you down in price for no real reason.

[Scottie]

Few things are at play here IMO.

1. Facebook is so popular now it is peoples first call, 10 years ago it was not the case.
2. Last 10 years has seen most peoples disposal income take a massive hit, suddenly toys and hobbies are more of a luxury.
3. Generational change, want everything for free there and then, don't want to work for things and so on.

Combination of a few more as well and forums will continue to dwindle.

[BLAKTOOTH]

Facebook, yes. To an extent. And exactly what you mentioned with getting old. Most forums were started a good few years back when the cars they were focussed on were still quite new. The cars are now old and so are we. Plus I'm not sure the young'uns are that in to cars. Or bikes. Or going out much. Basically the mobile internet has changed life as we know it. Having said all that there's a new forum that's just started dedicated to track cars. Whoever's running the show is very active on Instagram. I mean really active. I'm not sure this guy, or girl, has a real job!? Anyway. check it out if it's your thing. http://trackaddict.freeforums.net/

[jbsauce]

Forums are where the knowledge is in my opinion, everything you see on fb is taken from forums.

[jbsauce]

Facebook, yes. To an extent. And exactly what you mentioned with getting old. Most forums were started a good few years back when the cars they were focussed on were still quite new. The cars are now old and so are we. Plus I'm not sure the young'uns are that in to cars. Or bikes. Or going out much. Basically the mobile internet has changed life as we know it. Having said all that there's a new forum that's just started dedicated to track cars. Whoever's running the show is very active on Instagram. I mean really active. I'm not sure this guy, or girl, has a real job!? Anyway. check it out if it's your thing. http://trackaddict.freeforums.net/

I'm 25, and if I speak to a friend who doesn't drift, they don't even know how to change a flat tyre.

[Scottie]

The young not having an interest in cars is something that is giving the likes of Audi and other premium makers a problem. Younger drivers now and those up and coming see cars as an appliance, they never had the same interest people of my age did, and so it comes down to cost for them, they see less value in premium bands and the german makers in particular have traded on premium image/snobbery/one upmanship for decades now...and they know when this ceases to exist they lose a lot of the market. Hence these premium makers coming out with smaller class cars in recent years.

[sideways14a]

Certainly a big drop off in forum use, sxoc and scoobynet are a shadow of there former selves.
Shame really because the massive amount of knowledge and help is little more than a few clicks away here.

[jbsauce]

The young not having an interest in cars is something that is giving the likes of Audi and other premium makers a problem. Younger drivers now and those up and coming see cars as an appliance, they never had the same interest people of my age did, and so it comes down to cost for them, they see less value in premium bands and the german makers in particular have traded on premium image/snobbery/one upmanship for decades now...and they know when this ceases to exist they lose a lot of the market. Hence these premium makers coming out with smaller class cars in recent years.

I would say the complete opposite. They know nothing about cars but they know audi and bmw are expensive. You can get it on finance, you don't have to work on it to make it fast, and you can brag on instagram that you've made it but everyone knows you live at home with your mum and stack shelves in Tesco.

[Chriscooke]

100% Facebook, And partly Photobucket

Group chats, local all marque clubs/Jdm clubs. They're easy to navigate as most us Facebook and it's all a one stop shop. Useless for tech info though so forums will always have a place.

[autosri]

Sorry, what did you say? I was checking Facebook

[bennyboy]

The cost of car insurance is the reason why there is not really any new blood most guys I no up to the age of 25 don't bother because they don't won't loose a third of there income to a car ontop of that the whole meeting face to face thing has died out due to verious online tools you can't even knock one out with out something ai or manga poping up lol people have become hermits

[Dastardly]

As others have said car forums won't completely die out Imo as there will hopefully always be people like me who know that sensible advice is found here not on Facebook. BTW I'm relatively young. I actually struggle to use Facebook, I find it much easier to navigate a forum.

[Dastardly]

And there's still young people into cars.

[Nuts]

I find facebook so toxic and a collecting ground troll keyboard warriors.

I would not have a car thread on facebook.

But yep i have noticed all the car forums getting quieter and quieter.

It could however be my age.

That being said the groups of hill climb and/or track day crouds are still there in the real world.




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[CMR]

I think it will do a full circle to be honest and come back to forums.
Yeah they won't be as active as they were 10-15 years ago but I do predict a change in a year or two.

[Mark]

Social media as a whole has killed forums as a social aspect, look how many pointless threads we used to have on here 5-10 years ago, you would go away for an hour and have a page of new posts. No people post inane ramblings on Facebook or a photo on Instagram, or do a tweet. You can join groups on FB that are your interests and get all the updates in one place instead of visiting 5 or 6 forums, you get reminded of events to go to or you can set up a group chat. Its just so much easier and quicker for people. Its basically fast food

The amount of modified cars on the road has reduced IMO, 10-20 years ago everyone under 30 had a modified car (or so it would seem), RS Turbos, Imprezas, Celicas, GSis, GTis, but all these cars are dying out and there are not many replacements, STs and GTis being the main contenders. Finance deals on new cars has never been better either so you can get something well equipped and quick out the box that you just have to put fuel in for not much money.

[skyshack]

I think it's as much to do with lease cars being available to the pubic and not just companies. The terms of the lease don't allow mods. The lease comes with servicing. So they have the choice, loan at stupid % rate for a 6 year old car or a *NEW* car £200/month.

As this is destroying the 2nd hand market they are now looking at leasing 3 year old cars.
https://www.contracthireandleasing.c...d-car-leasing/
https://www.zerodepositcarleasing.co.uk/new2you-cars
https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...-leasing-deals
Still can't mod it. May not be allowed to track day it.

Contract phones work just the same, £40/month is affordable, £600 cash isn't.