DIY? or get the dealer to do it for you.

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alan s
RIP 2010
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DIY? or get the dealer to do it for you.

Post by alan s »

Here's a guy who took his car into a dealer for an oil change; the apprentice did the job, then took it for a "test drive." [:p][}:)][B)][:D]
http://www.boostn247.com/spa200/
Alan S [:I]
Jon

Post by Jon »

That reminds me of many years ago when a colleage in the motor trade asked me to weld up a GSA for the MOT, promising handsome payment as he didn't fancy the job.
Stuck it up on the ramp, got the grinder out, cleaned it all up and was just finishing a lovely seam weld on the last of 5 plates when I felt heat, sudden heat.
Out from under the car to find that the flames had already reached the roof! Ran for fire extinguisher, then desperately lowering the ramp (never known anything so slow). By this time the bloke next door arrived, broke window with extinguisher and we started putting out the flames before the workshop went up too. Unfortunately, the GSA was basically destroyed.[B)]
I didn't get any money for my days work and had to give the owner (via the bloke who was supposed to do the job in the first place) £450.00 quid.[V]
Doh.
mark_sp
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Post by mark_sp »

Very rarely put my cars into a main dealers, but on the rare occasions that I did they always came out damaged. One Ford dealer who only had the car to do a quote for a partial respray managed to put a very noticable dent in the top of the nearside rear wing. I wondered why my car was parked away from the rest and in the shadows when I went to collect it.
Anyway on a (sort of)lighter note a few years back there was a piece in the local press about a hapless mechanic who drove a car over an inspection pit. Only thing was this car was a Reliant Robin, a small car with only 3 wheels, the single wheel being at the front. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.
Mark_sp
allmond
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Post by allmond »

I allways service the car myself. The motorbike I bought from new and it's still under guarantee so I have to take it to the "experts" for servicing. Each service so far, (it's had 4) something has always been wrong when I collected it. Damaged brake lever, overfilled with oil, back brake binding, etc, etc. Can't wait for it to be out of guarantee so I can DIY and cut 75% off the bills. (Plus I enjoy it.)
Jamie
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

I second that. My Ford was subjected to a year's soul destroying ritualised vandalism while I was tied to their guarantee. They now give three years.Which is a strange reason for encouraging me to buy another.
phhopes
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Post by phhopes »

I am thinking of changing to an oil burner with a peugeot 1.9 XUD but heard they are prone to head gasket failure . Is this due to misuse? I have also heard they do high mileages reliably so am confused!
Is this engine all alloy block and head ?

thanks , Steve
blueboy2001
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Post by blueboy2001 »

I wouldn't say they are especially prone to head gasket failiure, if you look around the forums you will see several instances of it but bear in mind the majority, certainly in the Citroen forum, run diesels. If you let them overheat they almost certainly loose the gasket and often warp the head.
They certainly do run to high mileages if they are well maintained, which means oil changes at least every 6k. My own car is on 199200 now and it doesn't use a drop of oil or any water, runs silky smooth and returns upwards of 40MPG.
The engine is a cast iron block with alloy head.
cheesesliceking

Post by cheesesliceking »

No pics on that site[:(]
alan s
RIP 2010
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Post by alan s »

I asked the question on the forum where that was first posted & was told that he withdrew the pics as he is entering negotiations with the dealer concerned & didn't want to 'upset the dealer' [:D][:D]
I suggested that perhaps the relationship 'tween the dealer & the owner of the car weren't exactly at an all time high after this event.
FYI, "junior" went for a larrop around the block, lost it, bounced off a telegraph pole & then went through a fence or wall. Car, a fairly new Nissan 200SX?? was basically tied in a knot, a total write off & apparently it's a model no longer made so couldn't be replaced with a new car.
".....as we told you sir, this new oil gives the car 10% extra horsepower; I'll get young James to tell all about it; that's him over there, the one with the white face, shivering....he'll be with you as soon as he changes his clothes; his others got a bit....ahh, shall we say messed in.... and please sir, do call again." [:o)][:o)][}:)]
Alan S [:p]
Roscoe
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Post by Roscoe »

I have a confession...many years ago when I was working my way through school in Canada, I was working night shift at a local garage. The odd time we used to get some rather nice iron in for servicing, and my co-worker and I would take turns 'road testing' them around the block. Some of the cars I remember were Jag E types, Corvettes, Mustangs, etc. etc. We always checked to make sure the cars were runnable first (oil, water, etc.) but did some fairly serious drag racing in them...I make it a habit never to leave my vehicles in a main dealers for any reason now!!
ghostrider
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Post by ghostrider »

Don't strat me on this one :-)) I've used a garage about 6 times over the last 25 years and each time I swear it will be the last, an investment in almost any amount of tooling is preferable to paying someone 5 times what I can earn as a pro Sparky
Pete
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Last edited by ghostrider on 22 Feb 2011, 05:39, edited 1 time in total.
kafkaian
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Post by kafkaian »

During my student days I sent in my Vauxhall Chevette (yuk [xx(]) for an MOT to a quiet sort of garage. They told me that one of the engine mountings was damaged so with little of my grant left I had no alternative but to struggle with a precarious homemade jack assembly holding the engine form underneath while I struggled with a cold chisel and hammer to remove the darn thing. The whole process took me 7 hours but it was my first job alone without my father to help. Of course there was absolutley nothing wrong with the mounting [:(!] and I replaced it for a couple of quid [:D]. This was 1984, and the garage in question wanted a couple of hundred to do the job - presumably thinking my resolve would be shattered in the first instance and I was easy, if not youthful, game. Since then, and I don't mean to stereotype the whole mech eng fraternity, I've always preferred to do the job myself.
You save a whole load of dosh in the main, satisfy your ego and curiosity whilst learning a great deal about cars in general. Further, you don't get conned by unscrupulous mechanics whilst every nut and bolt missed is down to YOU (Involved jobs I've had to get done "professionally" generally always come back with a few screws missing [:(]. A friend of mine sent his Micra in recently to get a head change and you could tell that they'd done abs. nothing as all the dirt and grime connecting the head to the block was not broken [}:)] and they refused to show us any of the bits.
No, apart from bad winters and really tricky jobs, I do all my own and like it that way.
ghostrider
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Post by ghostrider »

The thing I dread most about buying a car is that "full dealer service history" I've only owned 2 Cits with this fabled "history" and both of them have taken some time to sort out.
My current xantia is a FSH car, so far I've found the brake pad warning lights disconnected, new tyres fitted but not tracked so my first front tyre managed just 6K, the hydraulic fluid & coolant have obviously never been changed ditto the air filter, was the cam belt ever done? who knows, its the next job if it does not let go before I can get to it;-)))
________
Yrv
Last edited by ghostrider on 22 Feb 2011, 05:39, edited 1 time in total.
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