September 2003
My Sister in Law's husband used to be a foreman in a well-known Merseyside car factory in the 1970's. He died some years ago and my sister in law and I were reminiscing the other evening. She told me the following stories. I thought that they might amuse forum members.
It was quite usual for a car to be specially made for a manager or supervisor. In other words extra metal, more paint, extra accessories would be built in as the car went down the line. If a boss was disliked the car was often given a built in rattle. One way was to drop a Coca Cola bottle (made of glass in those days) into the rocker panel on the driver?s side before it was welded shut. Every time the car went round a bend, or over a bump there would be this terrible rattle ? completely un-fixable of course without tearing the car apart (Think French Connection)
A new paint dipping process had been installed just before Christmas. A group of visiting managers from Germany were inspecting it. No one commented when a body shell went through the dip closely followed by a bicycle frame, sledge, child?s desk and chair.
Apart from the usual pilfering of small parts there was an outbreak of major losses; engines and gearboxes were going missing on the night shifts. These losses coincided with a series of accidents where an ambulance had to be sent for. One night an alert security guard saw a stretcher being placed in the ambulance. When he pulled the blanket back he found a life-size model head attached to a gearbox.
There was also the case of the three-door car; two doors on one side, one on the other. Two body shell halves had met at the wrong place on the line and the men working on the line were so disinterested that no one noticed until the car was finished
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I work for a company in the Motor Industry.
It's one of the Germans, so we have none of this company car nonsense.
My daughter has a Seat Arosa 1.7SDi diesel. It's really a VW Lupo, built in Wolfsburg, but I shouldn't really tell you that, as it's £1500 cheaper.
Anyway, she has just done 60,000 miles, so I've changed the cambelt.
When I say that this engine is one of mine, and I evaluated how it would fit into the chassis, you would think I could change the belt in 5 minutes.
NO.
4 hours. Skinned knuckles. Jacked engine up and down to remove bolts blocked by chassis cross members.Engine mounting in the way of belt removal.
Hard work.
Great in production, but I truly do not know how the Technicians do the job in the book time allowed.
Respect.
This is only my personal opinion.
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In my experience, those frustrating problems get solved once you get to speak/demonstrate them to the technician.
It is a mark of a good garage (in my opinion)where a) the service receptionists listen to you and write down what you said (as opposed to their first, often wrong, diagnosis) and b) they invite (or are happy for you) to show the technician the problem before you leave the car...
I have noticed water leaking from the front of the drivers wing. After investigation I think it is coming from the water supply / pump? for the headlight washers but it is difficult to access. Does this require removal of bumper and how big a job is this or is there another way?
Thanks for any help. Neil. Read more
Neil 1,
Where I am this week, in God's county, there is no rain.
Is it the same where you are?
Why do you think the water comes from your headlamp washers?
Does it come only when you activate them?
Where does the water leak into the cabin?
What has the driver's wing to do with it?
Lots of questions, I know. Give me some answers and I'll try to help you.
I have a Renault 9 (auto, 1988,1397cc)that has been lying on my driveway for the past 2 years. It passed the MOT first time in September 2001. Have have spent some time preparing it for another MOT. Last week it only failed on exhaust emissions: \"HC high\". The guy at the MOT station told me that it could need anything \"up to a new engine\". The car is in excellent mechanical condition and I want to keep it as a run around. Question is what does \"high HC\" mean and what is the likely remedy? I want to take it to a local garage for an opinion but would like some information about this fault so that I know what I am talking about.
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Thanks for the replies. The MOT garage did not elaborate
on how high it was. However I was thinking about jc\'s
suggestion and try giving the car a good drive as it has not
been driven any distance at all.
And from the tone of your reply you haven\'t changed the oil and filter. that\'ll only do good, and costs less than 50 quid anyway. Far less if you do the job yourself.
Folks,
I am looking for a 16ft x 6 ft flatbed trailer for transporting telecomms equipment.
I normally hire one, and know that these are ideal for the application. Low-loading with the added benefit of tilt. Very stable, even with 2000kgs on board.
The general impression I gain is that they are pretty scare second-hand, expensive new, and often well marked up via the few traders who specialise in them. Correct?
Can anyone suggest where I might look without turning over masses of irrelevent stuff in Google? No, I'm not too lazy to search, but I suspect that someone on the list has been down this route before.
The one I use regularly has a maximum gross weight of 2600kgs, hence effectively a two tonne payload. I tow with a Vauxhall Monterey (Isuzu Trooper), which has a plated gross train weight of around 5500. It weighs around 2000 itself, so, something with a MGW of 3500 would be ideal. If these things exist. The one I use was made by Richardson Rice in York.
Where do local authorities and police dispose of their trailers?
Any suggestions welcome.
rg
Cheers
rg Read more
Thanks all,
Much as I thought.
DVD, yes, I will get onto Richardson Rice. The one I hire from Joplings in made by them, and is a real battleship.
Thanks again...
rg
Heres the details...
July 27 take delivery of new TVR Tuscan Speed Six. £6400 deposit, the rest on finance
July 28 Notice paint chipping off bonnet (not stone chips) - Inform dealer and get a response of "they all do that sir"
July 30 Trim drops - "they all do that sir"
August 2 More paint issues, I notice overspray and inform the dealer - You've guessed it "they all do that sir"
August 2 - 15 More general trim problems, glue spilling out of joints, trim dropping off etc. etc.
August 16 - It rains and the car gets wet and so doesn't idle causing it to cut out at random - "they all do that sir, the plugs are wet"
This continues until last friday when white smoke poured out of the back of the car whilst it was coughing and spluttering in the rain.
On saturday morning (it was hot) the car failed to even start. AA called. AA report says the car is undriveable and cuts out at random.
September 1 Monday Morning (today) - Call manager of dealership and reject car. I was told "no you can't reject it since the sale of goods act says that not everything can be guaranteed to be perfect"
I then called the owner of the garage and he seemed much more on my side and said he would call me back. He didn't
The manager called me back and said that by law they had to be allowed to attempt to repair it.
I contacted a solicitor who told me that the sale of goods act has changed and now the consumer has the right to demand a repair or a replacement or a refund.
I told the manager this and he said that was wrong (surprise surprise).
I'm after my £6400 back plus the first payment that I made of £700 including the acceptance fee.
So, any ideas ?
Thanks in advance,
Ashley
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In general you have around 30 days or a few hundred miles to reject a car. You have gone slightly over that but not by much, I think you're probably still within your rights, especially if you haven't driven it far.
As you have bought the car on finance the finance company is jointly liable regarding any problems you have with the car.
Do what all the above posters have said and DO NOT DELAY.
You do not have long before your rights expire.
Mike
I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.
My VW Golf 1.8T is nearly 4 years old and has done 31k miles. Booked it in for a service to the local VW dealer (where I have taken it every year since new) and was asked if i'd like the 30k or 40k service. I didn't know as I thought it all depended on age.
Apparently not - as the car should have done 40k over 4yrs that would be the 'standard' service to get. However I would be able to have a 30k service as have completed fewer miles. The 40k service costs £270 and 30k £180. The difference is for plugs, air filter and fuel filter (sounds not much for £90!).
I am a bit worried about going for the cheaper option as it means the plugs will not be changed until the car is 5yrs old.
Any opinions - am I about to be ripped off - it is currently booked in for the 40k.
Thanks
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A clear case of a dealer ripping you off. I tend to buy service parts necessary myself from an auto parts store so I am never overcharged. It also shows to the garage you know what you are talking about and less likely to rip you off in my opinion. If they oppose this, then there is something wrong.
Also, whenever I have a service, I make a list of items to include that they always miss out e.g. lubricate all moving parts like door hinges. These simple lists mean you can ensure that the car is serviced properly and benefit you. Also, whenever I go to a new garage, I can check that items are actually not missed and I am not being ripped off. For example, I undo the air filter container, loosen the battery connectors, loosen one wheel nut etc etc.
This way you know the job has been done, and you can also get a thorough mechanic. I went to about three garages before I found one who did everything indicated in the service shedule, and he was actually the cheapest. Once, I put an old air filter in my car to see if it would be changed as it is serviced. Guess what, it wasn?t even touched!
I know I am very cautious, but I really dislike being ripped off by mechanics. If they want to charge high rates for labour, they should do a good job. In most cases, the high labour rates do not give you a great service for your car but the cost of furnishing the service room and wages for secretaries, managers, senior managers etc etc.
In fact, in my experience when I have any problems with my vehicle the authorised dealers always seem to give a lesser service. For example, I described symptoms of a problem to the main dealers and they reply with ?needs a new gearbox?, or ?that is how all of them are?. The independent ones are more likely to test the vehicle there and then, look into it and find it simply was that the clutch plates needed to be cleaned. Dealers are great if you can find a good one, but they are also usually the greedy ones who would want you to re-mortgage your house for them to line their pockets. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case with exceptional circumstances.
I have a 214 cabrio 1997. I takes around 10 tries before it starts and then conks out. It also conks out whilst driving. My garage said that probably the immobiliser is defective and need changing. he also said that these cars all suffer of this defect. This costs around 600 pounds. Could it be possible that something else is the problem??? The car only has 11500 miles on the clock! Read more
Thanks John S,
My common sense would say so as well. I have an appointment at the Rover dealer on Thursday and at least I have a bit of background now. You know, if you nothing, thgey'll make you swallow everything including your wallet. That's how it is with everything at our end, in Malta.
Just got my Saturday Telegraph here in SW France and I see, once again, HJ is warning against using supermarket petrol. Can I recount my personal experience?
Before I moved to France I ran a Honda Legend in the UK and always used Esso or Shell 95 unleaded - convenient and cost no more than at the supermarket. That car always ran brilliantly EXCEPT the one time I was in a hurry and filled it at a supermarket forecourt, when it didn\'t exactly misfire but didn\'t feel at all \'happy\' until it went back onto Esso. But during the many times we took it to France we always filled it with 98 or 95 supermarket unleaded (there\'s a big difference in fuel prices between garages and supermarkets over here) and it never missed a beat. Since moving here I have put supermarket 95 unleaded in our Volvo 940 2 litre, old Honda Civic Shuttle and, currently, Honda 2 Litre Accord Coupe, without - apparently - the slightest problem.
I can\'t really believe UK supermarkets can get away with selling an inferior product for the same price as a big petrol company forecourt. Based on my experience I have to give the same advice as HJ - but am I missing something? Read more
I have had no problems with Safeway's fuel, it's just that I seem to get slightly better mpg/performance with Shell. I still take advantage of Safeway's 20p/litre discount from time to time though.
VD5D
Can anyone help? I am only five foot tall and looking for a new small car. I currently have a Fiat Punto and find that as I have to have the car seat so far forward my legs are dangerously close to the steering column. Can anyone advise on what cars I could be considering
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As a word of warning, the Fiesta advertises itself as having height adjustable seats which in practice means a rather bizarre balloon under ones,....er....rear that inflates as you pump up the 'height adjuster' - very nasty.
CF
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Drop me a line ShereKhan and let me know of your siemens experiences. email is on my profile.