Had a problem with the car about a year ago on the M6. Revs seemed a little odd and so pulled into the services and called the AA (or was it RAC? It was via Leaseplan).
They arrived in less than an hour. They couldn't find a problem although we agreed it was probably the clutch. I asked if they'd follow me to the next junction and I'd see how it went and would drive back on A roads. The problem was a slipping clutch but when booked in the garage also found a leak in the fuel injection system too.
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It wasn't that they didn't want to - it was because the site owners wouldn't, or contracturally couldn't, permit it.
There were many blacklisted places - car parks of pubs with hostile licencees were often out of bounds to patrols.
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>>AA failed (or were not interested) in fixing a defective LDV starter motor.
Go on then, what did you expect the AA to do with a knackered LDV starter motor at Newport Pagnell services?
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give it a smack with a hammer for starters (starters for starters)
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bb
Exactly.
But I am told that they are difficult to get at on the LDV (diesel) and it was raining.
I since have discovered that there is some history to starter failures on this particular minibus. The starter motor has been replaced once recently and it has since failed twice when out ,and it would appear that there maybe a defective cable or loose connection. Classic 'click' on operating key to start. A little investigation may not have gone amiss.
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pmh (was peter)
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>>AA failed (or were not interested) in fixing a defective LDV starter motor. Go on then what did you expect the AA to do with a knackered LDV starter motor at Newport Pagnell services?
Give it a pull start so the driver could get to their destination/ to someone who could fix the blessed thing
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Give it a pull start so the driver could get to their destination/ to someone who could fix the blessed thing
Back in the good old days, that would have been an automatic response; bump it, tow it, roll it down a slope - "There you go squire; mind you don't stall it - oh, you're too kind, a tenner tip would have been adequate....."
However; in these enlightened days you have to carry out a risk assessment for their 'elf and safety.
What happens if the driver stalls it pulling out on to a fast road in front of a six-axle?
With splattered kids everywhere, it isn't going to be long before the cortege-chasing lawyers will be claiming telephone numbers and spouting soundbites... "Let them continue in a death-trap... should've recovered it... chose to take the cheap way out."
Life isn't simple anymore - or even worth living.
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a £10 ?
i would have done it for a bluee
as said though not anymore,
last time i did a favour for somebody like that i melted a fusebox :-(
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Screwloose has hit the nail smack on the head with regards to what I was getting at in most post earlier. Its all about health and safety and covering your own backside with regards to repairs. Gone are the days of making a temporary repair or just getting something going as if it doesn't make it back, the customer will be the first one on the phone complaining. Its tends to be a case of either fix it properly or get it recovered - end of story.
Oh and with a minibus full of schoolkids, the consequences of it encountering further problems on the way back will just cause even more headaches. I can see it now, the story in the paper - AA man bodges repair on school minibus and vehicle cuts out and won't restart on motorway leading to accident etc.
Sometimes its not worth the hassle of trying.
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Reckon i'd still be by the roadside from breakdowns twenty years ago the way things are shaping up.
My firms vehicle breakdown and the tyre breakdown service employs a call centre....WHY.. they are as much use as the proverbial chocolate teapot! They dont know where anywhere is in the country (mind you they could be anywhere in the world), they dont know one end of a vehicle from the other, the only thing you can guarantee is that when the fitter (used to be a mechanic with the most likely parts to repair) turns up he will have been given the wrong location, the wrong defect and the wrong type of vehicle, and his journey is a waste of time cos it needs towing in to go on the laptop!!!!
My last two breakdowns, one tyre, one faulty starter, on both occasions i have stressed till i'm blue in the face the exact problem/exact type (eg steer axle) tyre required.
No prizes for guessing what they turned out with, why why why do i continually waste my breath.
Do you lads like me sometimes feel like screaming?
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My last two breakdowns one tyre one faulty starter on both occasions i have stressed till i'm blue in the face the exact problem/exact type (eg steer axle) tyre required. No prizes for guessing what they turned out with why why why do i continually waste my breath. Do you lads like me sometimes feel like screaming?
Perhaps jdc would like to comment, as he seems to work in one of those centres you mentioned......
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