I finally took delivery of a new D-Max pickup. I asked the dealer to fit an engine and cabin heater, a second set of genuine alloys with a certain make of studded tyres, and to tint the rear windows.
I picked the car up from a non-Isuzu dealer (same company) closer to me. The first thing I notice is aftermarket alloys with different tyres to the ones I asked for. Never mind, I think, they'll do the same job.
Having been in the motor trade for a number of years, I decided to check out the rest of the car. Firstly, I find 3 screws on the floor where they'd taken off the rear door panel to do the tinting. So I put those back in their rightful place.
I then checked out the engine heater install. It basically consists of a socket on the front bumper that you plug into the wall, then a cable from that to a small heater that goes in a core plug hole, and a lead from that through the bulkhead to a socket mounted in the passenger footwell, into which you plug a fan heater.
The socket on the bumper was at a silly angle and only held on with a couple of self tappers through the plastic, so as you push the plug in, the screws pull through the plastic. They've also routed the wire all over the place, cable tied to a/c hoses and the inlet manifold, so it will get tugged about all over the place when the engine rocks. To get the cable through the bulkhead, they'd drilled a 1" hole (although it looks like it's been made with a chisel), no grommet or anything, so you can see the engine if you look from the passenger footwell, and no socket fitted. They've just poked the end of the cable under the mat. What a quality job.
I can't be bothered to call the garage to get it fixed, just as easy to redo it myself and I'll know it's done properly.
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This is sad wherever it happens, Sweden or Britain.
If you pay for something to be done, then you are entitled to expect that it will be done to a good standard.
It is quite normal to expect that the garage trade in the UK to be of low quality and my own experience over 40 years largely support that view, but somehow it comes as a bit of a disappointment to hear it of the Swedes.
I wonder if BR's have experience of bodged jobs in other countries, is it a world-wide phenomena?
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Dave, I am simply amazed that anyone would put up with this wherever they are. I have managed two big workshops in darkest Africa and even there I would not tolerate this kind of shoddy work. Presumably it is not you who has paid these amateurs...
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I've actually got the new 3.0 common rail engine with 165hp, not yet available in England. Seems ok so far. We don't have the 3 litre Hilux here, and they've stopped doing the Mitsu power upgrade due to engine failures. The ford ranger is only the 2.5 also, so I only had the choice of Isuzu or Nissan if I wanted an auto.
I went to fit the winter tyres and wheels yesterday, but the centre hole is larger than the hub and no spacers have been supplied. I'll post another question on technical to see if it's ok to run without the spacer.
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