Tdi squeaky belt warning, and GRR to RAC

Mar 28, 2005 21 Replies

Well, my "squeaky Dayco serpentine belt" (as diagnosed by me, addmitedly, and also my local specialist who'd recently fitted the thing) wasn't that at all.



It was an alternator in the process of seizing up. Final stage of the process came with a sudden charge light (which hadn't been glowing at all previously), a zero on the rev counter, and a small waft of smoke from under the bonnet. Which got bigger...



Not so bad, thinks I, just call the RAC. I didn't expect them to be able to get a replacement on Easter Sunday (and they couldn't) but I did expect to be taken to a local garage. But they didn't want to take me to a garage "because it's a Discovery and we can't tow it".



Once I persuaded them that they still should somehow recover the vehicle, I was told the driver had been sent out of his area, and so didn't know of any garages within ten miles. What I'd like to know is when the "tow you to a local garage" part of the deal became "tow you to a local garage within ten miles". I'm sure it's there in the small print, and so yes I have agreed to that level of service, but still, I think they should have made more of telling people about that.



Thanks only to the kindness of the individual engineer and the time he spent on the radio, they *did* eventually call a tow firm for me, who took me to their own workshops. Price of the alternator from them yet to be seen (gulp.)



K

I too was very disappointed with the RAC, my landrover broke down (coolent loss) they did tow me to a local garage, but, going round the first corner, the RAC towbar snapped a chunk of my A frame.

After several telephone calls and letters, they refused to pay, so I promptly cancelled my RAC membership.

That was some time ago, they are still taking (card) payment for membership, even though, they say my card details have been removed from their system.

Not impressed with the RAC at all, they used to be good...............

Brian

On or around Mon, 28 Mar 2005 15:00:11 GMT, "b.barwick" enlightened us thusly:

AA not a lot better, these days, by all accounts.

Meanwhile... 300 TDi runs a 100A alternator, LR will charge you about 300 notes for same, Paddock about half that, ISTR.

And useless for we Landie owners - in the small print they have a weight limit - as do the RAC. In the AA's case it's a little bit too low for most modern Landies.

Thanks - I saw similar ranges of prices in the Rimmer Bros catalogue. I presume part numbers ending in "P" mean pattern parts? They're so much cheaper. Any idea if they last well?

:) K

The AA and RAC's limits are 3.5 tonnes. What landie do you drive?

FWIW, I'm jut about to go out to a 110 Defender OBO the AA, hope I can give a little better service than you received!

I'm with Green Flag. When my Disco blew a water pump in London they were happy to take me back to Suffolk.

TonyB

I feel it my duty to speak up in favour of both the RAC and AA. When the alternator packed up on my 300Tdi Discovery at Reading services on the M4 they arranged a flatbed to bring me home in Bristol ... no problem. Likewise when the clutch fell apart in Gloucester they hauled it to the garage in Pilning (30 miles away and past a franchised LR dealer).

The RAC flatbedded my V8 to the same garage from the M5 (about 12 miles) despite the nearest LR dealer being only 2 miles away. The driver then took me home (another 8 miles) before calling in that he was finished.

I really can't complain about the service from either organisation.

Regards

Steve G

2.5 in my last membership guide.

Yeah - I don't like being a moaner, and I have received brilliant service from both organisations in the past - but it feels like they've got much more tight-fisted of late.

I'm sure a lot of people abuse them. But it's a shame the solutions seem to penalise everybody.

K

Is there a weight limit in the RAC? I own a 300TDi Disco and being disabled joined them to cover me if and when I brake down. I told them it was a Disco and they did not mention anything about a weight limit??

Inspired by this conversation, I had a check online and I see that the AA limit applies only to "vans and pick-ups" and is in fact a 2.3 tonne limit. For other vehicles it is indeed 3.5. (Is a Defender with no rear windows a "van" for this purpose?)

I do believe that my printed guide of three years ago said 2.5 though, because it was that guide which made me switch from AA to RAC.

;) K

To clarify for myself I've had a look online, and the terms & conditions which appear to be in force now (for new members at least) are different to the ones in the printed guide I was using as my reference. Sorry for any confusion caused.

The RAC website says generally excluded are: Vehicles that exceed 2.3 metres (7ft 6") width, 3.5 Tonnes weight or 5.5 metres (18ft) length.

There is further info at their website.

:) K

Green Flag wont cover 110 CSW's though.

Richard

From the descriptions you and I have a higher level of cover than the first two posters, i.e. take your vehicle home rather than just to the nearest garage.

Richard

I thought that too - but I signed up with the RAC at Micheals Wood services on Saturday and the bloke was quite happy with 2 tons (he never asked how many seats).

There's two flavours of alternator for the 300Tdi Disco - internal and external fan - 123.37 and 146.87 inc VAT respectively

Richard

The AA refused me cover on a 110 CSW too - infact the RAC are the only ones who offered me cover.

Richard

Is there any advantage to either type?

As for price, that's about what I was seeing for the main part number with a "P" suffix, and for the two other distinct part number listed. But the first number, when without the "P", came to almost £500! Presumably it has a nice green oval printed on it...

:) K

On or around Tue, 29 Mar 2005 14:07:13 +0000 (UTC), beamendsltd enlightened us thusly:

So do I, with the AA, and to be fair, they've done OK, mostly. I got a ford granada fetched back from birmingham by 'em once.

Too, the RAC did a freind of mine OK by recovering her car with a burnt-out clutch from the middle of nowhere. RAC transit had a very nice dolly doofrit concealed in the back. Want.

In message , beamendsltd writes

They covered mine without comment - needed to use them last year when the injector pump failed and they had no problem recovering the car.

Will '98 300TDi 110 CSW

Cant think why they refused cover, I go out to many 110's for the AA

'Tis quite possible :-)

Regards

Steve G

beamendsltd wrote:

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