Sometimes there is real satisfaction in a repair

In message , Mrcheerful writes

I know what you mean. About 20 years ago I had a Montego 2.0 TD. It was main dealer serviced but I used to do an interim oil change myself. While I was waiting for the old oil to drain out, I unclipped the top plastic cover off the cambelt and found a tear across the belt about 1/4 of its total width. I was really lucky because only a small section of the belt was visible through this cover and the damaged portion had stopped right at the top. Its likely that the tear had been there a while but the one mile drive to the dealer was nerve jangling.

The dealer changed the belt but noticed that there were witness marks on the pulley which indicated that the belt had previously been levered off with a screwdriver. The belt had also been refitted running in the wrong direction. The car had previously been serviced at a Rover franchise in Germany. The UK dealer submitted a report to Rover who paid for the premature cambelt change. I'll never know why the German dealer had cause to remove the cambelt.

That's nothing.

Here's a pic of my Punto cambelt, when I decided to have a visible check of it one day..

I have no idea how it had got to that state..

I changed one that had got even narrower than that ! Literally 10mm wide (vauxhall cavalier) I assume that something at some time made contact with one side (perhaps a stone) which weakens that side and then just drops bits off more and more. The new belt stayed fine for several years till the car was stolen and never seen again.

Its those who over service cars and don't take into consideration its usage that give the industry a bad name. personalised service is what's lacking at most dealerships and the bonus sales which the mechanic is pushing is not helpful.

I visit another garage for all my MoTs, and like me they have quite a few customers that have cars that only do a few hundred miles a year, BUT unlike me they change all the service bits regardless of the mileage, I keep logs of all the vehicles I service and always check when the important bits were last changed. on nearly every car I change the oil each year, but things like air filters, plugs, pollen filters and so forth I look up to see how much use they have actually had before I change them.

Thanks for telling us that, but you aren't in the Manchester area, are you? :-)

When I broke an ankle last July I couldn't drive for a month or two, so when I got the 'courtesy call' reminding me of the 12 months service, due in January, I pointed out that I had only covered about 4000 miles since the last service, and that I would call them later. I plan to do so just before the next MOT is due in November.

Usage based servicing is good, but I find that nearly all my customers like to get a service at the same time as the MoT, very few consider exactly what usage they have made between mots. If that 2 year mot thing came in I can see that many people will not bother with any servicing in between. Many people do not open the bonnet betwen services or even check the tyre pressures, so in double the time frame there will be a lot of cars with faults driving around for even longer.

[...]

Since retirement, I only do a few thousand miles a year, and I adapt my servicing in exactly that way.

It also means an easier time physically; creaky knees and a damaged back are not conducive to working on cars!

The problem for me will be when I'm really unable to DIY; I've not found a garage around here either personally or by recommendation that I would be happy using.

Chris

I believe you are not too far from me in South Berks. I live near Waltham St. Lawrence. Truetec Ford in Hurst are pretty good, small, family run long-time Ford specialist. If it's just normal servicing, PTS in Wokingham, even though they are a Citroen/Pug specialist are very good indeed. Being a Citroenist myself, I know many peoople who use them, and the owner is well known and has a good reputation in the Citroen Owners club. They will work on any make and model of car.

Suppose it also down to time off the road whilst in the garage..

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Lucky man; it's a really nice place!

Many thanks for the info.

Chris

That is inevitable. :-( I have (or had!) a lady friend who believed that having her Micra MOT'd was the same as having it serviced. I doubt if it has had a thorough service in its life, and it is a Y reg. In spite of it being a fun little car, I preferred not to drive it...

[...]

A few years ago, whilst working for the AA, my stepson went out to a young lady in a Fiesta. The engine had seized due to a lack of oil. He pointed out that it needed regularly checking, and she told him, in all seriousness, that she was going to go back to the garage that had recently MOT'd as 'it was their fault'!

She really believed that all she had to do was to take her car to the garage for an MOT each year, and all would be well. She had no concept of carrying out any checks herself, or of the need for servicing.

The problem really is that today's cars are too good, and often will go

12 months or more with no attention. If that had been tried with older cars, the lesson would soon have been learned.

Chris

No one tells them anything anymore. I was asked at the Air line in Sainsburys the other week by a young lad who needed to pump up his tyres and has to ask me how you worked it, in front of his mates;!.

Sez I .. what's the pressure?.

Dunno..

Look in the manual then ..

Looks and comes up with 1.5 bar .. Wossat then?.

Atmospheric pressure usually 14.7 PSI

Uh?....

And so it went but in the end he learnt a couple of things..

I suppose in days of old you spent a fair bit of time driving with your dad, uncle, friend and had to learn about the car..

These days it seems to be the thing that you go to the driving school only and don't learn that sort of thing there....

Quite amusing my middle daughter is excellent at Science and its quite amusing hearing her rattle on re Diseasel engines and how compression Ignition works and "suck, squeeze, bang! Blow...

Her male friends think thats some odd sort of nocturnal practice;!..

I understood that knowing some very basic maintenance was now part and parcel of new driver training and testing?

I was on a forecourt the other day when a traveller woman asked me which was the diesel nozzle on her pump. Very sad, but how can someone get a driving licence without being able to read something so simple? What happens with road signs, diversions, street names etc. ?

Yep:

I've been pondering what to do with the Lupo this year: It's low miles (below 50k), and did the grand total of 810 since the last MOT- and not short trips (if it gets used, it goes to work and back which means just over 50 miles). Because of the infrequent use, I'm considering a maintenance battery charger.

Usually, I service it every 12 months: quality synthetic oil, genuine or OEM filters etc. I'll probably just do an oil change and check over: it's sailed through the MOT, and while I'm younger than you, I have the creaky knees and damaged back too :-(

if it is used infrequently for longer trips, then the oil can probably be left well alone. Low mileage but frequent short trips would need a yearly change.

Umm, sell it? Cost of insurance, tax, depreciation, petrol and maintenance must mean you are paying maybe £1 per mile. (Obviously depends which part of the country you are, and what the insurance costs are.) Wouldn't the occasional hire car be cheaper?