Bulb Changers

[cambrensis]

My car was booked in for a recall yesterday - possible fault with the heating harness. Obviously it had to go into the local agency for Vauxhall (GM). However, its annual MOT was due on the 23rd so it had been booked in a nationally advertised discount company which also sells tyres - this was on the 22nd.

It failed its MOT due to an oil leak which I had not noticed. I was surprised and also annoyed when the young man proclaimed loudly when asked for an analysis :"We do not work on engines and yours is 11 years old!" Basically he was quite rude and "no respecter of persons". I paid my discounted fee and drove home.


Yes the vehicle is 11 years old but has covered fewer than 50,000 miles (must give it a long run one of these days). It has done fewer than 1000 miles between MOT tests.


Imagining a huge bill on the horizon, I 'phoned the main agent. Should I cancel their appointment or not? They suggested I book another MOT with them for the same day as the service replacement yesterday and let them look at things. I agreed and took the vehicle in; a friend gave me a lift home.


Later they rang me. "Your vehicle has now passed its MOT."


I did not know, now, what to expect. "What did you have to do?" I asked.


"Well. to be certain we steam-cleaned the engine bay and then ran the engine for a while. Then we road-tested the vehicle, brought it back and tested everything. There is nothing wrong at all but we have to make a charge - £27.50."


I nearly fell over it was cheaper than the "discount" price it been given at the "MOT and tyres" place!! I commented on this.


"Yes sir; always beware of the 'bulb changers'" was his final remark.


I shall call to see the manager of the tyres establishment in the next day or so to claim a refund. If unsuccessful I shall go further up their ladder!


I shall remember that phrase 'bulb changers' and avoid all such places like the plague in future!

[billsstamps]

We have a car that is just over 10 years old and has done 27000 miles, but then in London, you do not need to drive much, mostly groceries.
The only fault is an oil leak on the gearbox, not enough to fail the MOT.
The problem is that in a few years we will be inside the London zone that charges daily for use of older cars which are supposed to be more polluting.
Do we change to a new car to avoid the pollution charge?

[cambrensis]

I use my car mostlyfor driving into the local town and back as I cannot walk far nowadays!

I quite see your dilemma I am just outside greater London and have not driven there for years. Before they built the M4 I used to drive straight through via Oxford Street on the A40 to Abergavenny (Y Fenni) and home. How all has changed!

[bluebedouin]

As most of you know I had to get rid of my van as I could no longer afford to run it.It was a 1974 Bedford CF Bedouin,hence my username.
I'm still a member of a couple of forums that specialise in the vehicle & keep up with what's going on.The general consensus is that the government don't want older vehicles on the road so are making it tougher to pass MOT's.
Whatever happened to the preservation of our vehicular heritage?
I remember an old joke about a spotty youth with a laptop that went out to a Morris Minor that was booked in for a service & asked,"Where do I plug my fault analyzer in?"Unfortunately that's not so much of a joke these days.There don't seem to be any mechanics around these days,just fitters.
"Yeh,my computer's telling me that you need a new Lambda oscillatory percussion module.I'll just fit a new one for you.That'll be £798 plus vat."

[olivia8143]

We have a car that is just over 10 years old and has done 27000 miles, but then in London, you do not need to drive much, mostly groceries.
The only fault is an oil leak on the gearbox, not enough to fail the MOT.
The problem is that in a few years we will be inside the London zone that charges daily for use of older cars which are supposed to be more polluting.
Do we change to a new car to avoid the pollution charge?

When I lived in London (many years ago) I found I didn't need a car as the public transport was so good. I realise that since the days of the GLC the prices have risen astronomically but I'd be tempted to use my car in the outlying areas and the public transport in the CC areas or even get rid of the car altogether and save on tax, fuel, parking charges et al and spend the money on Uber

[yellerbelly]

A few years back I took my car for replacement tyres to a tyre supplier who also did car repairs and they told me my shockers had gone and did I want them replacing whilst it was having the tyres changed, I replied that it had only been serviced 2 weeks prior at my regular garage and nothing had been said then so I declined their offer of replacing my shockers.

I did not tell them my nephew is a car mechanic at the garage I use and when I rang him and told him what they said he told me to pop in to the garage the following evening on my way home and he would check it again, he confirmed nothing was wrong with my shockers, probably thought as a woman I would fall for it but a year later an ex-colleague took his car there for new tyres as best price and they told him he needed urgent work on his car and he fell for it, the repairs cost him more than the car was worth.

Now when I need new tyres I take it to tyre garage only not where repairs are done as well.

[buttons-and-bows]

I had to get rid of my last car after the tyre place had finished with it, never again, this one now goes to Renault, the goons in the tyre place didnt even know how to start it with the blip sequence, they should stick to putting tyres on