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Car 'developed' problem whilst at garage


The Woolster
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I drive a 17 year old Mk1 Fiat Punto.  It's passed its MOT for the last three years, it hasn't had any work done on it at all in that time other than replacing a door lock mechanism with one from a scrapyard for a tenner and a bit of welding.  I'm reasonably sure that there's a witch or something trapped inside its inner workings.

 

I know that one day soon I'm going to start it and everything is just going to fall off it like a clown car.  When that hapens, I think I'm going to be without a car for a while because I just can't justify spending money I don't have to replace it.  I only use it as a runabout and right now it's only costing me tax and insurance over and above fuel, which still works out cheaper than taxis would for evening journeys - the buses are fucking woeful near me at night, 30 minute services and all that and the trams are only any use if I'm going into Manchester.  As soon as I have to factor in actually paying for a car on top of that, it would be cheaper to do taxis unless I bought some £500 banger and that's always something of a lottery.

 

Thatcher was wrong about any man who finds himself on a bus after the age of 26 being a failure, times change and these days commuting by public transport is on the up precisely because of how many cars are on the road, but I'm still dreading the day when I have to get rid, the convenience of having transport permanently available outside our door is something that it's so easy to take for granted.  When I was a kid it was nothing for your family not to have a car, at least round my way.  About a third of the kids I went to junior school with were from no-car families and we didn't have one for periods of about a year at a time in the 80s when my dad was struggling to find work.

 

That is what the cunty mechanics prey on; the fact that the car is seen as indispensible by most people these days because we increasingly work further away from home, send our kids to schools further away from home and maintain social networks over a far wider geographical area than we ever used to.

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Broken shaft?! What type is your car, how old is it, when did you buy it and was it third/fourth hand?

 

I agree that universally most engineers/mechanics are a fraud. I've been overcharged for a sensor (practically a plastic bit) a few years ago; a sensor that today costs 15-20 in UK pounds.

 

Having said that, there are parts of the car that the engineers/mechanics have no choice but risk breaking it. I'll give you an example, The plastic cover where the screen wipers are based dries out as it is exposed to weather conditions all year. This is a problem in warm countries. If you have to repair the actual metal mechanism which moves the wipers underneath the plastic, or clean up the water pipes on the sides, then you have to remove the plastic. Removing the dried plastic cover to reach underneath means you risk breaking it into pieces. That's not the mechanics fault though, it is us the drivers who don't take car maintenance seriously and in this case spray with liquid silicon some plastic parts to keep them moist and sexy.  

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£120 for a comprehensive service and MOT at ATS. There was a poster on the wall advertising it. That's brilliant value.

Quacks IMO mate. They get you in on a deal then find every problem under the sun.

 

It's a loss leader, so unless you're sure it would sail through, I would go to a good reputable garage.

 

The test is over £50 (I know some do it cheaper but the Gov set it at over £50), with the test the filers, plugs, oil etc will probably exceed £120. So you have to ask how they keep going on that. Also I'm not sure how comprehensive they are in comparison to a good garage, Fine if you get good service, good luck to you.

 

But I rather give the fella in the village the custom and keep his place going and get top service and priority for when I need it. He even went within my mate when buying a car recently, top drawer garage.

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