so after 11 years of motoring i have finaly caved in......

[philoldsmobile]

for the first time in my life, i have actualy been forced to admit that i'm too lazy / busy / tired / cant be arsed, and am actualy taking my car to a garage for a service!!!

its all good though, they have an old caddy parked outside!

[ianjpage]

surely not......who is this imposter claiming to be Philo??

[Roadkill]

Quoting: philoldsmobile

they have an old caddy parked outside!

Details . . . . ?

[HardRockCamaro]

I'm the same way nowadays.

Jobs on the car that I am perfectly capable of doing but that are a sod (changing spark plugs) or involve jacking it up (changing oil or tranny fluid) are now in the "pay someone else" category.

[55starchief]

Quoting: HardRockCamaro

Jobs on the car that I am perfectly capable of doing but that are a sod (changing spark plugs) or involve jacking it up (changing oil or tranny fluid) are now in the "pay someone else" category.

Thing is i dont trust other people to do these jobs, mechanics are dead all you have now days are parts monkeys paid by how many vehicles they turn around

[F Body]

Quoting: 55starchief

Thing is i dont trust other people to do these jobs, mechanics are dead all you have now days are parts monkeys paid by how many vehicles they turn around

Spot on Mate, A friend at work has a VW Passat , full main dealer service history from new and it has now done 90,000 miles.
Always took it to the same VW main dealer , his front discs were juddering and they quoted something like £800 to sort it out.
Someone at works Brother runs a small garage and has been highly recommended by many people and he's cheap !
Anyway he did the brakes and a full service, inc cam belt for £490 using VW parts.
He found :
The pollen filters had never been changed.
The cam belt paid for at 76,000 had never been changed.
The brake fluid was brown.
Two bleed nipples had been snapped off.
One handbrake cable was seized solid.
The diesel fuel filter was nearly blocked.

Basically he been paying top dollar for FA

[Roadkill]

Quoting: F Body

Basically he been paying top dollar for FA

I do as much as I can have time for myself . . .

[55starchief]

I do it all myself, have nearly all the same tools as most garage's have and as for oil changes with the vacuum pump you dont need to get on the floor to drain the oil

[philoldsmobile]

Quoting: Roadkill

Details . . . . ?

something along the lines of a late 70's caddy sedan de ville.... its kin hoooooge

[philoldsmobile]

Quoting: 55starchief

Thing is i dont trust other people to do these jobs, mechanics are dead all you have now days are parts monkeys paid by how many vehicles they turn around

depends where you take it...

this place is a well known garage (right next to JWR) that are well respected for classic and sports car service, labour is £40 per hour so its not expensive,  i know of a ferrari that has been serviced by them for years..

to be honest, if a garage can competently service a newish corsa (and there are plenty that cant) then they will have no issues with any yank, as they are now among the mechanicly simplest cars on the road, even things like corsas are much more complicated..

[ianjpage]

Quoting: Roadkill

I do as much as I can have time for myself . . .

Much the same here now mate, do what i can when i can, sometimes tho just easier to take whichever one into me mate and pay hium to do it one evening / weekend on the QT whilst i drive another...

[Incursus]

Whats a service?  

[ianjpage]

Quoting: Incursus

Whats a service?

Ahh the "run it till it breaks" school of motoring

[HardRockCamaro]

I take mine to people I trust.

For all but the simplest work(eg oil change)  I'd take it to Rocky.
For the oil change etc I'd take it to a guy me and Mike know who does our MOTs and stuff.

[FUBAR]

I will be servicing mine I reckon... not sure when yet...