Real Life Stories
Customer satisfaction is our number one priority, we stand or fall by our customers being happy and returning. We love a challenge and won’t stop until we find a solution as these often alarming real life stories prove.
Hybrid In Trouble
Two weeks after “clouting a kerb”, the owner of a 2011 Lexus CT200h Hybrid brought it in at 75,000 miles complaining of lack of damping and nasty noises from the impacted front corner. On the road though something was very wrong, this once premium hatchback was now feeling decidedly cheap… Read more
HOW MUCH?!
The owner of the 2010 Renault Megane DCi had used us before so perhaps that’s why, when it broke down in Wales, he had the AA recover it all the way to us. Irrespective, it was a decision he’d soon look back on as a particularly good one. We quickly discovered that a well-intentioned friend… Read more
Cat with a broken leg
Recently we collected a still beautiful 2003 Jaguar XK8 for MOT but it failed on a broken front spring – a common fault nowadays. We got a quote, obtained authority to proceed and went to order the spring from Jaguar. A chirpy character called Phil then phoned back from their Parts… Read more
Cam belt catastrophe
The AA had already spilled the grim news – the reason the lady’s very smart hatchback suddenly no longer ran appeared to be a failed cam belt. Off the recovery wagon, into our workshop and partly stripped down – the AA were dead right. Later, with the whole top of the engine laboriously… Read more
This could happen to YOU!
A few weeks and 580 miles ago a particularly attractive 5 year old small Volvo was bought from a used car dealership. In Ice White with Anthracite alloys it must have had many an admirer whilst sitting there. However, the owner soon became concerned about a ‘clonking’… Read more
Rescued From The Crusher
One day a Recovery Truck brings in a once beautiful 2002 Mercedes CL500, the big coupe, that’s been off the road ever since it’s Active Body Control suspension collapsed 4+ months ago. It now looks very down at heel – flat on the deck, obviously un-driveable, covered in the grime… Read more
Cracking Classic Rover
What do you do if you feel your Classic car’s under bonnet temperature gets too high? We would say DON’T whatever you do wrap the exhaust with so called ‘thermal insulation’ tape – and so would the owner of this hideously cracked Rover 2000 manifold. An excellent, forward-looking 1960s… Read more
Lethal Weapon 5
A really quite modern BMW 5 Series came in for MOT recently via another garage. Unsurprisingly it failed on two highly dangerous, if hard to view in normal use, rear tyres, one of which is shown worn down on the inner edge to the shiny metal carcass. The poor owner had no idea her family car was… Read more
The Dart That Shook
A 1962 Daimler Dart (2.5L V8) came to us with a really nasty, serious engine vibration which made over 3,900 rpm unusable, it should have sung beautifully to it’s 6,000 power peak of course. The previous owner had replaced the clutch and we soon surmised, the flywheel… a component normally… Read more
The Hot To Cold Skoda
A customer owns a high mileage 2008 Skoda Octavia VRS Petrol (turbo) with long-term failed Air Conditioning, he complained of hissing noises in the car when he tried to activate it, our new, sophisticated and largely automatic A/C Service machine was connected and unsurprisingly… Read more
The No-Go Saab
A customer with a ‘55 plate Saab 9-5 had a starting problem. The engine would sometimes refuse to crank when the key was turned, or stop cranking before the engine had fired up. The fault varied quite a lot in frequency of appearance. Often this would be a faulty starter motor, starter relay… Read more