A chauffeur has been banned from getting his car serviced by a Mercedes dealership in Bristol after dashcam footage showed his car had been driven at speed by a mechanic.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-35965171
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Oh dear, no-one comes out of that very well. Sytner because they have banned him from every branch, and the chauffeur because he is very very indiscreet.
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Valid complaint of course. But the dealership has apologised, offered free service and the employee "no longer works for them"
Still he posts the video and claims on film that he has lost all faith in the Mercedes brand and the dealership.
I think they are quite understandably happy to part company from him as a customer.
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The mechanic was just giving the jalopy an Italian tune-up, which it may well have needed with a finicky owner. It probably goes all the better for its bit of exercise.
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MD of a large employer in Edinburgh (30+ yrs ago) had a 911.
At least once every month or 2 he would complain the car was not as sweet as it should be. They had a fleet of maybe 20-30 lorries and their own in-house mechanics and the head mechanic would be asked to look at the car with his "magic screwdriver".
The "magic screwdriver" was actually a fast run up the M8 to Livingston & back (20 miles in total). All the car needed was to stretch its legs.
Factory is no longer there - it is now a "car village" with around a dozen franchises.
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>> The "magic screwdriver" was actually a fast run up the M8 to Livingston & back
>> (20 miles in total). All the car needed was to stretch its legs.
My mum's Daihatsu Charade. 900cc of three-speed automatic oomph. 47 000kms on the clock. In 16 years.
Mostly 3km trips to the shops, or tootling to see friends.
Every week, however, my father would hoon it up the motorway 'to charge the battery'...
It doesn't have a tachometer, but guaranteed it hit a redline on occasions.
On my side, I used to drive a 1.8 astra to work in commuter traffic, best speed maybe 60km/h briefly, every day.
When I went on longer trips - 450ks - I'd leave at 5am, fill up with juice, hit dual carriageway/motorway/A-road and didn't stop until a tollbooth 100kms from home. In that time, I'd not be below 100km/h, and often went much quicker.
By the time I hit the booth, the thing was running like a swiss watch.
I'm a great believer in the 'italian tune up'.
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I drive my wife's Yaris d4d once a month. She says afterwards that when she drives after I have driven it, "it feels different".
I don't tell her that's the effect of 20 miles at an average 3,500 rpm on the catalyst and exhaust system.......
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Back in the days of leaded petrol (remember that one, kids?) the test of how well your car was running was a 'white' exhaust pipe.
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Did anyone else used to turn the ignition off while rolling downhill but leave it in gear to initiate a huge backfire when you turned the key back to the ignition on position ( especially if there was a group of girls walking down the hill so that you could time it to happen just before you drew alongside ) ?
Not that I ever...would have been childish and irresponsible.
;-))
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Tue 5 Apr 16 at 18:55
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Because of the differences in altitude, back in the days of carbs (Kids, that means carburettor, not what McDonalds burgers give you), the chaps who used to travel from Johannesburg to the coast had a problem... turn off car, and the car wouldn't stop.
Dieseling big-time!
Even now, the racecars here have to have their engines remapped when they arrive at the coast.
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I've had one or two cars that dieselled on after being turned off. One cause is red-hot carbon deposits in certain accursed jalopies, but there are a number of truly horrific causes of dieselling. Best not to think about it too much.
Put the car in top gear, press the brake pedal firmly and let the clutch in. That will stop the brute without doing much damage.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Tue 5 Apr 16 at 19:36
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....warning; Rambling bifurcated recollections ahead.
Back in my University Days, one of the treats assignments was for the whole year to spend some days on-site doing a power station test, and a full report on the same afterwards.
On offer were a visit to Windscale/Calder Hall, and the thought of going nuclear was appealing, but the alternative was the ICI plant power station at Wilton, on Tees-side. The latter won the day due to its reputation for ICI "hospitality" (i.e. previous year's students had returned with hangovers that lasted several days).
We duly spent several days on-site measuring and playing with every instrument we could see; the hospitality was much as rumoured (though not appreciated the day after after several hours in a hot and noisy turbine hall).
The plant itself burnt as a mixture much of the (flammable) bi-products of the site's chemical processes, (which made calculation of the input calorific value "interesting" when doing efficiency evaluations), and the surrounding atmosphere was heavy with the "scent" of the volatile mix.
Anyway, to cut to the chase, we were told that there had been a relatively recent incident of a feed leak. A truck nearby had been switched off, dieseled on the escaping fumes, and before anyone had the gumption to stall it, had run away, backfired and the resulting further explosion demolished a large area round about. I'm not sure whether or not it was true, but it appeared so at the time.
The other thing I remember about the trip was that a fellow student borrowed his father's car to take 5 of us up to Redcar for the trip. It was a Vanden Plas Princess 4 Litre R, and the big ends went on the top of the Yorkshire Moors; And that a Rolls Royce engine as well.
He coasted it most of the way to Redcar, and I had to get back on the train at the end of the trip. Come to think of it, car insurance must have been another world then!
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>> Come to think of it, car insurance must have been another world then!
Company car probably - any driver.....
Worked for a company and anybody in the immediate family could drive the car (early 80s). That is until a Company Director's son (18/19) killed himself & 3 passengers (similar ages) (4 litre MB).
On the Monday the insurance was modified to anybody under the age of 25 was insured to drive the company car only when the employee was in the car! My 17 year old son still could practice his driving - 2 litre car power steering/power brakes etc rather than 1000cc cooking sherry carwas quite a change for him.
If I had had a 4 litre MB I would not have let a teenager near it even if it was a company car
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>> Did anyone else used to turn the ignition off while rolling downhill but leave it
>> in gear to initiate a huge backfire when you turned the key back to the
>> ignition on position ( especially if there was a group of girls walking down the
>> hill so that you could time it to happen just before you drew alongside )
>> ?
>>
>> Not that I ever...would have been childish and irresponsible.
Expensive too if the exhaust was past it's prime.
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>> Expensive too if the exhaust was past it's prime.
Which mine always were in my first few years of motoring. Anything that was capable of corroding was a candidate for immediate failure if poked, provoked, or in some cases leaned on.
We'd been to the Dales one weekend in our then 11 year old Morris Oxford, a nice looking car in dark blue with really good paint that seemed capable of supporting itself when the metal rusted off the back.
On the way home at Gargrave, I think it was, I espied ahead a humpback bridge and thought it would be fun to startle my boon companion who seemed to be dozing off on the patinated pale blue leather front bench seat.
We crested the bridge, went nicely weightless for a moment and then broke both back springs landing.
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>> Expensive too if the exhaust was past it's prime.
>>
I've seen that done with a BL Sherpa van in the early 80's. Back box looked like something out of a Tom and Jerry sketch.
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>> Did anyone else used to turn the ignition off while rolling downhill but leave it
>> in gear to initiate a huge backfire when you turned the key back to the
>> ignition on position ( especially if there was a group of girls walking down the
>> hill so that you could time it to happen just before you drew alongside )
>> ?
I am given to understand that one had to floor the throttle during the "off" period to fill the exhaust with maximum fuel vapour and get the biggest bang
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>> Did anyone else used to turn the ignition off while rolling downhill but leave it in gear to initiate a huge backfire when you turned the key back to the ignition on position
I did it through the Broadway in Didcot one evening in my old Mk1 Astra. Several times in fact, until I split the backbox wide open at the seams. Oops. Got home and tried hamming it back together, but ended up having to buy a new exhaust in the end.
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"... the test of how well your car was running was a 'white' exhaust pipe."
No - that was running it too weak on the carburettor setting. Pale grey ("donkey grey") was what to aim for.
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>> Pale grey ("donkey grey") was what to aim for.
Even pinkish grey sometimes. I was wondering whether to faff about these shades of colour, but I knew someone else would save me the trouble.
It's true that a dead white exhaust pipe colour indicated too lean a mixture, but not in my experience lean enough to burn the exhaust valves. Better from all points of view than black or sooty.
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Wot Runfer said.
Bloke got his apology and discount, then wanted 15 minutes of fame as well.
Well rid, likely to stay trouble. If there is a God then bloke will find a new service point which will have recently taken on said dismissed mechanic and the automotive equivalent of peessing off the chef before you eat will occur.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Tue 5 Apr 16 at 20:47
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>> Wot Runfer said.
>>
>> Bloke got his apology and discount, then wanted 15 minutes of fame as well.
>>
>> Well rid, likely to stay trouble.>>
On those lines, my car was booked in for tomorrow to have a wheel bearing replaced. Monday morning just after starting out the alternator light came on, so turned round and drove the three miles to the local indie I've used for years and told him I knew he couldn't do the job till Wednesday but I might as well leave the car with him rather than get stranded at home on the day. He apologised for not doing it straight away as he had a mechanic on holiday, but no worries, I'll have to car share with Mrs O'R and work round it.
Same evening the phone rings, car's ready to be collected. When I picked it up and thanked him for his trouble, he said "The reason I did it is because you're always polite". I thought it was the opening line of a joke, but he went on to explain that someone had driven in with no appointment and the order, "I want it done and I expletive want it back tonight". After sending the Ahole away with a flea in his ear he decided to repay my custom and attitude by getting me back on the road asap.
So not only is politeness a worthy end in itself, but it does pay off in the long run, just as rudeness catches up with you.
Last edited by: Robin O'Reliant on Tue 5 Apr 16 at 21:40
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>>So not only is politeness a worthy end in itself, but it does pay off in the long run, just as rudeness catches up with you
Motoring connection... NOT SAFE FOR WORK - SWEARIES
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_88HcI_0KJM
Last edited by: Lygonos on Tue 5 Apr 16 at 22:38
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So not only is politeness a worthy end in itself, but it does pay off in the long run, just as rudeness catches up with you.
In spades. In the days when I had parking, I always gave the car park guys a friendly word. Got to be trusted by the whole security team in the end and when I had a daft moment and ripped out one their bollards, I was allowed to repair it myself. Would have cost the department I worked for a couple of hundred I guess, but I turned up with a generator, and a quick bit of masonry drilling and a couple of rawlbolts, all fixed. Cost me under £2 for the rawlbolts and about 20 minutes of my time. Car was undamaged, a Landrover Discovery.
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In all my years of visiting customers, in all my various guises, I was expected to be a spy for sales and marketing.
Key is the receptionist.
Be nice to her, maybe flirt a little, certainly compliment (no matter how awful she may be). You get all sort of news, gossip, information, parking spaces, coffee, and in a lot of cases after a few visits more or less free range to enter and come and go as you like.
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I must have spent a small fortune on chocolates for receptionists over the years ! Pays off in spades as you say.
However, if you really need to talk to the boss, find out what the normal office hours are and call half to three quarters of an hour after the official closing time or about the same amount of time prior the official opening time. With luck you'll get him/her straight away because he/she is the only one in the building or if you don't it'll usually be a security guy who will just put you through particularly if you use the boss's first name as if you know them...
Sneaky trick I know but provided you don't actually lie and remain courteous it gets you to who you want much easier and generally they also have the time to speak because they're not rushing to a meeting or whatever.
( Confessions of a salesman chapter 1 )
;-)
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>> after a few visits more or less free range to enter
>> and come and go as you like.
Wossat mean?
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Dat's wot eye fought too.
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>>Dat's wot eye fought too.
You musta gorn to a similar skool to what I did {although mine was actually approved}
8-)
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>> Be nice to her, maybe flirt a little, certainly compliment (no matter how awful she
>> may be). You get all sort of news, gossip, information, parking spaces, coffee, and in
>> a lot of cases after a few visits more or less free range to enter
>> and come and go as you like.
That approach, modified appropriately for the target, is not a million miles from the one Kim Philby used to gain access to all sorts of stuff, and indeed many other spies did/do too.
It's a handy trait to have in that business.
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My father instilled in me the saying ' manners maketh man'. Being a Yorkshireman they also cost nothing.
Unfortunately I don't always live up to those expectations, but at least I try.
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Its my local Merc dealership and they have a pretty poor reputation - I've had a bad experience there and know many others who had. Lost a sale to my FIL a few weeks back due to their arrogance - his new SLK was sourced from another dealer.
My understanding was that the guy was outraged after Syntner offered him 1500 quid to remove the video and sign a NDA
Last edited by: mikeyb on Wed 6 Apr 16 at 21:32
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Should've bought his car back and got him a Jag. £1,500.00. Pah!
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Mercedes owner banned for dash cam footage - Zero
