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Leaving your car to have work carried out





Does anybody else feel weird about having to leave their car with engineers when you are having work done because you are concerned they may drive it ?

I have to take my new 172 in to have an alarm fitted on Friday, it only has 450 miles on it and it bothers me in case they rag the car while they have it for the day, they should have no reason to drive it apart from into the garage but it bothers me, anybody else think like this ?
 

GR7

  Shiny red R32


Check your mileage and perhaps you could mention to them that you have heard reports of mechanics racing around with these 172s whilst they are in garages.

At my local Renault dealer they arent allowed to drive customers cars unless it is absolutely necessary and then only if they need to be road tested, which does not need to be done for an alarm.

If the dealer has older guys they arent as interested in thrashing cars around as the young lads, and dont forget that should something happen, then it will cost them a lot to replace a customers car!

Why dont you strike up a conversation with someone who works there and make sure that the last thing they hear you say is "I have only done 450 miles" and maybe they will remember this!

Dont forget that for mechanics who have worked with cars every day for many years, the last thing they want to do is to drive someone elses car unless it is absolutely necessary.
 
  172 Cup, V6 255, Williams


Note the mileage and try to leave it as empty of fuel as possible so that they dont know whether they will run out or not. I was the same, but my car goes nowhere near any garages but my own now.

Dunno whther the 172s have a fuel warning light, but try to get it on at least.

Paul
 

Jas

ClioSport Admin
  Maserati Ghibli S


Who was it the other day telling me they write their mileage on a bit of paper and leave it on the dash? Anyway, thats a good idea.
 


It is just the fact that my car is brand new and I dont want someone ragging it (apart from me of course) !


I am taking it to Sextons in Swansea and they are supposed to be good from what I hear from my friends at work. The guy I spoke to on the phone even said that he could fit my car in earlier this week but he wanted his main engineer to do it because the car was new, makes me think they look after customers cars as they would get in loads of s**t if something went wrong.

Jas, that is a very good idea, I think I will do that, tells them that I am watching them then, ha ha !


pmitchell, the 172 does have a low warning light, I will try and get close to that for extra precaution.

They better not scratch any of it, I will go mad !
 
  Skoda Fabia vRS


yea thats definitely a good idea

ive heard lots of stories, did you all see that thing on the BBC new website

ill try an find the link.........

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1975000/1975927.stm

site seems to be down for me atm but im sure it will be working later

this guy had a Trak M8 fitted to his car, and one of its features is that you can set it to text your mobile if your car is driven, or set it like a 100m limit, if it travels beyond 100m then the alarm will sound and text you
 


BRUN, just read that link, that is a great idea and the service manager must have been well shocked when that guy phoned them up, dont think I will go to that extent but I will be writing down the mileage on the dash.
 
  20VT Clio & 9-5 HOT


A mate of mine took his Jap import Evo 6 to a specialist to have a new clutch.

Had a pager alarm and everything, which the owner of the garage had on him.

Coincidently hes never seen it since!
 
  BMW 320d Sport


Its a difficult one especially if youre not handy with the spanners and get all your work done at a garage. I cant really suggest anything except leave hardly and petrol in it. But my way is that Ive been to the same garage for a long time, who do all the work I cant do myself and they know that this is no ordinary Clio. Because they see it quite regularly and I chat to them pretty often anyway, they know how much I love it and to treat it with the respect it deserves.
 


first time I left mine at dealer it definitely had some miles put on it - I told them afterwards that I knew it had extra miles on it - since then they never put any miles on it, but when I took it into a different garage last time I left a piece of paper on the dash (in front of the speedo etc) with the mileage written on it, plus I zeroed the trip as well - came back with 0.2 miles on it!
 


Well, my fears about leaving the car have been extinguished a little bit after speaking to Cheesebox last night. It just so happens that I have driven past him before and he lives around 20 mins away ! Good to see more Swansea Clio representation !


Anyway, he has had a lot of dealings with Sextons and it comes recommended. I am still going to write the mileage on the dash so that they cannot drive it but I dont think they would anyway, still dont like the thought of taking panels off to fit wires and so on.

What is actually involved in fitting a Toad 850T to a MKII 172 ? Anybody know ? It would be great if someone could give me a quick overview.
 


I left mine with a garage (clio) and it had an extra 50 miles on the clock when I picked it up! Since then, I dont trust garages, especially ones with trainee mechanics in them! When I took the Scooby in for a front spoiler, I told them if it even moved out of the vicinity, Id know about it, (because Id rang the tracker people up & told them it would not move for a week they said if it moved, they would ring me), and it had the same mileage on it as when I took it in, so that worked for me.
You cant be too careful these days, especially with any type of performance car, you might know you have to get the oil up to a decent temp before caning it, but they wont bother with that, they just cane it straight away, and bugger the flippin engine up! after all its not their car is it?
 


Scooby, I know what you mean, they dont care but I am going in for an alarm to be fitted so they have no reason to drive anywhere apart from into the garage. I will be writing the mileage on the dash and telling the guy that I leave it with that I do not want it driven !

Does anybody know what is involved in the alarm install ? This would really help me out peeps.
 

GR7

  Shiny red R32


Daipac, another thing to do, is to walk round your car after the alarm has been fitted, before you take it away, to check that the garage hasnt scratched or dented it. Otherwise, if you arrive home and find something, they will say that you must have done it yourself. Better to be safe than sorry!
 


Thanks GR, my dad said the same thing. The biggest worry apart from being scratched or dented is how the interior will be put back after some of the panels are removed if this is what needs to be done. Dunno why because all UK cars would have had this done in the docks so why am I worried !
 


I also used to hate it, but its something you just have to accept. Writing the mileage down will help, but if someone really wants to take it for a joyride, its a simple matter to disconnect the speedometer cable. When I picked up my first Clio 1.6 sport from the dealer, I saw the odo had no miles on it, but then saw the mech connecting the cable before I took it home, so who know how far it had gone and who had driven it.
 

GR7

  Shiny red R32


Most of the garages/dealers around here will let you wait for your car when you can have coffee, watch TV, read mags, wonder around the showroom etc so that if you ask to do that, you can keep an eye on your car at the same time!
 


GR, the difference with me is that it is Sextons which is not a garage, the guy said it was a 6 hour job too so I dont fancy waiting that long.

I do have a question which I forgot about, does fitting an alarm do anything to void the warranty ????
 
  Ford Focus 1.4 LX


Just as a precaution, dont post the make of alarm you are having fitted on here. You never know whose watching !

Dave
 


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