Why specialists??

[R7EBO]

Is there a particular reason why virtually every TVR owner insists on using specialists for mechanicals? The nearest one to me is an hour & half away & the last time I used one I wasn't very impressed to be honest. Having owned a Leon Cupra R prior to my Tuscan, I used a small local VAG specialist (because they we're REVO map dealers, much cheaper than the dealer & better service) called Autotechnica for any work required & found them to be very professional, & most importantly (in my opinion) trustworthy!

When I got my Tuscan it was in a sorry state & I asked them if they fancied taking it on as they had never worked on one before, & since then they have done loads of work to it for me & I am over the moon with everything they've done. I think in a way it was better going to them because they pretty much went through the car with a fine tooth comb to learn their way around it, so they now know it inside out.

The list of work, to date, albeit a lot simple jobs included, is as follows:

Replaced battery
Removed, skimmed & refitted discs & pads
Replaced front shocks
Replaced handbrake cables
Replaced Clutch master cylinder
Replaced clutch slave cylinder
New rear screen
Replaced plugs & leads
Re shimmed twice
Replaced front ball joints
Door control units removed, sent for repair & refitted
Replaced clutch & release bearings
Refaced flywheel
Replaced both rear anti roll bar links & rose joints
Replaced wiper linkage
Replaced both front indicator assembly's
Removed engine
Replaced front timing chain cover
Replaced both inlet & exhaust camshafts
Replaced both half time bearings
Replaced injector seals
Refitted engine
Replaced front tyres
Replaced throttle cable
Adjusted & realigned mounting bracket on inlet manifold
Replaced seat belt
Replaced main 'cockpit' seal
Removed & plugged boot mounted aerial
Checked oil pressure
Checked valve clearances
Numerous oil & filter changes
Removed, sourced new & fitted radiator

& that's not to mention the hours upon hours spent playing with various other bits like sorting out the boot release, front bonnet release cable repair, fixing in loose lights, etc etc etc. I've probably forgot about loads of other stuff as well!

So if anyone in East Yorks wants a very good more local place to have any work done, there is an alternative!

[R7EBO]

I'm pleased the general consensus is the same. Don't get me wrong, if I had a specialist local to me I'd consider using them depending on what I thought of them. I just don't understand why so many people travel miles miles & hours & hours to take their car to a specialist, just to have something like a service done! Nuts & bolts are nuts & bolts, oil is oil (in a fashion!) & parts are easy enough to get hold of, so why go to that trouble & extent to have it done? It comes across to me that some people won't touch a car unless it's been looked after by a specialist, but if it was me I'd just one to know that it's been done properly, not where it's been or look for a particular name on the service sheets.

I know the likes of people like Dom at Power are pretty much irreplaceable, they know everything there is to know. Also he seems to be a great guy who's happy to help & advise anyone who needs it, which is brilliant, but I wouldn't travel half way across the country to get my oil changed & a re shim. The 2 guys at Autotechnica are both Audi Master Tech's, they've won gold in 4 of the last 5 years in the Audi independent specialist awards & are 100% genuine. They are superb mechanics, & there must be hundreds of such garages around the country who are more than capable of doing nearly all work on a TVR without a problem.

Put it this way, last week my car went in to have some work done whilst I was on holiday. I had the main cockpit seal replaced, front indicator & rear fog light secured, old aerial removed removed & bunged, passenger seat removed & seat belt replaced, oil pressure checked, valve clearances adjusted, & my throttle was sticking so they took the bonnet off & stripped it, straightened it all out & put it all back together. I bought the parts & they charged me 3hrs labour to do the lot...

[R7EBO]

Personally I didn't even see any paper work before I bought mine, but then it had a coat of moss an inch thick & a carpet of grass inside it & I paid £5k for it, so I didn't really care to be honest. I was just chuffed to bits to have my name on the V5 of a TVR!

To be frank though, I couldn't give a toss about what a potential future owner might think about where it's been looked after, I know that MY car is in good hands whenever it goes in, & even if your were a potential buyer you must be able to see that if it's been back to the same place time & time again then the owner must've been happy with their work?!

Yes it might make it a little easier to sell & at best you'd maybe get an extra £500 or so for the car? Well I recently had my engine removed, a new front engine cover supplied & fitted (after a breakdown company damaged the old one), both cams replaced, re shimmed, both half time bearings replaced, they set it all up & put it all back together & it cost £500 less than you paid for that service!

It's never ran better in the 2 years I've had it than it does right now & I use the thing every single day. It's been off the road for over 10 months since I've had it whilst it's been getting 'restored' & I've still put 17k on the clock & it runs perfect, what more can you ask for?! I'm pretty damn sure I would be no better off whatsoever if I'd taken it to a specialist...

[R7EBO]

jamieduff1981 said:

lotus83 said:

for a c service on my elise i was quoted 1000 by a standard garage, a specialist familiar with the car did it for 520.00

i believe its difficult for a garage not familiar with the car to give a reasonable quote because they dont know what the job really entails and you might find certain jobs they will be reluctant to attempt.

an mot for example, phone call and they told me the car had failed its mot due to having EU spec headlamps and not UK, told to buy a new set of heap lamp units not cheap. quick look online and they are adjustable like i thought they where. Pretty sure a specialist would have just adjusted them and put the car through the mot first time without the messing about and if i wasn't as aware i could have ended up paying out for new headlamp units that arent needed.

Edited by lotus83 on Thursday 10th April 06:37

This is the sort of stuff where familiarity is invaluable. I'll avoid saying "specialist knowledge" because it really is just familiarity. Same goes for most of a 12k service really. Someone who has done, say, a V8 Cerbera service dozens of times will be much more efficient with their time than someone who has to find their way around the car and find a manual for the engine for valve clearances and then find a source for new shims. If hourly rates are comparible, this will translate to a big saving.

Yes but that's the difference between a regular garage & a good garage, as the one I use had never touched a TVR & so spent a lot of time learning about it at no cost to myself. Any time they were unsure they did speak with the likes of Dom at Power, who was extremely helpful . The end result being that they could strip & rebuild my car now with their eyes shut & therefore they get my custom every time.

My whole point really behind this is that you don't need a specialist, despite what everyone says, If you have a good trustworthy garage that you already use. & if anyone in East Yorks wants someone closer id wholeheartedly recommend this one in Hull instead of travelling miles & miles.

[R7EBO]

Guys don't get me wrong, I know the vast majority of TVR specialists are brilliant & I'm yet to speak to anyone at the main ones who wasn't more than happy to give advice & support. As I said before, a lot of the guys are irreplaceable and their knowledge is obviously unrivaled. I'm not disputing any of that. I just don't understand why people send their car 2-3 hours up the road just to get a service done? I know people who do exactly that, even to just get tyres fitted!

If I was looking at buying one I wouldn't look at a service book just to see a TVR stamp & be happy at that. I couldn't care less where it was done as long as the current owner was happy with the work carried out, whoever it may be.

I think people sometimes get too hung up worrying about what 'the next owner' might think, should they decide to sell a few years down the line. If I sold mine I wouldn't get the extra £000's back that it would've cost me to have a lot of the work I've had done had I taken it to a specialist.

I suppose it's kind of irrelivant really anyway as I'm never letting go of it!! Unless someone donates £50k, then I'd get a Sag :-)

[R7EBO]

glow worm said:

+2 X-Works are always getting calls from "non specialists" .
The crazy thing is like Dom, they always help them out ... not sure I would be so obliging .

Edited by glow worm on Thursday 10th April 19:18

I'm not entirely sure why they do it, I don't think I would either! But then again from that I've also bought £000's worth of parts from them following on from their advice, how much they make on bits I don't know?

Some good points & valid arguments & if I had just bought one & wasn't trying to run the thing on the thinnest, shortest shoestring known to man, I would've probably listened to all your comments & taken it further afield! But as it stands I simply cannot afford to pay the premium price for the benefit of their experience (I was quoted about £2k to replace half time bearings?!). Although I still don't think I'd bother just for servicing, but that's probably just me being cynical.

Still, I'm more than happy with the work my garage does & it's a much cheaper option, which means it's still on the road & I can drive to work in it every day :-)

Also it appears a fair few of you use X-works, where are they based? Probably making myself sound like an amateur but I've never heard of them, I assume they're 'darn sarth' somewhere?

Anyway on a lighter note, I am very much looking forward to Burghley on Sunday, hope to see you all there. Mines the ugly looking purple one with half the paint rubbed off/chips everywhere...

[R7EBO]

N7GTX said:

You didn't as you overtook me on the A1 northbound on the Grantham bypass after Burghley. (red Cerb dawdling along as the bloody bonnet wouldn't stay down)

Edited by N7GTX on Monday 14th April 17:02

I thought I'd waved to everyone I saw, maybe I didn't wave hard enough! Ha. I saw a fair few on the way home, all driving very conservatively I have to say! What happened to your bonnet??

[R7EBO]

lerd said:

Would your local garage cover any damage if you got them to adjust the shims / valve clearance and it dropped a shim on your way home or 30 miles later ?
Mmm I wouldn't take a chance!

Of course they would, they're as reputable as any other garage, more so if anything. This is the whole point, I've never come across a more trustworthy couple of guys in my life. If you met them you'd understand what I mean, they're top blokes.

[R7EBO]

Big Al. said:

Sorry for the thread prune guys, but the thread was in danger of getting deleted because it was venturing into N&S territory.

Please continue but beware anymore N&S and the thread will be removed.

Completely understandable, although none of that was anything to do with me honest guv. Not sure why some of my other posts regarding pricing etc we're deleted though??