How long do i wait?
Discussion
I'm going to go ahead and post this basically so i can make myself feel better and look for advice from you guys who've owned TVRs a lot longer than myself.
Basically the story is that i bought my cerb in april, timing chain snapped, engine went popm looked for advice of which garage to send it to, contacted well known TVR specialist in Blackpool to arrange collection.
At the start of June they picked my car up and carted it off to blackpool where they worked out the engine was goosed. New pistons and valves all round were the order of the day.
Several months went by without so much as a phone call. When i do contact them they are waiting for parts. Now i can live with waiting for parts as i know there are not a lot going about.
I call them a few weeks ago and they are expecting the engine to be back with them (for the second time) and the will fit it the week after (last week). I call them today hoping that i might be able to get it back next week but when i called them today i am told they have not been able to look at it as they have been busy and hope to have it looked at next week. I now think there is no freakin chance it will be back before next year.
Is 7 months a normal amount of time to have the engine stripped and rebuilt and is it just part and parcel of TVR ownership or are they taking the pi$$?
I am really annoyed now but i don't want to annoy them and have a second rate job done as the result.
Having typed this i now feel more angry than when i started.
Basically the story is that i bought my cerb in april, timing chain snapped, engine went popm looked for advice of which garage to send it to, contacted well known TVR specialist in Blackpool to arrange collection.
At the start of June they picked my car up and carted it off to blackpool where they worked out the engine was goosed. New pistons and valves all round were the order of the day.
Several months went by without so much as a phone call. When i do contact them they are waiting for parts. Now i can live with waiting for parts as i know there are not a lot going about.
I call them a few weeks ago and they are expecting the engine to be back with them (for the second time) and the will fit it the week after (last week). I call them today hoping that i might be able to get it back next week but when i called them today i am told they have not been able to look at it as they have been busy and hope to have it looked at next week. I now think there is no freakin chance it will be back before next year.
Is 7 months a normal amount of time to have the engine stripped and rebuilt and is it just part and parcel of TVR ownership or are they taking the pi$$?
I am really annoyed now but i don't want to annoy them and have a second rate job done as the result.
Having typed this i now feel more angry than when i started.
whilst I don't know how long it should take, I'd be rather upset if I were in your position too. When you took it there did they give any indication of how long it may take?
I doubt it helps but my Tamora was off the road waiting for bits for around 9 months, nothing to do with the engine though.
I doubt it helps but my Tamora was off the road waiting for bits for around 9 months, nothing to do with the engine though.
I've had trouble with a crap garage taking 7 weeks to change a couple of oil cooler hoses & an aircon condenser. This was because:
a) They'd lost a key staff member & had taken on too much work to cope with.
b) They were waiting for TVR to supply the hoses - which they would only manufacture once demand was high enough: i.e. in a million years (this was when the factory existed btw).
c) They wouldn't do anything in parallel: eg. put all the aircon stuff back together, then wait a few days, then book an aircon gas guy, then wait a week for him...
After the first 3 or 4 weeks of me being polite & being told, "it'll defintely be ready by the weekend...", I missed out on a bank holiday of driving despite assurances & promises that it'd be fine. So I made lots of angry noises & went down there & got them to show me what they'd done, what was left & between us came up with a plan: This mostly involved me saying, 'why are you waiting for hose parts which are not available when there's a hose making place on this same industrial estate??'. I have to say the results of the work were good, but the place was in such a disorganised mess that I'd probably still be waiting for them to get some hoses if I hadn't gone & sorted it out.
I didn't go back & now go to somewhere good (who is also quick).
Anyway, I think my point here is that you need to be more proactive in finding out whats going on. If your parts situation is like my hose situation, you might be waiting indefinitely!
a) They'd lost a key staff member & had taken on too much work to cope with.
b) They were waiting for TVR to supply the hoses - which they would only manufacture once demand was high enough: i.e. in a million years (this was when the factory existed btw).
c) They wouldn't do anything in parallel: eg. put all the aircon stuff back together, then wait a few days, then book an aircon gas guy, then wait a week for him...
After the first 3 or 4 weeks of me being polite & being told, "it'll defintely be ready by the weekend...", I missed out on a bank holiday of driving despite assurances & promises that it'd be fine. So I made lots of angry noises & went down there & got them to show me what they'd done, what was left & between us came up with a plan: This mostly involved me saying, 'why are you waiting for hose parts which are not available when there's a hose making place on this same industrial estate??'. I have to say the results of the work were good, but the place was in such a disorganised mess that I'd probably still be waiting for them to get some hoses if I hadn't gone & sorted it out.
I didn't go back & now go to somewhere good (who is also quick).
Anyway, I think my point here is that you need to be more proactive in finding out whats going on. If your parts situation is like my hose situation, you might be waiting indefinitely!
Malx said:
I'm going to go ahead and post this basically so i can make myself feel better and look for advice from you guys who've owned TVRs a lot longer than myself.
Basically the story is that i bought my cerb in april, timing chain snapped, engine went popm looked for advice of which garage to send it to, contacted well known TVR specialist in Blackpool to arrange collection.
At the start of June they picked my car up and carted it off to blackpool where they worked out the engine was goosed. New pistons and valves all round were the order of the day.
Several months went by without so much as a phone call. When i do contact them they are waiting for parts. Now i can live with waiting for parts as i know there are not a lot going about.
I call them a few weeks ago and they are expecting the engine to be back with them (for the second time) and the will fit it the week after (last week). I call them today hoping that i might be able to get it back next week but when i called them today i am told they have not been able to look at it as they have been busy and hope to have it looked at next week. I now think there is no freakin chance it will be back before next year.
Is 7 months a normal amount of time to have the engine stripped and rebuilt and is it just part and parcel of TVR ownership or are they taking the pi$$?
I am really annoyed now but i don't want to annoy them and have a second rate job done as the result.
Having typed this i now feel more angry than when i started.
Not much help to you dude, but youve just made me feel a little better about my 3 months and counting.Basically the story is that i bought my cerb in april, timing chain snapped, engine went popm looked for advice of which garage to send it to, contacted well known TVR specialist in Blackpool to arrange collection.
At the start of June they picked my car up and carted it off to blackpool where they worked out the engine was goosed. New pistons and valves all round were the order of the day.
Several months went by without so much as a phone call. When i do contact them they are waiting for parts. Now i can live with waiting for parts as i know there are not a lot going about.
I call them a few weeks ago and they are expecting the engine to be back with them (for the second time) and the will fit it the week after (last week). I call them today hoping that i might be able to get it back next week but when i called them today i am told they have not been able to look at it as they have been busy and hope to have it looked at next week. I now think there is no freakin chance it will be back before next year.
Is 7 months a normal amount of time to have the engine stripped and rebuilt and is it just part and parcel of TVR ownership or are they taking the pi$$?
I am really annoyed now but i don't want to annoy them and have a second rate job done as the result.
Having typed this i now feel more angry than when i started.
You're in a Catch 22 situation, you took your car to your chosen garage because they are good, or have a good reputation, because they have a good reputation they are busy, because they are busy they allocate slots to work, if work overruns or there are unforseen delays you may find yourself slipping down the list until another 'slot' becomes available.
I found myself in this position middle of the year, it's frustrating, but if you have a garage you trust stick with them, there are plenty of monkeys out there!
Tim
I found myself in this position middle of the year, it's frustrating, but if you have a garage you trust stick with them, there are plenty of monkeys out there!
Tim
Malx said:
Is 7 months a normal amount of time to have the engine stripped and rebuilt and is it just part and parcel of TVR ownership or are they taking the pi$$?
Sorry to hear this, the answer is no, I had a full rebuild (and blueprinted) and clutch replaced in less than 3 weeks from TVR Power.Woody said:
Malx said:
Is 7 months a normal amount of time to have the engine stripped and rebuilt and is it just part and parcel of TVR ownership or are they taking the pi$$?
Sorry to hear this, the answer is no, I had a full rebuild (and blueprinted) and clutch replaced in less than 3 weeks from TVR Power
Whoever it is, they're taking the pi$$ and don't let them get away with it. Hang up the phone down and get down there fast! Nick.nikman said:
.Woody said:
Malx said:
Is 7 months a normal amount of time to have the engine stripped and rebuilt and is it just part and parcel of TVR ownership or are they taking the pi$$?
Sorry to hear this, the answer is no, I had a full rebuild (and blueprinted) and clutch replaced in less than 3 weeks from TVR Power Whoever it is, they're taking the pi$$ and don't let them get away with it. Hang up the phone down and get down there fast! Nick.I looked at dreadnought but opted for the other garage as i didn't want to replace the engine with a ebay one i wanted it rebuilt.
I am off work next week though so i dare say sitting about doing nothing i may opt for the surprise visit.
Definitely too long. I had an engine rebuild done in about 2 months. It was for a Chim, so the parts are more readily available, but I live in Jersey so the parts had to be shipped over, and this was a local indy (albeit an excellent one).
Proactivity seems to be the key, you dont want a shoddy job, so be polite but firm. Give them a deadline (i.e. a trip or holiday - fake it if you like), and then it'll focus their minds.
Proactivity seems to be the key, you dont want a shoddy job, so be polite but firm. Give them a deadline (i.e. a trip or holiday - fake it if you like), and then it'll focus their minds.
It could be a longer wait if you were awaiting 
to get out of bed before midday then he can only talk TVR backwards on nightshift, your car could have some compounded problems for a long long time.
So without some Saggy mums clapping on this Forum as if at their son’s school Christmas play who are the fairest independents of them all?
No names!
to get out of bed before midday then he can only talk TVR backwards on nightshift, your car could have some compounded problems for a long long time.So without some Saggy mums clapping on this Forum as if at their son’s school Christmas play who are the fairest independents of them all?
No names!
Edited by Big Al. on Friday 7th December 17:07
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff