Car back from Central TVR
Discussion
Just thought I would post my experiences of using Central, I have no relationship with them and couldnt live much further from them in terms of being southern (about 30 mins north of Brighton).
The car i bought had been looked after by the previous owner and Dan Taylor, through my own stupidity I left it to late to book into Dan who had a four week wait by the time all that damn rain stopped.
I had been contemplating a headlight upgrade and following the above info decided a chat with Adrian at Central TVR was needed to discuss the yearly service, headlight upgrade, front end and mirror caps repainted, number plate relocated to lower bumper and clear front and side indicators was needed.
A two week turn around time was quoted, and they even offered to collect the car from Brighton if the weather took a turn.
Due to the amount of work Central seem to have, timescales were a little slower than originally quoted (read the other thread about other owners cracking whips to ensure there cars are completed asap - im blaming them lol) so i was delayed a week from starting, some paint matching issues led to another delay - my original TVR manual says blue chiaro, can't see any colour of this name on any of the paint threads...?), this could have potentially frustrated many, but I was in no rush, the only slight disappointment not making it to the PH meet near Oxted last Tuesday, but hey ho.
The Thursday afternoon before collection the grease monkey from Central (forget his name - apologies) called to say that two top ball joints had some play, and the handbrake cable plastic surround was split and it was rusting inside, both of which would fail the mot due in 8 or 9 weeks, so made sense to let them crack on with these, I also had front wheel alignment and geo done as was pulling to the left on the drive up and kind of made sense after the ball joints were replaced (well to me at least).
Adrian allowed me to collect late on Saturday afternoon, calling when i was 15 mins away so he could meet to open up and settle the account.
Quality of the work carried out was great, think the new lights and painted front end look great and much better now it doesn't look like its been hit by both barrels of a shotgun.
Was impressed with the setup at Central, seems a very good one-stop shop and Adrian went above and beyond, wouldnt hesitate to use him again or recommend him to others.
Will take some better pics when the weather clears up (why has it been dry for 2-3 weeks then pi$$es down when i collect the TVR grrrrrr)
The car i bought had been looked after by the previous owner and Dan Taylor, through my own stupidity I left it to late to book into Dan who had a four week wait by the time all that damn rain stopped.
I had been contemplating a headlight upgrade and following the above info decided a chat with Adrian at Central TVR was needed to discuss the yearly service, headlight upgrade, front end and mirror caps repainted, number plate relocated to lower bumper and clear front and side indicators was needed.
A two week turn around time was quoted, and they even offered to collect the car from Brighton if the weather took a turn.
Due to the amount of work Central seem to have, timescales were a little slower than originally quoted (read the other thread about other owners cracking whips to ensure there cars are completed asap - im blaming them lol) so i was delayed a week from starting, some paint matching issues led to another delay - my original TVR manual says blue chiaro, can't see any colour of this name on any of the paint threads...?), this could have potentially frustrated many, but I was in no rush, the only slight disappointment not making it to the PH meet near Oxted last Tuesday, but hey ho.
The Thursday afternoon before collection the grease monkey from Central (forget his name - apologies) called to say that two top ball joints had some play, and the handbrake cable plastic surround was split and it was rusting inside, both of which would fail the mot due in 8 or 9 weeks, so made sense to let them crack on with these, I also had front wheel alignment and geo done as was pulling to the left on the drive up and kind of made sense after the ball joints were replaced (well to me at least).
Adrian allowed me to collect late on Saturday afternoon, calling when i was 15 mins away so he could meet to open up and settle the account.
Quality of the work carried out was great, think the new lights and painted front end look great and much better now it doesn't look like its been hit by both barrels of a shotgun.
Was impressed with the setup at Central, seems a very good one-stop shop and Adrian went above and beyond, wouldnt hesitate to use him again or recommend him to others.
Will take some better pics when the weather clears up (why has it been dry for 2-3 weeks then pi$$es down when i collect the TVR grrrrrr)
N7GTX said:
Was surprised to read these words in the write up. 
Really... whys that then?apologies if i upset someone with my poor description for a mechanic, though not sure how...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_monkey
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/grease+monkey
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grease+monk...
Edited by ptholt on Monday 7th April 13:19
If i really wanted to use a derogatory term I would have called him a fitter 
my old Subaru mechanic used to go mental when people called him a fitter, rather than a mechanic but for modern mechanics at main dealers this is probably the correct term where they seem to plug it into a pc, and change sensors till the error goes away.
my old Subaru mechanic used to go mental when people called him a fitter, rather than a mechanic but for modern mechanics at main dealers this is probably the correct term where they seem to plug it into a pc, and change sensors till the error goes away.
ptholt said:
If i really wanted to use a derogatory term I would have called him a fitter
my old Subaru mechanic used to go mental when people called him a fitter, rather than a mechanic but for modern mechanics at main dealers this is probably the correct term where they seem to plug it into a pc, and change sensors till the error goes away.
That's nearly correct, but they plug into pc and change sensors and other items until the 'customer' goes away! my old Subaru mechanic used to go mental when people called him a fitter, rather than a mechanic but for modern mechanics at main dealers this is probably the correct term where they seem to plug it into a pc, and change sensors till the error goes away.
The pc word at the moment is Technician, Grease monkey I don't get offended at if its used in the right context.ie, You have rewired a dash and sorted a few in depth electrical issues and if the comment is "that grease monkey repaired that" it sounds a bit unprofessional but if it was "that grease monkey has stripped and rebuilt your engine, gearbox and back axle" then that is acceptable.
N7GTX said:
Totally wrong. In a main dealer you will have apprentices, mechanics, technicians and master technicians. There are differences in their abilities, skills and knowledge. You will not find the term fitter used in dealerships or most garages other than those specialists such as classic car restorers who can manufacture parts using tools such as lathes, mills and grinders.
An apprentice is self explanatory.
A mechanic will do the day to day work including servicing and repairs that do not require in depth knowledge.
A technician (techie) will have attended manufacturer courses and have more skills and knowledge, usually electrical in today's machines, so should be able to service, repair and diagnose accurately most problems on a car.
A master technician will have greater experience and knowledge than a technician and be conversant in all aspects of the vehicles made by the manufacturer, have been on all courses, passed his exams and be able to test anything on the cars.
My recent experience with my wife's fairly new renault espace tends to differ at renault main dealers, they plugged into a laptop, then proceeded to work there way through the codes changing sensors and little boxes based on the computers direction, sounds exactly like fitting to me, no mechanical skill needed to diagnose anything there, computer says change this, we change it.. was the reply when i asked what the process was. In fact my own IT experience was probably more useful than his garage skills!An apprentice is self explanatory.
A mechanic will do the day to day work including servicing and repairs that do not require in depth knowledge.
A technician (techie) will have attended manufacturer courses and have more skills and knowledge, usually electrical in today's machines, so should be able to service, repair and diagnose accurately most problems on a car.
A master technician will have greater experience and knowledge than a technician and be conversant in all aspects of the vehicles made by the manufacturer, have been on all courses, passed his exams and be able to test anything on the cars.
Conversion looks good - tempting
I have used Central for many years and they are always very good at what they do & derserve our patronage. Adrian & his team always come up with the goods & have sensibly diversified recently into trim etc.
Andy is the mechanic & sure he wouldn't like being referred to as a grease monkey - he knows his stuff well & is a suitably nice chap to boot.
I have used Central for many years and they are always very good at what they do & derserve our patronage. Adrian & his team always come up with the goods & have sensibly diversified recently into trim etc.
Andy is the mechanic & sure he wouldn't like being referred to as a grease monkey - he knows his stuff well & is a suitably nice chap to boot.
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