Good service, a Quandry, a few questions and some
Discussion
titulation: 
1)Good service: Had my bolts sheared off/removed at Formula One in Newcastle. Service was excellent and i recommend them highly. Bravo
2) Quandry: I had noticed that there was some "ringing" noises coming from my front off-side wheel, followed by an "uneasiness" when driving. I had this on my Polo
which was never properly diagnosed so i left it on El 'Beast. Turns out to be a shagged wheel bearing. Now, i have it booked in 2 weeks today to have replaced/checked. The price of the dealer for a replacement is double that of elsewhere.
Do I buy from elsewhere and take it to be fitted, or having had such fabulous service from a dealer and a good relationship up to now, do I just pay "da man" and not piss them off?
3) Questions: How long, roughly, will it take for a bearing to shag the hub? The problem started a couple of months ago, BUT i have driven El 'Beast only about 300miles in that time. What do you reckon, safe or not? Is there anyway i can find out (without a jack)?
4) Titulation: There was a fine specimen of a female walking along when i drove past without the roof (glorious day, today). i shouted "nice baps" and she tried to spit at me and gave me the fingers
All answers, as always, very much appreciated
1)Good service: Had my bolts sheared off/removed at Formula One in Newcastle. Service was excellent and i recommend them highly. Bravo
2) Quandry: I had noticed that there was some "ringing" noises coming from my front off-side wheel, followed by an "uneasiness" when driving. I had this on my Polo
which was never properly diagnosed so i left it on El 'Beast. Turns out to be a shagged wheel bearing. Now, i have it booked in 2 weeks today to have replaced/checked. The price of the dealer for a replacement is double that of elsewhere. Do I buy from elsewhere and take it to be fitted, or having had such fabulous service from a dealer and a good relationship up to now, do I just pay "da man" and not piss them off?
3) Questions: How long, roughly, will it take for a bearing to shag the hub? The problem started a couple of months ago, BUT i have driven El 'Beast only about 300miles in that time. What do you reckon, safe or not? Is there anyway i can find out (without a jack)?
4) Titulation: There was a fine specimen of a female walking along when i drove past without the roof (glorious day, today). i shouted "nice baps" and she tried to spit at me and gave me the fingers
All answers, as always, very much appreciated
Hi Dragstar
to answer your questions....
1: I agree, F1 are excellent - I have all my work done there, good guys, typical dealer prices, rather fit bird (Amanda) who sorts your invoice out. Unfortunatly she's taken and now up the duff!
2: ummm, my opinion, stick with F1. Chris and Craig know what they are doing, they have been working with Elises since they were launched and they seem to have an excellent reputation up North. How much are you expecting to pay for this work?
3: depends on the wear on the bearing. quality quiet cars like a Merc or BMW show these signs quickly as the car is so quiet grinding noises become obvious. With El' Beast its not so simple. Best thing is to drive it as little as possible until the 20th.
4: Bitch - but I bet you were in Sunderland drag, all birds there are daft!
Wak
to answer your questions....
1: I agree, F1 are excellent - I have all my work done there, good guys, typical dealer prices, rather fit bird (Amanda) who sorts your invoice out. Unfortunatly she's taken and now up the duff!
2: ummm, my opinion, stick with F1. Chris and Craig know what they are doing, they have been working with Elises since they were launched and they seem to have an excellent reputation up North. How much are you expecting to pay for this work?
3: depends on the wear on the bearing. quality quiet cars like a Merc or BMW show these signs quickly as the car is so quiet grinding noises become obvious. With El' Beast its not so simple. Best thing is to drive it as little as possible until the 20th.
4: Bitch - but I bet you were in Sunderland drag, all birds there are daft!
Wak
paulwakinshaw said:
2: ummm, my opinion, stick with F1. Chris and Craig know what they are doing, they have been working with Elises since they were launched and they seem to have an excellent reputation up North. How much are you expecting to pay for this work?
I do intend for them to do the work, i was just unsure whether i should buy the bearings from elsewhere (at half the price).
They reckon £60 for one set but i can get them for £25 elsewhere (lotus shop). What do you reckon?
Thanks for the advice
drag get your bearing from the cheapest place. try euro parts of somewhere like that. they do quality gear for not to much money. any garage can fit and change a wheel bearing. its a peace of pi$$ to do. buy the bearing and take it to ur local garage. jack the front of el beast and feel how much lateral play there is in the wheel, and just monitor it. lot of movment = bad, 1mm not so bad
Hi just had my rear wheel bearing changed at paul matty's in brum....
Total cost of £ 128.00 inc vat (bearing charged at £ 30 )
Local dealer in sheffield wanted nearly £ 400
They didn't know when I bookied it in(paul matty's) if it was front or rear but said the cost would be no different.
got to be worth a haggle !
Total cost of £ 128.00 inc vat (bearing charged at £ 30 )
Local dealer in sheffield wanted nearly £ 400
They didn't know when I bookied it in(paul matty's) if it was front or rear but said the cost would be no different.
got to be worth a haggle !
i don't see that getting the part yourself is going to upset anybody. most people that you deal with at dealers know they charge silly part prices, so in my experience haven't been that bothered when you point out how much you are saving.
As for damage from bearing failure.... i would like to say for sure, but in my experience, i drove an MX5 with knackered bearing for about 5000 miles and no damage was done. and my manta just had one fail to the point that i was struggling to keep the car in a straight line (it happened pretty quickly...slight noise for 3/400 miles then bam). i stopped, got towed and bearing replaced, no damaged done, which was suprising.
As for damage from bearing failure.... i would like to say for sure, but in my experience, i drove an MX5 with knackered bearing for about 5000 miles and no damage was done. and my manta just had one fail to the point that i was struggling to keep the car in a straight line (it happened pretty quickly...slight noise for 3/400 miles then bam). i stopped, got towed and bearing replaced, no damaged done, which was suprising.
I'm no expert but do have some knowledge on how bearings are constructed. I believe that over time the inner cage breaks down allowing some misalignment between inner and outer shells. I can't see how this can cause damage to the hub as there is no play between outer bearing shell and hub, nor between inner shell and axle. However excessive play may not do your tyres much good.
Business is business drag - you'll be screwing ppl left right and centre when you're some hotshot cityboy lawyer soon enough. Might as well start by making sure you get good deals now. 
Just 'cos you're a punter doesn't mean you have to pay top whack. Your dealer mate should be a reasonable enough person to know that if you can get the job done cheaper elsewhere for what (as I understand) should be a relatively straightforward replacement, you'll do so.
Personally whenever I purchase a service, car or otherwise, I'll always shop around and strike a balance between quality and cost. You'd be mad not to.
Sorry, I'm forgetting - you are mad - ignore all the above, go to main dealer, get chequebook out, pull down trousers and bend over chair.
Just 'cos you're a punter doesn't mean you have to pay top whack. Your dealer mate should be a reasonable enough person to know that if you can get the job done cheaper elsewhere for what (as I understand) should be a relatively straightforward replacement, you'll do so.
Personally whenever I purchase a service, car or otherwise, I'll always shop around and strike a balance between quality and cost. You'd be mad not to.
Sorry, I'm forgetting - you are mad - ignore all the above, go to main dealer, get chequebook out, pull down trousers and bend over chair.
perhaps a little late to latch onto this, but a bearing failure is the reason I have a bit of carbon fibre off a 550prodrive Le Mans car...
Gutted I didnt manage to the the whole front splitter, would have looked ace on the front of the Cerb. I would avoid driving it personally, but im a bit of a wuss with these sorts of things.
Gutted I didnt manage to the the whole front splitter, would have looked ace on the front of the Cerb. I would avoid driving it personally, but im a bit of a wuss with these sorts of things.
dragstar said:
Mate, i dont think i qualify under "anyone". im a technical numpty. Instead of learning about all things mechanical (in my youth), i had my head in books
Sorry I wasn't clear. What I meant is that any garage can press a bearing in a very short time.
Cheers,
Book reading, technical Numptey2
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