RE: PistonHeads On The Beach Sunday Service | 24/05

[zarjaz1991]

Mark-BMW-E30-318is said:

Journey up was great and arrived around 8:30 to park up in the sunshine. There were some stunning vehicles and a great eclectic mix and I eventually opted to head for home around 12:30'ish I believe? My mistake was following the satnav in an attempt to avoid some of the traffic. I knew that temperatures were on the high side but by the time I reached the services, I had to drive around the crazy long queues and make straight for the water / air line, only for it to be out of order! Brilliant. As I had taken out RAC cover I figured I'd get them to bring me some coolant but mainly have them check there was no mechanical issue I'd missed. At this point I had to pay a £40 excess before they'd attend. I've never had that before. So half hour later the chap arrived but, by that time, I'd started to feel a bit unwell due to the heat, so took a seat in his van so that I could cool down a bit. At this point he diagnosed a sticking thermostat so I suggested removing it, which he did before then saying the head gasket had failed, or so he thought? He didn't do a sniff test though and there was no mayo. What was clear though, he didn't want to tow me to Cornwall and he left saying ''a truck will be here soon''. As it turns out ''soon'' was just after 3am the following day and I was told ''you're better off just making your own way home mate!'' This was at 6:30pm on Bank Holiday Sunday and I was stood at Cobham on the M25, on crutches and with next to no cash. Disappointing.

Thankfully my niece lived about 10 miles away, so I borrowed her car after a £60 taxi ride to collect it. I was shattered so took my time getting home, arriving around 5am Monday.

I got to enjoy a great drive up and there were some great cars and nice people. Thank you to those of you that said hello. Hopefully the E30 will be back here by Friday and I can get on with sorting the issue. I'm still disappointed in the RAC though. I don't expect miracles but nor did I expect to hear them say ''make your own way home mate''.

That's absolutely horrendous. What do we pay these companies for if this is how they are going to behave?

I'm really sorry to hear of this, after you'd made all that effort to get there as well. It was great to see your car if it's any consolation (unlikely!) and I hope for its speedy return to good health.

[Ben Lowden]

Mark-BMW-E30-318is said:

Journey up was great and arrived around 8:30 to park up in the sunshine. There were some stunning vehicles and a great eclectic mix and I eventually opted to head for home around 12:30'ish I believe? My mistake was following the satnav in an attempt to avoid some of the traffic. I knew that temperatures were on the high side but by the time I reached the services, I had to drive around the crazy long queues and make straight for the water / air line, only for it to be out of order! Brilliant. As I had taken out RAC cover I figured I'd get them to bring me some coolant but mainly have them check there was no mechanical issue I'd missed. At this point I had to pay a £40 excess before they'd attend. I've never had that before. So half hour later the chap arrived but, by that time, I'd started to feel a bit unwell due to the heat, so took a seat in his van so that I could cool down a bit. At this point he diagnosed a sticking thermostat so I suggested removing it, which he did before then saying the head gasket had failed, or so he thought? He didn't do a sniff test though and there was no mayo. What was clear though, he didn't want to tow me to Cornwall and he left saying ''a truck will be here soon''. As it turns out ''soon'' was just after 3am the following day and I was told ''you're better off just making your own way home mate!'' This was at 6:30pm on Bank Holiday Sunday and I was stood at Cobham on the M25, on crutches and with next to no cash. Disappointing.

Thankfully my niece lived about 10 miles away, so I borrowed her car after a £60 taxi ride to collect it. I was shattered so took my time getting home, arriving around 5am Monday.

I got to enjoy a great drive up and there were some great cars and nice people. Thank you to those of you that said hello. Hopefully the E30 will be back here by Friday and I can get on with sorting the issue. I'm still disappointed in the RAC though. I don't expect miracles but nor did I expect to hear them say ''make your own way home mate''.

That's rubbish, really sorry to hear that Mark. Great to see you as always, hope you get the car sorted and back on the road very soon!

[TheAngryDog]

Nice event this was, cracking weather on the day as well (too hot for me, but it's better than rain!). Looking forward to next years!

[Samjeev]

It was a great morning and couldn't have asked for better weather. It was great to put a name to the face with a few of the PH guys and chat with fellow PHer's always fun to see the reactions the 86 gets

[Mark-BMW-E30-318is]

zarjaz1991 said:

Mark-BMW-E30-318is said:

Journey up was great and arrived around 8:30 to park up in the sunshine. There were some stunning vehicles and a great eclectic mix and I eventually opted to head for home around 12:30'ish I believe? My mistake was following the satnav in an attempt to avoid some of the traffic. I knew that temperatures were on the high side but by the time I reached the services, I had to drive around the crazy long queues and make straight for the water / air line, only for it to be out of order! Brilliant. As I had taken out RAC cover I figured I'd get them to bring me some coolant but mainly have them check there was no mechanical issue I'd missed. At this point I had to pay a £40 excess before they'd attend. I've never had that before. So half hour later the chap arrived but, by that time, I'd started to feel a bit unwell due to the heat, so took a seat in his van so that I could cool down a bit. At this point he diagnosed a sticking thermostat so I suggested removing it, which he did before then saying the head gasket had failed, or so he thought? He didn't do a sniff test though and there was no mayo. What was clear though, he didn't want to tow me to Cornwall and he left saying ''a truck will be here soon''. As it turns out ''soon'' was just after 3am the following day and I was told ''you're better off just making your own way home mate!'' This was at 6:30pm on Bank Holiday Sunday and I was stood at Cobham on the M25, on crutches and with next to no cash. Disappointing.

Thankfully my niece lived about 10 miles away, so I borrowed her car after a £60 taxi ride to collect it. I was shattered so took my time getting home, arriving around 5am Monday.

I got to enjoy a great drive up and there were some great cars and nice people. Thank you to those of you that said hello. Hopefully the E30 will be back here by Friday and I can get on with sorting the issue. I'm still disappointed in the RAC though. I don't expect miracles but nor did I expect to hear them say ''make your own way home mate''.

That's absolutely horrendous. What do we pay these companies for if this is how they are going to behave?

I'm really sorry to hear of this, after you'd made all that effort to get there as well. It was great to see your car if it's any consolation (unlikely!) and I hope for its speedy return to good health.

Ben Lowden said:

That's rubbish, really sorry to hear that Mark. Great to see you as always, hope you get the car sorted and back on the road very soon!

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately, I still don't have my E30 back and I remain out of pocket to the tune of around £150. I know that might not seem like much but trust me, when your bank balance hits single figures £150 seems like a small fortune! Apart from the fact my E30 remains up country, the RAC are now trying to claim storage fees of £140! I never asked for them to store my car, or take over a week to return it, but it's just another aspect to what has been a terrible interaction from day one.

The guys at Rally Prep have kindly said that they'll sort the issue once the E30 is back in Cornwall. If you have a moment to show them some love via their FaceBook page, it would really be appreciated. I've met some truly decent people via PH and being a fan of old BMW's and Rally Prep are up there with the very best of them. Since leaving hospital 15 months ago, they have really helped me to get my life back on track, as have several regulars on PH. Attending Brighton was about that progress for me. Yes, it may have been a little foolhardy but none of us know how long we have left and I feel like I'd waited an age to have something positive in my life. Travelling to Brighton reminded me how important it is to have some fun! I feel like we all deserve that.

Anyway, my goal is to make the Sunday Service in August so I'll keep my fingers crossed that a) I can get a ticket and b) that the E30 makes it there and home again!

Mark

https://www.facebook.com/rallyprepuk

Edited by Mark-BMW-E30-318is on Wednesday 3rd June 16:11

[zarjaz1991]

Mark-BMW-E30-318is said:

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately, I still don't have my E30 back and I remain out of pocket to the tune of around £150. I know that might not seem like much but trust me, when your bank balance hits single figures £150 seems like a small fortune! Apart from the fact my E30 remains up country, the RAC are now trying to claim storage fees of £140! I never asked for them to store my car, or take over a week to return it, but it's just another aspect to what has been a terrible interaction from day one.

The guys at Rally Prep have kindly said that they'll sort the issue once the E30 is back in Cornwall. If you have a moment to show them some love via their FaceBook page, it would really be appreciated. I've met some truly decent people via PH and being a fan of old BMW's and Rally Prep are up there with the very best of them. Since leaving hospital 15 months ago, they have really helped me to get my life back on track, as have several regulars on PH. Attending Brighton was about that progress for me. Yes, it may have been a little foolhardy but none of us know how long we have left and I feel like I'd waited an age to have something positive in my life. Travelling to Brighton reminded me how important it is to have some fun! I feel like we all deserve that.

Anyway, my goal is to make the Sunday Service in August so I'll keep my fingers crossed that a) I can get a ticket and b) that the E30 makes it there and home again!

Mark

https://www.facebook.com/rallyprepuk

This is unbelievably crap and I'm so sorry you're in this predicament.

I came out of hospital myself just over a year ago. You're absolutely right to be doing positive things like the run to Brighton. It wasn't foolhardy - these cars are meant to be driven - just rotten luck, but what on Earth are the RAC playing at here? Why wouldn't they recover you? And why are they now charging you to store the car?

I don't know if there's anything the PH massive can do to help, but these events are nothing without people like yourself bringing their fantastic cars along. I'm way up in Leicestershire but do you feel there anything anyone could to do to help here in any small way? What a crap situation.

Unrelated aside...Truro's the location of a garage who in January 2025 failed to torque up my wheel nuts properly which very nearly caused a wheel to fall off on the A30 near Exeter....I had to be rescued by the AA!

[polaris26]

Mark-BMW-E30-318is said:

Yellowfez said:

zarjaz1991 said:

Mark-BMW-E30-318is said:

Thanks Ben. Hopefully it's a dry day and am looking forward to seeing the sunrise. I will probably have to leave here around 3am?

Spotted!

Saw this on the hard shoulder, hope all was ok mate

Journey up was great and arrived around 8:30 to park up in the sunshine. There were some stunning vehicles and a great eclectic mix and I eventually opted to head for home around 12:30'ish I believe? My mistake was following the satnav in an attempt to avoid some of the traffic. I knew that temperatures were on the high side but by the time I reached the services, I had to drive around the crazy long queues and make straight for the water / air line, only for it to be out of order! Brilliant. As I had taken out RAC cover I figured I'd get them to bring me some coolant but mainly have them check there was no mechanical issue I'd missed. At this point I had to pay a £40 excess before they'd attend. I've never had that before. So half hour later the chap arrived but, by that time, I'd started to feel a bit unwell due to the heat, so took a seat in his van so that I could cool down a bit. At this point he diagnosed a sticking thermostat so I suggested removing it, which he did before then saying the head gasket had failed, or so he thought? He didn't do a sniff test though and there was no mayo. What was clear though, he didn't want to tow me to Cornwall and he left saying ''a truck will be here soon''. As it turns out ''soon'' was just after 3am the following day and I was told ''you're better off just making your own way home mate!'' This was at 6:30pm on Bank Holiday Sunday and I was stood at Cobham on the M25, on crutches and with next to no cash. Disappointing.

Thankfully my niece lived about 10 miles away, so I borrowed her car after a £60 taxi ride to collect it. I was shattered so took my time getting home, arriving around 5am Monday.

I got to enjoy a great drive up and there were some great cars and nice people. Thank you to those of you that said hello. Hopefully the E30 will be back here by Friday and I can get on with sorting the issue. I'm still disappointed in the RAC though. I don't expect miracles but nor did I expect to hear them say ''make your own way home mate''.

really sorry to hear this looked and sounded awesome when you went past me on the M23. I was in the black RS6.

[polaris26]

bolidemichael said:

Thanks for organising a great morning

lovely meeting you! and again in New Malden Waitrose! Loved the CL600!