Smallest job, biggest bill.

[Gtom]

Scrolling on Instagram, I spotted this video

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd1-9nvNB-_/?stkn=M...

They had to separate the body and drivetrain of an Aston Martin Rapide because a nut had come loose on the wiper mechanism. Massive bill for a simple fix.

It got me think back to my dads mk3 mondeo which was meant to be a bumper off job to swap a headlight bulb. I think the 2nd gen Renault Megane was the same.

What else is there out there that requires a degree in engineering, a 4 poster lift and a snap on lorry full of tools to change a fuse or something equally as easy?

[TGTiff]

Bumper and front undertray needs to come off a GTR to change a headlight bulb.

[SimonTheSailor]

To be fair some of these bumpers can come off in 20 minutes although it does seem insane to have to do that for a bulb !!

I don't think you're going to beat the Rapide a sample though !

[Haltamer]

Air suspension exhaust valve solenoid on the XF.

Compressor housing is 2 layers of NVH Box secured with rivets; Not the biggest pain in the world, but considering it went back together as a ‘push fit’ with the built in rubber seals (I just added a line of tape each side and it was entirely secure), why they couldn’t use a plastic push pin or any other method that doesn’t require drilling..

[Its Just Adz]

Weren't the early Range Rover Sports and Disco 3 a full body off job for brake pipe repairs and suspension jobs?

[CT05 Nose Cone]

I remember seeing that the rear screen needs to be removed to replace the high level brake light on a Bentley Continental

[Screenwash]

There seems to be quite a few minor jobs on VAG cars that require engine out?

Audi V10, Touareg V10 (ref AutoAlex and TDC on YouTube!)

[Spudgunassassin]

Gtom said:

Scrolling on Instagram, I spotted this video

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd1-9nvNB-_/?stkn=M...

They had to separate the body and drivetrain of an Aston Martin Rapide because a nut had come loose on the wiper mechanism. Massive bill for a simple fix.

It got me think back to my dads mk3 mondeo which was meant to be a bumper off job to swap a headlight bulb. I think the 2nd gen Renault Megane was the same.

What else is there out there that requires a degree in engineering, a 4 poster lift and a snap on lorry full of tools to change a fuse or something equally as easy?

The MK3 Mondeo has to be one of the easiest cars to replace a headlight bulb. There are two vertical sliders that hold the lamp unit in place, simply pull them up and the unit pops out.

I agree the mk2 Renault Megané was unnecessarily annoying to replace headlamp bulbs, in fact doing anything on a mk2 Megané usually results in migraine.

[Writhing]

My old Accord was a bit of a conundrum. It would only take about 20 seconds to do one side, then about 90 minutes to do the other.

[Don1]

Porsche Panamerica requires front wheels off, liners out, headlights out, front bumper off, just to change the air filter.

Not as bad as the OP, but still…..

[hammo19]

Bentley Continental GT needed door off, wing off, bumper off to reseat headlamp bulb as it failed MOT for headlamp alignment.

[menousername]

CT05 Nose Cone said:

I remember seeing that the rear screen needs to be removed to replace the high level brake light on a Bentley Continental

Not quite the same level but a few years back I had a mk5 golf and the high level break light was set into the spoiler

It was prone to failing and then you had the conundrum of whether it was an MOT failure

To replace it required removing the spoiler which apparently was welded / glued on so needed cutting off and would likely snap in the process. No one was interested in the job apart from main dealers quoting for a new spoiler and paint job.

There was a hack that involved smashing the light out instead and then it could be replaced externally. With MOT approaching and armed with a hammer and screwdriver I went for it not knowing if it would work or if I would end up with a hole in my spoiler where the light used to be.

Took about 2 hours in total most of which was spent fiddling with the connector cable - once the light was removed it turned out there was a small 1 inch square in the spoiler with sharp edges where the cable came through. Added to that there was hardly any slack in the cable despite it sitting in the void of the spoiler.

So 2 hours of hooking fingers around the connector cable inside the little 1 inch sharp edged hole to avoid pushing the cable into the spoiler void and trying to connect it to the rear of the light with no space and no visibility.

Definitely a design fail

[vikingaero]

TGTiff said:

Bumper and front undertray needs to come off a GTR to change a headlight bulb.

If that were my car, I would change every bulb accessible because once I changed the headlight bulb, the others would bound to blow 30 seconds after refitted everything.

[bern]

Passat B5 1.9TDi. All the front end has to come off the remove one of the alternator bolts.

[4.7AMV8]

Yes I saw the Aston windscreen nut video, crazy but not surprising for me as I have a Vantage.
Air filter change.....car jacked up, front under tray off, housing unscrewed, change filter......then do it on the other side!
Headlight change....car jacked up, wheels off (although you can miss this out but its a pain), wheel liners off, under tray off, scrape knuckes on all fingers, swear, headlight out, see the front level adjusters must have snapped off the minute it left the factory and hope you dont need a 2nd hand headlight at around £2k!

[POIDH]

Quoted to replace a bolt holding rear boot strut on a Touran. It involved cutting the rear body panel open thereby making the car a write off....
(Instead I gambled with a RivNut and won, selling it on asap).

[Rusty Old-Banger]

4.7AMV8 said:

Yes I saw the Aston windscreen nut video, crazy but not surprising for me as I have a Vantage.
Air filter change.....car jacked up, front under tray off, housing unscrewed, change filter......then do it on the other side!
Headlight change....car jacked up, wheels off (although you can miss this out but its a pain), wheel liners off, under tray off, scrape knuckes on all fingers, swear, headlight out, see the front level adjusters must have snapped off the minute it left the factory and hope you dont need a 2nd hand headlight at around £2k!

My next door neighbour sold his AMV8 for the same reason, and bought an SL500. Reckons the SL is far, FAR cheaper to run (!)

[pti]

Volvo V70 P2 D5.

Engine core plug replacement, 50p part and about 6 hours of labour.

[simon_harris]

TGTiff said:

Bumper and front undertray needs to come off a GTR to change a headlight bulb.

no it doesn't

[GeniusOfLove]

simon_harris said:

TGTiff said:

Bumper and front undertray needs to come off a GTR to change a headlight bulb.

no it doesn't

In any case that's quite common for cars with xenon/LED bulbs because it's not worth the engineering effort to make it easier when it's a job that happens every 15 years / 150k miles if it ever happens at all.

My 2010 Jaguar XJ needs the bumper off to do the bulbs too.