6 years of waiting/hoping to buy, 8days till first breakdown
Discussion
So I've been looking, wishing, and wanting an M12 since about 2004, and a couple of track/experience days and test-drives with questionable intent only fuelled the desire.
Finally I find myself in a position where I can actually get one, and a gorgeous 3R turns up, with low mileage and lots of other ticked boxes. So deal done, keys in hand, and the hour long drive home from Mole Valley was quite possibly the smiliest hour of my life, my jaw was aching when i got in. In case my wife reads this, obviously I have had smilier moments (wedding, birth of our daughter, etc, blah blah.
One week later and my stomach drops further than ever before, I popped out to the shops, probably for nothing necessary (I've found myself doing that alot since the purchase), then when I got back into the car ignition = nothing, erm now what, panic, sweat, cry... cant believe I had to push start my Noble.
A sleepless night followed, up early, got the car started again, and got it over to my mate/personal mechanic who works at a BM dealership, so we traced the electrics back to a blown fuse, then held breath while I tried the ignition.
ahhh i love that sound....
Panic over, shes fixed, and as a bonus the reverse light works now too (dont quite understand how that happened).
and Bonus no.2 resident expert Mr fixer-up-er guy took a look and said he could sort out my front splitter which had some speedbump damage, he filled in some fibreglass and gave it a respray, now its like new.
Thanks to Darren for finding dead fuse and to touch-up guy for sorting the splitter.
Hopefully only 7 days problem free driving isnt a sign of problems to come, and if it is, heres hoping all problems are solved as easily and at similar cost, i.e. a couple of pints between mates
Finally I find myself in a position where I can actually get one, and a gorgeous 3R turns up, with low mileage and lots of other ticked boxes. So deal done, keys in hand, and the hour long drive home from Mole Valley was quite possibly the smiliest hour of my life, my jaw was aching when i got in. In case my wife reads this, obviously I have had smilier moments (wedding, birth of our daughter, etc, blah blah.
One week later and my stomach drops further than ever before, I popped out to the shops, probably for nothing necessary (I've found myself doing that alot since the purchase), then when I got back into the car ignition = nothing, erm now what, panic, sweat, cry... cant believe I had to push start my Noble.
A sleepless night followed, up early, got the car started again, and got it over to my mate/personal mechanic who works at a BM dealership, so we traced the electrics back to a blown fuse, then held breath while I tried the ignition.
ahhh i love that sound....
Panic over, shes fixed, and as a bonus the reverse light works now too (dont quite understand how that happened).
and Bonus no.2 resident expert Mr fixer-up-er guy took a look and said he could sort out my front splitter which had some speedbump damage, he filled in some fibreglass and gave it a respray, now its like new.
Thanks to Darren for finding dead fuse and to touch-up guy for sorting the splitter.
Hopefully only 7 days problem free driving isnt a sign of problems to come, and if it is, heres hoping all problems are solved as easily and at similar cost, i.e. a couple of pints between mates
Sounds like a Good mod but to be on the safe side also check earth wires especialy the one at the rear of the engine behind the exhaust. !! Common problem is the heat from the exhaust knackers the earth lead .
Also check heat wrap on front downpipe it has a tendancy to fall of subjecting the bulkhead wireing ti excessive heat !!
Also check heat wrap on front downpipe it has a tendancy to fall of subjecting the bulkhead wireing ti excessive heat !!
Its good to hear you are enjoying the experience they really are great cars and is the reason we all put up with the little niggles.
These cars can be considered quite reliable when compared to other low volume production cars. I am not a mechanic but i have found my way round the Noble reasonably well and now working on the car is enjoyable for me, i have had a few hiccups with ownership over the years, coolant leaks etc..i had a new mercedes which was alot more troublesome.
The worst part is being stuck at the side of the road, in a supercar it somehow makes it ten times more embarrassing, so to avoid this the key is good maintenance and regular health checks, most of the owners on these forums from a diverse range of professions end up with the car on stands and work on it themselves, to own a Noble is to know your car, it is a natural and healthy progression and makes the Noble ownership experience more enjoyable and if you have any other problems there are some very knowledgable people on here who are always willing to help and are very fast at responding.
they really are great cars and is the reason we all put up with the little niggles.These cars can be considered quite reliable when compared to other low volume production cars. I am not a mechanic but i have found my way round the Noble reasonably well and now working on the car is enjoyable for me, i have had a few hiccups with ownership over the years, coolant leaks etc..i had a new mercedes which was alot more troublesome.
The worst part is being stuck at the side of the road, in a supercar it somehow makes it ten times more embarrassing, so to avoid this the key is good maintenance and regular health checks, most of the owners on these forums from a diverse range of professions end up with the car on stands and work on it themselves, to own a Noble is to know your car, it is a natural and healthy progression and makes the Noble ownership experience more enjoyable and if you have any other problems there are some very knowledgable people on here who are always willing to help and are very fast at responding.
R0162 said:
Its good to hear you are enjoying the experience they really are great cars and is the reason we all put up with the little niggles.
These cars can be considered quite reliable when compared to other low volume production cars. I am not a mechanic but i have found my way round the Noble reasonably well and now working on the car is enjoyable for me, i have had a few hiccups with ownership over the years, coolant leaks etc..i had a new mercedes which was alot more troublesome.
The worst part is being stuck at the side of the road, in a supercar it somehow makes it ten times more embarrassing, so to avoid this the key is good maintenance and regular health checks, most of the owners on these forums from a diverse range of professions end up with the car on stands and work on it themselves, to own a Noble is to know your car, it is a natural and healthy progression and makes the Noble ownership experience more enjoyable and if you have any other problems there are some very knowledgable people on here who are always willing to help and are very fast at responding.
iv been stuck at the side of the road clam in the air its quite fun. usually because im not late for anything so have time to chat to random people that turn up wanting to know about the car etc. they really are great cars and is the reason we all put up with the little niggles.These cars can be considered quite reliable when compared to other low volume production cars. I am not a mechanic but i have found my way round the Noble reasonably well and now working on the car is enjoyable for me, i have had a few hiccups with ownership over the years, coolant leaks etc..i had a new mercedes which was alot more troublesome.
The worst part is being stuck at the side of the road, in a supercar it somehow makes it ten times more embarrassing, so to avoid this the key is good maintenance and regular health checks, most of the owners on these forums from a diverse range of professions end up with the car on stands and work on it themselves, to own a Noble is to know your car, it is a natural and healthy progression and makes the Noble ownership experience more enjoyable and if you have any other problems there are some very knowledgable people on here who are always willing to help and are very fast at responding.
What fuse number was it that was blown? Was it fuse 9 if you count accorss from the left?
Just as a heads up, I have had issues with this fuse and it appears to be down to a wiring issue, with wires being melted together. The alternator defo runs off this fuse, I would need to confirm but i think the reserve light also does as it might provide an earth or something like that... This might be an explaination for why you had to bump start it and also why the reverse light wasnt working, ie the alternator wasnt charging your battery if the fuse was blown.
My mechanic is in the process of rewiring all my melted bits, and I have just bought some heat sheilding that will protect against 650oC to stop it from happening again
Just as a heads up, I have had issues with this fuse and it appears to be down to a wiring issue, with wires being melted together. The alternator defo runs off this fuse, I would need to confirm but i think the reserve light also does as it might provide an earth or something like that... This might be an explaination for why you had to bump start it and also why the reverse light wasnt working, ie the alternator wasnt charging your battery if the fuse was blown.
My mechanic is in the process of rewiring all my melted bits, and I have just bought some heat sheilding that will protect against 650oC to stop it from happening again
bernhund said:
I got the impression you bought from Mole Valley. What did they have to say about it? (Guarantee and all that)
yeah I did buy from Mole Valley, with this being the largest amount of cash I've spent without buying a house, I felt better getting from main dealer.I have their standard warranty, but it was obviously not worth the trip over for a blown fuse, I will of course get it checked out though in case there is an underlying issue, and report back if there is anything.
I bought last year and the engine needed a major rebuild that took nine months. Drove for 400 miles the car was perfect - then one mile from home the car died. It turned out to be a broken relay - couple of good things came out of it - one I found an electrical genuis who lives five miles away and two I go to take this picture of the car being attended to by a van in matching colours - even the RAC man matches the car!
mark cundy said:
I bought last year and the engine needed a major rebuild that took nine months. Drove for 400 miles the car was perfect - then one mile from home the car died. It turned out to be a broken relay - couple of good things came out of it - one I found an electrical genuis who lives five miles away and two I go to take this picture of the car being attended to by a van in matching colours - even the RAC man matches the car!
Hi Mark, have you got a close up picture of the light covers fitted. Not done mine yet but would like to see how yours have come out.Bondy
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