Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Never rains

So on top of needing an MOT, buying a new tax disc and having the car serviced as part of the warranty all in the same month they found one of my tyres had a staple in it "Oh and it's in the side wall so we can't repair it; we can replace it if you like we'd just need to get a tyre in first"
Recalling exactly how much they wanted to charge, and how long they took last time they'd simply inspected it I declined their offer.

As my usual contact appears to be on holiday I was going to leave it; until this morning it was down two-thirds of its correct pressure. So it's in at Lloyds.

2 comments:

Dan H said...

Expensive things, these cars. I'm having a bit of a similar experience with my bike lately. The other week I was riding in Ely and came to a section of the waterfront where cycling is forbidden, so I stopped and made to dismount. As I was stopping, I put my foot down into what turned out to be a pothole. I hurt my ankle and lost my balance, toppling the bike to the ground. The left-hand brake lever must have taken the brunt of the fall, as I found it bent forward 90°. It lasted me until I got home, but it was clearly weakened, and when I went to bend it back it snapped almost as soon as I touched it.
Now I have to get it replaced, and since the brakes are hydraulic, it's a bit too fiddly for me to fix, but these brake levers must be made of platinum-hens' teeth-unicorn horn alloy, as none of the local bike shops have stock, ordering them seems to have a long lead time (I've phoned around), and neither Wiggle nor Cyclestore list them in their online catalogues. Looking at other similar ones, it's probably going to cost nearly £100 by the time I've had it fitted and a new load of oil put in. And of course, with bus services in Cambridge being what they are, having my bike off the road for a day is a right pain.
So while I'd normally just say I don't envy you your car-related woes, and suggest you try to reduce your reliance on something so expensive to maintain, this time I'm going to be more sympathetic.

FlipC said...

More importantly you and your foot are okay?

If I could ride a bike I probably would; it may be something I have to try and see if I can work out this balance problem I have. Though given problems with skates, skateboards and even scooters I don't hold out much hope.

A hundred quid does seem a bit steep for what is basically a metal casting with a fluid tube; my tyre only ended up costing me £40 fitted.