I recall servicing a customers Toyota people carrier she used for her handicapped residents she was complaining about the price she had just paid for her nearly new BMW to be Dealer serviced nearly 30 years ago around £1000, my bill to her for a full service, not a menu service was around £140 at the time including parts, labour and Vat.
What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
- Thread starter dave
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What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
£1000. Kinnell!! That was what I was paying for cars then. Oh actually I am just thinking that doesnt seem so long ago and I was I suppose paying 12-14K for a car then which even now seems obscene. But a grand for a service would have broken us.
It was only a short while before that BMW became the first to introduce the special device that only Dealers had, to turn off the service light so that they could have a monopoly on BMW servicing if you wanted to part ex your s/h BMW for a new one at the dealers as it had to be proven to be serviced by them throughout it's life!
Mind you it wasn't long before local motor factors started hiring out the service device key to turn off the service light, the idea was for when independant garages serviced the cars, but shortly after that dodgy car salesmen would just hire the device, turn the service light out and not bother with the service, so saving themselves more money.
Hostile moves by companies like that are usually a game of cat and mouse.It was only a short while before that BMW became the first to introduce the special device that only Dealers had, to turn off the service light so that they could have a monopoly on BMW servicing if you wanted to part ex your s/h BMW for a new one at the dealers as it had to be proven to be serviced by them throughout it's life!
Mind you it wasn't long before local motor factors started hiring out the service device key to turn off the service light, the idea was for when independant garages serviced the cars, but shortly after that dodgy car salesmen would just hire the device, turn the service light out and not bother with the service, so saving themselves more money.
Apple did the same thing with screens and batteries - if you swapped two genuine screens between two identical new iPhones they’d both display a message saying non genuine / non verified parts used as they started serialising them to ‘cut down on stolen devices being stolen to be broken for parts’. Only the special machine at Apple approved repairers or stores could properly set replacement parts up.
Then the Chinese workshops came out with this little cheap electronic device that could read the serial and overwrite it on to any other screen… making the above pretty much useless.
Cat and mouse. Eventually they’ll find a way around that but eventually someone else just as smart will work a way around it. Same with the cars like you said.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Suggestion...
If you ever catch the cat playing silly bleeders, shot the ******. Preferably with a howitzer.
Game over.
Record breaking Christmas tree anyone?
Returning home, approaching my street, and there's a BMW SUV almost touching my bumper. I'd been doing 30, and he'd arrived quite quickly. Not aggressive, just some old guy, unaware of his speed or distance, just staring ahead, brain dead. He's turnign left too, so slowing down less of a risk. 50yds, left again, he's still following. Now I need to reverse onto my drive. Most neighbours have got used to this by now, after 30 years, so I slow, left signal on, but he's still glued. Suddenly he realises, and slows. I stop, select reverse, and start to drop down the hill and steer towards my drive. Then, presumably riding the clutch, he moves towards me, then panics when he realises that I'm still coming, and it is goiing to be close. His wife is now looking quite concerned. I gently move onto my drive, with my front wing about 2" from his bumper, plenty of space. As he drives by, he's looking at me, very grumpy, whilst his wife is looking a little better.
Hands up anyone who thinks he learned anything.
Hands up anyone who thinks he learned anything.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
My hand is still down..... BMW.... Say no more. There are a few people who are normal hunmans who drive them but not as many as there should be.
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I’m with Panda Nut on this one, probably within a few minutes he’d found another car to ride the back bumper of.
Old BMWs (~20yo) tend to be driven by the sort of people who have all the the arrogance and non of the budget. Newer ones tend to be driven by people stretched to the limit on a finance deal, with a £40k balloon payment, meaning they will only ever go from one 3 year old car to the next for all eternity spending way more than anyone ever needs to in the process.
There are the very rare occasional BMW drivers who know what the indicators are.
Then there are the classic owners who actually look after their cars and know how to drive them. They don’t have all the electronic gadgets and so they know how to get a RWD round a corner without crashing as soon as a light drizzle comes down
BMW, Audi and even those Porsche SUV things are tenapenny now. Finance wasn’t good to those ‘exclusive brands’.
More rare are Maserati’s, big Alfa’s and even Lexus less common. Makes me wonder when I see them on the road who the people are and why they didn’t just go with the crowd. Seen a nice Maserati today actually, no idea which model, but it has presence.
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The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Maserati Kings of the road. I love them. Next door bought a Levante a 4x4 thingy. It had the biggest car wheels I have ever seen beautiful leather interior and a humongous V8.
Its no Panda though but not too shoddy apart from ther giant road tax, the massive price and the massive VAT on it and the awful fuel consumption, and the cost of tyres and parts in general. Oh and the lack of people who can repair them properly. LOL
Apart from that though....
Ive always wanted something a bit different so I do understand the left field choices.
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We used to say they were drug dealer cars, but I suppose they finally realised it was to much of a give away.
.Did have the chance of a Maserati Bi Turbo for £80 at auction once, it was a bit of a shed so I gave it a miss, although when I got home I saw one for sale in similar condition for 2k Aussy dollars.
The only temptation was that I could have said I once owned one.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Narrow escape there. You saved your self overpaying by about £77.50 lolDid have the chance of a Maserati Bi Turbo for £80 at auction once, it was a bit of a shed so I gave it a miss, although when I got home I saw one for sale in similar condition for 2k Aussy dollars.
The only temptation was that I could have said I once owned one.
Plus Buyers Commission. Phew!
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
PLUSNET
Yet again I have had to waste an hour because the service was so poor intervention was required. The last time I gave them a talking to the speed leapt to 86mbps. This is just superfast via copper wires, so they can provide the correct speed. Today however the Amazon TV was hicoughing and when checked it was 30mbps. After complaining its back to 72 which is good and what we pay for. The thing is:
Should we get what we pay for 67mbps or something else?
Should we have to keep intervening to get the service restored
What would be a resonable deduction from the payment?
The contract is 14 months old and I have at least 8 checks in that time varying from 24mbps to 51. Others have been in the region of the contracted level.
While it does not always matter that we are on a poor service, and if we dont notice we dont check, should we do you think get the stated minimum level of service we pay for or not.
What do you think?
Yet again I have had to waste an hour because the service was so poor intervention was required. The last time I gave them a talking to the speed leapt to 86mbps. This is just superfast via copper wires, so they can provide the correct speed. Today however the Amazon TV was hicoughing and when checked it was 30mbps. After complaining its back to 72 which is good and what we pay for. The thing is:
Should we get what we pay for 67mbps or something else?
Should we have to keep intervening to get the service restored
What would be a resonable deduction from the payment?
The contract is 14 months old and I have at least 8 checks in that time varying from 24mbps to 51. Others have been in the region of the contracted level.
While it does not always matter that we are on a poor service, and if we dont notice we dont check, should we do you think get the stated minimum level of service we pay for or not.
What do you think?
I agree it is crap and not what you should expect.
To be honest I wish that was all I had to worry about, been in pain since November, numerous X rays, heart monitors, ECGs etc. and now appointment for CT Scan eGRF POC Test CT Thorax and Abdomen with contrast booked just before New Year.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Oh deers, I dont like them fiddling with the plumbing. They did this stuff on me but still failed to notie the cyst on my kidney that was in fact 10 times the size of the kidney.... The size of the hole they cut to get that out of me has been causing trouble ever since. I have finally got relief from my neck and shoulders which have had me near tears for months. I found a physio therapist locally and she had done all sorts, Acupuncture, massage, manipulation, and a lot of ultrasound. Im not 100% but it shows its possible to get back on track but shoulders are among the worst things when they go wrong. Have a look at optineck.com and maybe ask your medical people if they think it might help you. I think my troubles were caused by a nasty fall onto my back. This getting old stuff is a real PITA and when you go down hard it hurts. I now take a stick when I go out. Im fine without, but it has saved me more than once. I think of your struggles and really hope you can find the right help and advice. I think cars are easier to diagnose and mend!I agree it is crap and not what you should expect.
To be honest I wish that was all I had to worry about, been in pain since November, numerous X rays, heart monitors, ECGs etc. and now appointment for CT Scan eGRF POC Test CT Thorax and Abdomen with contrast booked just before New Year.
Paracetamol anyone??
PS If you havnt got any ask your docs for Ibprofen gel. Prescribed stuff is twice the strength and has helped me. I have a corn filled bag which heats in the microwave. Well better than a hot water bottle and its been a god send. Previously told to avoid heat, but this time they said take as much heat as possible.
I hope you see some improvement soon.
PS You need an Italian service!! LOL Well I thought it was funny.
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I am allergic to Ibprohen, but it didn't help when I looked up the reasons for this sort of scan in that area knowing both of my parents died younger than me of issues possibly related.
Did you mean a Italian young lady "servicing me" I don't think my back would be up to that.
