Better than a Jaguar apparently!

[The-Acre]

Since last year we've had a Jaguar specialist start a new business on the site where my workshop is.  He's been working on Jags for 40 years and knows them inside out.  Yesterday, and because I couldn't be bothered, he put new front discs and pads on my LS (charging me only £30 labour)  He gave it a good looking over while it was in the air and was really impressed by the underside.  After taking it for a test run he came back and said he was so impressed by how smooth and quiet it is that it makes Jags seem like ****!  When I dropped it off yesterday he couldn't work out at first why it made a nasty noise as he tried to start it, that's because it's already running was my reply!

Not bad coming from a man  who's worked on "prestige" cars for so many years.

He also put a new cam belt kit and auxiliary belt on my Volvo today, all for £160, very happy with that.  

[OldTrout]

A chap I know worked at Jaguar when the LS was first introduced to the UK.

Jaguar bought one and took it apart. Their verdict? If this is what Lexus can do at their first attempt then we are in trouble.

John

 

[MLW]

Apparently Cadillac said the same thing.

[MLW]

However, in my experience, a good independent who is a 'spanner's man' not a 'fitter' is to be highly valued.

[The-Acre]

7 hours ago, MLW said:

However, in my experience, a good independent who is a 'spanner's man' not a 'fitter' is to be highly valued.

Absolutely, that's why it's so good having the Jag man and "mechanics" like him,  he'll take components apart and repair them if possible, you certainly won't get that at a Lexus main dealer!

[ambermarine]

Phil

I take on board your views on mechs and techs ,but the issue is not with the ability to repair a part it is weather it as economically viable to do so,bearing in mind that a lot of components are manufactured as non repairable these components are virtually destroyed getting into them.

Electrical components are now sealed for life when made and a lot of the mechanical components are similar.

The ability to enter these units and reassemble would take a lot of time and not be perfect as some ingenuity would be required in reassembly and that in itself annuls the integrity of the part.

Dealerships have set criteria and time boundaries for repairing cars and disrupting through flow by having vehicles stood about waiting to be fixed is not viable to a service environment.

JIT( just in time) supply chain was invented by the Japanese to cut down the cost of keeping massive inventories during manufacture it also applies in the service and repair sector ie; not having parts or vehicles stood around doing nothing.

[The-Acre]

4 hours ago, ambermarine said:

Phil

I take on board your views on mechs and techs ,but the issue is not with the ability to repair a part it is weather it as economically viable to do so,bearing in mind that a lot of components are manufactured as non repairable these components are virtually destroyed getting into them.

Electrical components are now sealed for life when made and a lot of the mechanical components are similar.

The ability to enter these units and reassemble would take a lot of time and not be perfect as some ingenuity would be required in reassembly and that in itself annuls the integrity of the part.

Dealerships have set criteria and time boundaries for repairing cars and disrupting through flow by having vehicles stood about waiting to be fixed is not viable to a service environment.

JIT( just in time) supply chain was invented by the Japanese to cut down the cost of keeping massive inventories during manufacture it also applies in the service and repair sector ie; not having parts or vehicles stood around doing nothing.

I agree with that entirely, and of course it has to be viable which means not every part is worth repairing, but many are.  An example would be the power steering leak on the early LS400, Lexus wouldn't do it but the repair costs approximately £2.  An example from the Jag man last week was the diesel particulate filter on a car with 30K.  The main dealer wanted £2.5K to replace it but it was removed and cleaned by another company that the Jag specialist has contacts with, all working again for £300.

So yes, it has to be viable, and it's not so easy of course with electrical components, I'm thinking more of mechanical. 

[Chris Skelton]

Idly watching old 'Wheeler Dealer' on Quest channel (it rained....!) often pops up this concept.

Fixing, not replacing.

Just come from Garden centre, where you can BUY a garden; no need to actually PLANT anything. A bit like getting a new carpet...

Tis the modern world!

 

I have a review of Ser 1 (2?) LS 400 where they compare it with a Rolls and say it's better in all but status.

[The-Acre]

It's obviously different for a company wanting to make money, but...until last year I had a Vauxhall Vectra estate which I used for work, and a regular issue is the little plastic housed motor that operates the air re-circulation flap, it's a nasty Chinese made part.  It has 3 nylon cogs inside and a tooth always breaks off a cog making it click as it operates.  Not wanting to be beaten I took it apart and replaced the tooth cog with a piece of plastic from an old tooth brush which I fixed with glue and re shaped.  It lasted 5 years, so some DIY fixing is worthwhile just for the satisfaction of beating the system, and that's worth more than money! 

[ambermarine]

10 hours ago, The-Acre said:

I agree with that entirely, and of course it has to be viable which means not every part is worth repairing, but many are.  An example would be the power steering leak on the early LS400, Lexus wouldn't do it but the repair costs approximately £2.  An example from the Jag man last week was the diesel particulate filter on a car with 30K.  The main dealer wanted £2.5K to replace it but it was removed and cleaned by another company that the Jag specialist has contacts with, all working again for £300.

So yes, it has to be viable, and it's not so easy of course with electrical components, I'm thinking more of mechanical. 

Yes Phil 

 If you look through my archive I was the the guy who posted that fix way back then . I also  fixed  the LCD readout on the AC/ Temp/time display  on my Mark 1 but the latter took 14 hours and numerous emails trans Atlantic to a guy in San Fransisco who had sourced a manufacturer and programmed the LCD and sold them initially for the US market. He supplied me with the LCD and a RHD convertor as the original LCD was for LHD models.

It was a challenging task and done because Lexus did not have the part and I am particular in having the original status quo,looking back and bearing in mind the vehicle no longer exists one might ask , was it worth the effort, my response, of course," In pursuit of perfection".