Booked her in for annual service and MOT

[Malc1]

my 1995 Ls400  N7GNT ..........  for 21st November   ......    242k miles now, drives a dream as ever ...... nothing squeals, beautiful smooth and happy drive ..  very fast and quick on kick-down and stops on a pinhead 

new indy mechanic tho' and just around the corner ..........  my usual indy gave up servicing cars etc earlier this year ........ shame coz he knows her inside out and back to front .  all the quirks and foibles  ....  been looking after my cars for some 15 ? years or so .....  let's see what this new guy has to say ..........  he is his own MOT station and Tester too .......... . fingers xd eh !

I'll keep you posted 

 

Malc

[Illogan]

Buy him a case of beer for Christmas - - it's always appreciated! (Assuming that he drinks beer!)

[Malc1]

He's a nice guy, old school .......  MOT Passed with one Advisory for a Ball Joint Dust Cover .  he'll sort it soon'ish, no rush he says, just book it in over the next couple of weeks and all will be well for another term  

Full Service   ....   Oil  Oil Filter  Air Filter  New Wiper blades  Stop Lamp Bulb   .  All levels and everything else checked, tyre pressures too ......  all brakes fine and raring to go for another 242k miles  ..  one live's in hope eh !   £210  all-up incl MOT

I'm happy . of course 🙃

Malc

[Tulpen]

My 'youngish' 460 (15years/130,000 miles) had its annual service and Dutch MOT a couple of weeks ago. It passed with no problems. The mechanic knows that I always ask about the air suspension, he told me that there is no sign of anything untoward. Over the weekend I read an article in the Daily Telegraph about the best maintained roads in the world. Holland came top followed by Switzerland. 

That, probably, explains why my air suspension is in such good condition. So, the only cloud on the horizon is my upcoming annual visit to my family in Scotland!   😞 

[BigBoomer]

NL roads are smooth,... but so much traffic! Nearly as bad as around here (anywhere within 50 miles of London) but with WAY better road surfaces.
CH roads are good if you go there in late summer. Not so good in spring when all the damage from the cold and from snow ploughs is not yet fixed. Also $£€₣.

Now Luxembourg roads used to be crap, but they have had a recent spending spree and the roads are mostly really good now.
Makes for a fun drive on pleasant twisty roads with great scenery and cheap-ish petrol.
Also, all public transport in Luxembourg (entire country, not that it's that big 😁) is free, so after a pleasant drive around the countryside you can park at your suburban hotel and take advantage of the free trams/buses/trains to the city centre for an evening of incoholic excess. 🤣

 

[Malc1]

11 minutes ago, BigBoomer said:

Also, all public transport in Luxembourg (entire country, not that it's that big 😁) is free,

you'd make a good travel agent  ........  are those free for residents of Lux -EU only ?

Malc

[BigBoomer]

4 hours ago, Malc1 said:

you'd make a good travel agent  ........  are those free for residents of Lux -EU only ?

Nope, free for anyone. All you have to do is carry ID. It can be a passport or ID card or driving license.
I've never been asked for mine but I assume it is so that they can deal with drunks passed out on the bus or deal with troublemakers.
https://luxembourg.public.lu/en/living/mobility/public-transport.html

[Malc1]

On 11/21/2022 at 3:17 PM, Malc1 said:

and everything else checked

and for the first time ever with a service  ( or ever full-stop )  he also greased-up the door hinges . ( a white type of grease, probably duck fat in time for Xmas 😃 )

seriously tho', would this ever be on a normal servicing schedule ?  just like caliper checking isn't !

Malc

[wharfhouse]

40 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

and for the first time ever with a service  ( or ever full-stop )  he also greased-up the door hinges . ( a white type of grease, probably duck fat in time for Xmas 😃 )

seriously tho', would this ever be on a normal servicing schedule ?  just like caliper checking isn't !

Malc

On and off I have had white (silicon?) grease applied to door hinges at various main dealer services (incl. Lexus and Toyota) and at independents - it's not on any service schedule I've seen for any make of car but does seem to get done sometimes - I assume it's just a quick squirt from a can. I've thought about buying some and doing it myself when it's been missed but every time I do it seems to get done at the next service!

[steve2006]

Looking at Car Mechanics magazine all the car servicing articles always included the white grease treatment of door hinges, catch plates, boot latch and bonnet latch.

It takes just a few minutes but saves many hours compared to sorting a seized up bonnet catch or broken cable.

The smear of petroleum jelly on Battery terminals is another and as previously mentioned calliper slide pins lubrication not required on even Lexus service schedules.

[Malc1]

5 hours ago, steve2006 said:

smear of petroleum jelly on battery terminals is another

not opened the bonnet yet . a job for tomorrow, opening the bonnet that is 🙃

Malc

[Razor61]

9 hours ago, Malc1 said:

and for the first time ever with a service  ( or ever full-stop )  he also greased-up the door hinges . ( a white type of grease, probably duck fat in time for Xmas 😃 )

seriously tho', would this ever be on a normal servicing schedule ?  just like caliper checking isn't !

Malc

Unfortunately I think this sort of thing was done in times gone by and now it’s only dedicated local garages that continue doing it and other stuff. A good friend of mine, Harold, was an excellent mechanic and served his time as a Jaguar mechanic iirc, he was meticulous and did the job ‘right’. Harold retired around 8 years ago from his own one man band garage and sadly passed away at the start of Covid, nothing to do with Covid though. People took their cars to him after a ‘so called service’ at another garage or main dealer, he despaired at the quality of work done before. Shoddy work, things not done when they should have been done, things not greased or cleaned when they should be, discs and pads thrown on without cleaning the calipers and greasing slide pins, etc etc etc.
Its rare to find a mechanic in the same mold as my friend Harold but you may have found one Malc.

[Bluemarlin]

I'm not aware of anything being greased when serviced but, once a year, when I give the undersides a spray of rustproofing, I go around all the hinges with a can of WD40 white lithium grease spray, as well as giving all the rubber seals a wipe with Gummi Pfledge. Only takes a few minutes.

[steve2006]

I purchased some of that Gummi Pfledge in a push up dispenser, it’s like trying to spread butter straight out of the fridge on bread 😀

[Bluemarlin]

2 hours ago, steve2006 said:

I purchased some of that Gummi Pfledge in a push up dispenser, it’s like trying to spread butter straight out of the fridge on bread 😀

The Gummi Pfledge I bouught is a llquid in a plastic bottle, with a sponge applicator on top. Goes on easily, like those shoe polish things.

[Rabbers]

Gummi Pflege with the sponge-pad is a great product but temperature-sensitive.  Goes on fine in preparation for winter, tends to drip pre-summer, though less annoyingly than it did before it was reformulated not so many years ago when the name was changed from Einszett to Nextzett.

[Rabbers]

On 11/21/2022 at 4:17 PM, Malc1 said:

… £210  all-up incl MOT

I'm happy . of course 🙃

Malc

Not surprised you were happy, Malc!  Sounds like a Black Friday deal, but I hope it wasn’t!

[Malc1]

3 hours ago, Rabbers said:

but I hope it wasn’t!

about what i normally paid in the past with my local chap, well, not so local now from whence i  moved home many years back

Always added a few hours return trip and fuel ......  so I'm actually now saving about 50 ltrs of fuel and the travelling time over two days too

Malc

[Malc1]

21 hours ago, Malc1 said:

not opened the bonnet yet . a job for tomorrow,

I did it today and  WOW  .  all bits that need spray lube/white grease stuff are done including the Battery terminals ......  I'm so impressed 

Malc

[Malc1]

On 11/21/2022 at 3:17 PM, Malc1 said:

one Advisory for a Ball Joint Dust Cover

going in Tuesday 3rd January to sort this out 

I'll report back

Malc

[Malc1]

2 x folding £20 notes covered the cost ok  ✌️

Malc