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Re: [LUG] OT: Cars was Re: Is anyone actually going today?

 

Had heard Haynes Manuals had gone bust b


On Sun, 2011-02-06 at 18:22 +0000, Rob Beard wrote:
> On 06/02/2011 13:40, Gordon Henderson wrote:
> > On Sun, 6 Feb 2011, tom wrote:
> >
> >> On a lot of modern cars there is an attempt to prevent you accessing 
> >> the cars computer via DRM laws etc. There was a law going through the 
> >> European Parliament to make it illegal to have your car looked at 
> >> anywhere other than an approved garage. Not sure if it got kicked out 
> >> or put to one side for later.
> >
> > There's something called the "Block Exemption" law passed in 2003 
> > which means that your car manufacturers warranty is valid if it's 
> > serviced at a non-manufacturer owned garage, but AIUI, it still must 
> > be "approved", however I don't know who does the approval - I suspect 
> > you need the right diagnostic kit and facilities. Once outside 
> > warranty, then it's up to you, of-course.
> >
> 
> I guess in a way I'm lucky that my warranty has run out.  It'll be a few 
> years before I can afford a car young enough to have a warranty.
> 
> > I've just used the facilities of http://www.servicingstop.co.uk/ to 
> > get my car serviced and MOTd, however I would not recommend them, nor 
> > will I use them ever again as their price was actually higher than 
> > Mercedes would have charged me for a standard "level 2" service - 
> > Merc. includes all the consumables in the price they give you, 
> > Servicing stop didn't - and they didn't warn me of this either. I also 
> > found it very frustrating to have to deal with a call centre (in the 
> > UK) who then called the garage, etc. rather then deal with the garage 
> > directly. They seem to tie the garages up into exclusivity contracts 
> > too, so while I was happy with the garages work, I can't go directly 
> > to them, but must always use Servicing Stop...
> >
> 
> Ahh I see so they're like a scheme for garages to get customers?
> 
> I'll make a note to avoid them.
> 
> > My cars original 4-year warranty expires this month anyway, so I'll be 
> > shopping around for the next service, and doing bits of it myself - 
> > changing oil/filters, coolant and brakes isn't a big deal for me, but 
> > the garage can use their diagnostics to check the tuning, emissions, etc.
> >
> 
> I use Mobile Car Services who are based in Torquay, I believe they don't 
> have a web site but they can be found on Facebook here 
> http://tinyurl.com/mobilecarservices
> 
> Although I think it's about time I did learn the basics.
> 
> > And does anyone actually check the service records when buying a 2nd 
> > hand car privately? I'm not sure for a car over 6-8 years, it's worth 
> > it unless it's a really good car...
> I've had a look at the service history on my car.  Isn't much there, 
> tyres, brakes, that's about it.  I'm going to get the cam belt and water 
> pump done as a precaution as I don't know when they were last done.
> 
> Rob
> 
> 



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