Datsuncog Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 Cheers for the kind words, kids - somehow the crushing futility of dicking around with hopeless wrecks seems less unbearable if someone can get a giggle out of it. I mean, there are plenty of other much more interesting and worthy cars featured on these hallowed pages; there are staggering amounts of skilled and knowledgeable people offering helpful tips and a lifetime's hard-won expertise in the furtherance of shite motoring. But if my amateur ramblings and schoolboy errors at least can entertain and act as a solemn warning, then I'll happily wear that... I'm no writer, though I will admit to having bandied about 'motoring journalist' to a careers advisor in school... I did a few stints for local papers, a couple of articles in Car Sport (including the Ford Puma launch!) and some reader contributions to Popular Classics back in the day, but realised early on that it wasn't my bag at all. Posting on here exercises my writing muscle as much as I'm able to these days, and I'm flattered that it doesn't come across to everyone as merely unhinged ranting. I realised earlier on, with a bit of a jolt, that I've been arsing about with old cars for 21 years now... that's a lot of Swarfega and Isopon. I've started jotting down some of the more memorable escapades from over the years, so who knows... I may well have a crack at posting some of them up here before too long. Pillock and Split_Pin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 On 1/15/2018 at 7:21 PM, SiC said: Sound like me trying to fix cars. Grand ambitions for the day to achieve one thing at best. Does this have a temperature settable climate control? Yeah, tragically this works out as one of my better days... I really want to get KAZ running again. Even as a hopeless mess, that car never put a foot wrong and deserves better then being dragged off the drive by a skip truck! Fortunately, TAZ isn't fitted with climate control (RXE only?) - that would have blown my tiny mind completely. I've only had one car with a climate pack, and unfortunately it could never decide whether that climate was meant to be Djibouti during a heatwave or a particularly bracing day on the Fimbul Ice Shelf. Yes, it was an Alfa. On 1/15/2018 at 8:06 PM, BenHar said: Next time you spill brake fluid on paintwork wash it off with loads of water. It's hydroscopic, you know! ie. water soluble. Ben Thankfully, the incessant pissing rain proved handy for washing the spilled brake fluid away - it's an ill wind etc etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exiled_Tat_Gatherer Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I mean, there are plenty of other much more interesting and worthy cars featured on these hallowed pages; there are staggering amounts of skilled and knowledgeable people offering helpful tips and a lifetime's hard-won expertise in the furtherance of shite motoring.......... I think you'll find most of us are in the same 'category' that you too find yourself wallowing in on occassion. Even those 'gods' of the various forums have 'one of those days' - we just caouldn't put it into words anyway half as well........ I had to stifle the lols as I'm in the office ignoring another HR presentation! Hope the blower sorts it fella - looking forward to the next stint. Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 You have an excellent writing ability and I envy your ability to make things so readable and captivating. Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exiled_Tat_Gatherer Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 ....... and captivating. That's probably the goona elelctrics trapping him in the footwell again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
They_all_do_that_sir Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Based on your choice of train station and the front of your house I have a fair idea whereabouts you are.....If so I'm only down the road in Greenisland if assistance / tool borrowing is ever required... Unfortunately no garage at our current abode though! I think saucedoctor is up these parts as well Sent from my SM-A510F using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 ^^ Cheers man, I may need to take you up on that someday! Yeah, just down the road from you at Hillview, so no distance at all... and the very same offer applies, as I've a fair few random tools that I'm happy to lend! Not much XM stuff in the shed these days though, unless a rattlecan of Admiral Blue's any use to you? I note the good Saucedoctor's been a bit quiet of late, but hope to hear from him before long on these fine boards - or indeed in person! I'm liking the idea of a Junkyard Jewels meetup for NI shiters come the spring... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 So I left the house at 8:20 this morning, a little later due to the usual ZOMGSNOKAOS... And at 8:22, this blipped through on the (lightly brake-fluid perfumed) mobile device... Followed by this at 8:24... And finally this at 9:04, just as I was slip-sliding my way in through the doors at work. Full marks for getting a scrapyard part ordered on a Sunday afternoon to me by 9am on Tuesday; but no marks for subsequently having to dick around with waiting in for re-deliveries and/or taking time off work to slope off to some industrial estate during office hours to pick it up. I've already had lengthy arguments with couriers along the lines of "why can't you just leave the bastarding thing in the unlocked car down the side of the house like I asked on the delivery notes, scrawl whatever illegible spider you like on your little device, and stop playing a teasing game of hostages with my frigging parcel of worthless scrap?" (the response being "simply impossible, dear chap" - or words to that effect). I know it's one for the grumpy thread, but it never fails to amaze me how utterly astonished couriers/ utilities/ Royal Mail are that some people have jobs and are not at home all day, and therefore cheery offers to redeliver it at the same time tomorrow will be utterly pointless, and may invite further barrack-room language. Either open your depot a little bit later one day a week to allow the fixed-office-hours commuter bods an opportunity to pick up their bits and pieces, or introduce an option for "this parcel contains naught but rubbish, conceal it wherever you like around the outside of the house and I'll find it at some stage". That is all. EDIT: does YODEL actually stand for YOur DELivery? Anyone? catsinthewelder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I thought Yodel/Hermes etc just lobbed it on the roof of your house or similar? Sounds like a drop in service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 Cripes, I wish they did just lob them on the roof - round here they seem to go bananas about security. We once ended up in a two-week standoff over a secondhand kids' book about horses, of all things, costing 1p off Amazon marketplace... courier refused to push it through the letterbox without a signature, but wouldn't contact a neighbour ("my schedule's too tight") or deliver after 5pm ("not worth my while going all the way over to you for one delivery, pal"), wouldn't give us his address ("data protection, innit") and claimed he "didn't know" where the depot was located, so couldn't leave it there... it ended up going back to the sender. Complaint went nowhere. Also: a drawn out text message argument with a courier about a set of eBay roofbars which I'd specifically asked not to be sent recorded for this very reason, that were subject to multiple "Sorry you were out" cards and ignoring notes taped to the door asking them to leave it in the unlocked car not three feet away... "more than my job's worth, I can't go around forging signatures, I'd end up in prison..." A quick check on the Yodel website for a map showing my local depot indicates that it's located in a derelict bunglow on the foreshore. Yes, really. I believe it's actually a quarter of a mile away on a trading estate behind Lidl. But this is what we're dealing with, kids... will have to book tomorrow afternoon off just to go and pick it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
They_all_do_that_sir Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Cripes, I wish they did just lob them on the roof - round here they seem to go bananas about security. We once ended up in a two-week standoff over a secondhand kids' book about horses, of all things, costing 1p off Amazon marketplace... courier refused to push it through the letterbox without a signature, but wouldn't contact a neighbour ("my schedule's too tight") or deliver after 5pm ("not worth my while going all the way over to you for one delivery, pal"), wouldn't give us his address ("data protection, innit") and claimed he "didn't know" where the depot was located, so couldn't leave it there... it ended up going back to the sender. Complaint went nowhere. Also: a drawn out text message argument with a courier about a set of eBay roofbars which I'd specifically asked not to be sent recorded for this very reason, that were subject to multiple "Sorry you were out" cards and ignoring notes taped to the door asking them to leave it in the unlocked car not three feet away... "more than my job's worth, I can't go around forging signatures, I'd end up in prison..." A quick check on the Yodel website for a map showing my local depot indicates that it's located in a derelict bunglow on the foreshore. Yes, really. I believe it's actually a quarter of a mile away on a trading estate behind Lidl. But this is what we're dealing with, kids... will have to book tomorrow afternoon off just to go and pick it up.Not sure if they are still there but the depot was behind Lidl at one point. Hermes happily leave stuff in the back of the XM Sent from my SM-A510F using Tapatalk Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hooli Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Most couriers have an option of 'we can leave it anywhere but it's your fault if it goes missing', I guess thinking is too much for yodel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 Well, Yodel are claiming that the sender has insisted on a signature from the addressee before they'll release it... so are still refusing to just leave it in KAZ's passenger seat, or with our genuinely lovely next-door neighbour who's off on maternity leave and will happily take in parcels for us. Honestly. On the other hand, having partaken in a spot of e-business (mostly selling LPs) I know some sellers do insist on only sending parcels as signed-for delivery, to prevent twats receiving the goods but then claiming a full refund because "it never arrived m8". Some lovely people* appear to consider it a victimless crime as the seller can claim the loss back against Royal Mail/ courier, but there's usually a 3 month+ backlog, plus all manner of arseache sending original receipts and proof of postage etc. As with this current fad for claiming travel insurance compensation for unverifiable food poisoning on holiday, it seems that there's a surprising amount of blatant dishonesty around these days... Sorry, this seems to be turning into my own personal grumpy thread... please don't report me. Normal car service will resume shortly - planning on bunking off early today and retrieving the blower before the depot shuts, and then trying to decide whether swapping them over in the dark and swirling snow by torchlight is a reasonable option. Also checked the pollen filter against ECP's piccies and it is, naturally, the more expensive of the two - but at least they have them in stock. Sadly, neither of the Belfast branches is anywhere near me and I'm disinclined to make a lengthy bus journey up the Cregagh Rd, so it may wait until Saturday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Don't ECP have free delivery? If you really want to go that route... Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 ^^ £4.95 surcharge in Northern Ireland for ECP delivery orders. Also takes 3 days, so I may as well just tootle over on Saturday... I'd love to just use my local parts indie, as they're nice friendly people, but they achieved a 4/4 fail rate at ordering in the right parts for various cars last year, and I simply find it too embarrassing to have to keep going back to them again and again before giving up, getting a refund, and going over to ECP anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendry Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Would a pollen filter not be cheap from even the main dealers? and easier to get? and definitely going to be the correct part unlike ECP? Although I think in NI the Renner dealer is Charles Hurst who despite being owned by Lookers who supposedly are a decent company to deal with, I hear Hursts themselves are NIs equivalent of Arnie Shark over here in Scotland. They_all_do_that_sir 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 Sadly, my nearest Charles Hurst Renault dealership is even further away than ECP, and considering the fearsome quotes I got from their Toyota wing for a Yaris water pump, I doubt they'd be any cheaper... there's two possible pollen filter types for a Laguna of this age, one at £8 and one at £16 - and it turns out it's the £16 one that I need (the one that's in it may well be the original, so I probably shouldn't begrudge it!). Having said that, I might stumble across another ECP flash sale discount code, as they seem to be hammering those this week (50% off in some cases), so I may get lucky. And yes, what you hear is probably correct - I'm not sure I'd really want to darken the door of Hurst's, even if my bollocks were on fire and they were handing out free buckets of water... [Not that they'd ever give anything away for free] Some of the slimiest, snobbiest, sleaziest salesmen ever to crawl from the deepest recesses of Hades appear to work there... yes, I've had a few bad experiences with them before. Plus, they were hammered by Trading Standards for billing customers for servicing that they hadn't bothered doing... and then tried to salvage their reputation by taking part in a local reality TV series called 'House Of Cars' - which just showed them up as devious, self-serving, underhand bastards. Yet they have the new and used car market pretty much sewn up in NI, more's the pity. Although... I'm now half-tempted to take the oul Renner over and dump it beside their Maseratis and Ferraris at the Charles Hurst Prestige area on Boucher, just to see the panicky look on their faces... Hurst's doesn't really encourage shite on their forecourt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
They_all_do_that_sir Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Hursts are a shower, Mrs bought a brand new clio off them and they wouldn't even include floor Mats the stingy buggers. I'm told any car they get in as a trade in with a value sub £5k gets punted straight up to Wilson's auctions. This may not be the case anymore mind as I seem to remember seeing them operate another site in Boucher for "budget" cars. Their motorcycle division isn't terrible, they are Yamaha main dealers and when I had the XJ600 they supplied me with some bits and bobs for reasonable money. Sent from my SM-A510F using Tapatalk Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 They are indeed a bit of a shower... (though agreed, the bike end seems a bit more approachable - friend bought a Honda Shadow off them way back when, and they were grand). Mrs DC had considered chopping in her Yaris a few years back so we trawled the Boucher showrooms, and the bad vibes off the Hurst staff was unbelievable - presumably because we'd arrived in my Cortina estate. Put me right off them, bunch of supercilious, patronising, sarcastic wankers. Plenty of colourful tales from customers while working at Halfords, too (see also: Shaw's Citroen). I suspect they supplied TAZ new via Hurst Fleet (Belfast plate, initially a company car for Shorts/Bombardier), and KAZ definitely passed through their mitts at some point, as the rear plate still carries the dealer mark as well as 'Hurst Quality Used Cars' tax & MOT disc holders. The Poor Old Yaris also came from them new, too - and they seriously bilked Mrs DC over its first service. I was, at one point, interested in a blue Volvo V40 listed for auction up at Wilsons that had come in via a Hurst trade-in - but it turned out to be a total shed with rampant rot, EML woes and a badly cracked screen, plus looked like a cete of quite argumentative badgers had been living in it until fairly recently. So I didn't. It went through the auction every week for several months with no takers - think it had a highly optimistic 'buy it now' price of £1000, too. Is their 'budget' unit that one on the corner of Boucher Crescent? If the Volvo was representative of their stock, I think I'll continue to take my chances with this forum... Part of me is now wondering whether to drive up there on Saturday to look for bits, out of sheer devilment. Split_Pin and They_all_do_that_sir 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
They_all_do_that_sir Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Have been tempted to rock up to shaws in the XM and ask for LHM or some such Sent from my SM-A510F using Tapatalk Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendry Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Hursts are a shower, Mrs bought a brand new clio off them and they wouldn't even include floor Mats the stingy buggers. I'm told any car they get in as a trade in with a value sub £5k gets punted straight up to Wilson's auctions. This may not be the case anymore mind as I seem to remember seeing them operate another site in Boucher for "budget" cars. Their motorcycle division isn't terrible, they are Yamaha main dealers and when I had the XJ600 they supplied me with some bits and bobs for reasonable money. Sent from my SM-A510F using TapatalkHursts are a weird one, when I worked at Arnold Clark we got some 2007 Astras in on Scottish plates, SK07 something but with ‘Vauxhall Charles Hurst Belfast’ on the number plates rather than NI plates, not sure what the sea was with that. A guy I worked with a couple of years back had an Astra too, NI plated with Hurst number plates on it and it was THE rustiest Astra mk5 I’ve ever seen, infact the only one I’ve seen ever that had anything that wasn’t rust through stone chips. It must be a weird set up where you guys are because Hursts seem to operate HiQ fast fit tyre places that main franchise dealers over here wouldn’t get involved in, plus they seem to deal with manufacturers their parent company Lookers over here have pulled the plug on completely and exited the franchise entirely such as Jeep, Citroen, Peugeot, Toyota. I doubt they still punt sub 5k value cars up the auctions as their website seems to be littered with things like: ‘First Time Buyers Centre’ or ‘usedirect’ which was a brand their Taggarts division in Scotland binned years ago, things like cars under £5000 division, and heavily pushing cheap cars with free insurance for young drivers. I see they’ve also moved into the republic as well with their usedirect, premium direct and Audi franchised dealerships in Dublin too. Do Donnelly & Taggart still trade over there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 They're definitely on a peculiar set-up, Hurst... a lot of long-term franchised dealers in Northern Ireland went under in the last number of years, leaving Hurst to scoop up the business instead, somehow. I didn't know they were part of Lookers, so that's interesting that they seem to have a lot of autonomy in their manufacturer dealings. Yeah, Donnellys are still going, on a similar basis - about nine different sites across NI, covering most major mass-market marques bar Ford, Nissan and Mazda (off the top of my head I think they do Fiat, Alfa, Citroen, Peugeot, Renault, Dacia, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Land Rover, Seat, Honda, Toyota and Suzuki) - so quite a lot of overlap with Hurst, and plenty of others (Mervyn Stewart is the Fiat/Alfa main stockist, I think). Maybe they mop up annoyed ex-Hurst customers... though the only Taggarts I know is a small used car place locally, so think the big Scottish chain must have pulled out/rebranded? I had a much better handle on these things ten years ago when I was still in the trade, but these days I hardly have a clue who's still operating/merged/bust... as a kid, I grew up on the 'car mile' in my hometown, with six different new car showrooms along one stretch plus a few used car lots - and I loved to see the new models appearing. But they're all long gone now! Surprisingly few fast-fit chains operating in NI now - since ATS pulled out, I think it's Kwik-Fit, HiQ or independent local chains (Modern Tyre Services, Magowan). I tend to go to Magowan's for tyres, as their prices are pretty competitive and they usually have a midrange/premium tyre maker on offer at any given time. Hendry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
They_all_do_that_sir Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Magowens are very easy to deal with. Very friendly crowd. My mum travels from Millisle to get her tyres done there because they have great customer service. Means she can call in here on the way home too... Sent from my SM-A510F using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 As a very minor update to the blower issue, the package from the scrappie in Derry was collected yesterday from Yodel's local depot. Despite the frozen conditions and my own grim mood, the woman on the front desk was probably one of the most pleasant and cheery people I've met in a long time, and fetched my parcel in a matter of seconds. So fair play. This depot is helpfully located in Co.Antrim's answer to Pripyat, the semi-derelict and part-demolished Courtauld's synthetic fibres factory site, known locally as 'Sellafield' owing to high concentrations of toxic materials in the ground. Very atmospheric, in a grim USSR-type way. On the way in, I'd spotted a distant brace of unloved shite huddled together on a section of wasteground - a Citroen C5 and headlightless Volvo S80 - and thought it would be interesting to investigate further... ...but I quickly became aware that the ground was extremely boggy and very uneven, with hugely deep puddles. In a mild panic, I wheeled round and bounced my way back to the tarmac before I either fell into a flooded shaft, got embarrassingly stuck, or someone in hi-viz came to shout at me (I have form in all those areas). Opening the parcel later on revealed... something very similar to the thing I already have, but hopefully less broken. If indeed the current one is broken - there's considerable doubt and head-scratching going on here. Plan is to try fitting this on Saturday and see if it permits me to use all four blower settings successfully... or if I am indeed a HBOL-misled idiot and there's a PCB somewhere further up behind the dashboard that I failed to notice last week, which is the true source of my woes. Either way, hopefully I have all possible parts to fix it now. Then I can try to work out why sometimes the heater is hot, and sometimes the heater is cold. Given the general neglect this car is showing, I've a fair idea why... Dirk Diggler and somewhatfoolish 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Err. Is there only 2 pins that go to motor? If so and if it's the resistor pack, then it's probably unlikely to fix it! Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Yep, that thought struck me as soon as I hit 'Buy It Now'! No part of the resistor pack renewal thread on Renault Forums resembled anything below the dash on this '98 Series 1 Phase 1 (though it was a S1 Phase 2 car the thread referred to), and the HBOL advises that there are multiple types of blower (though again, what they say and what I've got don't match either). Haynes advises that on aircon models such as mine, the resistor pack is built into the top of the blower motor, and can't be replaced separately - an entire new blower motor is needed. Whenever I took the blower shroud off on Sunday, I did indeed find some electrical components with a vague resemblance to the items described on Renault Forums (three springy looking things, and possibly a resistor of some sort): What RF said I'd find: What I actually found: Now, I've been battling a sick feeling all week that there is, in fact, another multiplex block going into a plastic box further up and ultimately attached to a PCB, but I really couldn't see anything resembling that - just the two pins from the blower, one going back over towards the switchgear and fuse box and the other (presumably) earthing somewhere behind the bulkhead. You're probably laughing your leg off here, and you're no doubt quite correct to do so, as I know there must be connections to and from the blower fan switch on the dash - but jiggered if I can see them. My electrical idiot brain seemed to think the live feed runs through the switch, even though I can remember just enough from CDT in school to know that that probably ain't so. The replacement blower comes with a thirty day refund option (I'll just have to stump up for the return postage) so if I don't need it, I'm not too suckered. So I suppose the moral here is eBay in haste, repent at leisure... there can't be many shiters who haven't felt that! The weekend will reveal all! (Even if "all" = "my supreme ignorance") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hooli Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Are these like the phase two cars where everything goes through the UCH for maximum unreliability? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendry Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 They're definitely on a peculiar set-up, Hurst... a lot of long-term franchised dealers in Northern Ireland went under in the last number of years, leaving Hurst to scoop up the business instead, somehow. I didn't know they were part of Lookers, so that's interesting that they seem to have a lot of autonomy in their manufacturer dealings. Yeah, Donnellys are still going, on a similar basis - about nine different sites across NI, covering most major mass-market marques bar Ford, Nissan and Mazda (off the top of my head I think they do Fiat, Alfa, Citroen, Peugeot, Renault, Dacia, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Land Rover, Seat, Honda, Toyota and Suzuki) - so quite a lot of overlap with Hurst, and plenty of others (Mervyn Stewart is the Fiat/Alfa main stockist, I think). Maybe they mop up annoyed ex-Hurst customers... though the only Taggarts I know is a small used car place locally, so think the big Scottish chain must have pulled out/rebranded? I had a much better handle on these things ten years ago when I was still in the trade, but these days I hardly have a clue who's still operating/merged/bust... as a kid, I grew up on the 'car mile' in my hometown, with six different new car showrooms along one stretch plus a few used car lots - and I loved to see the new models appearing. But they're all long gone now! Surprisingly few fast-fit chains operating in NI now - since ATS pulled out, I think it's Kwik-Fit, HiQ or independent local chains (Modern Tyre Services, Magowan). I tend to go to Magowan's for tyres, as their prices are pretty competitive and they usually have a midrange/premium tyre maker on offer at any given time. Taggarts are definitely still on the go over here, they were massive with about a dozen British Leyland dealerships, they diversified into other marques in various locations across Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Fife, took over other dealers and ended up with Nissan, Renault, Fiat, Saab, Land Rover, Jaguar, Rover, LDV etc. then the recession hit in 1991 and they slimmed down to their original 2 branches, one in Glasgow one in Motherwell, and got rid of a few franchises, over the years they had brief flirtations with other branches, then, actually via Hursts they bought Taggarts in 2003 (Hursts has been Lookers owned since 1996) and were Rover, Mazda, Hyundai, Jag, Land Rover dealers, then Rover went down the tubes, Volvo was added, Peugeot was added, then Mazda changed to Nissan again, then Peugeot was dropped again, they took over another Land Rover dealer Shields in Glasgow for around £9million, then took over Lomond Audi in Glasgow, Ayr, Stirling and Edinburgh, however recently Nissan and Hyundai were rebranded Lookers, as were the Audi branches, so all that remains of Taggarts branding is Jag, Land Rover and Volvo, they have 3 Land Rover dealerships and did have 2 each Volvo and Jag but just spent £12million on 2 new Jag and Volvo showrooms next to Glasgow Airport and closed the other 4 existing branches down. So yeah they are very much alive up here still. As for the fast fit thing, it just surprised me a franchised main dealer group running HiQ centres, something which wouldnt be seen at all in England, Scotland or Wales. Ford seems to be an omission from the brands represented by most of NIs dealer groups, think thats because the Ford UK owned Trust Ford group owns them all. Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsuncog Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 Well. A cold and frosty Saturday morn dawned, with snow still covering the lawn from Monday's blizzard conditions, and the thermometer showed just above freezing. Perfect weather for a battle of wits between an automotive imbecile and high quality* Renault electrics, you’ll agree. TAZ sat on the drive, softly matte from Jack Frost’s caress, waiting. I’m still not convinced this car doesn’t hate me, just a little. So the condemned man (moi) was dispatched out into the frost with a rapidly cooling mug of Kenco and the highly dubious HBOL (fantasy edition), and of course the obvious happened. I ran away. Well, maybe not quite like that. First, I slipped on the gravel, which had frozen into a solid mass down near the door, slopping coffee all over my rakish Lidl polycotton work jumper. A brief strategic withdrawal to get changed brought a new and tempting thought - perhaps I ought to ease mind and body into a winning frame of mind by first creating a win. You see the logic at work here, yeah? The Kenwood head unit destined for Mrs DC’s Yaris has been occupying prime hall console real estate since Christmas and anyway, fitting a head unit is a doddle. Usually. I’d fitted an old Sendai CD/Aux unit to the Yaris back in November, just one of many assorted car stereos that I’d mysteriously ended up with (I believe this one had been fitted to UKZ, the £50 scrap Laguna I bought chiefly for the towbar only to find the mounts had been mashed in a previous rear-end shunt) so that my dear OH could listen to podcasts to and from work rather than Steve Wright’s daily smugathons. Unfortunately, several years in a damp Lag and then a damper shed may have scrambled the unit’s electronics somewhat, as it’s been glitchy and unreliable from the off. It also had no input for steering wheel controls, and so Santa delivered the above Kenwood CD/USB unit which should remedy these issues. As the factory (shaped) CD unit is now gone – and doing sterling service in another forum chum’s nephew’s Yaris – and necessary fascia plates already in place, it was just a straight swap from old to new, with the steering wheel control plug now finding a home in the new adaptor harness. In theory. So in best January tradition, it was out with the old… And in with the… hang on. Nope, that ain’t right. The Yaris’s control plug and the corresponding socket on the new harness are not on speaking terms. While the car’s wiring can accept two small blade terminals, the new harness wants to give three micro terminals instead. Errrr… A quick flick through the paperwork indicates that the eBay vendor has sent me the wrong harness. I’d ordered an adaptor set for a 2001-2005 Yaris but despite what the delivery docket and the sticker on the front of the packaging may state, I appear to have received one for a 2005-2010 Yaris instead. Back inside, my frozen fingers slowly tapped out a friendly yet firm email to the vendor, with photos and screenshots to show the discrepancy. EBay sent me a helpful automated email to say that I’m outside the return period. Balls. Feeling my car-fixing mojo ebbing away somewhat at this unexpected turn of events, I trundled back out to the arctic circle and finished the Kenwood install using the non-steering wheel control harness bought a matter of weeks ago for the Sendai, reasoning that even if the controls aren’t functional it’s no worse than before. I also realised that, unlike my previous Blaupunkt, JVC and Pioneer head units, this jobber doesn’t have a dedicated socket in the back for the steering wheel controls – instead it just has a fairly half-arsed loop of wire projecting from the cabling, which in turn would necessitate stripping and joining onto the harness somehow, with a spot of guddling in the shed for some suitable connectors thrown in. Perhaps it’s best to leave it for another day… Looks okay once in, though – and with a much more muted display than the old Sendai’s retina-fizzing LCD panel. A quick blast of DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing’ helped set the levels, and also informed me that there are no speakers in the back of this car; something I’ve utterly failed to notice despite living with it for ten years now. I also ran the cordless vacuum over the Yaris interior, as it was absolutely vile. I always think that I’m astonishingly lax when it comes to in-car hygiene, and then I sit in the Yaris… So. Indoors for another quick jolt of heat, and another coffee that managed to stay in the cup this time. There was no getting away from it – I’d have to test the bastarding combined blower motor and resistor pack for the Lag. With an air of fatalism, I found my Torx socket set and picked up the secondhand part, before setting out into the bitter Co. Antrim tundra. I informed Mrs DC that I may be some time. [TBC] Dirk Diggler, privatewire, mat_the_cat and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hooli Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 May the gods of shite smile upon your holy mission.... Datsuncog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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