Dr Kev. - Kam Servicing Network.

Hello Again!

Well, regular reader, what a weekend! Derby and Forest, face to face on the field. Derby on a trip to Forest's home turf; Forest, higher in the table, expecting a victory. And what happens? A 1 - 1 draw! What a result for the Derby lads! I'm not saying who should have won the game, but it was exciting to see the two local sides battling it out! And, as we're right on the border of the Derby/Forest territories, everyone is pretty happy with the result!

In my excitement over the footy, it had nearly slipped my mind that we are now deep in the dark depths of political conference season. Every time I flick on the news, there's an update from the Labour Conference in Bournemouth with another grey suited politician frothing the faithful into a frenzy. All very well and good, but I'm unconvinced that Conferences can act as anything more than rousing the already converted rabble. If politicians want to get more votes, then surely they should be listening to the country at large, not just the activists who will probably vote for them in any eventuality?

Anyway, away from politics for a second, this weekend was a very special one. No, I'm not talking footy (for once) - rather the fact that, for the first time ever, Kam was open on a Sunday! Yes, that's right. We've been promising Sunday opening for quite a time and now Sawley will be throwing its doors open seven days a week! This should, in theory, make everyone's life a lot easier - you'll have more time to get your car serviced and we won't have a mad rush on Monday mornings. However, it doesn't always work that way, as I'm about to relate...

Mr Swinton (name changed to protect his innocence) brought his Renault Laguna TDI in to us on Sunday morning for its MoT. During the course of the test, I noted that the radiator was in a frankly shocking state - but believe it or not, the radiator isn't an MoT failable item! So the car passed the test, but that radiator was worrying.

"To be honest, Mr Swinton, I'm not actually very happy about allowing you to take this car home." I said. As you know, I won't recommend work unless it is definitely needed - and if we didn't fix that radiator, I was worried that some serious damage would be done. "We've got a courtesy car available now, if you want to leave yours here for a new radiator."

"Thanks Kev, but I've got a load of tools in the boot, and all of my golf clubs. Plus I need to pick the wife up, she won't be happy if I'm delayed. Look, I'll drop the car off on Tuesday morning on my way to the golf club. You'll be able to sort it out then, won't you?"

I really wasn't very happy about this. But you know the old saying - you can show a customer a failing radiator but you can't make them top it up...

Anyway, the Laguna arrived as planned on Tuesday morning, but not under its own power! Mr Swinton had evidently forgotten to tell his wife how serious the problems with the radiator were, and she'd tried to take the car to work in Leicester. It doesn't sound so bad, until you realise that there had been an accident on the road and the traffic was at a standstill. Within moments the temperature gauge would have been standing to attention...

"Looks like you've got another head gasket job on your hands, Kev" said the AA man (who incidentally is becoming a well known colleague as he's brought so many timing belts into us - I'll come back to this later).
This didn't look good at all, so I dispatched Mrs Swinton with one of our courtesy cars and hauled the Laguna into the Tech Bay at Heanor, where we do all of our major work.

Well, regular reader, the job took around 11 hours. As you can imagine, I had my heart in my mouth as I was stripping the engine down - there could be some serious damage lurking within the aluminium cylinder heads.

But, as luck would have it, it was only the head gasket that had blown! The break was quite obvious between the third and fourth cylinders and, once the head had passed the re-facing and crack testing procedures with flying colours, it was relatively simple to get the Laguna put back together. Of course, all of this expense was totally unnecessary as I'd offered Mr Swinton a courtesy car on the Sunday and would have fixed the problem before it became even more serious...

From end to end, it took us a short three days to turn the Laguna around - that includes waiting for the engineering company to re-face and crack test the head to make sure that we weren't storing any problems up for the future. Even I was impressed!

Now, I've already mentioned timing belts once, but I'm going to come back to them now. I'm still getting cars coming in with broken belts - even after I've given owners verbal and written warnings - and there are still people out there wasting money on easily avoided engine repairs! I'm trying to save you money and aggravation, regular readers! Listen to Dr Kev!

With the winter rapidly closing in (and bringing plenty of colds and sniffles with it), it's time to think about booking your car in for a comprehensive Kam Winter Service. We'll ensure that every aspect of your car is ready for the cold, damp, inclement weather, to protect you from any unforeseen expenditure over the winter months.
Naturally, we can carry out checks like these on a Sunday down at Sawley, so give us a call and make an appointment. And, as I'll be in the workshop, why not come and meet Dr Kev face to face in his Surgery?

Until next week (or next Sunday if you're going to come visiting Sawley)

Dr Kev Allen