anyone have experience of this bunch? (i'm not sure if i can name this company). i've had reason to ring them several times in my short but turbulent motoring career. thing is, every time i try to sound them out on the phone, they try to get rid of me.

i had a leaky rear diff in a quattro A4 and they told me there was nothing they could do- find another diff. i had an integra with a growling noise. 'scrap it, mate', he almost said. there was at least one more occasion when they suggested scrapyards. on all occasions, my friendly local grease monkey came to the rescue, at not very frightening cost.

i can't understand what a transmission expert is supposed to do if he can't do what a garden variety mechanic does.

is there somewhere else i can find out if my gearbox is in trouble? i've had serious outlays of cash and i'm not in the mood for a mis-behaving gearbox.

Don't know em, but they don't sound too impressive!

Maybe they specialise in Trucks or JCBs or something....

ivanovoitch wrote: Have you actually seen them dressed in womens clothing? Or are you just presuming they dress that way based on their lack of mechanical knowledge?

pmsl....

steady on, bmwcare.

well he's a businessman. on each previous occasion, i paid money to fix the car. simple. no witchcraft, no mystique, just a simple, mutually beneficial transaction. i paid, they repaired and we both won. what would you say about a man, in business, who can't comprehend this simple principal? unfortunately, i may have to overlook his shortcomings as i need someone with is skills and such persons are in short supply. 'will it hurt to do some background checks?', i thought. werll yes, apparently.

most don't give a fiddlers over who tolerates who or not. if his personal opinion of individual customers guides his business, then his judement can't be the greatest anyway (well look at the company he keeps, i suppose). your principals are great for making your 'tilting at windmills' anonymous grand stands on messageboards and maybe down the pub, but they're not so good when you try to pay for the groceries. any businessman will tell you that.

i think we've argued about this mechanic "not tolerating people" thing before, bmwcare. you seem to have some kind of hero-worship thing happening with them. it may be a deep-seated low self esteem issue, possibly. maybe you should think about it. one thing's for sure, you seem to have that opinion 'you big, me small' idea all to yourself.

in fact, i'm sure most people here wouldn't land their pride and joy at the gate of some nameless, faceless cave-dweller and hope the mood to do a good job might take him. a phonecall is just a simple precautionary credential check. would you feel you've done yourself justice if you knew it was the first bmw box he's ever opened? you'd prefer if he knew them inside out, i'm sure.

so come out and tell us all- what is it with this weird adulation with mechanics??

actually, don't bother. you've kind of ruined the topic now. can we agree just to not post in each other's threads?? either of us resorting to leaving the forum would be a little bit irrational, i think.

thanks to everyone who has tried to help BTW.

care.

you need a therapist or a girlfriend.   ideally, a girlfriend who is a therapist.

you really need to leave your little vendetta/ obsession behind you. that's the healthy thing to do.

just go get on with your life. that's what i'm doing.

(ps, i've found someone to work on the car, so you can tell everyone in the phonebook about me if you like. but i will be telling no one about you)