The Bandit

[Mr Funk]

It's home, it's legal and it runs.

By god does it run

[Mr Funk]

It's been a while...

So I'm guessing that most of you have seen the car back on the road by now. And if you haven't seen it then chances are you'll have heard it.

It actually came back late may/early june but I've just kept it a bit quiet so I could make sure that everything was as it should be and barring one or two problems (dropping the speedo gear in the gearbox, losing engine mount bolts etc etc) it''s been great fun.

The main difference is the engine, it's a very different beast. The lack or cold start can make things a bit fun in the morning but I'm not overly bothered about that, but it took a while to get used to the lumpiness of the cam.
It sounds like a Harley. And with the uprated throttle body you really have to kick the arse end out of the revs. At about 4k the whole thing opens up again and things go a bit mental.

So the other main bits are these:

*Sold the Sparcos..... then promptly bought them back. Plans are to change the interior round and hopefully they'll figure in that.
*The wheels need a damn good refurb
*The stereo needs sorting...

Yes, you read that correctly. The stereo needs fixing. Grab yourselves a can of Fanta dear reader, things are about to get rather angry......

Before we start I'd like to point out two things:

1: I'm really not all that angry. Unapproachable, quite possibly. I'm actually rather reasonable
2: As it stands at the moment I am waiting for a call back from the firm in question to discuss the problem. I will, of course, put their side of the story up when I hear it.

Okay.
So a couple of weeks ago I decided to fit the stereo (a wholly pointless task given the noise) and plugged everything in. Everything seemed fine but no matter how much I cranked the stereo up I could hardly hear anything.
with that in mind I thought the amp must be on the blink and decided I should get it tested. Took it to Halfords (say what you like, some of them know their onions) but they aren't able to test amps, only head units.
So, rather reluctantly I took it to the stereo firm I've been using for the past few years. I say reluctantly as lately I've got the feeling that they can't really be arsed with the little things, only the big projects. They have fantastic ideas, but nothing ever actually seems to get done.
Met the manager and asked for the amp to be bench tested on site. It was an £80 Ebay job so if it was fecked then I'd happily replace it. No problems he said, call the end of the week.

And so a few days later I receive an answering machine message informaing me that the amp has been shipped off to Alpine as they were unable to fix the problem.

"Okay" I think "They must know what they're up to"

So a week later I get a second call informing me that the amp is back and fully working.

Smashing!

Oh, wait a minute. It's all working but there's a £120 bill waiting for me as Alpine have a £100 standing charge just to look at kit.

At this point I get a bit touchy and point out that they never asked for permission to send it off or actually ask if that's what I wanted. The receptionist apologises and says that should I wish to get another amp they'd happily set the bill against whatever I went for.
Not exactly a golden reult seeing as I've ended up paying more for repairs than I actually paid for the trousers amp but I now have a working amp.

Only I don't.

Plugged it in again and still nothing. I return it to said company with a very simply worded explanation of why my head is steaming. I am fully aware that it may be a problem on my part but still want it tested

More apologises and promises to get it properly tested.

Still with me?

I go back last Friday to be told that they'e been busy and haven't sorted it. Not good enough. They promise to have it done by the time I get back from work. I duly arrive a few hours later and the lad behind the desk (the one positive part of this whole tale) has it hooked up so he can show me the problem, apparently everything was turned down by Alpine.

I go home and refit it.

Guess what......

So I throw everything in the Bandit and take it directly to the workshop where the lad (we'll call him Andy for sake of argument) sits with me and we hook everything up. Same problem.

It then dawns on us both that the amp wasn't the problem. It was the head unit. Plug speakers directly into the unit and it's fine but something on the outputs is trousers.

So, just so we''re all clear here, hers prognosis:

Amp not trousers
Head unit trousers
me £120 out of pocket because some lazy arsehole didn't just do as I asked.

Demanded that the manager actually call me and discuss but that was last Saturday and despite a call on Tuesday there's still been nothing. Now, in their favour, they've been out all week on a job and the receptionist has promised me that he'll call Friday.

But I'm not holding my breath.

[eefy]

I'd be fuming fella, I'd only be happy paying say £20 ie the cost to bench test the amp which would have resulted in no more works requried as it worked!!!!! not it not being bench tested but being sent straight off to Alpine to be fixed (its not their fault)

[PeteGLi]

Jim - you are legally entitled to refuse to pay for work which the company did on its own initiative without your authorisation.

[MacColl]

Yes they had no right to send it off I can see why you might have paid thinking cut your losses and you'll have your set up working.

This further enforces my total reluctance for anyone 'professional' to go near my car or parts.

[Mr Funk]

I think that's a rather short sighted view to be honest.

They've screwed and they know it. My reaction will now be based on how they deal with it. Unfortunately for both of us I no longer feel I can trust them but hopefully we can walk away from it with their reputation largely intact (I have no issue with their work, only their handling of this matter) and me reimbursed.
Saying that you wouldn't let so-called pros work on your car is cutting your nose off to spite your face. The garage I used to get the car back on the road is fantastic and I've known them all my car driving life (nearly 20 years). Without them my pride and joy would still be in bits.
You live and learn.

[MacColl]

Probably more an apathetic view TBH, I'm probably overgeneralising just had/having some bad experiences that's all. Didn't mean to get in to a my opinion is the law kind of chat.

I'm on your side mate.

[fonzooorooo]

My issue here is Alpine's £100 bench charge!

It's typical for electronic techs in the music industry to charge a £25-£35 bench charge, as that covers an hours labour for stripping down/testing/reassembly - that feels steep,(I certainly couldn't get away with it working on instruments!) but at least you can understand what you're paying for. How they can justify £100 to tell you that your amp's fine (especially bearing in mind that hooking it up to see what it's symptoms are would be the first thing they did!) is ... well.... a bit...

[Mr Funk]

An odd week and no mistake.

No return call from the firm, not surprisingly. So Tuesday I took the initiative and called them. Spoke to the Boy who apologised profusely (I'm seeing a pattern) and promised to call me the next day.

And oddly he did. Pretty much grovelled and promised to set everything straight, quite an odd feeling as I really don't like people bending over backwards to help me. Went to the workshop Friday and priced up some new headunits (all Alpine) and he promised to chat to the manager (who now happens to be on holiday) and get back to me. Got to be honest I was expecting much but then that all changed this morning....

So with Mrs F away i went and did the shopping this morning and as I'm queueing to pay the Manager collars me! In the middle of bloody Sainsburys!

Now, believe it or not I'm actually fairly shy. This can normally come across as being unapproachable and I tend to just grunt and look disinterested. It's a knack I picked up working in nightclubs and I'm told it can be terribly disconcerting as I tend to look as if I'm bored. I'm not, I'm listening to everything.
Anyhoo, with balls firmly in hand I told him how disappointed I was. Not angry, put terribly disappointed given the situation. He's got his little girl in tow so I kurb the language and he gets extra points for actually dealing with it there and then.
He makes a point of directing me to the better of the two headunits I'm looking at and gives valid reasons why and assures me that he'll make sure everything is sorted regardless of him being on holiday.

So am I convinced?

Um, no. Not entirely. His intentions are totally genuine but I think I'm once bitten, twice shy. I'll still use them for parts (i'm building another set of rear door card blanks: see below) as the quality is second to none. but I think I want to limit contact. Sounds odd but I find it really hard to hold a grudge and I really want to stay miffed about this. How this all ends now really depends on how they go about resolving everything.
But the big question is whether I can still recommend them.

Yes. Probably. You;ve read what's happened, you're probably aware of how angry I am but there's no denying how helpful and friendly they are. The products they punt are the best for the money and their advise is impartial and relevant. Okay, my experience hasn't been the best this time but that doesn't mean yours will be the same.

So those rear door blanks:

Mine are off to a better home (Birdy, who's only been waiting a year!) so even though I have a perfectly good set of regular ones I'm still not 100% on what's happening with the interior (those sparcos really are the finest seats ever) so I used another set and decided to cover all my bases.





Fronts need a layer of fibre glass and filler and they'll be done. Was going to fill them with foam but didn;t have any spare.

[Mr Funk]

Just a little update.

Still nothing from the firm in question. This is despite me actually going there a few times. Utterly foul customer services that will be repaid this morning with a Letter before Action. Let' see if that moves anything

[Mr Funk]

Quick update.

So next weekend I have the last, and best weekender in my year. Vw Action.

The wheels are Kurbed to feck, the door cards aren't as I need them the ones I was due to be picking up weren't able to get to the nationals and there's still an issue with the stereo (good and bad, read on!).

But do I care?

Nope. I'm about to convoy through the centre of the country with my mates to the finest weekend of the year (national not withstanding). I'll have my wife riding shotgun if she can get the day off and my little sister if she can't and I'm going to spend the weekend drinking beer and watching a car do 300 mph.

Things are pretty sweet.

So the stereo thing....
A final, ranty call to the firm actually got me through to the manager. He answered the phone and got both barrels. Yet more apologies have now sourced me a fairly sweet deal. For the cost price of the stereo and the money ive already spent I get the brand new headunit (will post when I remember it is but it's the brand new Alpine with Bluetooth and inbuilt Dab) plus fitting, plus them actually fitting an ariel (never actually had one) plus fitting and set up and the Amp has had a refit and come back with a guarantee.
I was never on the look out for compensation or anything stupid, I just wanted what I thought I was owed.

All this fits in with the winter plans. The beesting will need the wire to go through the headlining, something which needs changing anyway. With the rear windows out I can check and clean up the rubbers. Then the wheels need sending off and it'll be off to Mr Toad for another blow over.

Bring it!

[Benobatman]

I shall keep my peepers out for your car at action, ill be there all weekend

[Mr Funk]

And then the gearbox blew.

[Chaps]

is pic of you stopped on the side of the road when it happened jim?

[Mr Funk]

Yep.
Just caught up with the rest of the 15 car convoy, was turning into the service it clunked to a halt