[Trixie]

It looks like another visit from the Puma doctor is in order. During the last 3 months he's been out to me on average once a month to fix the work another "mechanic" did.

I recently moved back to the Isle of Man and on recommendation from a friend I took the car to his mechanic. I spent £300 and got the oil leak from the crankshaft fixed and got the cambelt/tensioner sorted at the same time. I wasn't particularly happy with the work he'd done as I believed the timing was out, plus the engine was making a strange whirring sound. I took it back and he said he couldn't hear anything and pretty much dismissed me as a silly girl.

Rather than fighting a losing battle with this guy, I tried my luck with a mobile mechanic who luckily has turned out to be fantastic, and a fan of cars of this era. Turns out that not only was the timing out but the muppet had fitted the cambelt the wrong way round! I was told that I was lucky I'd noticed something was wrong and had called him, otherwise I might have been looking at a new engine! The poor car has also now developed an oil leak in exactly the same place as it was before, so I'm presuming this muppet has possibly pinched the seal or something. Either way, in the past 3 months my Puma has cost me around £600, with another £150 or so to get this latest problem solved. Added to this I still need to get the wheelarches sorted but that's going to have to wait until I've saved a bit of money. However, after nine years of driving it I still love my car and I still think it's worth it. Besides, I can't afford much for another car, so who knows what horrors I might be buying?

I guess the moral of the story is that we still take pot luck with mechanics even on recommendation, and when we find a good one, don't let them go!!

[happy-kat]

Hopefully you will get to the bottom of your lastest mechanical experiences and be purring again soon.

[Trixie]

Cheers. I hope so too! The car is running pretty well atm; it's just the oil leak and wheel arches letting it down. I'm determined that it will be sorted and back in tip top health soon, though!