Thanks for your view, gordon. I try not be cynical, but I was an old bill for 30 years and here in my local environment those who matter know that.

I have known the guy who owns my local indy for quite some time. He's a good guy. But ... he's got very busy, taken on new staff, expanded, etc. Nowadays, I'm not so confident that I can discuss the car with him, and so on. And I'm not so confident about what I'm told.

As to the tyre place - I was in school with this guy. His business is almost exclusively built on word of mouth and his missis rules the place with a rod of iron. There's no glass palace reception, plenty of signs saying 'no customers beyond here', etc.

I watched the guy as he did my car (as close as he was) and passed stuff as necessary. Yes, we did need a blowtorch. I like this sort of place because you can actually see what's going on. It was very clear that the TREs hadn't been moved for quite a while.

What p***es me off is this. I try to live my life trusting people (although I'm ex old bill). I am happy to pay the going rate for work to be done on my car, but I expect to be treated as honestly as I treat the people I deal with. Is that too much to expect?

I suggest, and i mean this most sincerely folks...you have to be a certain age, answers on a postcard....that you should try a selection of modern cars out before even thinking of such a plan, the reality of modern cars doesn't hold up to the hype in my opinion.

I'm sticking firmly with my older stuff and will be staying Japanese too for the reliability and general ease of repair when needed.

Blimey, Gordon - I didn;t mean to set you off! Try a glass of dark rum (works wonders here).

There's no doubt in my mind that the local indy garages tend to get more popular and grow beyond what they started as.

I'd still be interested in your opinions - should I take the proprietor of my local indy (a friend) out for a beer and explain what's going wrong? Or just ignore it and try and find someone else?

The tyre fitter firm boss I referred to earlier is much more down to earth, and is much more amenable to a bit of fing and blinding.

Avant - thanks for your comments, appreciated.

I had a long chat with my son about this - he is a contemporary and friend of my Indy. My son ran a succession of cheapo 'bangers' and in the past the Indy was very good - finding the cheapest 'fixes' and even being happy to fit a cheap clutch pack bought via the internet (with the usual caveats, of c0urse).

(As a side thought, you actually need a fair bit of capital to run a 'cheapo', to pay for unexpected stuff or scrap and buy another, especially if you can't be without a car. That's why my son bought a Dacia on PCP and I don't think he's alone.)

He's raised these issues with the Indy as best as he can - it's almost always been a case of 'not really time for a good talk now, very busy, we'll meet up for a beer'. Doesn't happen of course.

He employs a couple of older guys who seem to know what they're doing but increasingly some younger ones who can change tyres, exhausts, etc. but don't give you confidence. And I note that if there's a problem there's very little time/interest in discussing symptoms. Sometimes there seems to ba an arrogance - 'you don't know what you're talking about, we'll plug the computer in'.

There have been some very good experiences. For example, I had a duff battery. He sent two guys in a van, jump started it, took it and fitted a new battery, brought it back, and only charged a very reasonable price for the battery. I had problems changing a headlight bulb, took it in, bulb changed, no charge (not even for bulb).

It's a confidence thing, I think. For example, as described, the thermostat and waterpump have been changed and all seems fine now. But, I've noticed a 'whispering' noise (a bit like driving along with a window slightly open) when the engine's running.Something to do with the heater/vent or something, it wasn't there before. Nothing to worry about, I'm sure, but in idle moments you wonder whether some hose wasn't reconnected properly/ a clip wasn't tightened. Turn the radio up and you don't notice it. When I used to fix my own cars I'd have spent hours locating and sorting it. (When I first had my M1000 I managed to locate a minor rattle from the engine. The oil filler cap was 1/8 turn loose!).

As to the Jag, I know that the X type is viewed as an abomination by purists. (I noted that the thermostat is shared with Transits). But of all the cars I've had and driven I think it's the one I'm most pleased with. Cost me £2700 three years ago and was a 'risky' purchase but has performed well. One day I'll sit down and do a spreadsheet of all I've spent - I suspect that the cost per mile will be very reasonable, especially as depreciation is not a factor. My annual trips to Andorra (hopefully to be repeated this year if I'm invited) involve 2500+ miles, so far without incident, in considerable comfort and quite economically (50+ mpg).

I suspect heart will rule head for a while to come yet.

Thanks again for the comments.

Edited by joegrundy on 09/04/2016 at 10:45