Interesting video here ... a Monaro owner took his car to his VX dealer to fix a coolant leak.
The mechanics took it for a test drive to see if the leak was fixed.
What the garage didn't realise was the owner has a Roadhawk video & GPS recording device fitted, which when examined later, showed the 'test drive' included some highly illegal driving, with speeds of over 125mph.
Anyone remember the parking attendants in the Ferrari, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E66BDZ0PShM
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Happens all the time, doesn't it? Certainly did even 40 years ago when my young friends were apprentice mechanics.
Hence some of the mystery engine maladies that appear after a visit to the workshop.
The moral is, anyone with a high performance car needs to sit in the waiting room and go with them on the test drive!
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A Honda dealer in N Herts had a rather hefty payout to make a few years ago after an NSX in for service found itself 3 miles away wrapped rather firmly around a tree one lunchtime. One of the young mechanics in it was quite badly injured IIRC.
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A friend of mine had an immaculate 3 year old Honda CRX in the mid 90's. On a vist to a Honda dealer for a service she got a call to say that on a 'road test' it had demolished a wall and ended up in someone's front garden. She went ballistic - cue one very apologetic Honda dealer!
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About 18 months ago, I saw a very badly damaged Jaguar XK near to where I live - smashed into some metal railings. Car was probably a right off. The car was actually brand new and customer expecting to collect it the next day. Someone had gone to fill it up with petrol.....
.... except the Jaguar garage near me is opposite a petrol filling station ;-) Unless the driver was told to go to the Shell garage or something.
Someone was about to be disappointed.
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>>One of the young mechanics in it was quite badly injured IIRC.
Good, hope it really hurt.
MD
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Has anyone ever received a NIP that was timed for whilst the car was in at the dealers? I'm sure it must happen, and I'm interested how much grief one has to go through to prove who was driving in this case...
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A similar story on www.barryboys. com. Because there's some bad language, I won't post a link. However, if you log on to the barryboys site, go to General Barry Discussion and look for "Barry Works @ Garage, "tests" BMW at 140mph.." you'll see the thread I'm on about.
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When I was 17, a car mad mate of mine served his apprenticeship at a local Saab dealer. He took one of the very first 99 Turbos for a predelivery spin and never came back. The car was found wrapped around a tree 50 metres from the road. The driver's body was 10 metres away from the car, having gone through the windscreen. His head was... I'll go no further, you get the message. The incident had a very significant, if rather brief, effect on the standard of all our driving.
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Wow I willkeep an eye on mine when its next due for a service :)
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I'll 'do' the Jimny meself.
MD
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Not sticking up for these idiots, but I recall a Jag XJ6 which came in with a coolant leak.
We traced it to the heater matrix, and after consulting the customer, we agreed to try Barr's Leaks as a cheap fix.
I took the Jag for a drive of about 15 miles to circulate the goo.
Came back, and it was still leaking.
My gaffer asked me how far I'd been, shook his head at the answer, and then sent me out to do at least 30 miles.
Came back, and this time the leak was cured.
The extended test drive could have been seen as a joyride by the owner.
I did give that Jag a bit of wellie, although there was no need to (significantly) break any speed limits.
Edited by ifithelps on 12/10/2009 at 21:03
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@ifithelps, I agree, some problems (and fixes) will need miles to manifest themselves ... and as you say, no need to grossly exceed speed limits.
I'd like to have been an observer when the VX service team were shown the video evidence :-D
Of course, the video is interlinked with GPS data so it shows the start & end points of the journey, the time and the route .... bang to rights!
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Of course the video is interlinked with GPS data so it shows the start & end points of the journey the time and the route .... bang to rights!
Looking at the linked video, you get footage from what looks like a camera in the bonnet, various figures including a big speedometer, and a google maps type display showing where the vehicle was at that time (presumably this is when 'replayed' on a PC). Great bit of kit!
Looked on the Roadhawk website for a price, but couldn't find one - I'm guessing it's not cheap...
The 125mph was down a dual carriageway. I know some (all?) of the autobahns are only 2 lanes, but it looked pretty scary.
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I was recently in a coach in the USA and it had a device fitted to the centre of the windscreen which recorded the road ahead and the inside of the bus. The driver informed me that it was required by the companies insurance provider as evidence in case of a claim by a passenger, (we were told not to stand up while the bus was moving). I dont think many passengers realised it was there, SWMBO didnt.
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I was recently in a coach in the USA and it had a device fitted
Footage from such devices fitted to US cars used on programmes like Roadwars.
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The 125mph was down a dual carriageway. I know some (all?) of the autobahns are only 2 lanes, but it looked pretty scary.
I know the road in question well, there are several private driveways, side turnings and lay bys along the stretch where the highest speed was reached. Clearly 125mph was easily possible but that's a hell of a speed differential if a mimser happens to pull out of the van scrapyard halfway along without looking.
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The 125mph was down a dual carriageway. I know some (all?) of the autobahns are only 2 lanes but it looked pretty scary.
I live round here and use these dual carriageways often. These roads are notorious accident blackspots, there are frequently cars buried in hedges by the side of the road. I tend to stick at 70ish and that feels plenty fast enough. Indeed, there was a serious smash on that section of road where that Monaro was doing 120 just a few months ago. At least 1 death IIRC.
You can see on the footage all the roads that lead on and off these dual carriageways, some of them with no run off or run up at all, so not exactly Motorway standard. Doing 120mph+ is suicidal round there. Plus, there are several points around Redditch where footpaths cross the dual carriageways (yes really...).
Also, you get plenty of mimsers who will pull out into lane 2 at 55mph (or less) with no warning to overtake another mimser doing 2mph less..
It's this kind of daft behaviour that will see these roads lowered to 60 or 50mph limits, and that would be a real PITA for those of us that know how to drive them safely.
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Looked on the Roadhawk website for a price but couldn't find one - I'm guessing it's not cheap...
Looked a bit harder - £280, which is less than I was expecting. Would get one myself, but they don't know how to use apostrophes :-)
www.roadhawk.co.uk/roadhawk-RH-1.htm
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Excellent, just what I was looking for. Just got copped for a 50/50 by insurance because there were no witnesses in a prang so ordering today. I will stick one in my daughters car as well.
video on you-tube was quite good
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Excellent just what I was looking for.
...and either the price has come down or I mis-read it last time - now £200.
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What is the latest with this case? I have noticed the video has been removed from youtube. Why?
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the video has been removed from youtube.
Yes. I was disappointed too.
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Yes. I was disappointed too.
Me too i wouldn't have minded seeing this clever gizmo being used in anger so to speak.
Might well be tempted to get one meself.
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Might well be tempted to get one meself.
Something else worth nicking in your car then...
:o}
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Something else worth nicking in your car then...
Thats the only problem but it would get far more use at work in t'truck.
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Thats the only problem but it would get far more use at work in t'truck.
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Your employers insurance provider may insist on it before long, many already do in the USA and it will probably spread here.
Edited by Old Navy on 11/11/2009 at 16:58
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Your employers insurance provider may insist on it before long
We as a company have been very lucky so far....not tempting the fates by saying any more.;)
I occasionally see trucks that have side mounted camera's presumably for use in side swipe accidents, whether they are camera'd all around i don't know but i agree it's only a matter of time...thanks again to scam artists and assorted story changers.
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I have noticed the video has been removed from youtube. Why?
Do the links in the other thread (created yesterday) work?
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=80038
Can't check at the moment as work block access to streaming media websites.
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Do the links in the other thread (created yesterday) work? www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=80038 Can't check at the moment as work block access to streaming media websites.
Yes that works fine for me DD
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On a similar theme a 'whoops' moment from my local rag this week:-
tinyurl.com/yaz33qn
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