Rust proofing car.

[Lons]

Colin
I had so many issues with the local Mercedes dealer I could write a book, The Coldsteam dealer is totally different though.

I bought the car as a 6 week old demonstrator with a big discount, those were the days , and I quickly found out that they lie. overcharge and charge for items they haven't replaced. Said they had updated the sat nav on two occasions when they hadn't and then lied and gave loads of excuses, that was despite the last time when I rang MB customer services who told me they had been charged for the work and the new version had been registered against my car, so where did that update end up? Ebay I suspect.

The GLC model had a design fault and eventually Mercedes brought out alternative wishbones, initially the dealer denied there was such a part available but I'm in the know and insisted and again needed to contact the manufacturer, they did the work but afterwards my car which has excellent roadholding was undriveable on damp or wet roads, they wouldn't accept that and had several test drives - allegedly. Unfortunately on the last one they said it was being driven by the service manager on an extensive road test but when they disconnected my dashcam they accidently pulled the plug on just the rear camera so I had evidence that all they did was put a kid in the seat to drive it back and forth twice behind the workshop then parked it up and kept me waiting. I kicked up a hell of a fuss so they took it back in for 2 days and when I got it back it was perfect again, ( I marked the new wishbones to ensure they didn't put the old ones back). They said all they had done was tweak the tracking fractionally and were very reluctant to give me a copy of the print out which showed it was way out. What they didn't know is that I could track the car and it spent 30+ hours in the workshop rather than outside, they don't do that for nothing and it's clear they didn't fit the new parts properly. Anyone can make mistakes, I'd have accepted that, lying I won't accept!

A few months later, I was contacted by a MB forum member with the same model who had been told by the same dealer that no new wishbones existed, I supplied him with a copy of my warranty invoice to shove under their noses.

Do I trust main dealers, make that a definite no way as I've also had experience with Vauxhall, BMW and Audi.

Bob

 

[Retired]

Hi,

What a sorry story Lons; are all main dealers singing from the same rip off hymn sheet? Thanks for sharing your story.

I was mightily impressed to buy my discs and brake pads at £100 this morning but I've just found the same parts on eBay at £15 cheaper had I bought these then I'd have saved even more. I'm happy to support a local company and collect same day even if it does cost a little bit more.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Lons]

I'm sure not all main dealers are the same Colin but we're shaped by our own experiences.
Take the Mercedes dealers as an example, Newcastle are a branch of a franchise which owns all the dealers south and west within travelling distance. There is a smaller dealer in Edinburgh with 3 or 4 branches, one in the borders which is in reach, they are always substantially cheaper that the other company and much more trustworthy. My last service required a transmission fluid change, my trusted local guy said the kit had to come from the Merc dealer who quoted him £415 so the whole thing would be around £570. Newcastle MB quoted me £1121, Coldstream priced it at £889. I queried a couple of things via email on the Coldstream price that had been covered on the previous service and they dropped it to £590, I rang the following day and told them they must have missed off labour at that price, they confirmed their error but would honour it as their mistake, my local guy advised me to go for it.
Additionally they collected my car and delivered it back (45 miles each way) and left me a E class to use.

So not all bad news.

I'd have done the same as you regarding buying the parts locally plus there is also the risk on ebay of parts being fake though many of the main dealers also operate ebay stores.

 

[Fergie 307]

Hi,

What a sorry story Lons; are all main dealers singing from the same rip off hymn sheet? Thanks for sharing your story.

View attachment 165174

I was mightily impressed to buy my discs and brake pads at £100 this morning but I've just found the same parts on eBay at £15 cheaper had I bought these then I'd have saved even more. I'm happy to support a local company and collect same day even if it does cost a little bit more.

Kind regards, Colin.

Glad you have found the savings to be made by avoiding dealers. I would be very careful buying on e bay etc. These sort of things are heavily counterfeited, so you need to make sure you are buying the real thing from a reputable source. I always think over the counter is better. Oh and I would still give those clips a squirt of rustproofer, although they are much better than the factory ones they will still rust eventually.

 

[Fergie 307]

Given the work you have done rustpoofing, why don't you have a go at servicing it yourself. Even if you just do the oil changes you will save a bomb, and very easy to do. Only tools you will need are an oil filter wrench, and whatever you need to get out the sump plug, usually just a normal spanner of the appropriate size. Even if you buy one of the fancy oil drain cans to collect the old oil, which makes it much cleaner to do, you will still get your money back on the first oil change. On most modern cars they are few if any adjustments to make. No setting the timing or points, no adjusting the carb, no valve clearances to do. So an engine service amounts to changing the oil, changing the oil, fuel and air filters, and changing the plugs at specified intervals of its a petrol. The only one of these that you might find awkward is the fuel filter, some are easy some can be a pain. You can also buy an OBD code reader for about £30 which will enable you to read information stored on the car in the event of any warning lights coming on.

 

[Fergie 307]

Colin
I had so many issues with the local Mercedes dealer I could write a book, The Coldsteam dealer is totally different though.

I bought the car as a 6 week old demonstrator with a big discount, those were the days , and I quickly found out that they lie. overcharge and charge for items they haven't replaced. Said they had updated the sat nav on two occasions when they hadn't and then lied and gave loads of excuses, that was despite the last time when I rang MB customer services who told me they had been charged for the work and the new version had been registered against my car, so where did that update end up? Ebay I suspect.

The GLC model had a design fault and eventually Mercedes brought out alternative wishbones, initially the dealer denied there was such a part available but I'm in the know and insisted and again needed to contact the manufacturer, they did the work but afterwards my car which has excellent roadholding was undriveable on damp or wet roads, they wouldn't accept that and had several test drives - allegedly. Unfortunately on the last one they said it was being driven by the service manager on an extensive road test but when they disconnected my dashcam they accidently pulled the plug on just the rear camera so I had evidence that all they did was put a kid in the seat to drive it back and forth twice behind the workshop then parked it up and kept me waiting. I kicked up a hell of a fuss so they took it back in for 2 days and when I got it back it was perfect again, ( I marked the new wishbones to ensure they didn't put the old ones back). They said all they had done was tweak the tracking fractionally and were very reluctant to give me a copy of the print out which showed it was way out. What they didn't know is that I could track the car and it spent 30+ hours in the workshop rather than outside, they don't do that for nothing and it's clear they didn't fit the new parts properly. Anyone can make mistakes, I'd have accepted that, lying I won't accept!

A few months later, I was contacted by a MB forum member with the same model who had been told by the same dealer that no new wishbones existed, I supplied him with a copy of my warranty invoice to shove under their noses.

Do I trust main dealers, make that a definite no way as I've also had experience with Vauxhall, BMW and Audi.

Bob

One of my first hand experiences of main dealers was courtesy of a new customer. This chap was a retired barrister who drove a Renault 12, this story is from the late 70's. He had bought it new from the local main dealer, and always had it serviced there. His routine was to drop the car off and then catch the bus from the stop opposite. He would visit a friend on the outskirts of town for a couple of hours, then catch the bus back and collect his car. On this occasion his friend hadn't been very well, so he found himself getting the bus back to town about half an hour after he had dropped the car off. As the bus passed the dealership he was surprised to see his car already parked in the customer collection area. He had then enjoyed breakfast in a cafe opposite, and after about another 45 minutes his car hadn't moved. So in he goes and is told that they have completed the service, and present him with the bill. He told me that at this point he didn't query this as he wanted to make sure of his facts first. At the time I was doing mobile servicing work, specialising in Renault. I had apparently been recommended to him by one of my existing customers, who was a friend of his. He explained the situation to me, a similar story to others I had heard regarding this dealership. To cut a long story short I did a service on his drive and the conclusion was that the only thing the dealer had done was change the oil! They had charged him for oil and air filters, plugs and points, none of which had actually been replaced. The points and timing were both out, and the valve clearances were all over the place. The rear brakes were also badly worn, and no sign that they had even looked at them, which was part of the full service routine. They had also charged him 2 1/2 hours labour, fair enough had they actually done the work, but changing the oil was a ten minute job if that. So I got a new customer, and also got to service his high days and holidays Daimler double six, and he eventually got his money back from the dealer, and an apology for their "oversight". Unfortunately this sort of thing was very common then, and, although I haven't been in that game for many years, I have no doubt it is still widespread now. Certainly every time Trading Standards have a look at this locally they always seem to find plenty of places still carrying on the same old rip offs. As an aside my customer had reported them to trading standards, one of many apparently. About a year later they ceased to be Renault dealers, presumably as a result of the numerous complaints they were having.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Lons; I'm sure you're right; for the last nine years we've trusted our main dealer until now when they suggest replacing front discs & pads; we've never really bothered about service prices and other jobs because the dealer has always fully stated the price up front so we could take or leave it; however in this instance although the cost of the brake job is quoted up front it's plainly a rip off when the discs are less than 1mm worn. I appreciate main dealers have huge overheads but when the genuine discs & pads I've just bought only cost £100 I feel £352 is way over the top but the dealer has to make the money but not to the point of replacing perfectly good parts; this has shaken my trust in the dealership. The dealership also collect & return our car for a small charge which is well worth it.

Thanks Fergie 307; as you and Lons kindly point out there's a big risk buying certain parts through eBay; I'm well aware on eBay there are items that look perfectly original in manufacturers boxes but are fake and it's just not worth the risk with important parts like brake items; £100 I think is very fair indeed for the discs & pads because they are excellent quality by a company that has been trading since 1903 so can be fully trusted. Yes the clips will eventually rust but I've got a good supply of them; the original flimsy clips have been on seven years so the new clips at seven years will bring me up to 83 years of age I'm 76 tomorrow going on nine the way I still climb huge trees. The screws and washers are stainless so no problem with these in future and again I've got a good stock of them.

Your suggestion is a good one Fergie 307 if I was strapped for cash but I'm not worried about reasonable main dealer servicing costs I can use my time better elsewhere; I used to have my own garage business in my early twenties so working on a car is so easy for me but now with so many electronics we no longer drive a car we drive a mission control center. I've been trying my best for two years to learn to play a violin; I've now got a nice recording studio; my wonderful wife spoils me rotten; recording gear; four violins and a genuine Russian Balalaika but as yet I can only play about six tunes; my short term memory is very poor so I'm also learning to sight read violin sheet music scores; studio time evades me. Last year in March I felled and disposed of 15 huge trees working like an idiot doing these in just 14 days; then in August I repaired subsidence damage when the rear two roomed extension decided to part company from the main bungalow; it was fully insured with LV Insurance but by the time it takes LV to answer a phone call or reply to their online urgent application claim I had the job done in a couple of weeks. this August I felled a huge oak tree which towered over our bungalow; on top of these jobs I've been incredibly busy maintaining the bungalow and gardens; I still dream of studio time. Today is another hospital appointment for my wife this just one appointment of many but my wife has been my best friend for 48 years spoiling me now she comes first above all others and always will; I'm now helping out more with household chores and will never begrudge any time I spend helping her.

We once had a similar experience Fergie 307 when we bought a S/H Citroen BX; it proved an absolute load of rubbish; having parked it overnight in rain then started it the following day it dropped a lot of water into the passenger footwell; the front wipers would come on in brilliant sunshine; the front subframe became detached rusting through; it wasn't an old car. We had to return it to the supplying dealer for repairs and were told to collect late afternoon; we were charged 8 hours labour but fortunately for us the mechanic who carried out the work had a very quiet word with us; the job took less than two hours the car then parked the rest of the time. I'm normally very quite and polite but the garage owner copped it; I told him in no uncertain terms a friend nearby saw exactly how long our car was in the workshop obviously no mention of the truthful mechanic; we would receive a £60 cheque in the post well we didn't so now I had a serious confrontation; the cheque had been posted? We hadn't received it so you'd better write out another cheque or you and I are going head to head; if the posted cheque doe's arrive I'm HONEST enough to return it; This was the last time I saw him. We hated that car and will never touch another Citroen.

Anyone can make a genuine mistake and I'm against throwing stones because I can be at fault and regret my actions so I err on the safe side; perhaps if I drive over to the main dealership taking along one of the original discs and ask them to measure it then show them the service report might ensure I'm treated better in future? Who can be fully trusted these days; the local independent garage I might use is much cheaper than a main dealer but apart from cost difference will they otherwise be similar working behind closed doors? I don't look for trouble in fact all my life I've found being polite and friendly has always opened doors for me; I don't swear; smoke; touch alcohol or do drugs and giving a second chance won't hurt me; one thing is certain I'm now on full alert regarding car dealers and servicing.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[okeydokey]

I cant think of a good word to say about my experience with two main Skoda dealers - 1 in Scotland and the other in the South East so I wont say any more

 

[Drifter2406]

I have a BMW 5 series Touring, bought it with 50 miles on it as a dealer discount car for half of a new car price, the car has been exceptional but the dealer I used to take it to for servicing was not, Sytner BMW in Harold wood, this car to date has only 32000 miles on it, the last service I was promised as the miles were so low that it would be a discounted price, that was a lie and they charged me £400 for a oil and filter charge and particulate filter that they never changed, they also rang and said it was ready to collect at 3 o clock, I turned up at five after having time off work to collect only to wait 2 hours because it was not ready or even cleaned, ended up loosing the rest of the days money. There are numerous things they have done over the years but after this one I won't be going back and with the other BMWs I have owned the other dealers are no better in my area, one thing they can do though is fleece you from hundreds of pounds for basic servicing.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Oh dear the main dealers are unliked with few having good words for them.

Skoda Service | Skoda Servicing | Skoda Car Service | Skoda Car Servicing

Would you trust a company such as the one shown in the link; so many checks listed would they actually carry them all out; I'm just browsing for a local independent Skoda garage.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Fergie 307]

I think word of mouth is usually your best bet. If you find a good tradesman then stick with them. My garage of choice for those jobs that are too much of a chore is a local independent VAG specialist. Really nice guy whose business has done really well. He was recommended by a friend who runs a highly modified golf, and is an absolute stickler for everything being done just right. There are only three mechanics they do a good job and aren't too pricey. Bit of a waiting list to get in, but that speaks for itself.

 

[Jameshow]

I think word of mouth is usually your best bet. If you find a good tradesman then stick with them. My garage of choice for those jobs that are too much of a chore is a local independent VAG specialist. Really nice guy whose business has done really well. He was recommended by a friend who runs a highly modified golf, and is an absolute stickler for everything being done just right. There are only three mechanics they do a good job and aren't too pricey. Bit of a waiting list to get in, but that speaks for itself.

Sound like my garage MK3 golf modified abs mint slammed caddy too.

 

[stuart little]

One of my first hand experiences of main dealers was courtesy of a new customer. This chap was a retired barrister who drove a Renault 12, this story is from the late 70's. He had bought it new from the local main dealer, and always had it serviced there. His routine was to drop the car off and then catch the bus from the stop opposite. He would visit a friend on the outskirts of town for a couple of hours, then catch the bus back and collect his car. On this occasion his friend hadn't been very well, so he found himself getting the bus back to town about half an hour after he had dropped the car off. As the bus passed the dealership he was surprised to see his car already parked in the customer collection area. He had then enjoyed breakfast in a cafe opposite, and after about another 45 minutes his car hadn't moved. So in he goes and is told that they have completed the service, and present him with the bill. He told me that at this point he didn't query this as he wanted to make sure of his facts first. At the time I was doing mobile servicing work, specialising in Renault. I had apparently been recommended to him by one of my existing customers, who was a friend of his. He explained the situation to me, a similar story to others I had heard regarding this dealership. To cut a long story short I did a service on his drive and the conclusion was that the only thing the dealer had done was change the oil! They had charged him for oil and air filters, plugs and points, none of which had actually been replaced. The points and timing were both out, and the valve clearances were all over the place. The rear brakes were also badly worn, and no sign that they had even looked at them, which was part of the full service routine. They had also charged him 2 1/2 hours labour, fair enough had they actually done the work, but changing the oil was a ten minute job if that. So I got a new customer, and also got to service his high days and holidays Daimler double six, and he eventually got his money back from the dealer, and an apology for their "oversight". Unfortunately this sort of thing was very common then, and, although I haven't been in that game for many years, I have no doubt it is still widespread now. Certainly every time Trading Standards have a look at this locally they always seem to find plenty of places still carrying on the same old rip offs. As an aside my customer had reported them to trading standards, one of many apparently. About a year later they ceased to be Renault dealers, presumably as a result of the numerous complaints they were having.

Similar facts about a certain company, who advertised that they worked 'very fast', were well known in the motor trade. One in particular was told by a SAAB dealer; A customer took his 9000 to have its exhaust fixed, & was told he needed shocks as they were leaking oil! A fitter had sprayed oil on the shocks, BUT what he didn't realise was they were gas shocks!

 

[Gerry]

Similar facts about a certain company, who advertised that they worked 'very fast', were well known in the motor trade. One in particular was told by a SAAB dealer; A customer took his 9000 to have its exhaust fixed, & was told he needed shocks as they were leaking oil! A fitter had sprayed oil on the shocks, BUT what he didn't realise was they were gas shocks!

There is still just as much oil in gas shocks the gas cylinder inside acts as a spring assistor.

Gerry

 

[Fergie 307]

There is still just as much oil in gas shocks the gas cylinder inside acts as a spring assistor.

Gerry

Common misconception. They should correctly be called dampers. They do nothing whatsoever to support the weight of the car, that is down to the springs. So your dampers don't provide any spring assistance, although some coil over systems do have moveable spring mounts to alter spring pre load, but this is completely separate from the damping function. They are almost completely filled with oil. Very simply the oil flows between chambers through small holes, covered by washers making a very simple one way valve, the smaller the hole the harder it is for the oil to pass, so the stiffer the damping. Separate holes for compression and rebound. On high end ones you can adjust both compression and rebound damping, very common feature on motorcycles, less so on cars unless you have something very exotic, or retro fitted. Gas is there to allow some space for the oil to move between the chambers to provide the damping action, typically just enough to compensate for the size of the moving components like the piston rod. They usually use an inert gas like nitrogen under pressure, this also reduces foaming of the oil, which would otherwise bigger up the damping effect. All dampers will typically have some Gas in them. Arguably if you put in a bit more gas then this has to be compressed before full damping starts, so gives a softer feel to the action, hence some of the claims made for Gas filled ones.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

New Borg & Beck front brake pads & discs now fully fitted. The pads were worn but still with a lot of mileage in them I could have just replaced these but now already having bought the new discs I fitted both pads & discs.

The original discs were rusted solid to the hub and refused to release even with short wrecking bars and even heat from a MAPP gas torch; I didn't go mad with the torch so gave up; I even considered making a puller; after a long struggle and getting absolutely nowhere only highly frustrated time to try something else; I'm an old fashioned mechanical engineer who was taught never to use excessive force but these discs just laughed at me.

I came indoors and browsed YouTube videos; there were lots with the same problem and one guy in particular had tried just about everything to get his stuck discs off even using a heavy duty puller without success; in the end he took the direct approach; he used a 4lb club hammer and belted the OUTER disc edge in a number of places; suddenly as if by magic the disc finally let go; he had loosely replaced the countersunk screw not wanting the disc to fly off; back down to the Yeti and using my 4lb club hammer give the outer rim a few good smacks and it released easily; there are times when brute force is needed but I'm always extra careful because it's so easy to cause collateral damage.

I've done many drum brake jobs but this is my first disc job; I took my time to clean everything and to ensure the sliding surfaces were copper greased as were the back of the pads; the piston pad went in with a hard push but the outer pad drove me mad as I tried to get its clip to enter it refused and again I struggled and struggled until it finally went home; during dinner I watched another YouTube video showing pads being replaced; the outer pad doesn't push directly in it slides down and in; easy when you know how; I spun the pins in the lathe and polished them then used copper grease to lubricate them; everything was copper greased after being wire brushed and rubbed with abrasive paper; I was very careful not to get grease into the threaded holes.

With the original discs on the bench I found they had only 1mm of wear in thickness; the Yeti has covered a gentle 32,000 miles on this 1mm; the minimum thickness before replacement is needed is 18mm so the original discs were good for at least another 50,000 miles; we drive less than 7,000 miles each year so seven years before they needed changing; shame on the main dealership. Had I been just a customer without mechanical training and little knowledge of cars next year I could have paid £352; it still cost me £100 but I'm now happy and can relax.

Original discs in good condition with only 1mm wear in thickness.

New Borg & Beck disc fitted with everything cleaned. note two trolley jacks and wheel under car for safety. It's a shame to get it dirty.

The wheels are secured with wheel bolts/studs but actually the term should be set screws with a taper head; bolts are only partially threaded whereas studs are threaded both ends. I'm finding the wheels heavy to replace; had studs been used the wheel could just locate by sliding on so today I want to make a pair of locating pins; I'll post the details later.

Hopefully next week will be a great deal warmer allowing me to carry on with the rustproofing; I've bought this gun awaiting it to arrive;

A bit of money spent now could save a great deal of money and hassle later; I don't begrudge spending on our Yeti it's well worth it.

I found out a few days ago our diesel Yeti is so clean it can enter clean air zones without charge or fear of fines; it's just such a brilliant car.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

I popped over to "Danlett" this morning to buy two bolts which would fit the wheel hub thread. I wanted bolts these having a section without threads but all they had were set screws; the actual details are M14x1.5x80 HEX SETS DIN961 GD 8.8. £7.18 the pair.

Back home armed with a mug of tea I modified them; I cut both from the threaded end at 55mm long removing the hex head. It was an easy job using the lathe to remove most of the thread leaving 20mm of thread still on; next the screwdriver slots were cut by hand using the hacksaw; sharp edges were removed completing the job; I removed the threaded section not wanting the threads to act like a file.

They are a very loose fit into the wheel holes but I don't think it will matter; I can't try them because it being our usual weather it's raining. I could have turned round bar steel stock to precise diameters but these should work.

Here's a picture of the new wheel guides. Just an interesting little job whilst I'm rained off.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Having successfully treated the under wings and suspensions using the cheap eBay spray gun with Bilt Hamber UB I took my time and ensured plenty was sprayed on giving a good protective thickness then I ran into a problem.

I wanted to treat the cavities like inside of cills and inside of doors; at first I measured the cill length and cut plastic tube long enough to treat from the rear end of the cill; I set everything up and dropped the rear wing liner to allow access to the large bung which I had fun with; as I tried to remove the bung it was so flexible it dropped inside the cill; I don't recommend this as it's highly frustrating trying to get the bung back out. Undeterred and now with the bung out I tried spraying inside the cill with the Bilt Hamber S50 but it refused to spray; I placed the container into a bucket of hot water and waited for it to heat up it was also as hot day. Still it refused to spray; I could hear it bubbling inside the gun but nothing else; I tried a shorter length of tubing but still without success and then wasted hours trying to get both guns to spray with the lance attached.

With hot dry days passing by I wanted to get the cills and doors rustproofed as quickly as possible before this rare hot weather departed. Fed up trying to use the spray guns with 360 degree lance I bought this;

I'd drilled three 10mm holes in each cill top to accept the spray gun lance but I could have kicked myself when I started to use the aerosol; the lance supplied with the aerosol is very thin indeed so thin I found it would push through the cill drain holes; a lesson learned.

I placed a heavy lined old curtain onto the concrete driveway to protect the concrete and using the drain holes for access very quickly sprayed inside the first cill it proving incredibly easy; I was rather too eager to apply a good heavy coat hence it started to run out of the drain holes onto the curtain; this brought up the next problem; the excess went straight through the curtain onto the concrete; the second cill was sprayed with bin bags protecting the concrete but as usual the bin bags were being blown around in the prevailing breeze which is forever coming up the valley; bricks put paid to the breeze and this time I pulled the lance out quicker but still applied a good enough coat for small puddles to appear on the bin bags; fortunately after the initial puddles the S50 stopped dripping. This was enough excitement for one day and by now it was incredibly hot under the blazing sun.

The following morning I expected having to drill holes in each door but at last something went right; once again the drain holes in the doors accepted the lance so rustproofing the doors proved very quick and easy; now at last I had a smile on my face.

Later I played around with the S50 and spray guns in the workshop; the guns both sprayed fine with the metal tube attached but as soon as the lance was attached the same problem of not spraying at all. The S50 is thinner material than the UB so I expected it to spray through the lance for injection; I'd heated it up and even tried adding white spirit to thin it but it just laughed at me. I couldn't understand why it wouldn't spray through the lance until this afternoon; I'd had enough of this messing around; last night I emailed the Bilt supplier explaining the problem asking if it was OK to thin the S50 and if so what to thin it with.

This afternoon in the workshop I tried again but this time part filled a jam jar with clean white spirit; no problem whatsoever spraying the white spirit so the problem proves to be the right thinning. Having knocked off and in the office on the computer I browsed Bilt Hamber UB and I'd already found out about heating it up but I hadn't read the details enough; it actually states thinning with white spirit. Dooooooh.

It's been raining again so next time we get warm dry weather I'll rustproof the hatch and bonnet but with thinned S50 into the cavities but where the gun will reach without lance I can spray the heavier UB; I'm very keen indeed to make the best possible job I can of this rustproofing; I've never rust proofed a car before although I have applied underseal over 50 years ago using a pressure pot.

I've now got three holes in each cill top I now know I didn't need but it doesn't bother me because I can spray the inside of the cills from top and bottom which can't be bad; with neat plugs fitted the holes will blend in; I did de-burr the drilled holes and applied protecting paint of the correct black so in the end it worked out very well indeed; once the hatch and bonnet are rustproofed I'll not do more this year but next year around July I want to get the chassis rustproofed which I'm unable to do at home.

The Yeti is well worth all this time; effort and expense because it's such a brilliant car and now at seven years old I think depreciation has stopped and it's actually starting to go up in value; I can afford to spend a lot on it to look after it because to trade it in would be a huge mistake and I don't want a car fully loaded with AA batteries. I might have mentioned we love our Yeti.

Now I have experience I can quickly apply a booster coat of rustproofing next summer knowing the Yeti is well protected for years to come.

Job done.

Kind regards, Colin.