25 replies to this topic

[astravxr]

Does anyone know of any vx220/lotus specialists in the north east? I've emailed the one in Hexham three times but no reply, rang once no answer. Will try again although i've heard they are very expensive. I usually go to Dan at sps but its hard to get a hold of him sometimes. I heard about lotus newcastle opening a specialist garage next to the showroom. I popped over but the guy wasn't in. Rang up a few times and he was either out on a test drive or not in again. I did get a call back but missed it. The sales man did say they do any kind of car though... I know there is F1 in newcastle? Been there once and charged me £550 for geo set up! Where do you lot go around here?

[Wolfstone]

£550 for a geo? Jesus Christ! Surely you knew the cost before having it done.

[LY_Scott]

 

What did you have done?

 

Generally a geo is nipping a track rod or tie rod here and there. Maybe the removal of a shim or two. It's not something that should run into hundreds of pounds.

[slindborg]

[jonnyboy]

Specialists are thin on the ground the further north you get. My guy is a good hour away (Foulds of Huddersfield)

[Crabash]

Should not matter if they a VX specialist, just use the wiki to pick your settings and find somewhere to put them on. Unless you want someone to tell you whats best in which case you are gonna have to travel. try searching wheel alignment near your post code, you might find a gem.

[Hark]

Cornering Force quoted me about £150 i think for geo, £250 if heights needed adjusting. Can be expensive if you want it tweaking to get it how you prefer I guess.

[allsteel]

I'm in Hexham a lot and don't know who you're talking about unless you mean the TVR garage. What are you needing done?

[Wolfstone]

Have a look in these threads from 2008 and 2011.  I googled 'VX220 North East Specialist'     

 

http://www.vx220.org...-the-northeast/

 

http://www.vx220.org...eedback-wanted/

 

 

Edited by Wolfstone, 27 December 2013 - 09:01 PM.

[redvts]

Just do it yourself, i dont trust anyone working on mine!

[astravxr]

Yes the the tvr one in Hexham. Im wanting the manifold stud removed... Went to have a go myself but dont trust my unsteady hand! At f1 I just had a geo, they said it costs a lot because they had to put shims in, didn't ask for price before hand as I thought it would only be about £100 as that's what Dan roughly charges. But when I took it to Dan he said there was no shims put in. I've looked at old posts and other sites and can't find anything around here. I suppose I could travel about an hour

[Thealastair34]

Had mine looked after my phoenix Motorsport in accrington, nice drive cross country for you too

[astravxr]

Just do it yourself, i dont trust anyone working on mine!

Neither do I mate, I hate taking it to a garage. Although Dan isnt so bad its just hard to get a hold of him nowadays. I was going to attempt the manifold stud myself but chickened out. I know I could probability take it to any sort of garage for that but like you say, its the trust. I put my trust in a specialist who deals with these cars all the time but not someone who doesn't know what kind of car it is and feels like taking it out for a spin, standing on places your not meant to, scratching it etc. I've noticed that a specialist knows that its your pride and joy and not some normal a to b car

[Crabash]

Lol I never even noticed he replied actually, I did complain and he told me "gonna be 2 weeks mate", I said " thats no good you knew I was away for a track day at the weekend, just forget it, I'll sort it"

For the record I did say other places as well not all was SPS, he did timing belt, water pump, brake pipes, fluid, engine oil and general service. Had to do most of it again, and had only 1 day to to it,

Only now I have seen that post i realize he farmed my car out, an absolute disgrace considering I used him for his "expertise". I have warned others about using him before. Most didn't believe me. More fool them.

[Way-aye-pete]

I have used Dan at SPS for the last 2 years and his work and prices have always been excellent, the only disadvantage is that he is hard to get hold of sometimes.

I quite often pm him on seloc his username is roadboy, he is regularly on the site.

Or call the mx5 guys he shares the garage with http://www.akautomotive-mx5.co.uk

There really aren't any other options that I know of and I heard the reason why he is so busy at the moment is that he is taking care of all of the servicing and warranty work from silverlink lotus in Gateshead (The franchised dealer)

I appreciate crabash has had bad experience with him but mine has been excellent.

Edited by Way-aye-pete, 27 December 2013 - 09:58 PM.

[Crabash]

I would rather let a competent owner do mine if I could not do it myself, someone like redvts, DG, or numerous others, they will take more care of your car, offer them your money.

And to be honest if the water had not been pissing out the water pump I would never of had cause to get in the wheel arch and discover missing bolts, 2 O rings in the water pump, for me that was enough that I could not trust anything that had been done, especially when going on track within a few days.

Can only speak as I find and I cannot sit by and say nothing!!!

[Crabash]

Come to think of it at the time he told me the exact opposite, he told me he only worked a few days a week just enough to make the money required prepare and run his race car. Lol can't be arsed anyway, I have owned the VX a long time and I have never been so let down with any car or garage, draw your own conclusions. I put this down to experience a long time ago, I knew I would never get a refund, or might I add the scratch fixed that appeared. His work maybe fine but thats the point whoever did mine was less than sub standard.

[zaff]

I am watching this thread with interest .

What about Pure Lotus. I bought a VX from them a few years ago although I think they have moved since then. I know they do servicing work and was thinking of taking mine there when it is due.

Edited by zaff, 28 December 2013 - 12:29 AM.

[Bumblebee]

There's a lot of mixed opinions on pure lotus

[johnathan]

They did a suspected hgf on my s1 exige and took 3 nearly 4 weeks to do it with no calls to update me with progress, if there was any. I'm not impressed