Trusted garage in Aberdeen?

[littlespark]

Yep, I know this should be in a different section, but no one ever seems to get the ‘off topic’ threads in their new feed lists....

A few weeks ago I mentioned somewhere that daughter dearest had burned up the clutch in her little Kia picanto..... today she says it’s having trouble going uphill.
its the clutch slipping now.

So I’m looking for recommendations for a garage in Aberdeen that’s not going to take the mick and overcharge a young lass that doesn’t know better.

I remember there was a new member from Aberdeen, but not been seen since the day he joined.?‍

 

[pc1966]

Could give you a garage in Dundee, but not much help I'm afraid.

I have some (dodgy) friends in Aberdeen so will ask, but not sure if they are very up on garages I'm afraid.
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Not much help really, but got a sort-of suggestion to try Five Mile Garage.

 

[littlespark]

Cheers. I’ll look it up any. Need somewhere close to Old Aberdeen and the Uni.

 

[UNG]

Can you not get it closer to home and get it sorted at a garage you know

 

[littlespark]

It’s a 3 hour trip for me to get there or for her to bring it down. I wouldn’t like her to try driving that distance with a slipping clutch.

The Arnold Clark up there is a Kia dealer, so might be best bet.

 

[UNG]

Book time for a Piccanto clutch replacement is 3 hours so the cost might not be that excessive

 

[H]

Bugsy Browns Sports Bar!!!

is it still open?

 

[littlespark]

Bugsy Browns Sports Bar!!!

is it still open?

Probably not recently after their local lock down....

I haven’t a clue TBH, my daughter is a student there and has only frequented a few establishments last year. That wasn’t one of them

 

[pc1966]

My nephew is starting uni in Aberdeen in a few weeks time, so any good/bad points would be handy for me, just in case.

 

[littlespark]

My nephew is starting uni in Aberdeen in a few weeks time, so any good/bad points would be handy for me, just in case.

Cool. Is it aberdeen uni, or Robert Gordon?
She was in halls last year.... Worst. Room. Ever... right next to the entry door to the block... smoke wafting in her window, which HAD to be opened as the heating was always full belt.. outside door banging all night. She eventually got moved to another block in march... was in it a week or so, and the uni closed down for covid and sent everyone home if they could go.

 

[pc1966]

Ah, good point! I think it is Aberdeen uni. He is going to halls and it is one with en-suite bathroom which is nice to have, really need to check with sister to see before I try to visit him.

How did the car repair go?

 

[littlespark]

Its booked in for the first week in October... earliest she could get. She's still been using it, but for short journeys to the shops.

Ensuite? posh block. Hillhead halls? Easy walking distance to the uni, nice park next to it.

I dont know if there's been, or will be a Freshers Week with all the distancing measures, but handy to get free bags, pens, etc

 

[pc1966]

OK, hope it all goes well for her.

I think it is "New Carnegie Court" but really need to check. It seem to be a bit out of the city centre, just south of the river Don.

 

[Mike Johnson]

This will probably unpopular, but teach her how to drive a manual car properly, sheesh its not rocket science, Oh forgot she is at University so to her it probably is.

 

[DPG]

This will probably unpopular, but teach her how to drive a manual car properly, sheesh its not rocket science, Oh forgot she is at University so to her it probably is.

You don't know how many miles the car has done or what use it has had by previous owners. Not really fair to blame her driving.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Driven thousands of mile on a manual change car and never burnt a clutch out, even if the car is second hand you can tell if the clutch is suspect on the test drive, I did say it would be unpopular, but then I am probably older than most of you and was brought up with mechanical knowledge as you needed it to get a car to go anywhere reliably, who remembers the Ford Prefect with rod brakes.

 

[DPG]

Driven thousands of mile on a manual change car and never burnt a clutch out, even if the car is second hand you can tell if the clutch is suspect on the test drive, I did say it would be unpopular, but then I am probably older than most of you and was brought up with mechanical knowledge as you needed it to get a car to go anywhere reliably, who remembers the Ford Prefect with rod brakes.

I've never wore a clutch out myself either, but, as an example, I know that Citroen C1s are susceptible to clutch wear, and they had a change made on later models to counter this.

And as I say, the previous owner may have been a slipper, who knows. You certainly can't slag off the current driver without knowing the full facts.

If you want to try an interesting clutch, try the bike in my Avatar. It has a biting point which seems to move around, and it brays like a donkey. All Armstrongs do, it's one of their many quirks!

 

[littlespark]

Mike.... you’re not far off.

her cousin from New Zealand lived over here a couple of years ago. She was used to driving an automatic, and this car was bought by their common grandfather. He believes she burned the clutch up when she used it, and when it was passed to my girl when cousin went home, didn’t take much for it to go completely.

 

[Mike Johnson]

It's one of those things, if you are used to any type mechanics you can tell the condition just by use, on a manual clutch you can tell just by dipping the pedal no need to even have the engine on, the amount of movement of the pedal to where you feel it engage and the amount of movement when engaged can give you an indication of the wear in the clutch plate and/or operating mechanism, different feel from mechanical operation, cable or direct, to the feel of a hydraulic system, my very old Porsche was either in or out, no in between, but then the gearbox was very slow to change as well.

 

[littlespark]

There was always a huge travel on the clutch pedal before the “bite”
I’ve told her to expect this to be very different when it’s fixed

 

[DPG]

I've never wore a clutch out myself either, but, as an example, I know that Citroen C1s are susceptible to clutch wear, and they had a change made on later models to counter this.

And as I say, the previous owner may have been a slipper, who knows. You certainly can't slag off the current driver without knowing the full facts.

There was always a huge travel on the clutch pedal before the “bite”
I’ve told her to expect this to be very different when it’s fixed

Some cars have a very different feel to the clutch as well. Some of the budget end cars are a lot more springy. Higher end cars tend to be smoother and more consistent through the pedal travel.

 

[ruston]

A lot of cars have dual mass flywheel/clutches now that is supposed to be more amiable and smother to handle the operation. Fine till they go wrong as they are more than twice the price to repair than the original conventional design.

 

[DPG]

A lot of cars have dual mass flywheel/clutches now that is supposed to be more amiable and smother to handle the operation. Fine till they go wrong as they are more than twice the price to repair than the original conventional design.
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A lot of cars have dual mass flywheel/clutches now that is supposed to be more amiable and smother to handle the operation. Fine till they go wrong as they are more than twice the price to repair than the original conventional design.

Indeed. You can replace them with much cheaper solid ones, but not recommended due to the shock loading on the rest of the transmission.

 

[ruston]

Indeed. You can replace them with much cheaper solid ones, but not recommended due to the shock loading on the rest of the transmission.

Yes , they did not get off to a good start. (no pun intended). They had lots of expensive problems in the early days, I am a bit out of touch now as to their progression , but my car has a conversion and has been sound for around 20,000 miles ; up to now!

 

[littlespark]

She’s got a Kia... which is made in S. Korea.... with the cheap radio I swapped into it, it only seems to play South Korean pop music.
Totally down to her strange music tastes that

 

[littlespark]

My nephew is starting uni in Aberdeen in a few weeks time, so any good/bad points would be handy for me, just in case.

Hi. Did your nephew ever make it to uni?

 

[pc1966]

Hi. Did your nephew ever make it to uni?

I belive so! I had planned to visit but that has all gone a bit pear-shaped now