About to lighten my wallet... what should I be expecting

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
Hi all,

I’m taking my Gransport for a spin down to Emblem in Bournemouth tomorrow for a slightly belated (due to Covid) annual service.

The car has done 37,000 miles and was last serviced at 34,000 miles by Autoshield just before I bought it in Feb 19. Since then I’ve sorted out some frozen handbrake shoes, replaced the rear right hand tie bar and bushes, and given it a full underside clean, stoneguard and Waxoyl protection

What is the collective wisdom on what I may want to be thinking of getting done in terms of preventative measures?

Thanks in advance,

Jon
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
Underseal, rear light out, scoop out the water trapping sealant and rust protect from behind. AC regass and blow out all the cavity drain holes.

AC regass is a good shout... and will ask them to look at the rear light clusters... thanks Matt

Trust me, Emblem won't hesitate in providing you with a comprehensive list!
Eb

I know this is true Eb, but I honestly think this car could be a long term keeper for me, so I’m just trying to get myself mentally prepared!
 

Navcorr

Member
Messages
3,839
Lambdas, spark plugs, vapour canister possibly haven't been changed.
Mine is a low mileage "keeper" too and am pondering whether to do these next service. All small ticket items but they add up.
 

hashluck

Member
Messages
1,515
Lambdas, spark plugs, vapour canister possibly haven't been changed.
Mine is a low mileage "keeper" too and am pondering whether to do these next service. All small ticket items but they add up.

Indeed, has it ever had a proper 4th Year Service? If you are keeping it then get it on the correct service cycles starting with this as the base point. But Emblem will advise. Mine is there right now, collecting Thursday.
 

JonW

Member
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3,259
Indeed, has it ever had a proper 4th Year Service? If you are keeping it then get it on the correct service cycles starting with this as the base point. But Emblem will advise. Mine is there right now, collecting Thursday.
Yours was looking very nice.... it’s a strange coincidence that both cars are always there at the same time...

745EC0D8-4D80-45E7-8DA1-6F19C7BB049D.jpeg
 

safrane

Member
Messages
16,749
Aux drive belt, GB filter, check AC pully wheel for any wear. Positive battery terminal will come up.
 

hashluck

Member
Messages
1,515
Yours was looking very nice.... it’s a strange coincidence that both cars are always there at the same time...

View attachment 72785

Haha indeed. Hopefully it is not a sign that they are always in the garage being fixed. Mine was 'just' a first year service and MOT this year. Had the much discussed oil non-return valve replaced as a precautionary measure and the radio reception sorted out. The car itself already properly sorted after 4 Emblem visits and consultations with Myles (and much wallet lightening but not complaining).
 

JonW

Member
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3,259
Completely agree re not complaining - there’s a reason I’m happy to drive 90+ miles to Poole to have the car looked after by Myles and Emblem, and it’s not because I enjoy driving through the endless miles of 50mph average speed check zones along the bloody M3!

I’ve just been through all my paperwork, and the car had a proper 4th year service at ADG back in 2011(before it went to Malta), and it was serviced in 2018 and 2019 by Autoshield (2018 included new spark plugs, oil and air filter).

I think it’s been fairly well cared for all of its life, but I’m still keen to make sure I’m doing everything I can to keep it as close to perfect as I can - recognising it’s not a garage queen or a show car...
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
Quick update...

Have decided to go for maximum wallet lightening and to do a full 4th Year service and replace all the various fluids, lambdas, carbon filter, and probably the aux drive belt ( as don’t know when that was last changed)… This way I know everything is done, and can move forward with confidence from there.

My man maths calculator is telling me that the £1500+ I’ve saved by not going to LeMans this year can go towards the cost!

Thanks for all the advice.
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,016
Quick update...

Have decided to go for maximum wallet lightening and to do a full 4th Year service and replace all the various fluids, lambdas, carbon filter, and probably the aux drive belt ( as don’t know when that was last changed)… This way I know everything is done, and can move forward with confidence from there.

My man maths calculator is telling me that the £1500+ I’ve saved by not going to LeMans this year can go towards the cost!

Thanks for all the advice.

I have a better idea. Reduce your notional Le Mans budget (it never costs that much!) by, I dunno, £750, which means that you can come to Le Mans virtually for free and get all that work done on your wonderful GS. Vici vici, as the Romans would have commented, having successfully arranged a chariot service and wangled a homines weekend of vinum quaffing and chariot racing in Napoli.
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
I have a better idea. Reduce your notional Le Mans budget (it never costs that much!) by, I dunno, £750, which means that you can come to Le Mans virtually for free and get all that work done on your wonderful GS. Vici vici, as the Romans would have commented, having successfully arranged a chariot service and wangled a homines weekend of vinum quaffing and chariot racing in Napoli.

I like your way of thinking sir! Although if you can do LeMans for less than four figures, I’m impressed...
 

Felonious Crud

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Staff member
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21,016
I like your way of thinking sir! Although if you can do LeMans for less than four figures, I’m impressed...

I have no idea what it costs. Matt asks for money at what seems like random intervals through the year and I just pay him. As far as my man-brain works, it costs whatever my most recent bank statement says I've paid Matt. So far it's not cost a bean. Come with the SM delegation, It's free!
 

rossyl

Member
Messages
3,312
Emblem are brilliant, only had good experiences and heard good things.

Though they might come up with a comprehensive list, they also will advise what needs doing now, and what might be good to do at a future date and what's purely cosmetic.
 

hashluck

Member
Messages
1,515
Quick update...

Have decided to go for maximum wallet lightening and to do a full 4th Year service and replace all the various fluids, lambdas, carbon filter, and probably the aux drive belt ( as don’t know when that was last changed)… This way I know everything is done, and can move forward with confidence from there.

My man maths calculator is telling me that the £1500+ I’ve saved by not going to LeMans this year can go towards the cost!

Thanks for all the advice.

Sounds like a good plan. That is what I did last year and it gets the car on a great footing for going forward. Picked it up from Emblem this morning after 1st year Service and MOT. All good as usual.
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
Picking mine back up tomorrow, and am really looking forward to it.

As always, Myles and Martin @ Emblem have been first class in terms of communication and making sure everything is right with the car, and the whole experience has reaffirmed why I choose to use them to look after my car even though there are other closer and probably cheaper options.