Car Repair Horror Stories from Queens Park Garage
It’s that time of year again where everyone is getting ready for the spookiest night of the year. It’s also that time of year where we are reminding people to get their cars serviced ready for the colder months.
Regular servicing is important for many reasons, the main one being your safety as we often come across issues under the bonnet that drivers may not have realised were there until it is sometimes too late. These issues can end up being dangerous and costly to repair and often could have been prevented if a regular servicing plan were in place.
If you follow us on Facebook and Instagram, you may have seen that we post from time to time about some of the car repair issues that we see week on week. This year for Halloween, we thought we would do something a bit different and bring you a round up of some of our car repair ‘horror stories’, where drivers have brought their vehicles to us just in time and prior to what could have been a ‘deadly’ accident.
Check out our car repair ‘horror stories’ below:
In this video, one of the clips shows bulging tyres. Bulging in any place on a tyre is dangerous! It’s a sign that the cords that run through the rubber that keeps the tyre strength and shape are damaged and could blowout at any time. Bulges can be caused by many reasons from bumping kerbs, driving through pot holes or deep cuts in the tyre.
A brilliant example of why you shouldn't attempt to "fix" your car yourself or ask a mate that "sort of knows that they're doing" to fix it for you... the wiring in this picture is for a seat belt pretensioner.
Part of your SRS system that could save your life in the event of a collision! Any work carried out on your vehicle should be done by trained technicians and rectified professionally. Not just twisted together in the hope it'll work!
This customers ABS light was on. Not surprising, as you can see in the picture, their nearside rear wheel speed sensor was broken and not completing the circuit. The part was available on the same day so another happy customer.
Time for a spring clean? This car came in for a service and we found life growing in the scuttle. We cleared it out along with the scuttle drains so the inside of the car doesn't get flooded.
As you can see this front shock absorber is quite badly out of shape! This is as a result of hitting kerb at speed, luckily we were able to supply and fit new suspension, carry out a 4 wheel hunter alignment and get the customer back on the road in no time!
This car came in with the symptoms of a clutch fault, once we started checking, we unfortunately found a hole in the gearbox casing! As always we managed to get it sorted, and new gearbox was fitted along with a new clutch kit.
This tyre (or what's left of it) has seen it's last day! Be sure to check your tyre pressures regularly but if you're unsure about the condition of your tyres, pop in and see us so one of our technicians can have a look.
As vehicles get older they are more likely to corrode, especially if you live close to the sea. However, we weren’t expecting to see this driveshaft broken due to corrosion.
This was an interesting find! This vehicle came in for a brake fluid leak and once inspected we found one of the brake pipes crushed under a suspension bolt! The customer had a part fitted by a friend a few days before - this is a great example of why you should leave any work to be done on your vehicle to a professional!
This anti-roller bar drop link ball joint has completely detached due to excessive wear and lack of maintenance. This sort of thing is easily avoidable with regular servicing.
A car failed its MOT for a major fluctuation in the front brakes. We soon saw the fault with the wheel off - the disc had corroded and worn so badly that it had cracked and broken. Needless to say, our team of skilled technicians for the customer safely on their way. This is extremely dangerous and a great example of why you should keep on top of the servicing and maintenance of your vehicle.
Get Your Car Serviced & Repaired at Queens Park Garage in Bournemouth
Ideally, you should have an annual service for your vehicle and not just an annual MOT as an MOT doesn’t always cover all the mechanical aspects of your vehicle that need to be checked and maintained.
We recommend booking a regular service to stay on top of repairs before they become costly and dangerous. We offer a free 10 point check when we have availability, and also have servicing appointments available to ensure that your vehicle is ready for the Winter months. Call us on 01202 216104 or book online using our booking request form.
Stay safe and we hope you enjoy a socially distanced, Happy Halloween.
