IFinding repair shops you can trust is
always very difficult. “Honest” shops charge less than
others because they only do the work that is really necessary,
without replacing parts that are not defective. Consequently
they do not make a large profit from their customers and tend
to work out of small dark workshops which are financially
borderline, rather than the bright and glitzy ‘showroom’
style establishments which are making big profits and can
continue in business for many years. And so the merry-go-round
continues, with the vehicle owner being the loser each time.
One
of the regular readers has just had an illuminating experience
with a near new pick-up that began playing up. His experience
is given below. I have deleted the brand for a couple of
reasons – firstly I do not believe this is a
‘brand-specific’ problem, and secondly I do not believe
that the function of this column is to point accusatory
fingers at a specific dealership, without that dealership
having the right to respond. However, I do believe that this
problem is rife in the motor repair industry, and if ever
there was a case for “caveat emptor’ (let the buyer
beware) then this is it. Here is this reader’s tale.
“I had a learning experience in the past
few weeks that I think may be worth sharing with your readers
who happen to own pickups (or other diesel powered vehicles).
“I own a 2001 3.0L diesel pickup that I
bought new. It presently has 70,000 km on the clock. The past
few months I’ve experienced an increasing frequency of
failure of the engine to crank over when trying to start it.
There was a loud “click” but the engine wouldn’t crank
over. After several ‘clicks’ the engine would finally
crank over. The problem was clearly getting worse. To no avail
I replaced the battery (which was less than 2 years old). My
amateur guess was that the starter solenoid was the culprit.
“The dealer repair shop couldn’t
identify the problem and suggested I have the starter replaced
(B. 8,700 plus B. 1,800 labor). Several independent shops
refused to deal with the problem. One independent offered to
replace the starter/solenoid/alternator/regulator with
‘copies’ (rebuilt?) for B. 15,000.
“The shop where I’d bought two
batteries in the last two years quickly identified the problem
with certainty as a common chronic problem with diesel engine
starters, a burnt solenoid copper commutator. He said pickups
like mine typically failed sometime after 50,000 km. He fixed
the problem in one hour for B. 1,500. The removed parts
clearly showed arcing damage and the starter has worked
perfectly for more than two weeks now.
“I’m not surprised at a larcenous
attempt by a roadside shop to replace a bunch of parts that I
didn’t really need. However, up until now I’ve trusted the
integrity of the dealer shop. If dealer trained mechanics
couldn’t/wouldn’t recognize the problem, why not? I’m
now skeptical that for dishonest profits the dealer shop would
have installed a new starter motor then fixed the solenoid
problem for a small extra fee, maybe even covertly? My problem
would have been gone and I would never have known the truth.
Is dishonesty endemic with supposedly reputable car dealers in
Thailand? I honestly can’t draw any other conclusion.
“I think a media warning to other
gullible diesel engine vehicle owners with this same problem
would be a welcome blurb in your column.” (Name supplied but
withheld by me. Dr. Iain.)
There are many points raised by this
reader’s letter. Brand specific dealerships should
understand the common problems and be more accurate with their
diagnostics. Roadside shops are not necessarily ‘Honest
Charlies’. Getting several opinions will end up saving you
money, even if it does take up much of your time. And finally,
when you find a good shop, tell your friends!
If you believe you have found a good shop, have experienced
good service there and want to spread the word through this
column, I will be happy to print the information – however,
‘caveat emptor’ still remains! (My preferred repair shop
is CMS Trucks in Jomtien run by Martin, telephone 01 621
7105.)
The above headline is no pipe dream. There
is every indication that this could happen, as several
talented Asian drivers achieve their goals of getting into the
top echelons of motor sport.
Whilst the World Championship for F1
appears to be dominated by the UK and Europeans and South
American drivers, it should not be forgotten that there are
other categories of the sport, and some of these are also
world championships. There are also new “world” categories
on the rise, such as the A1 Grand Prix world championship and
the Grand Prix World Championship group that could be the
premier category in 2008. One should also not forget the North
American motor racing scene, which runs championships that are
open to drivers of all nationalities.
A
very quick sweep through different classes in the US soon
turned up Asian drivers such as Hideo Fukuyama from Japan who
was one of the earlier Asian drivers to enter professional
racing, competing in NASCAR in 2002 and 2003.
2004 was a spectacular year for Asian
drivers. Three Japanese drivers have excelled and have shown
the emerging talent from the land of the Rising Sun.
One of these was a newcomer, 25 year old
Kosuke Matsuura who made his debut by placing within the top
10 of the Indy 500. However, he is no newcomer to the European
scene. He finished third in the 2003 Formula Renault V6
Eurocup, claiming three wins and five additional podiums.
Matsuura also was a front-runner in German Formula 3
competition, finishing second in the 2002 championship with
two wins and six pole positions.
One name that is well known in the current
crop of F1 drivers is Takuma Sato, who was contracted to the
BAR Honda team. When he first secured the seat, there were
those who said that it was just as a sop to Japanese engine
supplier Honda, but nothing could have been further from the
truth. Sato deserved his seat, and has shown that he could
out-qualify the much vaunted young Briton Jenson Button on
many occasions. Takuma Sato also had an impressive history in
the British Formula Three racing class, where he won 16 races
and the 2001 championship, and took out the Macau GP, the
premier F3 event in the world. Unfortunately, Takumasan looks
to be out of a seat for 2006. His over-enthusiastic driving
winning him more accidents than podium finishes.
Another Japanese driver who was not only
well known (and feared) was Tora ‘Tiger’ Takagi in world
motor racing, including F1. He was fearless but his rough
driving style resulted in several pile-ups and a few
reprimands from CART officials after he went across to the US
to race there. He is now in the IRL category and last year
picked up almost a quarter of a million dollars in the Indy
500, America’s premier auto race.
Another Asian driver who is making his mark
in the results book (and not on the retaining walls) is Narain
Karthikeyan, known as ‘The Fastest Indian in the World’.
He is another emerging Asian talent, and has a solid pedigree
with wins in the ultra-competitive F3 arena in Europe. This
resulted in his securing an F1 drive with Jordan for 2005, but
he is still in the wilderness when I wrote this, as his chance
of a test driver for Williams looks as if it will not come
off.
Asia is not short of talented drivers, with
Rizal Ramli showing that he had the speed, but not the luck,
to carry off the Porsche Infineon Cup Asia, while young Marchy
Lee from Hong Kong took the Formula BMW Asia title in 2004
with a dominant display, and is now racing in Europe.
But to return to the headline, “Asian
racing driver wins world championship”, this is certainly
not a pipe dream, as an Asian driver has already done just
that!
Remembering that F1 only began in 1950,
before then and before WW II, the unofficial ‘world
championship’ was the British Racing Drivers Club
championship, run over a number of events each year. Any
driver who could win the coveted BRDC Gold Star was the
supreme driver of that year, but there has only been one
driver to win three pre-war consecutive BRDC Gold Stars, and
that driver was an Asian, and in my view one of the most
under-rated drivers in motorsport history. This driver was the
only Asian to beat five times world champion Juan Manuel
Fangio, in equal cars in 1949, when Fangio was making his name
as the up and coming driver of the future.
That driver was Prince Birabongse Bhanudej
Bhanubandh, a member of the royal family of Siam (as Thailand
was known then). In 1936 Prince Bira won the J.C.C.
International Trophy and three International Light Car Races
at Monaco, Peronne and Albi, France. In 1937 he won the
Campbell Trophy, the Light Car Race at the Isle of Man, the
London Grand Prix, the 12-hour Race at Donington Park and the
Imperial Trophy. In 1938, he won seven major races including
the Coronation Trophy, the Campbell Trophy, the Light Car Race
at Cork, the London Grand Prix, the Nuffield Trophy, the BRDC
Road Race and the Siam Trophy. Those wins against all the
accepted hot-shots of the time, gave him the BRDC Gold Star
awards for 1936, 1937 and 1938. A feat unequalled since then.
However, with motorsport burgeoning in all categories in
Asia, and the F1 circus now including many Asian circuits, I
believe we are getting closer to seeing another Asian driver
on the top step of the world championship podium. And I
believe it will be soon!
So
to this week, and we will get a little more modern. Take a
look at the photo. Which well-known car company made this
vehicle. It was designed to lean into the corner like a
motorcycle.