Mr C's Renault Resurrection

Hello faithful readers and welcome to another week of adventures from the KAM team. We have been very busy this week as you continue to heed the call and more and more of your cars are being restored to perfect health. You can leave your comments, questions and queries at www.twitter.com/dr_kev.
This week’s cautionary tale comes courtesy of Mr C who called in to our Bulwell depot to complain about a major problem his car was experiencing. “Kev I knew I should have listened, but I just couldn’t afford it. What am I going to do now?” After Mr C had calmed he started to explain the problem and how it may have been self inflicted. “Well Kev you remember I bought my car to you last time and you did recommend me having some work done?” I remembered this very well, as Mr C had not been able to pay for the recommended work; his Renault Megane had gone untreated. “Well now my car is not starting and I need you to take a look please. I can’t go without my car for too long. This is such an inconvenience.” Mr C was both sad at his car’s declining health and angry with himself for letting his car worsen. It was time for the KAM team to step up and help one of our customers in need. So we loaded up the ‘twuck wid da fwashin lights’ and Strong Arm Steve was on his way to rescue Mr C. He also took along a courtesy car so that no more inconvenience would be caused to Mr C. We promised to keep him informed of all the car’s developments and a short while later the lifeless car arrived at the depot.
Diagnostic Dan was first to spot the new arrival and immediately took the reigns. “I’ll take it Kev.” First we checked through Mr C’s history and we saw that the last time he had been to KAM he’d had an alternator changed. That was two months ago and before that a battery had been changed. These had been necessary replacements and we also observed the work that we had suggested be undertaken. Last time he had come to KAM we had observed early signs of a possible fuel leak and we had relayed these fears to Mr C. We told him that work could be undertaken to prevent the leak but unfortunately due to the recession and difficult financial times Mr C had been unable to have the work done. But it’s never too late and we were determined to find the problem and fix it at the lowest possible cost. Dan plugged the car into our state of the art electrical diagnostic machines and after a short time the famous words rang through the garage. “I’ve got it Kev.” It so transpired that the starter motor had become faulty and that was the reason that the car would not start. After the last visit diesel had started to leak behind the gearbox and into the starter motor. This had caused damage to the starter motor and now we would need to call our fantastic suppliers to replace it. They arrived and Dan soon got to work replacing the faulty part. He then steam cleaned the engine and now came the moment of truth. As the bonnet was slammed shut and Dan assumed his position behind the steering wheel, the boys waited in anticipation. Dan slowly turned the key and after a few seconds… a rapturous raw resonated from the car as it bounced back to life. “We did it Kev.” Shouted Dan from inside the car.
Later Mr C arrived to pick up his car and was relieved to see his car bought back from the brink. “Wow Kev, you resurrected my car and here I was thinking Halloween was next week.”
It was another mystery solved by the KAM team and we would like to take this opportunity to advise our loyal customers to come and see us if any problems occur within their car. With the winter on its way it is more important than ever to get your car fit and ready for the ensuing snow.
Remember faithful reader, our team of dedicated and hard working staff at the branches in Sutton, Long Eaton, Bulwell and Belper are open ever day of the week, EXCLUDING Sunday’s, while the lads at our Sawley and Heanor workshops are at your service seven days a week, keeping your car where it belongs. ON THE ROAD.

Mr C's Suspicious Behaviour Puzzles The KAM team

Hello faithful readers and welcome to another week of adventures from the KAM team. We have been very busy this week as you continue to heed the call and more and more of your cars are being restored to perfect health. We have seen a surge in sales for Maxxi’s tyres due to our competitive prices which are still much lower than our competitors.
This week we got a visit from Mr C whose car had endured a nasty accident and it was in dire need of repair. However Mr C was scarce with the details of the accident and was reluctant to give many details. He also talked with a great matter of urgency when enquiring the estimated time in which the car would be restored. The car in question was a green Jaguar X type which up until the accident had been in pristine shape. Now there was a scratch on the right front door, a dint in the bonnet and the back was in less than desirable condition. ‘So when can you have it done for Kev? Its just that I need it done in 2 weeks if that’s possible’ With no further explanation after taking Mr C’s details we dispatched him in one of our courtesy cars and got to work.
Now this is not one of our usual stories in which we have to find out the problem but
instead this was a case for our body repair work shop. Yet the mystery of Mr C’s shady behaviour remained. Why the urgency and reluctance for detail?
A week later the work on the Jaguar was complete and we called Mr C and he was thrilled. ‘Wow I wasn’t expecting it to be done so quickly I’ll be down as soon as possible’. After picking up his car Mr C still did not divulge any details but we had a satisfied customer and that’s what we aim for here at KAM.
A few weeks later we got a visit form an older gentleman and upon asking for his details it was revealed that he was the father of Mr C. He had recently seen expenses made on his wife’s credit card to KAM servicing and had come to investigate. ‘I just came to say what a great job you did on my car, when I returned from my holiday recently I found that the scratch on the side and dint on the front had been repaired’. The mystery was explained, the first Mr C being unfamiliar with an automatic accidentally reversed into the garage resulting in the disfigurement of his father’s beloved Jaguar. In a panic Mr C bought it to our reliable garage in the hope of getting it repaired before his parent’s return. Mrs C wanting to help her son, and gave him the payment details needed just so long as the car received a prompt recovery. Thankfully Mr C senior saw the funny side and was so happy with the work we had done he booked it in for an MOT and service.
Remember faithful reader, our team of dedicated and hard working staff at the branches in Heanor, Sutton and Long Eaton, along with our bodywork shop are open ever day of the week, EXCLUDING Sunday’s, while the lads at our Sawley workshop and Sutton car sales are at your service seven days a week, keeping your car where it belongs. ON THE ROAD.
Until next week faithful reader, drive safely and keep it shiny side up.

Mr D recieves winning service from KAM

Hello faithful readers and welcome to another week of adventures from the KAM team. We have been very busy this week as you continue to heed the call and more and more of your cars are being restored to perfect health. You can leave your comments, questions and here or our twitter at www.twitter.com/dr_kev.
This week’s diagnostic dilemma comes courtesy of Mr D who visited our Heanor depot for the first time. Mr D, a plumber had been experiencing some problems with his Vauxhall Vivaro and through a recommendation had landed on our doorstop. ‘Hi Dr Kev my neighbour said you can fix any problem and my van is of full of them’.
The problem at hand was an appearance from the EML (engine management light) and the car cutting out intermittently when Mr D was driving. ‘I don’t know what’s going on with it I have to travel to people’s houses and this is a major disruption’ said Mr D exasperated. Now before we could let Mr D drive off in our courtesy car we had to get all the details. The possible cause for the problem became instantly apparent when all the details were given. Mr D explained ‘well I took it to a garage recently for an oil and filter change, it was a very cheap price so I didn’t really think twice’. It so transpired that just minutes after driving away from the garage the EML had appeared and the cutting out began. Mr D further explained how after returning to the garage to explain the problem they offered no additional help. They were not fully equipped to check and fix the problem. ‘They were a tyre, exhaust and lubrication centre and they said that I would need to go to a garage to fix the problem. They were most unhelpful’ Mr D added.
Well there would be no such treatment from our dedicated KAM team and our Vauxhall expert Big Al got straight to work. Firstly hooking up the van to our state of the art diagnostic machines and awaiting the results. After just 10 minutes Big Al returned to the reception with a grin across his face. ‘Come on Kev that was just too easy’ he said. The machine showed that the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve was stuck open causing a vacuum leak resulting in the stalling and cutting out of the van and appearance of the EML. The EGR valve helps the car to burn fuel efficiently by recirculating a portion of your exhaust and running it through the combustion process again. The open EGR floods the combustion chamber resulting in the car suffering a number of faults. This occurred as the previous centre had used a diesel flush to flush the cars system. Too much of the diesel treatment had caused the EGR valve to open and stay jammed allowing NOX gases to build up. So the mystery was solved. Big Al gave the EGR a clean and placed it in the right position. The EML needed a simple reset, after a road test and a clean from Dynamo Dhillan the van was back to perfect health.
Mr D returned but was rightfully sceptical as he had been mistreated before by a garage and we promised him that he id not have to pay if the problem was not fixed. After taking the car for a test drive to make sure all was well a smile adorned Mr D’s face. ‘Wow I can’t believe it; it drives like its brand new, I can’t believe it thank you so much Dr Kev.
Remember faithful reader, our team of dedicated and hard working staff at the branches in Sutton and Long Eaton, along with our bodywork shop are open ever day of the week, EXCLUDING Sunday’s, while the lads at our Sawley and Heanor workshops and Sutton car sales are at your service seven days a week, keeping your car where it belongs. ON THE ROAD.

Mr G's Brake Teaser

Hello faithful readers and welcome to another week of adventures from the KAM team. We have been very busy this week as you continue to heed the call and more and more of your cars are being restored to perfect health. You can leave your comments, questions and queries here or on our twitter at www.twitter.com/dr_kev.
This week’s story comes courtesy of Mr G who visited our Heanor depot in his Ford Fiesta. ‘Kev help my car is losing major fluid, I don’t know where it’s going. You have to fix it’. It turned out that on weekly inspections of his car’s levels the hydraulic fluid level had continued to decrease. This had lead to Mr G having to top up once a week and going through a lot of hydraulic fluid along the way. He continued ‘the problem has persisted for over 6 months now; I thought it would go away but its still happening’. Mr G was losing money from all the hydraulic fluid he had bought over the last 6 months and now needed a solution to this costly problem.
Strong Arm Steve was elected to take on the mammoth mystery and got straight to work. The first task was to check the brake performance to see if they were affected by the loss of fluids. This involves checking the test metres and general use of the brakes. The tests were done and Freddy passed with flying colours, the brakes were working fine. So what was the cause of the leakage? We would need to investigate further. We then removed the wheels to visually inspect the breaks at the front and rear. Again we were surprised as the breaks looked brand new, so where to look now? It seemed as though we were never going to find the problem, the brake fluid was leaking but there was no problem with the brakes. This was a conundrum and the team were running out of ideas. We have never let a mystery go unsolved and this would not be a first. So it was time to bring in the big guns our very own ‘Ghostbusters’, the elite motor team- myself, Super Shaun and Diagnostic Dan. Dan who has been consistently unravelling mysteries since his arrival here at KAM was ready to take on the car gremlin. He attached the car to one of our state of the art machines and proceeded to do a pressure test on the breaking system. After half an hour he came back looking deflated and relayed the results ‘nothing, not so much as drip. There is no leaking’. ‘Oh no Dan have you failed to find the problem. That is a surprise’ said Shaun jokingly.
So another dead end and we were no nearer to finding out the actual problem. Now here at KAM we do refrain from doing a road test if the brakes are faulty. This is for the safety of us and others on the road in case of possible accidents. However the brakes were in good working condition and so a road test could be done. Dan, still eager to find the problem was first behind the wheel and off he went. He returned in 10 minutes hoisted the car up on the ramp and proclaimed ‘I’ve found it Kev, I know what the problem is’. We were slightly sceptical after hours of inconclusive testing had he really found the problem in 10 minutes? ‘It turned out that the brake problem was actually a clutch problem’ said Dan. Just to get technical for a moment the break and clutch share the same hydraulic fluid reservoir. This means that there was a leak but it was not due to the brake, but the clutch. The leak was coming between the gear box and the engine and the fluid was being lost through the clutch. We removed the gear box and we found the clutch slave cylinder to be leaking. So all along the problem had been the clutch which Dan had recognised as not being in good working order on the road test. The clutch was replaced and then after a wash from Dynamo Dhillan, Freddy was ready for collection. Yet it was till a mystery how Mr G had not noticed the clutch to be awkward when driving. ‘I suppose I had just gotten used it. I don’t drive very much. I’m so glad you’ve fixed it and saved me so much money. Thanks Dr Kev’
Remember faithful reader, our team of dedicated and hard working staff at the branches in Sutton and Long Eaton, along with our bodywork shop are open ever day of the week, EXCLUDING Sunday’s, while the lads at our Sawley and Heanor workshops and Sutton car sales are at your service seven days a week, keeping your car where it belongs. ON THE ROAD.

Mr G's Astra Attack

Hello faithful readers and welcome to another week of adventures from the KAM team. We have been very busy this week as you continue to heed the call and more and more of your cars are being restored to perfect health. You can leave your comments, questions on our twitter at www.twitter.com/dr_kev.
This week we received a visit from Mr G who as a long time customer here at KAM came straight to our Heanor depot with his mechanical conundrum. As he burst through the door a startled Supreme Sunny was first to ask what problems beseeched Mr G’s Vauxhall Astra. He had been in for a service just 6 months ago, what could be the problem? Had our team failed to notice something? ‘It’s using a lot more fuel recently, much more than usual and I am making the same amount of journeys. I don’t understand’ said Mr G looking puzzled. After further enquiry Mr G also revealed that a roaring noise had also been resonating from the car recently and maybe these two problems could be connected. When all the details were taken we dispatched Mr G off in one of our courtesy cars and got to work.
Tasmanian Trev was on hand to fix this week’s problem and hoisted the car up onto our state of the art ramps and began to take a gander. First the Vauxhall Astra was hooked up to our state of the art diagnostic machines and the mystery started to unravel. This week there was no Diagnostic Dan as he was off on a breakdown call and so we would have to solve this one without him. A short while passed and Tasmanian Trev had a familiar look upon his face as he announced ‘this is easy Kev, the exhaust is blown. I’ll get right to fixing it’. After another look round a look of disbelief adorned Trev’s face, as another car dilemma presented itself. The exhaust catalyst which is held into place by 3 bolts was holding on by a thread with 2 bolts missing. Now I must bestow some cautionary words for all drivers as there has been an increase in exhaust catalyst thefts. This is due to there worth which can be very high and their valuable metal components which can be very lucrative to a wannabe thief. So this is just a warning to be careful about where to park your car and to keep an eye on it if possible. The tell tale signs were there on Mr G’s car and it became obvious that someone had tried to take the catalyst converter, but luckily had been interrupted. Super Shaun got to work first by welding the exhaust to the exhaust catalyst, which was in need of refitting and bolting back up. We did this to save Mr G money as other garages would have simply replaced the components we at KAM think about the customers needs first.
The exhaust catalyst is used to control the emissions that are released from the car and due to a faulty wire leading to the O2 sensor the fuel problem could be explained. As the O2 sensor was faulty and so the ECU was using more fuel than usual. The roaring noise was explained by the loose exhaust catalyst. With all the work done and a clean from Dynamo Dhillan we were ready to see if we had succeeded. As Supreme Sunny turned the key a gentle purring resounded from the engine and the boys look on relieved.
When Mr G came to pick up the car he was thrilled to see the car in good working order and thanked the KAM team for their unflinching dedication to the job. ‘Thanks so much Dr Kev, I’m so glad you fixed it so quickly’. We also explained the threat of thieves and that if he saw anything suspicious then to report it to the police. ‘Wow you really are my heroes’ he laughed and with that he was off.
Remember faithful reader, our team of dedicated and hard working staff at the branches in Sutton and Long Eaton, along with our bodywork shop are open ever day of the week, EXCLUDING Sunday’s, while the lads at our Sawley and Heanor workshops and Sutton car sales are at your service seven days a week, keeping your car where it belongs. ON THE ROAD.

Your Dedicated KAM team

I have been on the Good Garage Scheme website recently and would just like to thank all of our faithful customers for the plethora of wonderful comments made. They have praised our hard working staff, our low prices and our efficient and thorough service. Remember we are here to cater to all your motoring needs whether that be a cam belt catastrophe or a simple service KAM is here to do it all. We are also armed with a team of specialist just waiting to attack those car gremlins and make your cars road worthy once gain. So if you are looking for low prices, a dedicated team that will solve any diagnostic dilemma look no further than KAM. A garage for all ages that won't take advantage of our ever growing customer base. For all of our great comments from all of our depots on the good garage scheme visit the site here at:
http://www.goodgaragescheme.co.uk/search_detail.php?recordID=4230

Mrs Y's Fabia Fiasco

Hello faithful readers and welcome to another week of adventures from the KAM team. We have been very busy this week as you continue to heed the call and more and more of your cars are being restored to perfect health. You can leave your comments, questions and queries at http://drkev-kamsurgery.blogspot.com or on our twitter at www.twitter.com/dr_kev.
This week we received a visit from Mrs Y who as a long standing devoted customer to the KAM team had called in with her Skoda Fabia which was suffering from steering problems. ‘The steering is light one minute, and then heavy the next and the power steering has gone completely. You have to help me Dr Kev’. Those infamous words uttered yet again and our team would step up to the challenge. However after taking Mrs Y’s details one problem remained as on that very day the KAM garage was absent of all courtesy cars. Due to our busy schedule all had been loaned out and Mrs Y was in dire need as she had a compulsory hospital appointment. The Skoda would have to wait as we needed to get Mrs Y an alternative means of travel. Now other garages would simply suggest taking the bus or maybe even a taxi but here at KAM the customer is our main priority. As we scanned the workshop everyone’s eyes fell on Super Shaun as Mrs Y’s saviour. Shaun’s car was fully insured and safe for Mrs Y to drive and so being the gentleman he is he kindly offered. With Mrs Y happy at her day not being disrupted we dispatched her off in Shaun’s car and got straight to work.
Diagnostic Dan our very own German car specialist (Skoda is now part of the VW family) had been lurking in the background with a knowing look adorning his face. ‘Let me guess Dan you know what it is, you know you should use your powers to fight crime’ joked Shaun. ‘Well Shaun electronic diagnostics is about the art of following eliminating procedures’ he proclaimed while rifling in his tool box for his multimetre. With the all knowing Dan accompanied by Dynamo Dhillan this was sure to be a quick diagnostics mission. As the two got to work testing the car’s electric pump and the sensors the problem became quickly apparent. While undertaking the electric test which is carried out to test the resistance of the sensors it turned out to be a faulty angle sensor.
We were able to source a new angle sensor from our wonderful suppliers and the power steering was returned to normal. Dynamo Dhillan who is becoming our very own protégé finished the car off with a car wash and it was ready for collection. Mrs Y who had herself been given a clean bill of health returned to pick up her prized possession and was delighted at the swiftness of our team. ‘Wow Kev you really have helped me, my day has been disruption free and its all thanks to you and your team’. ‘Would it be awfully rude of me to ask one more thing Dr Kev’ she probed. ‘Ask away Mrs Y’ I responded curious as to what she was going to ask. It so transpired that Mrs Y’s petrol lawn mower had been giving her some problems and now she needed her dedicated KAM team to help. Super Shaun got behind the wheel of ‘da twuck with da fwashing lights’ and followed Mrs Y home to fix her faulty lawn mower. She returned later on to thank the KAM team for being so helpful and promised to leave us some favourable comments on the Good Garage Scheme website. Another day and another customer satisfied by your enthusiastic KAM team who is your one stop shop for all your motoring needs.
Remember faithful reader, our team of dedicated and hard working staff at the branches in Sutton and Long Eaton, along with our bodywork shop are open ever day of the week, EXCLUDING Sunday’s, while the lads at our Sawley and Heanor workshops and Sutton car sales are at your service seven days a week, keeping your car where it belongs. ON THE ROAD.