Your fleet running reports

[Sundayjumper]

Cayenne sold for the second time. Winning bidder is trying to tell me that I must give him my landline number in order for him to paypal the money to my bank account

Possibly a scammer...

[DeskJockey]

Cayenne sold for the second time. Winning bidder is trying to tell me that I must give him my landline number in order for him to paypal the money to my bank account

Possibly a scammer...

Errrr... That's not dodgy sounding at all.

[V8Granite]

Cayenne sold for the second time. Winning bidder is trying to tell me that I must give him my landline number in order for him to paypal the money to my bank account

Possibly a scammer...

Luckily you don’t have a landline number, so many scams about that you may be arrested for a Tesco Points scam if you give it to them

Dave!

[mik]

Noticed a few weeks back that the front left tyre on the Evora had lost a couple of psi. Unusual. Corrected it. Same again after about 3 days. Repeat.

Took the wheel off a couple of weeks back. Spraying with fairly-liquid/water mix revealed nothing on the tread. Nothing around the bead seal. Nothing around the valve. Now that is weird.

Pulled out a paddling pool we use for the ducks, so I could immerse the tyre in it (to approx 80% of the tyre width - wait for water to settle so you have a nice clear view.... no sign of any leak anywhere (including through the wheel itself obvs). Flip over and repeat. Nada. WTF?

Stuck it back on the car in case the air pressure pixies had fixed it just before I removed the wheel from the car. Bizarrely no - a couple of psi lost again over approximately the next 3 days. Arsehole air pressure pixies.

Took it off again this Sunday and inflated it to 48psi (max pressure noted on the sidewall is 50psi). Did the same routine - shirley higher pressure will expose the leak? Nope. Fook hall visible.

Not really much I could do, so I decided what whilst it was at 48psi, I'd get the dead-blow mallet out (mallets : third drawer down on the RHS in my new ever-so-tidy tool chest setup ) Smacked the sidewalls all around the wheel rim, on both sides of the tyre, in the vague hope that this might shock/reseat the bead. Just in case it was that after all Dropped the pressure back to normal and refitted..... zero pressure loss since Sunday. Weird, but hopefully.... <crosses fingers and touches wood>

Edit - a bit like this, but I was rather more enthusiastic with the mallet....

[Mito Man]

Hmm wondering if that’s what happened to one of my defender tyres. I gave up looking and put in about 1/4 of a can of tyre sealant.

[Matty]

Edit - a bit like this, but I was rather more enthusiastic with the mallet....

3 weeks later

"So I've noticed a bit of wheel wobble at speed"

[V8Granite]

I had this with a valve stem that only leaked when you pushed it about. So when driving it must have been wobbling about.

Dave!

[Matty]

So for a car that's done over 45k miles, the Alfa is in astonishingly good condition - clearly been well looked after. Oddly, the only thing I have noticed is that the previous owner was Wolverine, as the inside trim on the drivers side A-pillar has been sliced, as has the leather on the steering wheel (at the 3 o'clock position). I'm not entirely sure *how* this was managed....maybe by rings? But not sure how you'd damage the A-pillar trim that way.

It's not an easy car to get in and out of, thanks to the odd placement of the B-pillar, and the big bolster, so I do tend to find that using the A-pillar for leverage can be useful, which I can only assume the previous owner did too, hence the damage.

(Note, steering wheel is turned 180) - I think the leather may be repairable? If so, any suggestion for good stuff to use?

The A-pillar trim looks worse in the fabric than in pictures, but I suspect that will just need to be replaced. Thankfully it'll be a clip out, clip in.

[V8Granite]

The steering wheel is 100% from Jean button edges catching it when getting in and out. I had exactly the same marks on my 500e from a pair of jeans where the rivets were no longer tight on the pocket. It took me ages to figure that one out

Dave!

[mik]

Note, steering wheel is turned 180 - I think the leather may be repairable? If so, any suggestion for good stuff to use?

My default for that kinda Q is to post an image to Richard Tipper (@perfectionvalet on twatter) - he's usually really good for responding and you know his advice is sound.

Failing that there is always Jim at Royal Steering wheels for a reasonably-priced wheel refurb. I've not used his services yet, but have seen his work - biggest challenge there is losing your wheel for a couple of weeks whilst he does the job - fine if you can get a temporary replacement, but that's not always easy.

[Sundayjumper]

Ferrari booked for an MOT this afternoon. Last night I went to check the oil and the release cable is seized solid. I had to take the bumper off and release the catch by hand

So now I need to bodge a replacement from a bicycle brake cable because I’m not buying a genuine Ferrari one for £88.22+VAT.

https://www.ferrariparts.co.uk/part/ferrari/65853300

IMG_1701.jpeg (170.58 KiB) Viewed 1139 times

[integrale_evo]

The steering wheel is 100% from Jean button edges catching it when getting in and out. I had exactly the same marks on my 500e from a pair of jeans where the rivets were no longer tight on the pocket. It took me ages to figure that one out

Dave!

Wide hips?

I can’t imagine a situation where trouser pockets ever come close to a steering wheel. Maybe they do and I’ve just never noticed!

Seen similar damage from rings but more usually on the top of the wheel.

[Jimmy Choo]

The steering wheel is 100% from Jean button edges catching it when getting in and out. I had exactly the same marks on my 500e from a pair of jeans where the rivets were no longer tight on the pocket. It took me ages to figure that one out

Dave!

Wide hips?

I can’t imagine a situation where trouser pockets ever come close to a steering wheel. Maybe they do and I’ve just never noticed!

Seen similar damage from rings but more usually on the top of the wheel.

I think you and Dave! have very slightly different physiques.

The shitty fake carbon trim in my old E46 was scratched to buggery by the bejewelled fingers of one of the previous owners. Fortunately, it was an easy fix. I replaced all the interior trim with the silver stuff.

[V8Granite]

It’s the front little pocket that did it, I’m also not a small chap

Dave!

[Beany]

I dunno, the b-pillar on the 135i is quite far forward and it feels like the car was made for midgets to get in and out of - I need to put the wheel 'back' before getting in and out of it or I end up proper squeezing up against the steering wheel, which is where it might have come from if someone was wearing designer jeans with zips on the pocket or some crap.

Granted, I'm not a small lad, but I can see that with just a bit of choice design, like more heavily winged / bucketed seats that could be quite a bit worse

So I think I get where Matty is coming from.

[DeskJockey]

Note, steering wheel is turned 180 - I think the leather may be repairable? If so, any suggestion for good stuff to use?

My default for that kinda Q is to post an image to Richard Tipper (@perfectionvalet on twatter) - he's usually really good for responding and you know his advice is sound.

Failing that there is always Jim at Royal Steering wheels for a reasonably-priced wheel refurb. I've not used his services yet, but have seen his work - biggest challenge there is losing your wheel for a couple of weeks whilst he does the job - fine if you can get a temporary replacement, but that's not always easy.

[mik]

Get a grip mik

[DeskJockey]

[Matty]

Wide hips?

I can’t imagine a situation where trouser pockets ever come close to a steering wheel. Maybe they do and I’ve just never noticed!

Seen similar damage from rings but more usually on the top of the wheel.

Wide! Would need to be massive and reversing in Strange thing is, I'd have thought if it was from jeans I'd expect the damage to run futher around to the front of the wheel (going full Columbo here).

Either way...Mik, I do follow Richard Tipper on Twitter so I might tag him and see if there is any recommendation. Found a few things online too which might help.

[V8Granite]

Incase people think you need to reverse in to hit a river, the river is on the upper front corner of the front pockets.

People aren’t reversing in butt first with their hands on the floor, it’s not an Elise.

Dave!