Still no car. Not sure if I even want to keep it anymore.h

[Matty Stag]

Morning all, apologies for my radio silence over the last few months. I have been a bit fed up to discuss anything Stag related.

So here is where I am;..... The car was transported to EJ Wards mid June and I drove over to see Mick the following week to discuss moving forward with my poorly BL legend. A full engine rebuild was agreed on plus a couple of other bits (rear seat belts etc) with an approx lead time of 6 weeks.

I called Mick weekly for an update every 10 days or so and when I eventually got hold of him it was always bad news. Firstly the third party engineer that Wards use to machine the cylinder head made an error. The heads were returned to him and then a local lockdown scuppered any further progress. Fair enough I accept that.

I went on holiday from 7-21st August and having spoken to Mick before I went he was confident I could collect the car on my return. Came back from holiday to be told he waa having problem sourcing the hoses for the EWP. Assured me that it was all in hand and despite Mick now going on holiday for a week, that the rest of the team could put the car back together for me to collect w/c 24th August. This never happened and I had no response to any form of communication from anyone at Wards.

I sent Mick a message on bank holiday Monday telling him I was not happy, had no idea when i would get my car back and please could he call me in the morning. I heard nothing until gone 3pm.

So the update is that there are still no hoses for the EWP and he has had to commission the tooling himself to get them made. I might get my car back in 2 weeks!!! I paid 50% of the cost of the work upfront and requested an invoice so I can settle the balance. Mick then said ' we can send an invoice for most of it but there might be some carb work that is required'. Like what? I enquired. ' oh the diapragms and needles might need replacing but they are only £15-20 each. So........

Having spent the best part of £20k (inc engine rebuild) on a car I have driven 40 miles and not seen since. The leadtime for an engine rebuild time has doubled (through no fault of my own) and now Mick Ward wants to charge £40 for some farty bits when I am spending £6500 with him! IS THIS MAN TAKING THE PISS?!!!!

To be honest I am not sure I wan't to keep the car. I have lost the entire summer pretty much so am unlikely to use it until the Spring now.

Any advice is much appreciated. Sorry for the long story. Thanks

[MikeParker]

I run a small company and find that many of my suppliers are giving long lead times at the moment. I would cut him some slack and just acknowledge that we are still in a pandemic and many people are not fully back at work. Also, owning a classic like a Stag is a long game. My car has been out of action for many months at a time in the 40 odd years I have owned it. Makes it all the more enjoyable when it goes!

[mjheathcote]

I've no experience with Wards and fortunately can do most stuff myself.
A good friend is into classic Range Rovers and is constantly pulling his hair out with specialists, ones that claim to be the best in the country etc. Drops one off for basic maintenance and never hears from them for months at a time, chases them and chases them, then picks it up with a big bill, always with a labour cost that is not itemised with the hours spent!

[Niss]

I recently had an engine rebuild by EJ Wards.
The 6 week estimate ended up as 4 months.
The EWP hoses was one of the delays.
On the plus side, I have had the engine tuned by a local classic racing tuner who is impressed with the general quality of their work.
I paid for a full Carb refurbishment anyway so didn't have your problem.
Although they might take longer than expected, the quality is worth waiting for.

[fussydave]

I will defend Wards here. The third party error is beyond their control. Lock down in Leicester is beyond their control. The inability to obtain parts from a third party is beyond their control. Wards have took it on themselves to commission tooling to get some more hoses made, this is a proactive move and shows a commitment to help the customer. The lead time for the repairs has doubled through no fault of Wards either. As for Mick not getting back to you until 3PM, have you considered that he may be busy working on your car or chasing up suppliers to try and get your car sorted.

As for charging you for “some farty bits”, I assume that a price was agreed between you and Wards for an engine rebuild and other items you mentioned? Did this price include any repairs to the carburetors? If it did then fair enough there should be no charge, but if Wards have found that there is a problem with the carbs and they need to replace some parts to get the engine to run then it should be accepted that there is a charge for these parts, they are not a charity. Is he going to charge you any labour for repairing the carbs or just for the parts? I have found Wards to be extremely fair in their charging for works, often the bill does not reflect the time and effort they have put into the job.

Its frustrating when a promised date is missed, it is like building work on a house there is always more problems found and the finish time always extends and the final price goes up, classic cars are the same. You are not alone in this, I too had to have my engine rebuilt due to a poor quality water pump chewing up the jackshaft after only a few months of ownership, I waited four months for Wards to get the engine rebuilt (I was about fifth in the queue). The pump was not fitted by Wards I hasten to add!

I have left messages with Mick in the past and he sometimes does not get back to me until later in the day or the next morning, but he always rings. Perhaps he is snowed under at the moment and is trying to provide a good service to all his customers.

As for running the car, there will still be time to enjoy it this year. I go out in the winter with the top down on nice sunny days. The car can be used all year round, it was built to. We have all missed out on a lot of fun this year, all the events being stopped including the 50^th anniversary event at Silverstone so you are no worse off than the rest of us, and better off than some sad soles. Be patient it will all come good. At least you have something to look forward to.

Dave.

[Jimmygee]

I'm so sorry to hear of the problems you are encountering with getting your car back on the road, all made even more frustrating by the circumstances leading up to it.
I have had my car for 3 years now and have loved every minute of it but I too have suffered a catastrophic engine issue recently which is subject to a different thread.
Like others have said, I have resigned myself to the fact that it will take me a while to get it sorted and get it back on the road. That will not stop me however, as Stags are amazing and I look forward to driving it again whenever that may be.
When you do get your car back you can be confident that it will be reliable and it will put the biggest smile on your face every time you go out in it.

[JJF]

Welcome to the virtues of owning a classic car. I think you are blessed with someone who knows what needs to be done and is actually prepared to do the work.
I'm sure the wait will be worth while and it'll work out, Theres plenty that have been there before you.

[mike@thenook]

I am afraid that any classic car is likely to require require specialist treatment and, as the true specialists are few and far between they are going to be very busy keeping our wonderful cars on the road.
Unlike going into your average modern car dealership who have the benefit of plugging the boring modern car into a computer to find out whats wrong and said computer telling them what to go and replace the people in those dealerships tend to be mere "fitters" and not proper mechanics - proper mechanics are a rare quantity these days and no doubt the likes of Wards and any other specialist will find it damned difficult finding people that have the aptitude to work on classic cars.

I would mirror too what Dave says above, the pandemic and TP suppliers are totally out of their control and in the limited field in which people like EWP work the same applies, if they have a problem it is not always easily sorted.

If it were me I'd take a deep breath and just wait - it will be worth it in the end and while I have never had anything done to my Stag by Wards (and only one other 'specialist' in the last 26 years) they appear to be highly regarded for the work in general.

Cheers,

Mike

[LAMBRETTLAD]

They sound a bit like builders ,got their own calendar and time pieces !!!!!!!!!!!!

[wilf]

In my experience, few small businesses with specialist knowledge adhere to delivery promises, and comms are hit and miss.
The only consolation here is that Wards have a great reputation for good work. Once you get your car back it will be right, and they do have heaters.............

[LAMBRETTLAD]

Being good does not mean you can offer very poor customer service ,especially when paying top wack.

[Goldstar]

I think we also need to add some perspective about keeping his business afloat. This is a difficult time for small businesses and Wards will probably, like many other small businesses, have suffered lack of revenue, cash flow issues furloughing, difficulty in getting stock etc etc and all the other myriad issues that have tested many small and large businesses over the last 6 months.

Personally although I know you are frustrated and your car has not turned out the way you hoped (up to now) I think training your guns solely on Mick and the small team is a bit harsh-only a couple of months ago your anger was directed at the seller. Yes, of course, in a perfect world Wards would have done all they said, met all their deadlines and phoned you every time they said they would and you would have had your car back last week. But even without CV19, we don’t live in that world and for whatever reason that didn’t happen, difficult as it will be maybe try and see it from the other side of the fence and get some solace in knowing that when it is finished, it will be an excellent job done and if you can’t live with the car you will have little problem selling it.

[Goldstar]

Being good does not mean you can offer very poor customer service ,especially when paying top wack.

I would assume they are not doing it deliberately.

[Phil S]

in your position you want your car back, delays unfortunately happen in good times, add vovid into the equation and its remarkable its still making progress.
stag ownership at the best of times can be a financial drain i have now spent more on the car than it cost with work still to complete, I allowed for this when I got it though.
Be positive you will fall in love with the car again as soon as you get it out on an open road.

[MandM]

I think we also need to add some perspective about keeping his business afloat. This is a difficult time for small businesses and Wards will probably, like many other small businesses, have suffered lack of revenue, cash flow issues furloughing, difficulty in getting stock etc etc and all the other myriad issues that have tested many small and large businesses over the last 6 months.

Personally although I know you are frustrated and your car has not turned out the way you hoped (up to now) I think training your guns solely on Mick and the small team is a bit harsh-only a couple of months ago your anger was directed at the seller. Yes, of course, in a perfect world Wards would have done all they said, met all their deadlines and phoned you every time they said they would and you would have had your car back last week. But even without CV19, we don’t live in that world and for whatever reason that didn’t happen, difficult as it will be maybe try and see it from the other side of the fence and get some solace in knowing that when it is finished, it will be an excellent job done and if you can’t live with the car you will have little problem selling it.

I think communication is the key in this problem, clarity would solve the customers frustration , we would all become frustrated due to the lack of proactive communication!