In-ger-lish AA & Mechanics
Bad experience in this fine country, the car's gears started getting a little stiff, then started almost grinding, and within 30 mins became almost impossible to change gears. Here is my experience with the English AA, and tribulations to get it fixed:
 | 10:58 - initial call to AA, i get "Mike". Informed help will arrive by 12:05 from Kavanagh towies. |
| 12:25 - phone AA again - get "Steve", ask where they are? |
| 12:28 - told 5-10mins away, on New Cross Road. |
| 13:02 - AA call (Sandra?) to see how things are going, I reply that no-one has showed. Opps! they check, and say they are "nearly there". |
| 13:12 - Kavanagh man arrives, 2 hours and 14 minutes after first call, and 44 minutes from the "5-10min" call. |
| 13:21 - friendly mechanic checks under bonnet and decides it "needs new clutch". I inquire as to probable cost to repair ~£75 |
| 13:24 - Off to local clutch "specialists"; Clutch Clinic (178a New Cross Road, SE14 5AA, tele = 02076394240), ETA to fix 2.5 hours £129.80, will call when ready... |
| 14:06 - back from Clutch Clinic. |
| 18:08 - Call and get an answerphone = open 8:00-17:00 mon-fri, 7:30-12:00 sat, bugger me! |
| 18:15 - Audery at AA tries to check what's happening, say will call back. |
| 18:36 - says she can only take complaint (AA Complaint Dept only Mon-Fri office hours), and suggests trying Clutch Clinic in the morning, well der! |
| 08:40 - taxi to CC, at a mere £10 |
| 08:58 - cough over spare kidney: sorted! |
The thing is you will never be really sure English mechanics will be a decent job. The stories and reports into dodgy, poor, and dangerous repairs are all but legendary. There is no regulation on tradesmen, and garages that do poorly seem to close down/go bankrupt and then start up with the same people (often in the same location), and start plying their trade again. Your insurance says "Covers breakdowns!", then you read the list of exemptions... I guess the thing that irks is that, you must have insurance, but some insurance companies won't even supply comprehensive insurance to people living in London (too high a risk, for a major city!). Coupled with the fact that your insurance seems defined by who you are, not what you drive, and they bounce your no-claims at any opportunity.
