Lost & found: Spanner

Who did it?


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Totally Hooked
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True story.

Got a six year old car with circa 2k miles on.

Got it to:
  • Main dealer's reputable garage for full service (April 2022)
  • Reputable tyre shop for new tyres & four-wheel alignment to stock spec (May 2022)
  • Abroad for a road trip (June 2022)
  • MOT Test centre; passed with no advisories. Tester told me all good with car. (July 2022)
  • A couple of reputable garages for work that didn't involve working underneath the car (August, September 2022)
In October, the car is approaching 5k miles. This week, I used a torch to check something on the drive while the car was parked there. This is what I found.
 
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:ROFLMAO: That is quite funny and beats my record of finding a spanner I had dropped down the side of a generator in the dark, a year before. But in a moving vehicle, that is ridiculous and quite incredible, especially where it is located!

Also, I’m going to have a punt - they look like B14 Bilstein dampers, is the car French?
 
Incredible indeed, also as it is a heavier spanner and the car had also been driven in the way my profile name suggests.

Also, incredible that none of those who worked on the car told me anything about it.

Stock Bilsteins for the Mazda MX5 MK4 Recaro edition.
 
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I assume that’s either a 16/17 or 17/18mm spanner? What underneath requires the use of one of those? That would narrow down your culprit.
 
Ohhh I wonder...

Too easy. Let's play guess the car, whatever it is you must drive it incredibly gently.

EDIT: I'm too late!
 
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Incredible indeed, also as it is a heavier spanner and the car had also been driven in the way my profile name suggests.

Also, incredible that nobody of those who worked on the car told me anything about it.

Stock Bilsteins for the Mazda MX5 Mk4 Recaro edition.
Ha ha I was going to guess ND MX5. I thought mine was a garage queen with 7k miles in 6 years! But 2k in 6!!
 
I assume that’s either a 16/17 or 17/18mm spanner? What underneath requires the use of one of those? That would narrow down your culprit.
No idea. I believe its round end was still attached to the other end of the bolt that can be seen in almost shiny silver. Also, I believe that bolt is to adjust toe settings.

Which gives me a hint as to what to vote. And in turn, makes me wonder how can the MOT Tester not have told me about it 🤷‍♂️
 
Ha ha I was going to guess ND MX5. I thought mine was a garage queen with 7k miles in 6 years! But 2k in 6!!
Well, mine is no garage queen with 3k miles in half a year.

It certainly used to be under its previous ownership, though, as everything suggested (and still does) that the mileage was genuine.

7k in 6 years is healthier. I was after one with 8k in 6 years initially, but it had aged rather badly and the dealer was rude, arrogant and wouldn't move on price or negotiate on anything. His point was that it was the car's first day on the forecourt and was attracting a lot of attention as a convertible, in a red similar to the GRY's, in April (ie beginning of the season for convertibles in the UK). For less money, I got the same special edition, better kept, 2k instead of 8k miles and a car cover on top, literally. He got... on the phone a week later to follow up on the sale he failed to make; this time he was very polite and soft spoken.

2k mileage in 6 years was so low that made me wonder if it's too low. Mainly because certain parts age better when used regularly, rather than not at all.

You should have seen the face of the manager at the tyre shop when he realised I was changing tyres at 2k miles with the tread depth at 7-8mm. He probably thought he would sell them as like-new. He then noticed the sidewalls and said surprised: "They've split!".

Lesson learnt, for sellers and buyers alike: Be reasonable. Eg, if you have a buyer in front of you ready to commit, perhaps consider being a bit flexible, especially if the buyer is making sense. Eg I pointed out a safety issue, ie that the 7 year-old tyres needed replacement; he replied that on their official dealer's sheet they were marked as green, ie perfectly fine. This way they lost me as a buyer but also as a service garage customer, since I lost confidence in their safety assessment. Just sell that car on its first day on the forecourt and use the money to buy another and sell that one too. Quick turnaround is as important as a good margin. The seller of the car I ended up buying found out the hard way. They had initially priced it so high that nobody was touching it. Then it probably raised questions with "watchers", ie such low mileage, for sale for so long and not going... Winter came and went. The car stayed with them for almost a year. And they made a loss on it.
 
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Yeah that is amazing.

I once had new tyres fitted which included checking the tracking. A few days later, when approaching the car from the front I noticed something hanging underneath. I discovered that the tyre fitter had left a pair of mole grips clipped to the steering rack arm.

I went back to the same tyre outlet about a year later and the same tyre fitter was there again. He asked for his mole grips back! I denied any knowledge of what he was talking about. I still have them today.
 
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