I was just on my way to work on the TR last sunday in my Astra, I pulled up to a junction, and the engine died. Uh oh.
When I tried to restart it, I got a strange whirring noise from the starter – I’ve heard that before. A quick check and sure enough, the cambelt had snapped. Bugger. I called the RAC out for a tow home, and swapped the belt, hoping for the best.
But it was not to be – the engine sounds like a bag of nails, and doesn’t even have enough power to get up the driveway. Oh well!
So now in the driveway I have a replacement – a 1994 Saab 9000. It has it’s own problems (head gasket gone?), but it’s a runner, and in great condition otherwise, considering the £300 I paid for it.
The upshot of all this is, I haven’t been able to so much as look at the ‘7 for well over a week now. So no progress just yet!
I have to say though, I was seriously impressed with the RAC service – I called them up, explained the problem, the guy was there within 10 minutes. A quick look under the bonnet was all he needed to see, so I got towed straight home, no faffing about. I was back on the driveway 35 minutes after calling them!