1800: Antique Road Trip

[tdz840]

Guys
Next week a new episode of Antique Road Trip is on and my car is part of the show.
The main reason of mentioning this is that the whole episode has been a total mare.
Actually up to the point the car was returned dialogue had been great.
Post return its been a case of escuses, statements payment had been made, promises given yet 5 months on three 3 week holidays where they couldnt make payment ive given up. I wish i could afford to take as much 'holiday' as this guy takes.
Use this as your information if they come calling to borrow a car.
I stress its not the actual BBC that are the culprits, the hire arrangement was through others.
Based on the way things developed after the car was returned suggests this has happened before. Basically a scam and I would have thought the BBC would have some social responsibility.
I would urge caution if a request for a car to be used is made and i would advise this information is shared with other forums you may be involved with.
I wont go into further details but suffice to say i have full chronological events on what was agreed, promised and escuses made
Russ

[T5Sweep]

I like the program (odd for a 25 year old) but the way I see some of the cars treated even on air makes me cringe.

Hope yours came out unscathed!

Ben.

[classicswede]

What was the company name or not wanting to say at this stage?

[hutch63]

So sorry to hear of your bad fortune....i am getting fed up to the back teeth with these type of people , companies ect, doing up honest folk... i just had a guy shake on a deal, delivered the goods tryed for a few weeks to get my money had to go and collect it all, why, no payment. he must have thought i would give him the goods. hes in for a shock some work he does for a company is my best mates dad, he will lose that work.
good luck hope you get your wages.

[tdz840]

Its at a legal stage so no comment but wouldnt take a wit to figure out.
Appears his rental of classics to the public hasnt gone swimmingly well with several people contacting me to say they have Also been affected.
Damage:
Window winders- clearly had been used to close the door but i accept its not clear where the internal handle is on the 1800. I had explained but appears communication isnt one of their strengths. Pulling on the winders pulls it off the omega clip. Trying to reattach it and shut the windows galls the splines unless you have a positive attachment- they didn't
Alternator - broken sense wire. Probably occurred when they replaced a perfectly usable fan belt. What happened then was the alternator cooked a brand new 5 year battery. Luckily Halfords stood by their warranty.
Seat belts - just been rewebbed. But all the plastic fittings had been broken and left on the rear seat
Speedo angle drive - they replaced it but all it needed was the nut tightening. I mentioned this at handover as they had the lift making the job easier. Replaced without seals so it leaks like a bugger.
The fuel tank was filled with over a gallon of water. Due to the fact when they closed the tank lid the rubber seal had become dislodged. They carried on turning the car over so all the water and debris went all thru the system blocking jets, filters and pump valves. Had to take the tank out and strip the carbs made more difficult because they are side drafts.
Dent in bonnet - despite telling them how to shut an 1800 bonnet and the risks if they tried to push down against the cam they did it. Caused a dent which has managed to be removed but at a cost of £150.
The main issue remains the people that support the cars when on set. At their admission they know nothing of cars. Didnt even know what a choke was. The owner will say he attended but mostly it was these two with no engineering knowledge. The owner appears to spend most of his time on holiday and uncontactable.
I delivered the car to them and they asked me to pick up( for which they promised to refund the trainfare)
So im out of pocket including rental charges approaching £2K

As i say caveat emptor

Russ

[omc 47]

Hi Russ,
sorry to hear of your issues, one of our Club members had a similar experience with his TR3A in a series where celebrities drove around Britain in various Classics with drivers not having a clue how the cars worked.
The irony is the celebrities could probably buy such Classics with their small change, I've learn't from many over the years that if it's sounds too good to be true it probably is and our Classics are more than just a hunk of metal but a tangeable history of the motoring evolution and the enjoyable hours we spend keeping em that way should be respected by all who dare to come near!!
Good Luck with your fight for expenses and respect.

[tdz840]

Originally Posted by omc 47

Hi Russ,
sorry to hear of your issues, one of our Club members had a similar experience with his TR3A in a series where celebrities drove around Britain in various Classics with drivers not having a clue how the cars worked.
The irony is the celebrities could probably buy such Classics with their small change, I've learn't from many over the years that if it's sounds too good to be true it probably is and our Classics are more than just a hunk of metal but a tangeable history of the motoring evolution and the enjoyable hours we spend keeping em that way should be respected by all who dare to come near!!
Good Luck with your fight for expenses and respect.

I would be interested in you putting me in touch with the TR3 owner. We are collating a group of people that have had issues, then approaching the production company and the BBC with our grievances.
Stronger together so to speak!
Both companies have a corporate social responsibility that extends the same respect to the whole supply chain.
I have also promised to provide the information to one of the classic car mags
Russ

[CLIVERALLY]

Oh Russ that's just not on to damage the car and not pay....after reading this no way would I agree to do it.
Hope you get a resolution mate

[swedishandgerman]

Originally Posted by tdz840

....its not clear where the internal handle is on the 1800.

Where is that then? I've just been pulling on stuff to shut the door and didn't realise there's a hidden handle!

[SwallownAmazon]

Slightly off topic but still relevant.
The question of insurance arises when vehicles are "hired" to film/TV production companies as "props". Most insurers specifically preclude use for hire or reward so your regular insurance will not be valid. If the vehicle were to be involved in an accident involving injury, the consequences do not bear thinking about as the owner would be deemed to have been complicit in allowing the vehicle to be used by an uninsured driver.........