French garages

[hotponyshoes]

So, travelling down to watch the Le man's 24hr yesterday..

Passenger in a rather nice cobra replica..
Had various problems with fuel delivery to the 7.4l big block but managed to get most of it sorted with the tools we had packed..
Limped on until about 7pm last night when the clutch pedal snapped in half...

This thing is bad enough to get in/out of gear at the best of times so driving it another 100miles without a clutch wasn't happening so called roadside who have dropped it into a local garage. This looks like a peugot main dealer

Planning to walk up to the garage this morning an see if they will let us in. Job we could do ourselves if they will let us use the tools and a welder!

What's the general attitude of French mechanics?
Best way to approach them?

If it was the uk I'd be going round the back door with a big bag of greggs...

 

[dobbslc]

You'll need some Pelforth, some of those spicy thin red sausages and baguette.
Brune for that really rotten **** experience the next morning or Blonde for a more subtle effect.
As for the car I'd be surprised if they will help but you never know, I don't think the French have the "more than my jobs worth" attitude we do here so they might help.
If you can get the thing to Le Mans you'll find someone in the paddock or camp site to weld it. We watched a GT40 have a flywheel replaced in the Tertre Rouge camp site after he blew it up in one of the tunnels making loud reving noises
Good luck and I hope you have good ear plugs

Edit: the price on this beer was in 2014 so it will be a lot more expensive now!

 

[Smallfry]

Ah Merde Anglais !

Being the car is what it is they may be friendly, but use their tools ? Would YOU let some unknown Joe use YOUR tools ?

Friend of mine broke down in rural France in his old Rover, and the mechanics and local Gendarme could not be more helpful.

 

[jmp49]

Smaller inde garage, might not let you do the job yourself with their kit but let you assist maybe. I find the small inde garage's are interested in stuff off the beaten track of yet another econobox.
Dealership? forget it, they just want free money from suckers in my experience. My wife broke down in chartres and got recovered to the renault dealers there, and they tried to have us over, and I just rented a recovery truck from a supermarket and brought it home and did the job myself.

 

[Morrisman]

I broke down on the way to Le Mans 40 years ago, on my first solo bike trip across the channel. The chain link fell apart so I was sat at the side of the road wondering why the spare link I carried didn’t fit…..

A French guy stopped, asked the problem, rode to the next town, bought me a new link, brought it back so I could continue my trip. Refused to take anything for his troubles too.

I’ve never had any problems with the French, they’ve always been helpful and kind whenever I’ve needed anything in the past.

Oddly enough, the daughter’s boyfriend and his mate are at Le Mans this week, on foot. They were supposed to take the one guys car, but he lost the keys, so they flew to Nantes and got the train to Le Mans.

 

[ajlelectronics]

I broke down on the way to Le Mans 40 years ago, on my first solo bike trip across the channel. The chain link fell apart so I was sat at the side of the road wondering why the spare link I carried didn’t fit…..

A French guy stopped, asked the problem, rode to the next town, bought me a new link, brought it back so I could continue my trip. Refused to take anything for his troubles too.

I’ve never had any problems with the French, they’ve always been helpful and kind whenever I’ve needed anything in the past.

Oddly enough, the daughter’s boyfriend and his mate are at Le Mans this week, on foot. They were supposed to take the one guys car, but he lost the keys, so they flew to Nantes and got the train to Le Mans.

The French are lovely people in general. Just like anywhere, it is the big City dwellers who are the "rear ends" and often not even indigenous to that country.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Ah Merde Anglais !

Being the car is what it is they may be friendly, but use their tools ? Would YOU let some unknown Joe use YOUR tools ?

Not if the lazy **** pair of them had made zero effort to learn the local lingo!

I'm not fancying my chances but just had breakfast and a hot shower and feeling a bit more enthusiastic than I did late last night.

Going to take a walk up to the garage now and see what the score is...

 

[Gareth J]

I tracked down a squeaking noise to a cracked dynamo pulley at the roadside in France. Every time the belt stressed it, it opened the crack and chirruped as it did so. Luckily caught it before it snapped. Persuaded a small garage chap with my zero french and his zero English to weld the back side if the pulley to keep me going. He was ok about it though I distinctly got the feeling he was unhappy about my bodge suggestion. I forget the charge.

Got me home, and to be honest I think it's still on there

 

[GRW]

I'd Google or ask to try and find a smaller indie garage nearby.
Big corporate main dealers are far less likely to be flexible, accommodating and helpful (anywhere not just France).

I never found the French to be a problem. Contrary perhaps on occasion, but generally pleasant & accommodating.
(I suspect this applies best though away from any big city or popular foreign tourist hot spot - places I was careful to avoid for the most part).

 

[hotponyshoes]

Our failure to learn French was not helping.
Only real option we had last night was to ring assistance to speak to somebody English and get them to sort them out

This was a recovery insurance purchased as an extra to Footman James insurance cover

They have been very good so far, accepted over the phone that the car was not going to be fixed at the roadside, sent a tilt-n-slide out in about 45mins.
25min trip to drop us off at the garage and before we arrived there another phone call to say they had booked us a hotel 5mins from the garage with breakfast which they are paying for.

Just about to start walking to the garage and another call to say the garage are confident they can remove the pedal and weld it up this morning so they are sending a taxi to take us back to the garage at lunch time.
Only charge is €180 to pay the garage for the labour. Sounds fair enough to me especially as this is the first day I have seen my own hands looking clean for best part of a year..

 

[hotponyshoes]

Could also do with finding a new fuel pump,
What's the term for a French parts store that would have something like this?

I'm not even sure where I would find one in the uk.
There is an independent parts store in my local town that would probably have something but they also hire out fancy dress costumes...

 

[hotponyshoes]

Could do with something like a Merlin motorsports..

 

[bricol]

Had success in the past with daft car specific stuff being sent next day courier to a hotel.

 

[Bobtail4x4]

try a diesel one,
a tractor or ag merchants will carry fuel filters

 

[hotponyshoes]

Been kicked out of the hotel now so don't currently have an address to get anything sent too..

Not had a call from the garage so don't have any transport to go finding a supplier..

Do have a rather large patisserie with a very tidy selection of snacks...

 

[Mick Annick]

Sorry I’m too far away to help. When the Morgan has broken down here before I’ve found agricultural or mower workshops to be the most helpful.

 

[Kram]

Been kicked out of the hotel now so don't currently have an address to get anything sent too..

Amazon to a nearby pickup point?

 

[eddie49]

You need a "pompe à essence électrique".

There is a likely-looking parts shop in the Sarthe department, 20km north-east of Le Mans, if you can get that far:

Le Mans Racing Parts
30 Chemin de Bel Air
72450 LOMBRON
France

Phone: 02.43.21.55.55
Email: contact@lemansracingparts.fr

They have pumps, e.g. Facet Red Top for 171 Euros:

Pompes à essence

www.lemansracingparts.fr

 

[hotponyshoes]

We are currently in Villers Bocage so still quite a way from le mans!

They have welded the pedal up so going to head back north and do a few of the d-day beaches instead as its the 80th anniversary.. see if we can make it back to the ferry before Monday...

 

[Morrisman]

Amazon to a nearby pickup point?

I ordered some waterproof trousers to a friends place in France on one of my rather wet trips, after I found the ones I had were leaking like a sieve.

And they arrived next day. I had to add their address to me Amazon account but it all went swimmingly.