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Daniel, Peter and all at PMW, Where do I start? I guess I’ll tell the whole story! At 31 years old and on my fifth BMW I can’t believe it has taken me so long to find you! Having been messed around previously by a major BMW dealership I knew it was time to consider other options. I was introduced to your firm by a friend that owns an E90 M3 and was impressed by your service. In the same week, another friend recommended you. Two recommendations in one week, it had to be a sign. Both could not speak highly enough of your attitude, professionalism and end product. Time to call!…………… I originally spoke to Jayne who was warm, friendly and personable. I was passed to Peter and immediately knew that my car was going to PMW and nowhere else. Car rental was arranged and so when I dropped the car off, I had a car to drive away with and with minimum fuss. Having been dealing with main dealerships for so long, I predicted a call either at the end of the first day it was in the garage or the next morning. So, it came as a surprise to hear from Peter whilst I was driving home, some 30 minutes to an hour after I had dropped the car off. Peter knew there were things I personally wanted to do to the car, but suggested we prioritise works in order to mitigate the total costs. Hang on a second… A car garage worrying about MY money? This was getting too good to be true, surely. By the end of the first day, Peter had pointed out issues which he felt needed attention and we agreed to start works, costs were made clear before a spanner had been picked up. Whilst in the garage, I never had to call to find out what stage the repairs were at, I was always called and kept updated. Again, in stark contrast to my usual dealings with BMW dealerships. I picked my car up a few days later and Peter asked if I wanted to drive the car with him. I was just amazed that he was willing to take 5 minutes out of his day to make sure I was satisfied. Every garage should do it, but it really made it clear to me that PMW care about their clients. They care about their reputation and it shows in everything they do. The car was a dream, it just drove beautifully. A few days after the service, I booked the car into a BMW dealership to get the alloys re-furbed and a dent taken out. Having just been serviced by PWM, I only wanted aesthetic work done. So it came as a surprise when they called me (a day later!) to say the diff seals and gearbox seals needed replacing. Alarm bells ringing. Firstly, why are they checking mechanics when I didn’t ask for this, and secondly did PMW not do this work? I called Peter and he confirmed the seals were changed so back on the phone to BMW. I asked the BMW dealership what gave them the impression this work needed doing and they pointed to oil residue. I asked them if they had actually checked the seals and they hadn’t. After inspecting again, they (BMW) admitted the work had already been done and that they would have charged me for work that already been carried out. What a f******g liberty. I asked BMW not to look at my car anymore and to carry out the works I originally asked them to do. I have lost all faith in them, they really should be taking a leaf out of PMW’s book. The car was in the garage for three days for this work and I was called twice. Owning a business myself, my feelings are that any business shows it true colours when things go wrong, not when they are going smoothly. This leads to chapter two!………. Two weeks later, the car came up with a transmission fault whilst my wife was driving home. Straight on the phone to Daniel. Daniel agreed a tow would be best so as not to cause anymore issues and said he would arrange this immediately. He called me back within 15 minutes and the car was collected within the hour. Unbelievably efficient.The fault was found that day; a faulty pin in the transmission electrical plug. No bullshit, no messing around. An apology and the problem fixed within 24 hours. The entire situation was dealt with perfectly.I really cannot sing your praises enough PMW. I can only try to put into words how impressed I am and have been with your service, communication and the overall experience. Even my wife smiles like a Cheshire cat now and has asked me not to change cars as I usually do every 12 months. My Wife! Someone who just does not care about cars. So, not only have you made my car drive like a dream and made me the happiest car owner in London but you’ve also managed to make the wife happy as well, that deserves a bonus point.All my staff are bringing their cars to you (as you know). If I meet anyone in the street that owns a BMW, will be sending them you way, PMW are just on a different level. You are in a league of your own.Genuinely, keep up the amazing work Guys & thank you very , very much for everything. My car will not be going anywhere else in future, even if I moved abroad!Though I guess that’ll be a good excuse for a long drive?
Hi just wanted to leave some feedback to say thanks for dealing with my request
for swirl flap blanks so quickly. I ordered these at 12pm and they were with me
in the Western Isles before 11am the next morning! I needed to ask for some
advice when putting everything back together which I was given immediately over
the phone. All in all, a fantastic company which offered a customer service
level that was second to none!
Thank You!
After a bodged repair by a local London garage to my swirl flaps and deep concerns about my 2001 BMW 530D Touring I consulted Peter from pmwltd about the condition of my car. My regular mechanic whom I have known for 20 years simply took out my swirl flaps and replaced the shafts with bolts. This at some time later, only (900 miles) caused an ingestion into the chamber and ruined my piston and valves and looked like a very time consuming and costly repair. After completion I took my car to peter at pmw and discussed the works. He had his guys strip out the existing bolts that were very unprofessional and replaced with his swirl flap blanking plates. Now I have heard a lot about these plates and swirl flap damage and I can tell you as an ex AA Patrol man that if not done correctly as Peter has done you will cause serious damage to your beloved engine. This is a guy with a great team and a wealth of knowledge behind them who know their stuff, not your usual bit mechanic who ”
knows a bit about engines”. I drove down from Lewisham London to his workshops in Chelmsford and it only took an hour and was easy to get to. If I was you I would call them for your piece of mind because you know like I do that you don’t want just anyone tinkering with your pride and joy. Its worth the drive knowing your car is in safe and knowledgeable hands at pmw. He,s not a rip off either, he is a very reasonable honest mechanic and cheaper than the main dealers out there. Thanks peter.
The 2012 BMW M5 continues the testing process with more laps around the Nurburgring track. The F10 M5 will use an updated engine from the BMW X6 M. The 4.4-liter V8 twin-scroll powerplant will peak at around 570-580 horsepower and 530 lb-ft of torque. The acoustic, as seen in the video below, while not as exciting as the naturally aspirated engines, it is quite a pleasure to listen to.
To maintain its dynamics and sporty allure, BMW had to keep the weight down since the new bodystyle is bigger than the E60 model. To accomplish this, BMW makes extensive use of carbon-fiber and aluminum parts, starting with the a carbon-fiber roof. The car’s construction is a hybrid of an aluminum spaceframe for the front section and a traditional steel monocoque for the passenger compartment and rear. Up front will be an independent suspension with MacPherson struts, with a multi-link layout for the rear.
Read more and see the video over at BMW blog online
Porsche AG’s new version of the Cayenne sports-utility vehicle, which will arrive at European showrooms May 8, attracted orders that beat expectations, according to Chief Executive Officer Michael Macht.
“We’re looking at an incredibly high order intake from almost all markets,” Macht said late yesterday at the German manufacturer’s factory in Leipzig, where the next generation of Porsche’s best-selling model was presented. “Orders are clearly exceeding our expectations.” He didn’t give figures.
Porsche, based in Stuttgart, plans to add models with a goal of doubling yearly sales to as many as 150,000 vehicles over the medium term, and benefit from savings from a merger with Volkswagen AG, Macht said. Deliveries in the six months ended Jan. 31 fell no more than 1.7 percent to 33,670 units, compared with a decline of 40 percent in the first quarter.
Article continues over at San Francisco Chronicle online
The new generation of the Mercedes Benz R-Class now features an enhanced self-assured appearance, highlighting the unique personality of this versatile vehicle.
The overall impression in particular has benefitted significantly from the completely redesigned front section, which borrows elements both from Mercedes Benz saloons and SUV models. In addition to the fresh exterior, the “twenty-eleven” model year Mercedes Benz R-Class also impresses with a number of distinctive interior features. These include the economy of space found in the latest MPVs, as well as the comfort, high-class appeal and prestige associated with classic Mercedes Benz saloons. At the same time, the latest generation offers the same level of interior diversity for which its predecessor was renowned, and also boasts the robustness and all-wheel-drive properties of Mercedes Benz SUV’s for the Mercedes Benz R 350 CDI L. The Mercedes Benz R-Class will be celebrating its world premiere on 31st March 2010 at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS). UK deliveries begin in September 2010.
Full article continues over at Carpages
Oh dear - recently I bought a used car after my trusty old 1.3 Ford Escort finally succumbed to its old age and failed an MOT in spectacular style (£550 to get it on the road for another year - though I’m now starting to think that maybe wasn’t so bad). Basically I was a little naive about just how much running a car in 2010 was going to be costing, and now I’ve learned my lesson (albeit somewhat expensively).
You see the car I got was a bit of a bargain by the traditional markers - a 1.6 Daewoo Tacuma in great condition, only 29k on the clock, for just £1800. The problem is that the running costs for just one year of the car look set to exceed this by some way - and it is this that it seems we’re going to need to get used to when buying any sort of car in the near future.
In short, the price of the car itself is actually far less significant (assuming you intend to keep and run the car for more than a couple of years) than the costs of running it, and it is the latter that you really need to do your research on before you head to the dealership.
First of all, road tax has gotten super, super expensive for all mid- to larger cars (with higher rates of CO2 emissions). Check the latest information from DirectGov and be sure to know what you are buying in terms of tax category - my 1.6 Daewoo is in band K for example, as it emits quite a high 205g/km. Consequently it will now cost be a whopper £245 to renew the tax disc for another year (up £30, or roughly 15% on last year), while a new Tacuma would cost a staggering £550 a year under the new tax structure for new cars registered on or after April 1st 2010.
Then comes the question of insurance, which many are finding has also become a little more complicated as the cost of premiums has increased dramatically over the past year, often outweighing the reductions of another year of no-claims bonus. Again, this is something which young drivers especially will be encountering for the first time, so it’s important to be aware of which category your desired car model falls into, as anything exceeding 6 or 7 could start to be horrendously expensive - even with a few years no claims bonus.
I won’t go into the question of fuel too much - we all know the score on that (it’s super expensive, and will only get more so through the next couple of years), and you can find quite a decent breakdown of costs in a recent article in Telegraph motoring.
The important thing to remember is that this situation is not entirely unique in the UK when compared to close neighbours in Europe such as France, Germany, or Italy (also, with regard to fines and penalties many will find the UK again to be roughly on a par with the rest of the EU). Generally, driving (and transport in general) is becoming more and more expensive, which is a result of some pretty unavoidable factors, and a few we could maybe have side-stepped but haven’t.
I’ll take one example from each category here before I finish. Firstly, those pesky factors we can’t do anything about - namely, the fact that cars require petrol (oil) to run, and we don’t have any of this of our own. Moreover those that do have it know that its supply is limited and that the market generally will follow normal supply-demand principles - i.e. as it becomes rarer, it also gets more expensive.
Those that say the government could offset this by reducing taxes on petrol are advocating a remarkably blinkered policy unfortunately - as what would happen in 20 or 30 years when we are left with a completely oil-dependent infrastructure, economy etc and the stuff runs out? The chaos doesn’t really bear thinking about, instead the fact that we need to wean ourselves off the stuff over the next couple of decades is pretty evident, but the question remains about the best way to do this.
Now let’s turn to an arguably more avoidable problem with the cost of transport in the UK - that of the cost of public transport, which often doesn’t represent great value for money (though in coming years, when compared to using a private car, it no doubt will start to). I am worried that the rapidly escalating cost of owning and running a car, will translate also to rising rail and bus transport costs, mainly for the reason that these services could increase by some way in cost and still represent a cheaper option that a private car.
In any case, whichever government wins the upcoming general election, public transport must be a priority if we are to avoid a situation that would be very bad for business, for leisure, for general quality of life in the UK, whereby any kind of transport becomes a real luxury that many cannot afford.
Dejan Levi
cost of running a car in the UK, Dejan Levi, Fuel prices, Insurance costs, UK road tax
We had a unique circumstance at the Edmunds.com offices recently. Our schedule of press vehicle loans resulted in both a 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo and a 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 lurking in the area for over a week. That meant we could experience two of Porsche’s most potent models back-to-back, and as you might expect about the only thing they had in common were their base model names.
The Turbo has become one of the quickest-yet-luxurious street-legal cars available, and the GT3 continues to engage willing drivers better than those idiotic Carl’s Jr/Paris Hilton commercials (you know, the ones you keep watching every time they’re on).
We tested both 911 models while they were here to confirm how they stack up in the spec box. Behind the scenes, though, we had different opinions on which one’s the better car. In one corner, with a barely-used helmet under is right arm and wearing Pilotis that make his wide feet ache, is Editor-in-Chief Karl Brauer defending the GT3. In the other corner, sporting ’80s-era Ray Bans and saying “Porsche — There is no substitute” for the umpteenth time, is Executive Editor Paul Seredynski defending the Turbo.
Article continues over at Edmunds Carpool - http://tinyurl.com/y54njml
Miami, Florida hosted the International Media Launch of the 2010 BMW X5 LCI, short for Life Impulse Cycle or facelift. During a one day event, several automotive journalists had the opportunity to spend some time with the new X5 xDrive35i, both in a city environment and off-road.
While our full test drive review is still in works, we thought we would share with you some photos from this event, portraying the X5 LCI in different situations, some quite extreme. As some of you might recall, the 2010 BMW X5 follows the path of its “brother”, the X6, by introducing turbocharged engines in the North American line-up.
Read the full story over at BMW blog - http://tinyurl.com/y2ej2cd
I want a Porsche, you want a Porsche! Who in the automotive world does not want one?
Although the entry level Porsche Boxster is the least expensive Porsche, it remains out of reach for many drivers.
However, in 2014, Porsche will offer a ‘baby’ Boxster. The car is likely in re-sponse to sports cars such as the upcoming Toyota/Subaru all-wheel drive sports car due to be released soon. As the Japanese car will have a base price of about $20,000 and it will provide Boxster matching or beating performance, Porsche needs to counter with the smaller less expensive Boxster.
Article continues over at Examiner.com
Every day we receive numerous phone calls from potential customers that ask the same question:
‘Why should I buy Swirl Flap Blanking plates from you, when there are other people/companies out there selling them for a few pounds less?’
The answer is quite simple; PMW Ltd originated the design for diesel Swirl Flap Blanking Plates. Our Blanking plates are machined to a very high tolerance to ensure that they fit each inlet manifold application perfectly.
*Our competitors simply ordered Blanking Plates from us and copied the design. These individuals/companies generally have no Motor Trade pedigree and can offer no technical support with regard to any technical issues arising after fitment.
PMW Ltd only employs factory trained BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche & Ferrari Technicians that are also ATA accredited. As a result of this investment we can offer full technical support to our customers (over the phone) when they need it most.
*Only recently we took a phone call from one of our customers that purchased Blanking plates from us following ingestion; Despite having the engine rebuilt and a new turbo fitted, he was experiencing ‘lag’ at mid range revs. His chosen repairing garage was unable to trace the fault. We told him what the likely causes were and talked his repairing garage through the issue. Within a matter of hours the vehicle was fixed. Another satisfied customer several hundred miles away!
*We have received many phone calls from private individuals that have purchased ‘Fake’ blanking plates from other sources and experienced performance related issues. They have been unable to speak with anyone from the supplier and taken it upon themselves to call us asking for assistance! Sadly we are not prepared to support counterfeit suppliers or their customers.
If you want piece of mind when carrying out Swirl Flap modifications; there really is ONE choice……. PMW Ltd.
*Fitting Blanking Plates will have no perceived effect on performance; however, certain underlying technical issues may become apparent after fitment? PMW Ltd will always interrogate the DDE fault memory prior to any Blanking Plate fitment in our workshop. It is strongly advised that when doing the job at home this procedure is followed.
