Many of you will have seen Stuart’s posts. Buying and refurbishing E85s is a way of life for him. He currently has 3 on his drive. He only lives 20 minutes down the road from me. So when I bought a 2004 2.5 SE in November 2021 I asked him if he would look it over to see if any work was needed on it. Within a day or two he came and checked it out. Now, from his posts you will know he is a quick worker. He has a spread sheet which he uses as a prompt to look at what is likely to need attention. From the spread sheet he prepared a list of recommendations to deal with any current issues and also to replace items like the water pump which is a known weakness, in an effort to future proof the car. The timing was good in that AUTODOC had 43% off for Black Friday. So Stuart helped me place an order for over £500 for the various parts needed. Additional parts for the Vanos were ordered from XR8 and other bits from BMW. The parts duly arrived after a couple of weeks. When I asked Stuart if he was willing to fit any of these parts. I was amazed by his reply. He said that he would do it all. Sure enough I took the car across to Waddington at the end of November for him to begin the work. Not only did he do all the work fitting new parts and changing all the fluids but he loaned me one of his Zs, the black 2.5i. The cherry on the cake was the heated MSport seats he found and fitted for me. They are brilliant and so comfortable too. He kept me up to date right through the process and compiled a photographic record of the jobs done. This he loaded on to a memory stick which he gave me when I collected the car yesterday. When I bought it I thought it drove well but the work Stuart has done has transformed it. It feels like a new car.
We have all come across folk who offer help verbally but it never materialises. Stuart is a really genuine guy and if he offers help you know that if required it will be forthcoming.
So once again my experience of this Forum has been very positive. When I collected my car yesterday I felt like a child with a new toy. Not something you experience so often at 77 years old.
Many, many thanks Stuart.
Once I have cleaned and polished the car I will post some photos.
We have all come across folk who offer help verbally but it never materialises. Stuart is a really genuine guy and if he offers help you know that if required it will be forthcoming.
So once again my experience of this Forum has been very positive. When I collected my car yesterday I felt like a child with a new toy. Not something you experience so often at 77 years old.
Many, many thanks Stuart.
Once I have cleaned and polished the car I will post some photos.
