Hello fellow readers,
Though the following does not relate specifically to British cars, you may
find it amusing to read.
In 1970 I bought my first car, a rather rusty small vehicle of French origin,
a Renault R4 of 1963.
Almost everything needed attention or replacement, including most
of the bodywork.
Mechanical work was also involved, especially on the brakes and the suspension.
It was already clear to me, then (at the age of 17 - a year before being able
to attend driving lessons) that working on cars would probably become a
lifetime commitment. So, I started buying tools whenever they were required.
One of the tools I bought then was an open 10 x 11 mm ring spanner by Belzer.
You need such a special tool to unscrew the brake pipe from a brake cylinder
(there simply is no other way to do the job properly).
A few weeks ago I helped one of my colleagues with a brake job on his
Nissan Vanette. I saw him put this same spanner on a brake line nipple -
and one of the jaws broke off.
The same guy told me then that there was a lifetime warranty on Belzer, so,
just to see what would happen, I went back to the store where I bought it
about 25 years ago.
(No, no, I could _not_ find the bill any more...).
They told me that, in principle, this lifetime warranty thing was true,
but they could'nt help me because they since had changed to selling a different
manufacturers' products.
So I decided to mail the tool directly to Belzer in Germany to see if, and how,
they would react. This was about four weeks ago.
Much to my surprise, I received a telefax from them today, a very nice letter
stating that they had investigated my claim.
(Without formally confirming or denying the warranty claim - they just didn't
mention it) they are going to send me a new one, free of charge...
.. and hoping that il will serve me equally well over a similar period of
time...
Thanks, Belzer!
Bert Palte
Soest, The Netherlands
(Yes, of course, I have another one, in 3/8" x 7/16" size, for my British
cars).
(Disclaimer: I have no personal interests in B.)
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