MarkHyde Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Just got the same call from Eirlys at Kennrick's. As Freddy, Parrot Faced, Davis (For our younger readers!) Used to say; I AM F*****G SICK, SICK, SICK UP TO HERE. Perhaps without the expletive! We had our car booked in for 19th July and have booked 3 nights B & B to explore the Welsh roads, I don't suppose CC will be paying for our lost deposit? Seriously Caterham this is our THIRD Summer with the car from new and all have bee ruined with one problem or another. It stinks! *mad* *mad* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Reeves Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 ouch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip G Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Brian at Dreadnought here in Scotland told me there was no point booking until the parts are confirmed as available. I emailed James Gibson at CC who said Mid July was best guess and I should try him again then. As I also have an issue with a badly leaking diff when the car is being driven, James told me the new back plate has a re-designed breather. Very frustrating as the Summer drifts by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmobbs Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Booked for service and diff fix at the factory end of first week of August. No one mentioned possibility that parts might not be ready...I will be mighty unhappy if they aren't! I have already given up on my annual 3k road trip round France...using the TVR for that which means sitting by the roadside waiting for the heat to dissipate! God knows what they are doing about all the cars they have manufactured since the fault was discovered..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmobbs Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Ok it's mid-July. Does anyone know if parts for the fix are now available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkHyde Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 No news as yet. Eirlys at Kennrick's is contacting me as soon as she knows anything from Caterham. My e mail to Caterham will be going today and will not be polite! I checked my car last week (why should I be doing this every 500 miles?) and found damage to the Di Dion tube and the fact that the diff must be missing the brake line by millimetres, so I am very reluctant to drive the car! How do I upload photo's to this forum?, I have some good ones. Mark H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmobbs Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 The worst thing about this whole episode is the CCs think they have handled it well. I understand that it has been difficult for a small company but every indication has been that don't feel they should have done anything differently. Well, all I can say is that it would cost them nothing to keep people in touch and that it has cost them a great deal in the way of new business from old customers not to communicate early on and frequently. Basic stuff to anyone who has spent any time running a business... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Reeves Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I was in the middle of this from the start and wrote many a line to McDonald but he has very dear ears. The message all along was tell the clients before they ask...they will accept difficulties but they would not accept silence. Did it change anything, no. I have just dropped a line to James Gibson and told him the natives are very restless and they need communication. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classic1952 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I have not been directly affected by this but overall I am very disappointed by the quality and price of some of the stuff Caterham churn out. I think they are in danger of a long fall from their overly lofty perch at the top of the leisure/component car tree. Hopefully someone at Caterham reads this forum and does something before it is too late. Another post coins the term Caterham Added Tax in regard to pricing and it is very appropriate. Proper design is fundamental when offering upgrades such as the BMW diff but clearly it was rushed out because the Sierra diffs they sell have become crap. Our perception is that Caterham are the best at what they do but this sort of thing raises serious doubts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 My latest info is that the revised backplates are being made so should be available soon. Not sure when they are going to update all the race cars yet. There have been a few diff-carrier fractures and radius arms break recently though so I hope they get on it soon. ☹️ It's a bigger job than the replacement carrier introduced last year though, the diff has to come right out whereas they worked out a way to replace the carrier with the diff in situ previously. It still doesn't seem to affect all cars though, some people either don't have the problem or just haven't noticed it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkHyde Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I have attempted to add photo's of the damage to the Di Dion on my car, a 2010, factory built R300. I am in Llangollen at the moment and Clive Kennrick is gettin itg up on the ramp tomorrow to have a look and tell me what he thinks. My concerns are the damage it may be causing to the Di Dion tube itself, the actual casing of the diff, the diff internals and of course the carrier. One other question, if the diff bolts weren't hitting the Di Dion tube how much further would the suspension compress, would it just 'bottom out'? If I get any news from Clive tomorrow I will let you know. I did also get a reply from Graham McDonald in response to my e mail last week. he said he treats my complaints very seriously and will look into them and get back to me, we shall see! Please let me know if this link works. Damage to Di Dion Tube PS I've checked it and it seems to work OK. Very pleased with myself! Mark H. Edited by - Mark Hyde on 21 Jul 2013 22:54:42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I am sure I would be asking for that to be considered too !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ. Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I think they should replace that De Dion tube when the revised diff carrier is fitted, that is quite a deep dent in it and it can't have been designed to be stressed in that way. Duncan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkHyde Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Thanks Duncan, my thoughts as well. Before we left Llangollen this morning Clive Kennrick & his son Robert, got the car up on the ramp for us. They were concerned regarding the proximity of the brake line and moved it for us (free of charge!) Clive contacted Caterham whilst the car was there and they confirmed they ARE NOT replacing the Di Dion tube. Clive does not think there should be an issue with damage to the diff casing or internals, hope they're correct! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip G Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I would be pressing for a new tube as should everyone who has damage You bought a car that, as designed, has damaged a key part that, at the least, will now corrode at an accelerated rate. What tests have CC done to be assured that the tube will be safe through its full life ? Is it for you to treat the area with Hammerite ? Time we pushed back collectively, they need to bear the full cost of their sloppy design process and lack of care for their customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmobbs Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Early on in this thread, I posted pictures of the dents in my De Dion. I am about to do a bolt check and will look for any new damage - I have painted Hammerstein over earlier marks so that new ones should be obvious. I will take an opinion on whether the lifetime or strength of the tube has been significantly affected. Clearly, the damage is consequential to a serious design fault. An aside - how the hell did they miss this - just moving the suspension to its extreme of travel should have shown the problem up immediately. Also, surely given reasonable engineering tolerances, the fault would appear in all cars of the same design and thus all the cars of that design currently being supplied. It's hard to turn round to someone buying a car today, or in the period since the fault was revealed, and tell them "er um it has a design fault but we will deal with the problem apart from the inevitable consequential damage'! I don't think many potential buyers would go on with their purchase. Anyway, I just wish CCs would use the contact list they had to put together for the VOSA recall to let everyone know what is going on. Cheap compared to the loss of a single future customer? I have emailed them to ask if the parts will be available for the beginning of August when my car is booked in to be "upgraded" (! fixed). I do hope that this whole sorry saga will soon be put to bed. I am upset that I have not been able to tour the car this year which is the reason I bought it...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 "How the hell did they miss this" - no idea, but once the de-dion no longer hits the diff I have found it it now has enough space move past it and have the radius arm mount hit the boot floor instead (albeit under heavy load) and apparently that isn't an issue either.... Suspension geometry design doesn't seem to be a strong point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmobbs Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Ouch! All suspension systems bottom out but using the bottom of the boot as a bump stop is novel.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmobbs Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 CCs say parts will be available for my car on 5th August. Fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin J Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Am I glad I didn't take caterham up on their special offer & swap out my noisy sierra diff. My cure.....ear plugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmobbs Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Car now at Dartford having the diff plate fitted and a service. Fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team Garry7 Posted August 7, 2013 Leadership Team Share Posted August 7, 2013 So how was it / is it? Wondered what you thought of the bits / work? oh, and what was the outcome re the dents in the DeDion? - I have those too! Mines booked in for the 19th, it's been a long wait. Thanks, Garry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Mines just been done. Collecting from CC tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2slo Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 Due to being really busy this year, my car (2011 R400) has hardly turned a wheel over the past 12 months. It has the BMW diff and I had the original letter from CC telling me it needed a recall. I had a follow up letter yesterday saying that they should be able to do the work now. For those who know about this, is it feasible to drive down to CC Midlands and get the recall work plus annual service done in 1 day whilst I wait or are they expecting the car to be left with them for longer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 I left mine for a few days as it suited me to do so. I suspect one day might be tight. However the more they do the quicker they will get. Best to ask them. Had mine done at the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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