RE: Propogating Stag Mis-Information

["Fereday, Chris" <chris.fereday@domain.elided>]

Hello All,
Just got back from Florida (just missing Hurricane George) and read this
e-mail with a great deal of interest.

I understand what Glenn is trying to do and why, but I would just like to
point out that in my experience the 'experts' do not always have all the
'good ideas' nor all the 'answers' and this should not disuade Glenn or
other owners from offering their advice in anyway. I believe that most
people already view replies to their queries as being 'in the sender's
opinion' and that where 'critical information' is required, most people
would consult the experts mentioned in Glenn's original e-mail, anyway.
Please note that this does not detract from from the excellent work and
support given by those mentioned in Glenns original e-mail. Indeed I use
Hart Services and E.J. Ward myself. I have always received the correct
advice from them and would fully recommend them to all Stag owners.

The reason for this e-mail is that I was a member of another Triumph owner's
club (which will remain nameless). Last year I got the other 'Triumph' (not
a Stag) out of storage to put it through its m.o.t. In doing so, the car
displayed some very strange characteristics. I don't wish to be too specific
here as I do not wish to ressurect this issue again. I took it too several
garages who either refused to touch it or wanted a lot of money before they
would even look at it. No one was able to tell me what the problem was. I
contacted the technical advisor's of the club. Admittedly they couldn't see
the car first hand as it was virtually undriveable. 2 of them said they had
never seen such a problem and the third offered some advice.

Eventually (over a period of 6 weeks), I replaced several components (at
considerable cost) to myself, and the problem was solved. 

As no one had ever 'seen' this problem before and as the solution was
'obscure' I wrote a letter to the club, detailing the whole scenario from
beginning to end. The intention was to prevent any other owner from
'suffering' the way I did. I pointed out that the experts had not come
across this problem before and was therefore worth noting.

The result?

3 separate letters from the 'experts' disputing that 
a) I had never spoken to them
b) that my diagnosis was wrong and their solution was still right
c) that my lack of experience with the car was a fault

These were published in the owners magazine...
I thought about a reply, but instead I resigned from the club.

I still adore the other 'triumph' (models of which I have owned / maintained
/ restored for over 12 years) and both it and the Stag go to shows around
the country.
I later heard that the hardest critic of my diagnosis went out of business
and 'slagged off' the owners club in a final letter to them.

I do not wish to see a repeat of that episode and so far I am more than
happy with the way this list works.

Users of the list should be able to offer their advice freely otherwise it
may not be just the good suggestions that we lose...

Cheers
Chris
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