So this is my second X308 and I noticed some of the same little annoyances. I hate it when the po leaves off little nuts and screws that I guess they deem unimportant. Like for instance the plastic trim under the hood (bonnet). All the screws were gone and even the clips that hold it in place were missing. A nut was missing on the air filter box and one on the expansion tank. Maybe I’m being too nitpicky. Lol

 

I feel your pain. Sadly, when people do repairs they take shortcuts. I like to restore classic cars for a hobby and I tend to spend as much or more time researching and hunting for missing or incorrect parts as actually wrenching. Case in point, early Corvettes had a dozen or so pieces of chrome-plated shielding over the spark plug wires and distributor to prevent the ignition system from interfering with the radio reception (fiberglass body blocked zero rf signal). Back in the 60s and 70s, people didn't understand what it was for and because it was such a bear to remove and reinstall it, at the very first tune-up, it was typically all removed and thrown away. Even Mr. Goodwrench would throw the lower pieces out because they knew the customer was unlikely to notice they were missing (Corvette also was not a good listening environment for a stereo audiophile, particularly with the engine running). Today however I lose a lot of points if all of those shields are not in place when I'm done. Corvettes are very popular so I could buy Chinese-made reproductions of just about everything, but that doesn't do me any good because the judges can tell the Chinese stuff from the originals and will deduct the points anyway. With the X308, you can't even get Chinese repops. I'm not sure if the JCNA judges are anywhere near as particular as the NCRS judges, but when doing repairs and you take something off, you should always put it back.

 

NO! That's not being picky. That's the difference between doing a job correctly and NOT doing a job correctly. It's a mech/tech being lazy, in a hurry, not paying attention, or a 100 other lame excuses. A club friend just bought an 09 RR and has been the subsequent 3 weeks since purchase finding nuts, screws, tabs, straps, engine plastic pieces and bits, etc. that the car lot didn't bother to re-install. A real testament to QC and pride of the car lot!
Dave in AZ

 

Not being able to figure out why my car is lean at wot.

 

I thought I had read somewhere that our cars run lean at WOT by design. Correct or not, but can cause overheating. Someone might be able to confirm, or not.

”Drives me Crazy”. Parts suppliers charging $900 - 1000 for a black waist seal that has corroded internally causing the rubber to bulge. Which was a design fault.

 

I am so with you on this...I view this, along with you other folks have stated, as laziness and lack of attention to detail. Which leads you to ask, ...what else did they get lazy on? I'm a stickler for OEM screws and nuts also. Except my Corvette, ..which is highly modified. My plastic lock down post on my firewall valence cover broke...I spent 2 weeks chasing one down.

 

. . . guys who raise an issue, review the advise and never report back on what worked. And . . . folks who ask really simple question without asking SIRI first (LOL) for guidance to YouTube or the Web or EBay or Amazon . . .

 

Just don't throw any of those OEM parts away or lose them. Put them in ziplock bags or boxes, label them and store them safely so that some future restorer can put them back or at least you could sell them to somebody who is anxious to earn those judging points. Everyone on the NCRS forum once enjoyed watching an Ebay auction for two small bolts that go somewhere on an L88. $600 for two bolts! That's $300 for a half inch long 5/16 coarse thread bolt that would have been probably 30 cents at any hardware store but these had the correct head markings and were apparently not found in any other application anywhere. You'd be kicking yourself if someday you find out that part your lost was worth a small fortune.

 

Have to say, ...never thought I'd hear a C4 being worth much of anything except running the **** out of. Hell, for $600, I'll strip those directly off mine and go and buy a couple more grade 8's at Ace.