[Beastie]

I think that a bit of self diagnosis can go a long way....

My son's BA was missing under load so I googled it and so many posts came up about the coils being stuffed, so I though bugger it, I'll buy some coils and give it a go before I take it to my mechanic.

Sure enough, the problem was fixed! Maybe I just got lucky, but it was worth the research (I changed the spark plugs while I was at it).

Same thing when I noticed a vibration in the same car. I googled it and again, so many posts came up about the tail shaft centre bearing. Now I am not competent enough to change this (plus don't have the right tools either), but I felt a lot better when I took it to my mechanic and said - I'm pretty sure that the tail shaft centre bearing is stuffed. He put it up on the hoist and showed me. Yep she's stuffed.

Had I not researched either of these two issues, I could have been up for hundreds in repairs being none the wiser.

Obviously, this will not always be the case but I think it's always worth researching first and forums like this are so helpful too.