bedford? what is it...

[Rotti]

The day has come.....i went to supercheap auto & autobarns to pickup a simple thing like upper & lower radiator hoses.
The pimply faced 11 year old at supercheap just looks at me like i was ordering a frikken burger! "they dont make a bedford" he said
i spun his screen around & had a geezer, nup, no beddy!.... NO BEDDY!
Popped across the road, autobarns was the same!
We have been struck off the spare parts book!....at least repco has us on the books, but they are just as hopeless. first he said. bedford, no we wont have anything, buy them off ebay. So i just bought them to suit hd holden which are the same....drama

[Sammy]

that's the problem these days, you need to know a model of car to give them or a part number or they are useless mostly!

I find it fun though trying to explain to tham that my holden 202 is in a Gemini with fuel injection and a turbo and that most of the parts are not Gemini

[BusyKiwi]

I had similar experience when trying to get a 90 degree radiator hose, went something like this -
Hi, I'm after a 90 degree radiator hose
"what's it for"
mid mounted CF Bedford,
"who makes Bedford, is it ford?"
Vaxhaul make bedford but I'm running a 350 chev
"Oh, whats the engine out of?"
a corvette,
"hmm no listings for a 90 degree bend for a corvette"
I DONT WANT A F%#@EN HOSE FOR A CORVETTE, I JUST WANT A 90 DEGREE BEND (yes I yelled at him),
"sorry without a part number we can't help you",
you have the hoses hanging up back there, just let me look at them,
"sorry we aren't allowed to do that"
Do you know what a radiator hose looks like?
Yes
Do you know what a 90 degree bend is?
Yes
Then go look if you can see one hanging up
"sorry we need a part number"
IT'S ON THE F#%@EN HOSE. Fine, I'll just take a left handed hammer, can you manage that ?
"hmm sorry we don't have them listed"
I walked out ...

[Gordon]

Looks like I got lucky. My local Repco let me browse through the hose rack at the back of the shop until I found what I needed. Took a few trips to get my heater hoses exactly right as I didn't bother to make a template, thought I could get it right by eye. I guess its just the luck of the draw on who you get served by.

[Gunning]

sounds like everywhere, people employed with no real world experience / knowledge in the area they work. The kids working there cant help you or dont want to help you, their understanding is limited to what a computer tells them....or major brands / sponsors want to be known.
 

[Bedfordcrazy]

The problem is they are hiring young kids, thats fine, but bedford and gemini had ceased manufacture 20yrs b4 they were even born. I went to bunnings the other week, bloody useless, i went to the plumbing , electrical and gardening sections, and all i wanted was a 10 cent C shape hose or conduit clamp. NO LUCK. So i went home and got one from my workshop, took it back and said to them, ok you mutton heads, this is what i f***** want, oh yeah we have those, but where, so they started ringing around, i dont f**** believe this s**** you gotta be f*** kidding, so while bird brain was yapping on the phn, i rolled on off in my chair, headed up to gardening and asked the lady up there, showed her my clamp and she handed me 2 bags of them, i bought 4 just in case they became extinct, which is what should happen to the staff. Anyhow went back to the checkout and numnuts was still on the phn trying to find them. i asked him how he went, i dont think they exist mate, and i said to him, and these are a f**** ellusion arn't they, maybe you should look for a new job, because you are really f**** useless at this one, and i rolled off.

It reminds me of a kevin bloody wilson,  song the dictaphone about telstra. Anyhow here is a pic of the rarest clamp in history.

george

[Bas / NZ]

That's why I went to Super Cheap, they have all the hoses on display, help your self, but our local Reoco are very helpfull.

[Bedfordcrazy]

It really is sad when you have 3 of the giants in auto, Supercheap, Autobarn and Repco, and it turns out to be a lucky dip these days as to who will have what you want, even though they all sell the same sort of products. Sign of the times.

george

[Sammy]

while it might be a terrible pain in the ass I do find if I do my research at home and go in with a part number it does make life a lot easier!

that said I have had a few people at various stores that do know what they are doing and/or actually have an interest in cars which really helps!

[rumax]

I just have a local parts supplier who has been there for ages. Have all the old books and are prepared to give a bit of customer service!
Do I pay a bit more.... not sure, but they have NEVER let me down with either my Bedford or 300E Ford Thames.

Worst case was an overnight from Melbourne.
If anybody needs parts in Adelaide, just ask.....
Cheers
Russell