(Home) Be a telly star - pays for bodywork repair

Well, despite the fact the poor old beast has still got a little front end damage (insurance company STILL hasn't got itself sorted out yet!!!) we had a very odd request over the weekend, and that was to have our Townace appear in a TV commercial, we were rewarded hansomely for it's morning's work @ Shepperton Studios & the advert for a well known Supermarket whose name rhymes with Mazda, will be screened over Christmas, so keep your eyes peeled for it's appearance, oh by the way, the other star of the advert was Julie Walters.

Keep on truckin',
regards,
Rob.

- (#11288) Rob Drinkwater, 21 Oct 03 18:25

Well, that's bad news for all of us here. It will probably mean, now that you are famous, that those usual pearls of wisdom, posted so helpfully here, will not be so numerous as before and, quite possibly, your elevation to a "showbiz celeb", might mean that the humble Townace could be replaced by a Bentley. I had intended to keep the TV switched off over Christmas but, how can I with my family now planning to switch on the video recorder the moment the advert starts ?
Still, whenever you appear on the telly, I can tell my friends that THIS was the chap who sorted out my cooling problems (and others). It's known as reflected glory so, if I forward an address, an autograph perhaps .....

- (#11289) John Davis, 22 Oct 03 12:00

But Rob why pick on a 'battered' Townie to star in the ad when there are unmarked ones around. What are Asda promoting - battered fish? :-)

- (#11290) Ian Dunse, 23 Oct 03 5:21

Hello Rob.
Any chance the "Handsome Reward" is enough to treat the beast to a little front end massaging and a new coat of paint? Maybe if there’s any thing left after that, you could get the bus fixed as well.
- (#11291) dave Bright, 23 Oct 03 5:46

Ian,
reasons were that:
1) I have a website & they found me via that.
2) I live about 5 minutes from Shepperton Studios
3) My wife was available to chauffeur car at the right time
4) The shot was SUPPOSED to be of a well used Carribean Taxi, it's just that this one must have hit a donkey on the road or something

The 'Handsome reward' will certainly help soften the blow of the excess that the insurance company will charge us when they finally sort out the front end.

Regards Rob.
- (#11292) Rob Drinkwater, 23 Oct 03 17:51

Right place, right time eh? Pity they've stopped filming Peak Practice (just over the hill from me), maybe mine could have starred as a mobile surgery or something.

Hope you get sorted soon. I'll watch out for the advert.

Cheers
Ian

- (#11293) Ian Dunse, 24 Oct 03 2:39

Exactly, right website, right place, right time. As I said, they asked us not even to clean it over the weekend as they wanted the authentic 'TAXI' look,l wasn't difficult, the wife hasn't washed it for months anyway, looks like it's been hacking around in the Carribean dust for weeks, so they didn't even have to throw the dust over it that they threatened to do! Still she might wash it one day. Oh must dash out to photograph that flying pig!!!!!!!!!!!

Regards Rob.

- (#11392) Rob Drinkwater, 24 Oct 03 17:58

Well, I've seen the ad and couldn't see any vehicle on it (apart from a trolly!) So will there be another ad coming up that will feature your Townace?

- (#11713) Al Bickley, 13 Nov 03 15:32

Al

I'm guessing Asda have done a series of ads with Ms Walters playing the lead in each. Bit like the coffee ads perhaps.

- (#11714) Ian Dunse, 14 Nov 03 2:31

Ah, thought so! At least it's different to have a Xmas ad set in the carribean. It just annoys me when all the other retailers show their shops in the high street covered in snow! I can hardly remember when it last snowed in Oxfordshire at Xmas!

- (#11797) Al Bickley, 14 Nov 03 4:18

Well, I've just seen it. Blimey (though), it's a case of blink and miss it don't you think?!

- (#6281) Al Bickley (Again!), 30 Nov 03 16:05

Still haven't managed to catch the star of stage screem & motorway on the telly yet, every time we notice the advert she's already in the hotel & out of our Townie. Still the money's in the bank, so what do we care.

Now where's the Townies agent luvvie!!!!!



Regards Rob.

- (#6281) Rob Drinkwater, 2 Dec 03 16:58

Have you got her back on the road yet Rob and sorted out with the insurance?

- (#6281) Ian Dunse, 3 Dec 03 05:14

Ian,
She was never off the road. My wife drove back from the scene of the accident & I removed the headlight & turn light units & pulled the front end & the dent in the bumper out as best as I could. I then put the headlamp & turn lamps back in & taped them together with all weather tape. This is fine for now, even passed the MOT a few days ago, so the headlamp aim as at least around correct. The insurance have now given us a settlement in lieu of repairs (in other words they don't want to repair it due to the cost of new spares) they gave us what we paid for the car 2 years ago, less our excess. This means that the car HASN'T been written off, & will not appear on any registers as such, which is excellent & saves us the hassles of getting it removed. The damage is only slight, it is going to a bodyshop that is a customer of mine on Monday & should come back ggod as new, all I have had to get hold of is a second hand bumper & quarter panel (Thanks to the Goldups for them) and a headlamp & turn lamp assemblies (Thanks to Bill @ BBC Spares for them) and these will go onto the tin bashed front end next week. SORTED (I hope).

Meanwhile the extra cash goes to the 'I want a top of the range 4WD Lucida' fund. If Christmas doesn't eat it up first.

Regards Rob.

- (#6281) Rob Drinkwater, 3 Dec 03 17:45

Some people get all the breaks. Nice one!

Ian

- (#6281) Ian Dunse, 4 Dec 03 04:28

You're lucky about passing the MOT. I put my Litie in last week and was told that the headlights could not be adjusted because both adjustment brackets were broken! (I'd love to know how!) Anyway, I will have to see whats taking them so long as it's been a week now!

- (#6281) Al Bickley, 4 Dec 03 04:55

Rob
I wouldn't over advertise the telly bit if i were you.
If the bbc get wind of it you might find your trusty steed on top gear and you wouldn't want Mr CLARKSON getting his hands on your pride and joy on a test run around brands hatch now would you. could you imagine the comments?
regards brian

- (#6281) brian squire, 8 Dec 03 14:59

On the subject of Top Gear. Have you been watching their attempts to trash a Hi Lux? Now there's a diesel engine that refuses to give up. So why didn't they put one of those in the Townace?

- (#6281) Ian Dunse, 10 Dec 03 03:21

Funnily enough, the 2L & 2LT engine in the Hi-lux DID suffer the same problems on head gaskets as those the Townace suffers, but the air-flow through the rad is better. But to be honest they haven't done a test to thrash the nuts off that Hi-lux, that probably would kill it, and when it was in the sea, at least it was over cooled.

Regards Rob.

- (#6281) Rob Drinkwater, 10 Dec 03 13:45

Have to say, that slot about the Hilux was hillarious. I think Clarkson is going soft in his old age- he's been recommending the Yaris as No.1 supermini...

S'true tho. A mechanically controlled diesel will resist many things. I reckoned the salt water would've killed it tho.

- (#6281) david miller, 10 Dec 03 15:37

Did you see it this week then, dropping it with a collapsing tower block, and it still worked afterwards, even tho' the chassis is now broken, the body is holding it together. Just goes to show that the Toyotas are pretty well built.
In fact I was speaking to the body shop that is working on our 'ace and they had to exert over 13 tonnes of pressure on the front panel (behind headlights) to pull that out the 13 mm that it needed to come forward to do the repairs on it, well made or what.
No wonder the Zafira the wife hit was a bit more mangled than the Townace.

Regards Rob.

- (#6281) Rob Drinkwater, 10 Dec 03 17:09

Does anyone here remember watching Tarrant on TV? I couldn't stop laughing at the Australian ads for the Hilux: "The new Hilux Grinner: Unbreakable!"
The one that sticks in my mind is the one where that Farmer is using his Hilux to uproot a tree stump. The stump flies out and demolishes his outhouse, and the Farmer just says "Oh b******s!" Hilarious!

- (#6281) Al Bickley, 11 Dec 03 07:07