I’ll freely admit I’m no engineer.  Once the bonnet’s open, other than the basics of oil and screenwash, I’m pretty much clueless – though the little pictures do help.

But when the sound of our three-month old B-Max became noticeably different on the dual carriageway segment of my journey to work, I was a little concerned.

I dropped in to a local dealer one lunchtime a couple of days after the noise appeared, in the hope a technician would be able to hop in the car for a couple of minutes with me to either put my mind at rest, or book the car in for the necessary work.

I was told that wasn’t possible, and that I should book the vehicle in for an appointment a week and a half later.  Our sister magazine Automotive Management told us that it would be reasonable to expect a booking within 3-5 working days.

Not being entirely happy with that, I put in a phone call to a smaller dealer 20 minutes down the road in my hometown, who told me to pop in an hour and a half later.

The service manager accompanied me on a five minute journey, in which, perhaps predictably, the noise had disappeared. Upon explaining it, he offered a plausible explanation – the emission-reducing diesel particulate filter may have been trying to regenerate. 

The ten-minute visit avoided a day of vehicle downtime, and the hassle of dropping in a vehicle before work – the original dealer offered a lift back to the office, but didn’t offer us a courtesy car, or collection and delivery service – something we’ve come to expect from dealers of other manufacturers in the area.

Mileage 5700

MPG 47