Haynes! I'm dissapointed!

pARTner81

I just thought I'd share my frustrations with anyone intereseted in listening.
Just this evening I picked up my shiny new Haynes Manual 4281 for the Citroen Berlingo & Peugeot Partner. The cover is very nice indeed and has a glossy, full colour photo of the Partner Combi. This is great, until you open the book up, and that is where all the gloss and colour drain away, like the blood from my face as I glanced across the pages. The photos, although there are plenty, are so grainy and small that to the untrained eye such as mine are very hard to read, so to speak. And the pages themselves, they are just paper, like newspaper! there is no laminate, so good luck working in the garage with the manual with a pair of manky paws!! This is my own fault though, I should have checked the book before I bought it, but to be honest I probably would still have bought it anyway, but at €26.99 you'd expect a little bit of colour and gloss, I mean C'mon!:mad:

Has anyone recently bought a new Haynes Manual and share my frustrations, or am I just being a whining little so and so?

Owen

They've always been that way.

sdanseo

pARTner81 wrote: »

I just being a whining little so and so?

That.

They're not printed on laminate because it'd double the cost.

pARTner81

PaintDoctor wrote: »

They've always been that way.

Really? I suppose I never really looked into one before now, I just thought the inside was like the cover page. Does anyone else do what Haynes do, only with colour and laminated pages?

homer90

Owners clubs / forums FTW.

I find Haynes manuals hard to follow also.

Hal1

Never judge a book by it's......:P

alanmc

I wouldn't go so far as to say you're a whining little so and so. But I've used Haynes manuals for years for servicing and maintaining my motorbikes.

I agree the pictures can be a little hard to follow at times, but there's no denying the level of detail in the text. I've found them invaluable over the years.

Every bike I get, I make a point of getting the appropriate Haynes.

Keep at it. There will come a time when you'll be glad you have your Haynes.

If only Haynes did a manual for my car.<sigh>.

colm_mcm

Their shower gel is disappointing too.

Owen

colm_mcm wrote: »

Their shower gel is disappointing too.

And the handle fell of my Haynes mug.

johndaman66

I managed to somehow download a Haynes manual for my last car of the interweb. Don't ask how as can't recall where and did do a lot of searching for it as I recall. I thought they seemed to go into immense detail on some items and some other items where more detail would have being expected they seemed to just skim over it missing a diagram or two of some of the important steps...but hey, mine was free so wasn't complaining either!:D

sean1141

you can get a clear cover to protect the pages in halfords. only a few quid

djimi

pARTner81 wrote: »

RI just thought the inside was like the cover page.

To be fair when are the inside pages of any book the same as the cover?

Guy:Incognito

djimi wrote: »

To be fair when are the inside pages of any book the same as the cover?

A couple of hundred thick cardboard pages would be less than ideal :-)

zapata

"Reassembly is the reverse of removal" - There's an App for that!

http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipod-itunes/news/index.cfm?newsid=27611

:cool:

Our man in Havana

And Haynes favourite phrase: "Reassembly is the reverse of the dismantling procedure". Yeah right! :mad:

alanmc

Not feeling the love for Haynes. I'll get my coat. :P

pARTner81

I'll stick at it anyway, and when I get to know the in's and out's of the book I'll pass anything on that's needed for any berlingo/partner owners.

rebel.ranter

The American manuals made by Bentley (not the car) are much better but are also more expensive.

Also I have an issue with Haynes manuals, particularly the Mini one. In the version I had for the Mini it had the wring firing order listed! Caused me no end if grief!

Voodoomelon

If you're dissappointed with Haynes and are willing to spend a good bit more, Bentley manuals are where its at:

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/

danjo

You got a bargain. They were €36 in Halfords until a couple of weeks ago.

Cookie_Monster

The Haynes Aquarium manual is full colour

Owen

rebel.ranter wrote: »

Also I have an issue with Haynes manuals, particularly the Mini one. In the version I had for the Mini it had the wring firing order listed! Caused me no end if grief!

Welcome to my world!

Alun

I personally find them very good for keeping my Spitfire in tip top running order (not Triumph!) ...

http://www.haynes.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BookFeature_RAFHandbookView?new=Y&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001

(They also do one for the Avro Vulcan, the Lancaster bomber and are supposedly bringing one out for the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701, that is)).

Wibbs

They also do the Man haynes manual. They used to be great for older cars, but older cars were much less complex and tended to have less variation across models. Even then there was the joke about "Reassembly is the reverse of the dismantling procedure" Lies, all lies. I've had one for nearly every car I've owned and they're no load to carry, but if I was driving a newer car I dunno. I'd probably see if I could convince a dealer to sell me the official workshop manual.

langdang

Picture quality and quantity is poor, enthusiasts forums and online owners clubs are better for common fixes/issues. That said, I still consult the manual as well and check the online info against it.
I've a window regulator (I think) to fix in hers soon, yippee

no1beemerfan

PaintDoctor wrote: »

They've always been that way.

Not so! The only Haynes books I have like that are the ones for my laguna and E30/E28......I've ones for micra, focus, and two or three other cars and they are done on proper paper.

langdang

no1beemerfan wrote: »

Not so! The only Haynes books I have like that are the ones for my laguna and E30/E28......I've ones for micra, focus, and two or three other cars and they are done on proper paper.

The ones for the BMW MINI and for the old Fiat Bravo are done on reject quality newspaper too. If ever a Haynes manual needed to be glossy and durable, it was the one for the old 1.4 petrol Fiat Bravos

Abelloid

PaintDoctor wrote: »

They've always been that way.

The old VW ones are much better.

ianobrien

pARTner81 wrote: »

And the pages themselves, they are just paper, like newspaper! there is no laminate, so good luck working in the garage with the manual with a pair of manky paws!!

Has anyone recently bought a new Haynes Manual and share my frustrations, or am I just being a whining little so and so?

OP, you can do what I did, and photocopy the sections as I needed them and stuck them in polypockets and into a ring binder. That wat, the book is kept clean, if the pages/polypockets get dirty they can be easily (and cheaply) replaced.

Also, I understand that it is not a breach of copyright as you are making a working copy of a document that you are going to archive (the original book)

I find them useful publications all right. The ones for the older cars give instructions that work (as long as you've got some basic cop-on) and they worked well when I was removing & fitting engines/master cylinders/brakes etc.

101sean

The Haynes manuals for modern cars are definitely poorer quality and printed on paper fit for the smallest room. Anything complicated and it says take it to a dealer :rolleyes: The older ones were far better.

Even if it does cover the job, it pays to read it right through first. To do a timing chain on an 80s Fiat Panda it said "support engine under sump and remove LH engine mount", about 4 paragraphs later it said "remove sump"

If you search around via the owners or enthusiasts forums you can download many of the official workshop manuals for free or for a small charge.

Our man in Havana

To change the front shocks in a 106 Haynes tells you to take it to a dealer. :eek:

cycocycle

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=67481279&postcount=12

Enough said.:D

davdvn

pARTner81 wrote: »

I just thought I'd share my frustrations with anyone intereseted in listening.
Just this evening I picked up my shiny new Haynes Manual 4281 for the Citroen Berlingo & Peugeot Partner. The cover is very nice indeed and has a glossy, full colour photo of the Partner Combi. This is great, until you open the book up, and that is where all the gloss and colour drain away, like the blood from my face as I glanced across the pages. The photos, although there are plenty, are so grainy and small that to the untrained eye such as mine are very hard to read, so to speak. And the pages themselves, they are just paper, like newspaper! there is no laminate, so good luck working in the garage with the manual with a pair of manky paws!! This is my own fault though, I should have checked the book before I bought it, but to be honest I probably would still have bought it anyway, but at €26.99 you'd expect a little bit of colour and gloss, I mean C'mon!:mad:

Has anyone recently bought a new Haynes Manual and share my frustrations, or am I just being a whining little so and so?

went to halfords today for a haynes book and fortunetly one was not wrapped in celophane. after leafing through it i came to the same conclusion. cheap paper. should be a gloss with colour photo. especially at those prices.

Our man in Havana

cycocycle wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=67481279&postcount=12

Enough said.:D

I haven't laughed as much in ages!

mickdw

The manuals are generally good and will make alot more sense when you are stuck in the middle of a job. Just looking a random photos in the book without being actually working on the van wont make much sense.