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How do you find mechanics, generally?

Archeron

And I dont mean in the golden pages :-)

I know this may be a bit of a contentious issue, so apologies in advance if anyone is offended by any part of this, but I wanted to see how people feel, generally, about mechanics in Ireland.

I've been driving now for 14 years, and in my time, have had a lot of work required on various vehicles for various reasons, as would we all. Sadly (and I hate top admit this) but I am not very mechanical, and would tend to leave the majority of things to a professional mechanic.
I have found in my many years that the vast vast majority of mechanics that I have dealt are unprofessional rip off merchants who fleece people and I honestly think, sometimes do more damage to cars than repairs.

If I can justify this statement with a couple of examples.
My current car was unused for a long period, and needed a major service to get it roadworthy. I paid a mechanic to do this for me. He gave me the car back, saying it was fine and perfect, and on closer inspection I realized:
All of the brakes were siezed and the only way to actually stop the car completely was with the handbrake.
The radiator was empty of water entirely, as was the screen wash. He told me he replaced the wipers, and when I first used them, they put a lovely bright green smeer of moss across my wipers, from when they sat unused. The rear wiper was the same, and there was a fairly serious problem with a coolant pipe in the engine. I sorted this out with him, but it an example of what I would generally find is the standard level.

I'm sure many of us can recount serious, and worse tales of horror.

Now I feel lucky, as having just been ripped off again this morning, I decided to go to a good garage near home that has done some work for me, and the work has been spot on, fair pricing and nice staff. I honestly feel lucky to have found a garage like this, as most of my mechanical requirements are normally met with someone tutting and mumbling to themselves about how expensive and difficult a job its going to be, whereas here they just carry out the work for a fair price without the dodgy amateur dramatics.

Again, I dont intend to tar people with a big brush here, as I know that there ARE good mechanics out there, but we all know that there are an awful lot of con artists too, so just to get a feel for how other people have found this industry in Ireland.

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crosstownk

I'd agree with Mr.D on this ^^.

A valet - are you actually serious here - surely you mean a wash and hoover? A mini-valet will cost around €50 alone!

The VW service plan (dealer guide) specifically indicates that the customer should be asked before wipers are replaced. It is not a good idea to spend customers money when it is not necessary - for all you know the wipers could have been replaced a few weeks back.

The best policy, imo, is to check the condition and report. Items that contribute to safety, however, must be treated differently.

Darragh29

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

Hi Darragh,

Waterpumps, T/Belts and Wheel Cyls I would agree with. There are very valid safety and quality related reasons for these.

The rest I think are wrong.
Bulbs. Why replace the one on the opposite side? There is no valid reason for that? Or is there? What would make it more likely to blow than any of the other bulbs in the car?

Wipers. If they are worn then replace them but if not worn then why?

Brake Disks. Why should they be resurfaced or replaced unless the surface is worn?

Valet? Should this not be the customers choice?

How can you possibly service any/every car at that price? Do you do long life VAG diesels at the same price as a 10 year old Fiesta? Or any car that needs new platinum plugs at the same price as the same car that is not due them?

Hi Mr. D.

Our reasoning on the bulb replacements came about after we noticed that after a service, (this was particularly true for headlamp bulbs), we had cases of customers returning to us looking for a bulb replacement in between their yearly service. We discussed with these customers and feedback was that this was an inconvenience for them, to have to come to a garage to have a bulb fitted, and we asked them would they prefer if we had replaced this bulb the last time their vehicle was with us when we replaced a blown bulb during that service. Maybe in times gone by, customers would not have felt it an inconvenience to get a bulb replaced, but in Ireland today, people seem to believe their time is more precious than their money. The answer was consistently yes.

By replacing two bulbs at a time, we are eliminating one bulb for two years that can cause a customer an inconvenience. We think this is particularly important when it comes to safety related lamps like headlamps and brake lamps. Just have a look at the number of cars with defective headlamps and brake lamps on the road at night (we did a survey on this and came up with a figure of 1 car in 3 with either defective headlamps or brake lamps).

Again, the brake disc replacement reasoning is purely down to safety. On one occasion we had a customer who we recommended should have his brake discs replaced. He thought I was trying to screw him to decided against my advice. We fitted brake pads on his worn discs and he paid his bill and drove off. He wasn't gone 30 seconds when he was back in a rage because he said his brakes were not working. I explained that as he elected not to have his brake discs replaced, his brakes would have to be let bed in and this would take time. This was unacceptable to him. So, based on this experience, I decided to have a situation in my business where brakes jobs left the garage in optimal condition every time. We invested in an in-situ brake lathe and where we can, we use this if brake disc wear is minimal. If too much has to be taken off the disc, we replace the brake discs. Now we don't have to worry about customers returning with a complaint relating to brakes, because when their car leaves the garage, there are always two new braking surfaces and there is no need for a prolonged "bedding in" period. I know you will say, "hang on a minute, you told your man that he had to change his brake discs, if he doesn't want to that's his tuff sh*t if his brakes are not efficient".

My number one priority is to eliminate customers returning with a complaint for any reason, whether real or perceived. I'll listen to a customer complaining and think "hang on, this is completely his/her fault, I warned them of this", but I'll still come up with a way to ensure that they cannot come back with the same complaint again. I expected originally that I be now getting complaints about price and policy rather than, "I'm not happy with my brakes", or "I got my car serviced here last month and my headlamp bulb is gone, did you not replace it when you serviced the car" (we did of course but the other bulb has blown), but to my surprise we have not had this at all.

The valet we do is effective and is not the kind of valet a guy would do to bring a car up to sales/showroom condition. You could consider it about 80% of that quality. We wash & polish all cars which is no big deal. The purpose of our car valet is to provide a service valet, not to prepare a car for a showroom sale. It is to restore a new car feel, smell and look to the car so when the customers takes it back, it feels/smells & looks like it has been serviced. As long as we accomplish this, our customers are happy and I'm happy.

On your last two questions about long life plugs, etc. As Bill Clinton would say, "Read my Lips, 185 Euro for a full Service!" ;-)

slipss

Replacing wipers every service regardless of thier condition is very wastefull and and unnecessary, don't agree with that at all.

But as for replacing corresponding bulbs, like replacing the left brake light bulb at the same time as the right, is perfectly reasonable. It's common practice in many garages. For those of you that can't see the reasoning behind it, think of it like this. The bulbs were both fitted in the car at the same time originally, they have recieved the same amount of use because they work as a pair, they light and unlight for the same amount of time, so naturally they are going to go around about the same time, its just logical to replace them both rather than the customer driving off with one new bulb and then the old bulb going a month later and having to come back in.

P.S Darragh your a service manager not a mechanic yeah? You remind me so much of an old service manager I use to have.

BostonB

I think you are catering for a specific type of customer. One that does nothing to their car ever and knows nothing about cars and doesn't want to. If thats your only/primary market then trying to avoid complaints make sense. But everyone else will be put off by the extras, and attitude. IMO its self defeating doing far more for much much less money than probably any other garage in Dublin, probably the country. Especially when your target market would happily pay at least 50-100% more for the work you claim to be doing. If it works for ye then thats all that matters.

Many yrs ago I used a fantastic mechanic that charged too little for the work he did, I practically had to force him to take money from me. But eventually he got out of the business because he couldn't make it pay. So frustrating.

BostonB

slipss wrote:

...
But as for replacing corresponding bulbs, like replacing the left brake light bulb at the same time as the right, is perfectly reasonable. It's common practice in many garages. For those of you that can't see the reasoning behind it, think of it like this. The bulbs were both fitted in the car at the same time originally, they have recieved the same amount of use because they work as a pair, they light and unlight for the same amount of time, so naturally they are going to go around about the same time, its just logical to replace them both rather than the customer driving off with one new bulb and then the old bulb going a month later and having to come back in.....

Weird. In many years/decades of driving I've never seen the twin of a bulb fail, even in the same year as its brother. Thats any car in the immediate family, not just my own. Its usually the same bulb that keeps going, and then not often at all. The only time I see bulbs going is if theres an electrical fault, or most commonly its a Halogen and some twit has touch it with their bare hands. Happens a lot in dealers.

Mr.Diagnostic

Darragh29 wrote:

Hi Mr. D.

Again, the brake disc replacement reasoning is purely down to safety. On one occasion we had a customer who we recommended should have his brake discs replaced. He thought I was trying to screw him to decided against my advice. We fitted brake pads on his worn discs and he paid his bill and drove off. He wasn't gone 30 seconds when he was back in a rage because he said his brakes were not working. I explained that as he elected not to have his brake discs replaced, his brakes would have to be let bed in and this would take time. This was unacceptable to him. So, based on this experience, I decided to have a situation in my business where brakes jobs left the garage in optimal condition every time. We invested in an in-situ brake lathe and where we can, we use this if brake disc wear is minimal. If too much has to be taken off the disc, we replace the brake discs. Now we don't have to worry about customers returning with a complaint relating to brakes, because when their car leaves the garage, there are always two new braking surfaces and there is no need for a prolonged "bedding in" period. I know you will say, "hang on a minute, you told your man that he had to change his brake discs, if he doesn't want to that's his tuff sh*t if his brakes are not efficient".

Sorry Darragh, but if you are so professional then why did you fit new pads to a car with worn disks?
You quire rightly state that new pads on worn disks will cause a bad brake pedal and very reduced braking ability. That should never happen.........but............why not fit new pads on disks that are not worn? Charging a customer to skim/replace disks that are in perfect condition is not good business practice, not for the customers pocket anyway!

Changing bulbs in case they might burn out before the next service? Why? How can you tell if a bulb will last another minute or another 10 years? If that was the case then why not change every bulb in the car? Even then, how do you know the new bulbs will last longer than the old ones would have?

All in service for €185? So if I bring an M3 to you you will do a "full service" for €185, inc the correct oil, plugs, pollen, all fluids etc etc you will do it for that price, to BMW spec? Would you like a detailed insp2 breakdown for an m3 so you can add up your costs? My price for an E36 M3 insp2 is just over €400 excl wipers and bulbs.

BrianD3

On the bulbs, my H7 dipped headlight bulbs blow regularly which is not a huge surprise as as they are usually on for about 4 hours every day. Just thinking back it does seem to be that bulbs blow after a certain length of time, in my case I'd say each dipped bulb lasts approx 4 months. Now if I wasn't able or willing to replace bulbs myself or if I was too thick to notice when a bulb was blown then yes it might be good practice for a garage to replace them in pairs at a service. Maybe even replace both dipped bulbs at every service even if neither are blown as part of preventative maintenance.

Wishbone Ash

Darragh29 wrote:

As Bill Clinton would say, "Read my Lips"

:eek: Ah no Darragh29, that was George HW Bush at the 1988 National Republican Convention.;)

Darragh29

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

Sorry Darragh, but if you are so professional then why did you fit new pads to a car with worn disks?

Read my post, I've already explained why.

_Kaiser_

In fairness lads, €185 for all the above is a bargain price. I got my Passat serviced last month (made the mistake of listening to my mother/family and giving the business to the garage I bought it from) and it cost me nearly 3 times that, AND it took 2 days to do - never again!

Darragh29: Do ya deal with 02 Automatic TDI Passats?