What is it ...

[leeds]

What is it with Aussie mechanics? Do they have an aversion to using the humble grease gun?

Have had my 110 serviced three times whilst travelling in Australia. Only the first garage (British & Swedish Motors, Sydney) did a good job. They actually told me stuff, i.e. load leveller adjuster was leaking. Other two did not mention it.

Second service in Cairns, had new UJs fitted. Lasted about 700 km on bitumen. Missing circlip, needle roller or no grease???? No apology about prop shaft!!!

Third service in Broome. I knew had slight problem with front offside brake and reported it. On way to garage picked up what I thought was a stone in front offside tyre.

Picked 110 up, ask whether any problem with it. Told no (Leaky load adjuster???) On way back to campsite had click from stone in front tyre. Next day noticed that the spare wheel carrier had not been greased. Then noitce it was not a stone in the front tyre but a big roofing screw! No mention of it.

Next notice that the prop shafts had not been greased!

Took it back, service guy did not apologise but mechanic did.

Have Aussie garages got an aversion to grease guns and reporting on items?

Maybe I am just a whinging POM

Or are Aussie garages so busy getting their customers to bend over so that they can rape their wallets?

Regards


Brendan

[Outlaw]

Or are Aussie garages so busy getting their customers to bend over so that they can rape their wallets?
Afraid to say i think that is the answer :(

[camel_landy]

Well, as they say...

"If a job's worth doing..." :angel:

I ended up pulling up onto a dealer forecourt and doing the work myself. I them bought the parts from them to keep them sweet. :D

M

[UncleHo]

G'day leeds :)

Well you have just encountered the great Aussie Service Dept attitude, " Too Lazy, Cannot be bothered, Tourist, Won't be coming back,Got the dollars" that is why the majority of Landrover owners work on ther own vehicles, and also why the Landrover brand is not well liked in Aust.:( sloppy or no after sales service and sloppy, greedy service departments:mad:


"She'll be right Mate" another @#&&*#@^ pommy:( but just think the Asians get worse.


cheers

[leeds]

I have never pretended to be a mechanic. Decided I would earn my money doing what I was good at and letting other people earn their money doing what they are supposedly good at. Decided that many years ago when it was ****ing down with rain, car was in bits and I had to get across town somehow to pick up a needed part!

Suppose I am lucky having a good garage in Leeds who know about LR and give excellent service. They know what I expect from the 110 and the hard life it leads so they look after it well. They have refused to fit after market items to the 110 as they decided they were not of suitable quality. Have custom built items for me like rear winch carrier, light bar etc. The spares I carry are on loan from them and they provide backup over net/phone to me

Suppose have ben spoilt by having a good garage

Regards

Brendan

[Phil633]

Suppose I am lucky having a good garage in Leeds who know about LR and give excellent service. They know what I expect from the 110 and the hard life it leads so they look after it well. They have refused to fit after market items to the 110 as they decided they were not of suitable quality. Have custom built items for me like rear winch carrier, light bar etc. The spares I carry are on loan from them and they provide backup over net/phone to me

Suppose have ben spoilt by having a good garage

Regards

Brendan

Hey Brendan,

Can they open a branch in Perth:angel:;)

[Hymie]

Maybe I am just a whinging POM

Or are Aussie garages so busy getting their customers to bend over so that they can rape their wallets?

Regards


Brendan

ROFLMAO:twisted::twisted:

[rangieman]

Sorry to hear of your woes :cool:
But grease in the spare wheel carrier would not be service requirement nor the roof screw in the tyre

If the mechanic was observant he might have noticed the screw in the tyre but i doubt it ,there mechanics (grease monkeys:p):wasntme:
Now grease in the prop shafts , them dudes need slapping

[Yorkshire_Jon]

I guess there are two things here that spring to mind...

1. Yes FourPlus4 are excellent and YES you have been spoilt! I know there are far more crap "Landrover Specialist" garages in the UK than there are good ones.

2. Giving the garages youve been to the benefit of the doubt Im assuming that they have simply undertaken a standard Land Rover service and not the TLC the 110 needs for the work its doing... That said, it aint rocket science to differentiate between the two and it would appear youv'e had PPS from at least 2 of the 3.

All that said though and while its no excuse, I guess it comes down to $$$$ and an ill appreciation of what the vehicle does.

[isuzurover]

I guess there are two things here that spring to mind...

1. Yes FourPlus4 are excellent and YES you have been spoilt! I know there are far more crap "Landrover Specialist" garages in the UK than there are good ones.

2. Giving the garages youve been to the benefit of the doubt Im assuming that they have simply undertaken a standard Land Rover service and not the TLC the 110 needs for the work its doing... That said, it aint rocket science to differentiate between the two and it would appear youv'e had PPS from at least 2 of the 3.

All that said though and while its no excuse, I guess it comes down to $$$$ and an ill appreciation of what the vehicle does.

I think it comes down to them realising leeds will be a once-only customer whether they do a thorough job or a half arsed job. Unfortunately.

[UncleHo]

G'day Leeds :)

It all comes down to the fact that Australia is now a Japanese 4 X 4 nation now as Landrovers (110's/Defenders) are sold in hundreds and Japo's sell in Thousands, not helped by dealers attitudes either:( you are lucky, as some mechanic's and service centres are straight out hostile towards Landrovers:mad: "Pommie heaps of S**t"

You would have found by now,just how vast this country is, and how few Landrover service centres there are ;)

But, it is a fantastic country, and the oldest Island Continent on Earth, also the driest, are you aware that the UK fits 6 times into the State of Queensland ;)

cheers

[isuzurover]

also the driest,

Sorry UncleHo, but Antarctica is the driest continent. Australia is only the driest inhabited continent.

[DEFENDERZOOK]

its just that grease nipples have become obsolete......

most workshops wouldnt even know where the grease gun was.....since its been that long since it was last used......

a service is simply oil and filter.......
and then a quick look around to see what else they can hit you up for.....
such as wipers....brakes.....globes......machining of rotors.....coolant flush....brake fluid flush.....etc......




these days.....im afraid....if you want the job done proper......
you gotta done it yourself......

[scarry]

these days.....im afraid....if you want the job done proper......
you gotta done it yourself......[/QUOTE]

Its a shame,but this is the way it is these days:(

I dont mind paying to get the job done,if it is done properly.

More often than not i seem to pay the good money,& get the half done job.:(

[Reads90]

Well, as they say...

"If a job's worth doing..." :angel:

I ended up pulling up onto a dealer forecourt and doing the work myself. I them bought the parts from them to keep them sweet. :D

M

Same here. I checked my car all the time on the trip around Aus . I had my own gresse gun and i gressed mine once a month as well as checking engine, gear box, transfer box , front and rear axle, and swivals for oil levals. I also changed the oil myself in camp sites every 8000 k's. Mine did not go into a gargae around Aus , did it all my self.
I also used to check the car every week for the land rover normal things like Wheel bearings, Uj's and stuff

Belive me Leeds it is not just Aussie Garages most of the UK ones would have not gressed the UJ's unlesss you had asked them to , they would have done the least amount they would need to :)

Ali

[101 Ron]

I m now 45 years old and wonder why I am still a motor mechanic.
Most of the people who knew any thing have left the trade.
At the end of the day in a hot unairconditioned workshop and I come home covered in dirt with cracked hands and a aching back i question my sanity.
The pay is rubbish and instead of being held in high regard by society as a automotive engineer you are called a grease monkey like in a earlier post.
My missus earns much more money with little physical effort in air con comfort.
It takes more than ten years to learn the trade well and the vehicles are changing all the time unlike a doctor who is well paid to work on one model which never changes.
I tonight have just come back from a meeting which discussed the new engines and the oil type requirements and the the cost of the oil involved with salesmen/ customer expectations.....etc
People want the green fuel efficient engines but not the servicing cost and problems involved.
Any very simple mistake or just having a bad day can cause a engine failure these days .
Why would any one become a automotive engineer ?
thats why you cannot get good servicing and repair work.
I forgot to mention the competition from backyard and do it yourselfers who may or may no do a good job driving down prices of labour and the increasing cost of having a licensed workshop with the modern gear need to handle late model vehicles.

[DEFENDERZOOK]

the way things are going......mechanics will be obsolete soon.......

new cars will probably just end up going to the nearest computer technician for servicing.......

[Bigbjorn]

One of my Range Rover customers once said that the man in our workshop who was best at his job was the man who greased the seats and steering wheel.

[Blknight.aus]

its becoming an obsolete trade...

mainly because we're becoming a jap car society...

one of the later jap small cars has a 100000 km service interval... at which point you stop the car, push it into a metal chipper and then buy yourself a new one.

the same can be said about the new landcruisers, some of the nissans and even some of the jeeps. Its not that they have a 100,000Km service interval its just that if you chucked one of them at half the stuff a deefer can deal with it would roll over, die horribly and leave you stranded to die. If you were lucky enough to survive and get the wreck back to a dealers they'd just cross load your gear into a new vehicle hand that to you and then push your old broken one into the metal chipper.

[Jojo]

Hi Bren,
I could advise you of a competent workshop, albeit in QLD (or you my ask the good Uncle). They did a good job on our vehicles anyway.

Let me point out our work shops here are equally sub-standard, hence the need for a huge garage and big tool box.



unlike a doctor who is well paid to work on one model which never changes


The beast in me is tempting me to saying "you better wish to look at ya' missus at home" but I am too polite for such profanities ;):cool:.

Cheers