Thread: What do you think of Dealer Technicians?

i have come across some really good ones and some absolute shockers

years ago i had a vectra that was a tad troublesome and some of the techs at eagers were extremely good, can't say the same for a manager there at the time, tho the engineers were very very good.

same with a couple at the hyundai dealer where i got my accent serviced. a couple of the techs were exceptional whilst the manager and office plods were truly lousy.

the worst of all, were the vw dudes.. i was lied to by all level of management and service staff including techs at several dealers as a matter of habit.

don't know how they sleep at night ....

never had a new land rover, sadly, but i have heard some great stories and some not so great from those that i have met that do...

you find a gooden, make sure you support them!

The problem is that now they are all technicians, they can plug in the computer and read the codes and replace the stuff the computer tells them to replace.

The problem is that they don't have any old fashioned mechanics anymore who know how to diagnose problems.

I have had a major issue with SWMBOs Peugeot transmission from new, everytime you start it from cold the first change is a hunge thump that shakes the whole car. Everytime I take it in the "technicians" say they don't know what the issue is because there are no fault codes.

Originally Posted by incisor

i have come across some really good ones and some absolute shockers

years ago i had a vectra that was a tad troublesome and some of the techs at eagers were extremely good, can't say the same for a manager there at the time, tho the engineers were very very good.

same with a couple at the hyundai dealer where i got my accent serviced. a couple of the techs were exceptional whilst the manager and office plods were truly lousy.



never had a new land rover, sadly, but i have heard some great stories and some not so great from those that i have met that do...

you find a gooden, make sure you support them!

Agree pretty much with all of that,but sadly with LR techs i have found the best one's to be working at the independents.

Although the dealer did sort a couple of small things on the D4 recently,and they were excellent,and very helpful,so maybe things are improving.

My eldest and youngest stepsons are both dual ticketed diesel fitters. They deliberately made the career choice not to work for a dealer as it is recognised that Dealer technicians do not get the exposure to different vehicles, systems and problems to get an all round education. They can virtually name their wage now.


Tom.

Originally Posted by BathurstTom

My eldest and youngest stepsons are both dual ticketed diesel fitters. They deliberately made the career choice not to work for a dealer as it is recognised that Dealer technicians do not get the exposure to different vehicles, systems and problems to get an all round education. They can virtually name their wage now.


Tom.

My young bloke is in exactly the same position - though he generally works on heavier gear than "light vehicles".

The same circumstances that you refer to applies equally to the big names in the heavy plant industry (Caterpillar, Komatsu etc). It used to be the case that anyone who did their apprenticeship with say, Caterpillar, was held in high regard in the industry. Sadly, this is far from the case these days. My young bloke did his time with a small independent in Kalgoorlie and gained exposure to a much broader range of products (and problems) than he would ever have seen at Westrac.

Regarding the OP - the last really good "technician" that I came across at a Land Rover dealership was a South African mechanic who worked at the old Gold City Land Rover dealership (part of Southern Land Rover / Barbagallo group) before it closed down. But he was what I would term a "mechanic" with many years of experience and knowledge of all Land Rover products. He did his "time" with Land Rover in South Africa.

Since then, I have found that if you want something looked at that is more than just "replace what the computer tells you to replace" - you go to a reputable independent.

Certainly can't complain about the service I've received from the dealer so far with my D4 - but then there haven't really been any problems with the vehicle either - it's all been routine servicing that anyone with the "instructions" in front of them could do.

Like everything on this planet, there are some good, & some bad.
I believe that the best thing to do is to have a good relationship with someone at your Dealership, who can possibly make sure that the "right" person works on your vehicle.
Pickles.

Around about 1980 they ceased being motor mechanics and became motor parts replacers.

I agree with BMKal about Diesel HEE fitters being more highly skilled than motor mechs. Also with the training received at Caterpillar distributors. Hastings Deering used to be renowned for the quality of tradesmen they turned out. Old colleagues still in the industry tell me this is no longer the case. The state government's destruction of the TAFE colleges was a disastrous mistake. The TAFE system generally picked up on lack of workplace training, and other problems with apprentices.

The same tech at the same dealership has done all the service work on the 110 and is now working on the 130..it is in for its first service today.


He is brilliant and more than happy to jump on the phone and explain/suggest things to me. On a trip last year the dealer in Alice wanted to put a complete new wiring harness in the 110 to solve an intermittent electrical fault when starting. I phoned my guy who thought about it over night, phoned me the next morning and suggested checking a relay. Alice dealer was dubious but to his credit checked it out and the end result was a $15 relay. The old one was actually OK just that the clips had worked loose with all the vibration from corrugations. Thought it best to replace so I kept the old one as a spare.


He is a Defender nut so I guess that helps!