Thread: LR Service in the Pilbara

I have never found anyone competent since the Land Rover dealer closed in Karratha.
Most I do myself if its something more complicated I use Whyatt's in Geraldton they have been good and are only 1100 Km away.
There is a dealer in Broome but my experiences haven't been positive.

The best way is to learn to DIY. As said Geraldton and Broome are your closest options for specialised work. Maybe ccheck out the smaller private mechanics rather than dealerships.
The mentality of some mechanics about working on LRs just astounds me. I have had stand up confrontations with some indicating that they are no longer mechanics, but fitter technicians and any mechanic worth a pinch could work on any car in general and granted may have to seek some advice, but still should be able to sort most issues except stuff requiring diagnostic tools.
What happened to taking any car to any garage.
The Rover V8 is actually a very easy motor to work on.
And I do throw this challenge out to all mechanics, are you real mechanics and can turn your hand to any car or are you Toyota fairy fitters.
BTW I am over in Newman.

Sorry for your dilemma, but I'm personally pleased to hear the LR dealer in Karratha has closed, a thieving mongrel. You're better off without him.

Originally Posted by CraigE

......The mentality of some mechanics about working on LRs just astounds me. I have had stand up confrontations with some indicating that they are no longer mechanics, but fitter technicians and any mechanic worth a pinch could work on any car in general and granted may have to seek some advice, but still should be able to sort most issues except stuff requiring diagnostic tools.
What happened to taking any car to any garage.
The Rover V8 is actually a very easy motor to work on.
And I do throw this challenge out to all mechanics, are you real mechanics and can turn your hand to any car or are you Toyota fairy fitters.
BTW I am over in Newman.

I agree with you here. I think the "trade" has become a victim of the vehicle manufacturers marketing, Government training stategies and the general public expectations.

Few workshops have the staff with the ability to view a vehicle as a collection of nuts and bolts, bound by common mechanical princibles, rather than by brand badge, have the time or resources to take on apprentices and train quality "tradesmen"
This has resulted in most Mechanics being churned out from the dealerships. In most cases producing a mechanic with limited experience and all the bias and arrogance of big business marketing.

It isnt economically viable for most of the quality outfits to take on apprentices, or they end up unable to retain them after training.

The average mechanic now is indeed an oil changer and part swapper.
But to be fair this is also a reflection on just how much cheaper it is to replace an entire assembly or component rather than repair it.
The skill base is falling and the experienced, skilled folks are hard to come by and probably shouldnt be expected to charge out at the hrly rate of a base level spanner jockey. Customers are predominantly repairing on price not quality so the market skill base must ultimately reflect this.
On top of this it is often more economical to replace the vehicle than have it repaired, so further exacerbates the demand and availability of quality Mechanics.
Sad in any case.

cheers

Originally Posted by POD

Sorry for your dilemma, but I'm personally pleased to hear the LR dealer in Karratha has closed, a thieving mongrel. You're better off without him.

Trust me he wasn't the worst in town

Originally Posted by Piriaka

Hi

Well, I am now in South Hedland. I enquired yesterday locally who I might link up with for service and work if needed, on my 2000 Disco V8. Well, one guy said no one in the Pilbara wants to touch LR and that I would need to take it to Perth for anything!!

Has anyone got any contacts/advice - like, options for servicing and/or works if required??

Happy to hear of fellow Land Rover owners in the Pilbara!!!

Regards

Ray

I live in South hedland and own a D1 TDI. I do all my own servicing as it is WAY cheeper and also you know what is done on it.
Anyway there are 2 people that you might try. First one is hedland automotive and automatic. The guy is a bit hard to deal with as he is a bit grumpy sometimes but he dose a qualty job.
He installed a larger tranny cooler in my car when i cooked it in the sand.

The other one is N&L mechanical. He is also the licencing mechanic so all transfers go through him. He is a very resonable bloke and i think he knows a bit on landrovers aswell.

It's good to have a few landrovers in town.

Might have to cath up with you sometime.

Ah yes ,brings back old memories .I was an agent for Winterfauls back in the eighties and early nineties , based in Tom Price . I had 25 RRRC's and 6 110's to look after , not bad in a Population of 3000 people at the time !Your right about that agent in Karratha ,Djam1 .
As im in Newman now , probably not of much help to you ,however if you have any questions (parts ,servicing, performance issues) just PM me on this forum
As CraigE has said , you would be surprised what you can actually do yourself

My puma is still under warrenty.
Like most Landie owners I just take it to perth. There are a few!
Not ideal but the only way.