Blog Post
Quality not quantity
Anne Jones • Jul 23, 2020
We belong to our local community Facebook page and we quite often see people in the group asking if anyone in the community knows of a good “cheap” mechanic that can be recommended for a vehicle repair. Now we understand that times are hard and that a lot of people are on extremely tight budgets but when it comes to your motor vehicle and the safety of yourself and your family we wholeheartedly feel that people should be looking more for a reliable vehicle repairer who has the qualifications to diagnose, repair and maintain your vehicle (keeping it both safe and reliable) rather than a mechanic who will carry out a cheap quick fix to get you through a wof or get you back on the road again.
At Petermark Automotive the prices we charge for diagnosing or repairing a motor vehicle are reflective of the experience that our technicians have (collectively over 100 years!), the most up-to-date diagnostic equipment and tools that we have invested in and the on-going training that all our technicians attend.
We do have the experience and technology and we do not overcharge our customers. We spend time sourcing the best deal on parts that may be required for the repair of your vehicle and have an accurate time clocking computer program that ensures no more time is spent on the job than is absolutely necessary. We offer advice or recommendations on any issues that we may find (e.g. the best tyres for your vehicle) and never continue on repairs until we have discussed the cost of repairs with you and whether it is within your budget.
There are not many people in the world that would turn down the offer of a good deal and when money is tight this can be what gets you through from one pay day to the next but if you have to break into your weekly funds to pay for an unexpected vehicle repair which you hadn’t budgeted for, the temptation of getting the repair done cheaply would be understandable - but if your motor vehicle is regularly maintained by a reliable technician you should hopefully be able to avoid unnecessary repair bills and keep yourself and your family safe at the same time.
Petermark Automotive add WOFs to their list of services
The video and photos attached show the importance of regular servicing and oil changes, this is an extreme example. I know we sound like stuck records going on about why long-interval servicing doesn't work, but if you were faced with a $7000.00 repair bill and a long time off the road I think you would understand why we push this issue. Unfortunately even after the vehicle has been repaired we believe the engine will not last as long as it should do if it had been looked after. This vehicle has not had regular servicing. The turbo charger failed and on inspection we discovered that the oil had turned to an almost solid-like jelly, blocking the oil galleries which has led to the failure. We highly recommend having your vehicle serviced at a minimum of 10,000kms or 12 months whichever comes first.
Are you like us in that certain words or phrases that have appeared since the beginning of the year make your blood run cold? Words like “unprecedented times”, “clusters”, “tricky virus” or “the new normal” – ugh! We have been very fortunate in our industry in that we have so far survived the Covid Pandemic thanks mainly to the Government for assistance packages and also for the loyalty of our clients who continue to support our workshop. We have been able to continue to operate our business as we did before and are forever grateful that the only time we had to close down completely was over those five weeks during Lockdown 4. We have however noticed a few minor problems that have an impact on the speed and proficiency of servicing or repairing our client’s vehicles. In the past we prided ourselves on a reasonable turnaround. Unless it was a major repair, we could almost guarantee that a vehicle would be in and out in a day. In some cases now though, we are having to wait for over a day, sometimes two for parts to arrive from a warehouse that might be just over the other side of the Harbour Bridge and not to mention how long it is taking for parts to arrive from overseas! It is disappointing for us that we are having to wait so long for parts to arrive but we understand how disappointing it must be for our clients too and we thank you heaps for your patience and understanding. This is causing a “cluster” f*** and “tricky” to work around - but is this the “new normal” during these “unprecedented times”? ๐ ๐ ๐ท ๐งด ๐
