JaseNZ 53 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 I have yet to hear anybody say a good word about these guys. My experience with them many many years ago was the worst case of customer service I have ever seen. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/70142599/GPS-reveals-mechanics-joy-ride-around-central-Christchurch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 Mmm, breaking news. Well done Stuff. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JaseNZ 53 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 Yup must have been a slow news day for sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30 325i Rag-Top 2958 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 I would expect a mechanic to road-test a car for any issues before a service, but 39km/h over the limit in town is not on. Watched an apprentice wheel spin my car most of the way from the car park into the service bay once. Cost the Service Manager a free service and two new tyres 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 I would expect a mechanic to road-test a car for any issues before a service, but 39km/h over the limit in town is not on. Watched an apprentice wheel spin my car most of the way from the car park into the service bay once. Cost the Service Manager a free service and two new tyres only way the dude would be seen in a cabby was to have rear wheels spinning??? haha 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2425 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 (edited) speed dependant steering + power steering issue = requirement to check operating at speed. I'd bet the owner of the car would lose his sh*t if the tech had driven the 3KM or so just to get to a 100KPH zone, the southern motorway, plus he would then have to get to the nearest offramp, and then the return trip. Getting that car from 50kph to 90kph and back would be a matter of seconds. I dont have a problem with what the tech did, looks like a standard road test to me. I have more of a problem with the customer getting his apology, free groom, and then still dragging the company through the mud. Edited July 11, 2015 by KwS 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 speed dependant steering + power steering issue = requirement to check operating at speed. I'd bet the owner of the car would lose his sh*t if the tech had driven the 3KM or so just to get to a 100KPH zone, the southern motorway, plus he would then have to get to the nearest offramp, and then the return trip. Getting that car from 50kph to 90kph and back would be a matter of seconds. I dont have a problem with what the tech did, looks like a standard road test to me. I have more of a problem with the customer getting his apology, free groom, and then still dragging the company through the mud. not to mention if it doesn't turn out to be fixed correctly you can't stop on the motorway... can see what you are saying and you are probably right. if, for example, if wellington mercedes was to do 100km/h test, would be a bit of a mission to north bound thorndon offramp and back.... must be a 4 or 5km round trip. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coop 261 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 I'd say a know all pen pusher customer who doesn't have a fckn clue what he is on about, yet retarded mainstream media gives him a voice. What would have happened if there was an issue with the car at higher speeds than 50knh... Or an issue that took longer than 500m to appear. This is a case of buggered if you do buggered if you don't for the workshop, because the customer is always right even if they know f**k all. I work on 50 meter road trains in Australia and our test drive route is 40km each way. Good way to kill an hour, and I don't sleep easy until Ive test driven after completing any major-work cyl head replacement, g.box rebuild, electric/fueling repairs etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2425 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 not to mention if it doesn't turn out to be fixed correctly you can't stop on the motorway... can see what you are saying and you are probably right. if, for example, if wellington mercedes was to do 100km/h test, would be a bit of a mission to north bound thorndon offramp and back.... must be a 4 or 5km round trip. and unfortunately this does happen from time to time. Need to get customer permission before extended road test, and the tech is out for a long period of time. Its a big PITA. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 Yup, Not like he was zig zagging all over town either. He's pretty much done what I'd assume was a standard circuit for his garage to test the vehicle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sonic_attack 89 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 Guy didn't even hit 90K and the owner is saying "they thrashed it". lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neal 545 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 By contrast I remember seeing a Porsche in a very sorry state parked backwards into the Wellington motorway barrier. A local indie euro garage lost control on the onramp and spun it across three lanes. Was quite amusing watching the guy in overalls trying to explain to the cop what had happened. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 Yup, absolute media blow up, sensatialising out of all proportion. A customer like that is a pain in the arse! Not even knowing Christchurch, that is a totally logical circuit to take a vehicle for a test drive if one is required to confirm repairs having been done. The speed, if correct, "legally" is an issue but whoopee!! The business owner, and the employee, offered to make amends to the situation, to which the customer agreed. It should not have gone any further. Customer not looking to destroy the business - yea right! I have, over the years, frequently needed to test drive vehicles at more than 100kmh & often drive 20ish kms to highlight a certain problem :oThat said, i have total respect for customers cars, often informing them of having done the above to confirm an issue. In all my time, have never had negative feedback of such. Just glad I am in a town that is about a minute drive from access to open road. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2078 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 I have just had a similar thing happen to me. But we dealt with it a different way. I didn't go running to the media after the issue had been resolved like the tosser in the "article" did. We supplied all the data to the owner. Let him have his say and a bit of time to look at the situation. We got a written apology from the employee that had breached our trust and the law. It happened to be a 19 year old mechanic. If we had supplied the data to the police he would have lost his licence for at least 12 months. 158kph. The owner couldn't apologize enough. He was quite embarrassed by it all. We were given our money back for all the work that had been completed. Although the owner is responsible for his staff. He can't stop them from making mistakes. This kid made a pretty big mistake and cost his employer business. I doubt he will be doing it again anytime soon knowing how close he came to loosing his job and his licence. Because of this I had no interest in sharing the info with the Media or the Police. It would ruin his business. And that is just not fair. You need to be careful these days. With the focus on Health and Safety more and more vehicles are having telematics devices installed into them. Police are using this data as evidence quite frequently now. I work for a telematics company. I often see drivers being let go for excessive speed. And am getting more and more requests from Police to supply data from crashes. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Breaker 980 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 Remember the dude was a real estate agent, need I say more ... 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apex 693 Report post Posted July 12, 2015 The GPS tracker is funny, I have busted a mate who was doing a WOF on my race car, he was shocked when I told him I got a call from the Police saying my car had been spotted at high speed in an industrial zone, had him going for days. I have the opposite problem. The Renault Tech's drive too slow. I tried to explain problems I have had with the car but they could not replicate it.. so I had to take the tech for hot lap to show him what was happening at high revs etc... was a spark plug, but they replaced just about everything else on the ignition before checking the cheap spark plugs... must have been a $1,500 warranty claim for a spark plug. TBH, anyone I leave my cars with I have no issue with them driving the car as they see fit, I know that they could never beat it as bad as I do.. haha. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tintop 10 Report post Posted July 12, 2015 I think the owner of this workshop has some serious smarts about him. He realised he was in a no win situation so just bit his tongue, gave the guy a free groom and said sorry, making his business look professional and responsible. Now the REA looks like the wanker he is, since he has gone to the press over literally nothing. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted July 12, 2015 I was hoping this guy had some dirt on him. Seems not http://www.reaa.govt.nz/Pages/PublicRegisterSearchDetails.aspx?IndLicenceId=1573196d-7f97-e411-9acf-005056b8574c&EmploymentId=f9796115-7740-e211-bc9b-005056ae3d46&singleMatch=true&licenceNo=&orgName=&name=Chris%2bNielsen&location= Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30 325i Rag-Top 2958 Report post Posted July 14, 2015 The Ferrari boys in town obviously have a set route for their test drive, they come off the motorway at Mt Wellington then back up the on ramp. Quite often see and hear them giving it some beans back onto the motorway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Event Horizon 12 Report post Posted July 14, 2015 The Ferrari boys in town obviously have a set route for their test drive, they come off the motorway at Mt Wellington then back up the on ramp. Quite often see and hear them giving it some beans back onto the motorway. Their move from Newmarket to Ellerslie killed two birds with one stone. The building was farked and wasn't earthquake proof, and the motorway access for proper road testing was a pita, which is a pretty big concern for cars with such low mileage. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
