Garages
Garages come in all shapes and sizes and with different levels of expertise or if you are unfortunate, lack of it completely! We have decided on this page to inject just a little humour in amongst the serious stuff since we don’t want you getting such a shock that you will never ever consider buying a car after reading some of our earlier details!
We have covered a little ground about Garages in the sections on Maintenance and Repairs. Let’s have a look at some of the main concerns you should be addressing.
We can break down Garages into several categories:-
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Main Dealer...These are the large emporiums of Glass, Chrome, Shiny Aluminium, lots of shiny new cars on display and Coffee Machines for Customers, probably Spring Water as well. These rather grand showrooms are precisely that …they are there to entice you to browse and to buy. They are usually found on the busy approach roads to any major Town or City or quite often in brand new Industrial Parks. They are the result
of what is commonly called Corporate Image Transformations! They frequently have the Agency for several Marques(Makers) although they probably started life many years ago with just one .They will always have a spacious and well planned Service Department with lots of White Coats and Lap Tops floating around! There should of course be many Cars perched on hoists or ramps in varying stages of dismantlement. You will
usually find strange beings in varying stages of dishevelment milling around and the odd leg or arm protruding from the underside of some vehicles. These are what is commonly known as Mechanicus Interruptus (or mechanics to you or I) since they always seem to be getting called away to the Phone. (But perhaps it’s tea break time?)
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Car Sales Showroom … these come in different forms from neatly displayed forecourts with quite a few cars (all with Price stickers) and sometimes magnetic Roof advertisements to less appealing Open Yards with a hotch potch of cars squeezed in. and perhaps a small shed-like contraption which serves as a Customer reception area ( in
case of rain) and office. Not all of this variety of Garage has a recognisable Service Department and perhaps the word “showroom” is a little optimistic also! It is doubtful that you will find anything resembling that essential component of the Corporate Image style operation…the Receptionist. Most staff here will usually be carrying out several functions which is known in the Trade as Multi-Tasking!
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Filling Stations … these started life as simple Gas Stations and have evolved into a mixture of, occasional cars for sale, mini marts and a general meeting place for locals. These are, as you might imagine, not usually found in Industrial Parks or on the approach roads to major Towns or Cities but on rural bye roads not leading anywhere in particular.
A good place to stop and collect a pint of Milk on the way home or a convenient bag of coal if your Oil has run out. This might not be so fanciful in years to come as the black stuff gets more and more expensive. Not such a good place however to contemplate buying your first or any future car for that matter.
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The Local Mechanic... here is what used to be one of the most respected members of his (or her...rare) community but is now being relegated to second class citizen as a result of the rise and rise of the first category. A single mechanic (or even two) in Partnership just can’t compete with the big boys but he usually knows his stuff and may even have some qualifications which will be proudly displayed on his
office wall. Yes he will have an office, albeit a small and untidy one with yesterday’s coffee cups still awaiting attention. He is often to be found attached to sometimes quite an appealing house, thus saving the horrendous cost of renting a small space on which to carry on his business. The success of his business stems from the fact that he is an all-rounder and can usually
deal with most jobs presented to him by his extensive customer network although these will be primarily located in his local area. Worth dealing with for small jobs that just won’t get fixed on their own and is usually amenable to dropping (not literally) what he is doing to help a poor soul in distress. However major jobs require the usual diagnosis and discussion that takes place
with the Main Dealer so the advantage of having someone local is outweighed by the need for complete and instant come back if you are not to be left Car-Less .
As we said earlier we have had the pleasure of experiencing dealings with all of the above categories of Motor Purveyors over a time span of forty years(that's a heck of a lot of repairs! When things go wrong as they surely will when you venture onto four wheels for the first time, you need to be aware of the choices facing you and the decisions that you will have to make.
Remember you get what you pay for and sometimes not what you bargained for!
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