To think that I'm better than a computer and a team of mechanics!

[MargoLivebetter]

This is potentially a dull tale for those not mechanically minded - but I can't work out whether I feel pissed off and / or vindicated or both.

When I took my car in for its service and MOT, I said to them, I think one of the cylinders is mis-firing slightly. I said that if felt like the car is "pinking" or "knocking" and when idling the revs are too low. The mechanic chuckled and said "oh, we haven't used the term 'pinking' for years now, but yes, well take a look". He wasn't at all rude, but equally I couldn't help wondering that if a man had handed in his car reporting those issues, if the mechanic would have chuckled and been quite so dismissive.

Pick up the car after its service and asked about the mis-firing. Chap smiled and said "oh, yes you were asking about "pinking" weren't you" again in a slightly dismissive 'silly little woman' way. Well, he said you'll be glad to hear that the computer didn't show any faults in the engine. I queried it and said but at idling speed the revs seem too low, as well as the sensation of mis-firing. He replied saying that the car passed its service and MOT with flying colours, so all was well. As in - shut up & go away now!

Roll on two months and the car sounded considerably worse, so I took it back. Well, wouldn't you know one of the cylinder coils is mis-firing and needs to be replaced!!!! I did remind them that I had reported the mis-fire two months ago and was told once again that the computer hadn't reported any faults.

I'm not a car enthusiast but my long dead father was and I paid attention and picked up lots of useful information. Over the years I've fixed various things and diagnosed various issues myself and yet I can guarantee that when I go into a garage and try to discuss my car in a more technical way other than "its making a funny noise" it is like I'm speaking a foreign language. Grrrrr, we need more female mechanics and maybe some thinking outside of the computer diagnostics!

@Tollington that is interesting and also I think a bit sad. Cars are amazing combinations of mechanical and electrical engineering. I can't imagine working in a garage and not being interested in the mechanics of the car - as well as all the amazing technical information you can get from computer diagnostics too.

Massive agree with your comment about tradesmen, that's been our experience too over 30 years of owning our home. They won't take the time to properly think about things and are far too "gung ho" to rip stuff out and replace with new, usually with a hell of a lot more mess, time, and sometimes doesn't solve the problem. (Same as some motor mechanics!). And a big yes to the other poster saying his mechanic sourced a part online for a fraction of the price of the "big" rip out and replace main dealer! I think it's down to lack of experience/lack of training etc for both mechanics and tradesmen who these days seem to be more "fitters" rather than do-ers.

I've been watching old series of TV home programs such as Homes Under the Hammer and Great House Giveaway and it's enlightening that the so-called "professional" tradespeople go gung ho to rip everything out, back to bare brick, then start again, usually taking inordinate amounts of time and go way over budget (and on GHG, often give up half way through once they'd done the damage!), but when you get "amateurs" like young women and non trades-men, they actually spend the time to strip, sand, fill, and paint walls and doors etc, whereas the "tradesmen" professionals just rip it all, plasterboard and replaster, which takes more time, and costs a shed load more as it always involves new skirting, new architraves, etc and they often run short of time whilst trying to find/wait for a plasterer to do a whole house replaster!

I've three clients who have become semi-professional "amateur" car mechanics late in life after a career doing other things. All 3 started out doing their own cars as a hobby, but have all moved onto doing it for a living. One was a power station engineer, another an IT consultant, and the third was a dentist! One bought a clapped out ancient camper van and "taught" himself to do it up via youtube videos and buying second hand parts from Ebay and now does that for a living, sometimes buying and then selling a restored one, or sometimes people buy their own old one and leave it with him for a few weeks to restore/convert etc. Another was always a motor sport enthusiast, bought his own old Ford Escort to race, learned on the job and now does support to other motor sport owners/drivers, stripping and rebuilding engines etc (again, self taught), and he has his own support truck which he takes to race meetings containing a mobile workshop. The third turned his long standing hobby of cosmetically restoring some old Vauxhalls as a hobby into a sideline business and then morphed into the technical side, so has become a bit of a national "go to" person for those with old Vauxhalls (Viva, Victor etc) of the 70s and 80s!

All three are an absolute delight to talk to as they live and breath their "new" hobby/trade, and as you say, it's the combination of technical and electrical. Whilst all three are doing usually "old" cars, they're all also doing things on modern cars too, maybe not full restoration/rebuild jobs, but certainly doing servicing and simple repairs on their own modern cars, and family/friends, and the customers' modern cars, they all have their diagnostic computers too for the new breed of computer controlled cars. The one thing all three are shying away from, though, is electric cars as I think that's a step too far for them, and all say that it's nigh on impossible to get spare parts etc as there isn't really a "mature" second hand market for parts yet compared with ebay and scrap yards for the previous generations of cars right up to cars just a few years old.