Name and shame shoddy workmanship section? - Saxperience

Bickerton · 9th May 2010, 16:34

On my many hours trolling this forum i have noticed an increase in the amount of people that have had work done on their car by other members (for a fee) and in alot of cases how disasterously it has ended one way or another. Most recent of which a lowering job that almost causing the guy to buy new torsion bars.

Is it worth a section similar to the suspected scammer section for something like this.
Obviously it would need such things as photos of damage/ general proof but i feel it may work

Opinions?

TU-Tuning · 9th May 2010, 16:42

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Bickerton · 9th May 2010, 16:47

Well we have alot of professional companies and gifted amateurs but more and more have a go hero's are offering work cheaper which unfortunatly is enough incentive for people to take the gamble with them.

Toms112 · 9th May 2010, 16:51

Maybe incorperate a bit into the itrader bit. So then you have a little bit more confidence in guys who do work for members.

Like : ' Decent guy, good work' etc etc

OR

A section like the affiliate one except for people who do work lots of work.

Ryan^p · 9th May 2010, 17:23

people doing it for a quick buck shouldnt be advertising here anyway imo

people using forum members who are uninsured are doing so at their own risk, members doing the work uninsured are liable if someone sues them for say dangerous work which resulted in a crash.

saxo-parts · 9th May 2010, 18:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

people doing it for a quick buck shouldnt be advertising here anyway imo

people using forum members who are uninsured are doing so at their own risk, members doing the work uninsured are liable if someone sues them for say dangerous work which resulted in a crash.

i agree with all that ryan, but your never going to stop the man in the lock up with no insurance or overheads "having a go" and by the nature of people they will always be influenced by price sometimes with dangerous/dissappointing results

CHIP · 9th May 2010, 19:05

I'd say stuff like the detailing is alright... but the mechanical side of things is a little dodgy.

Suspension and brake's keep you alive and it's basically playing with lives.

I'd trust the Nuneaton lad's as it's obvious from their numerous years between them on the forum that they're pretty handy with some spanners.

But anyone else i wouldn't tbh. I have my dad who's an auto electrician and mechanic and a few of his other qualified mate's and tbh they're the only people i'd trust enough to work on my car.
When your paying someone to work on your car you're better doing bit of a background check tbf.
That's if you use your head...

Bickerton · 9th May 2010, 19:15

It's not a case of recommending people i'm after it's a who you have had a bad experience with thing

Ryan^p · 9th May 2010, 19:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandyslover70

i agree with all that ryan, but your never going to stop the man in the lock up with no insurance or overheads "having a go" and by the nature of people they will always be influenced by price sometimes with dangerous/dissappointing results

Its ok making a bit of cash the tax man doesnt know about in your lock up.

Until someone decides to take legal action against you, and you dont have any PLI to cover it with.

saxo-parts · 9th May 2010, 22:17

and the lack of insurance and other such overheads means they can do jobs for peanuts, well you know what peanuts get....MONKEYS!!!!

saxo-parts · 9th May 2010, 22:18

in fact if anyone wants my tax bills,trade insurance bills, business rates, rent for unit,wages bill etc, you can give it a go!

Ryan^p · 9th May 2010, 23:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandyslover70

and the lack of insurance and other such overheads means they can do jobs for peanuts, well you know what peanuts get....MONKEYS!!!!

Same in my business lol!

Quiality - £££ and the extra cover you should be willing to pay for if anything goes wrong.

Furio-92 · 9th May 2010, 23:26

Usually if it's cheap, the saying "You get what you paid for" comes into it.

EDIT: I totally back this thread up too.

TU-Tuning · 10th May 2010, 00:21

I completely agree with a lot of whats been said in this thread, especially Bickerton's original idea which seems to have been overlooked somewhat.

Again I agree with the fact that there are bodge artists out there who'll do anything for a quick buck, and these should be avoided, hence why I like the proposed system.

From my perspective, I realise that bills have to be paid, insurance taken out and so on completely. Im studying a Business course at Uni for one thing, additionally its just common sense. I was actually looking into floating everything as a proper company in the summer for my placement year, but this seems unlikely now as the costs are hugely prohibitive for someone operating on the scale which I am. I do understand that people such as myself may irritate those in the trade, but it has to be put into perspective.

I personally started doing this simply because I was fed up of being fobbed off by people in the trade. Time and time again I was let down by multiple garages. The one that put the nail in the coffin was when I had an MOT due, and two garages ripped me off for hundreds of pounds diagnosing fake problems and fitting incorrect parts. I have since had an MOT at a nationwide garage that failed me on having a faulty centre section silencer I didn't have, quoting £79 for the privilege of fixing it, along with a further £70 odd to put a new hanger on the exhaust. This is abuse of trust, and no doubt thousands of people are duped everyday. This is the reality of many garages, not all of them are like it and I am certainly not aiming my comments at anyone in this thread or on this club for who I have the utmost respect, but it is a common situation and most people are unprepared to call a bluff, simply because understandably they dont have the subject knowledge.

Forums like this with such as active userbase are going to have a lot of members with issues with their cars, aswell as desires to upgrade them. If people are around to offer them a good service, for a good price who's loosing out? Theres certainly enough business to go around, especially with the users being nationwide. I myself carry out maybe 4 jobs a month maximum, and my profits are well under the yearly taxfree limit, which I can verify as I record every single detail of every part, car, client and appointment on a database. I also have a comprehensive set of tools from a socket set to an engine crane, and only supply quality parts I know can be trusted. I've also done jobs that have taken five days, hundreds of miles from home, working 12 hour solid shifts in the snow.

Im not blowing my own trumpet here, simply showing that you cant read everything on face value. As with everything in life, some people are out for themselves, others are actually worth bothering with. I know of a few lads on this forum that offer the same services, theyre all top notch and I know for a fact that they make very little out of the few jobs they do either. And Im sure its the same on every other large forum.

Apologies for the epic post, but I feel its only fair to show both sides of the coin.

-Alex- · 10th May 2010, 19:47

I like the idea, but while mooching on another forum, I noticed a well known mechanic forgot to do up a bolt, and his reputation could have been tarnished, accidents happen. But obviously there is a fine line between an accident and total stupidity. It would be a very dangerous forum to have with regards to tarnishing reputations of reputable mechanics and amateurs.

saxo-parts · 10th May 2010, 20:01

Agreed, it would be difficult to police and I know some excellent "amatuer" mechanics, some turn out some absolutely cracking work. However, theres the lack of come-back you have on "Joe in his lock-up" if something turns sour that worries me. And yes,everyone makes mistakes, i know of a "pro" mechanic at a main dealers I worked for who left wheel nuts loose on a 3 month old Range Rover, he's never done it since due to the ribbing he got,kept his job and has now worked his way up to service manager!

-Alex- · 10th May 2010, 20:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandyslover70

Agreed, it would be difficult to police and I know some excellent "amatuer" mechanics, some turn out some absolutely cracking work. However, theres the lack of come-back you have on "Joe in his lock-up" if something turns sour that worries me. And yes,everyone makes mistakes, i know of a "pro" mechanic at a main dealers I worked for who left wheel nuts loose on a 3 month old Range Rover, he's never done it since due to the ribbing he got,kept his job and has now worked his way up to service manager!

That's it we are humans and we all forget, the accident he made could have ruined the engine, just after it was all rebuilt, luckily the owner recognised the fault and it was rectified straight away. But some people would use the forum to be proper turds to a mechanics genuine mistake.