Rant: AA Men

I thought that most of the mechanics were actually local-ish garage mechanics rented out to the AA?

I've had a few experiences with breakdown companies, the first was OK, very similar to yours but it was the mechanic who rigged up the override to the alarm which had toasted itself.

The second was when my old Audi 90 Quattro died, I told the recovery company that it was a quattro but they still sent a spectacle lift despite me telling them not to. The driver and I sat there in the national trust car park as night fell, waiting for the platform truck to turn up, while the peaceful car park turned into the local cottaging point while we sat in his truck, doors locked, surrounded by Freddy Mercury lookalikes.

The third was when I missed a service point on the Landy and the serpentine belt gave up, the garage mechanic turned up with a tiny V-belt to replace it, then just called for a platform truck to take me home.

The fourth was when the plastic rocket's vacuum pump bracket broke, I didn't know owt about cars at the time so had stopped just to be on the safe side when I heard an unfamiliar noise. The mechanic turned up but at the same time a beaten up truck full of northerners (yeuck!) pulled into the layby, smoking badly and insisted that he fixed their truck. There were 6 of them and only two of us so he had a go but after 45 minutes of putting up with them telling him what to do, he convinced them that it was toast and hauled the rocket away.

Most of the time, the chap who has turned up has just given the car the once-over and then called for a platform truck, so your experience doesn't surprise me much. A friend with an MG uses them as a mobile tool chest, and tells them to just amuse themselves while he fixes the car himself using their tools.

Simon Isaacs uttered summat worrerz funny about:

I had one of those moments. Astra GTE (This was when I had hair!), regular intermittent fault on the ignition to starter motor wiring. When ever I went on a long trip I had to take some one with me to bump the car. Anyway, got to the point one day that bumping wasn't an option.

Call out the AA... over an hour later I tell chummy the problem. He says, well we'll have to get you recovered. "Yeah, ok while your sorting that give me 4 ft of wire and a pair of pliers."

Two minutes later vroom vroom. Gave him his wire & pliers back, told him he may want to cancel the recovery truck and off we went.

Taught me two things.... take a spare wire and don't hold your breath for a recovery.

Only good for spare wheel changes in the main...that said one impressed me with his knowledge of sticking carb floats on my Dads Granny but this is basic stuff most 17 year olds know, well least most of the ones I come in to contact with do.

Lee D

I'll bet most of the 17-year-olds you come into contact with also know how to open a locked car quite quickly too ;-)

Or have I been reading a few too many policeman's blogs tonight?

If you've ever seen what passes for training for motor vehicle mechanics in colleges these days you wouldn't be surprised.

Suffice to say a large 8x4 board with a diagram of a car's system on it, with red and green lamps, and a set of switches to simulate faults and "clear" faults doesn't give ideal preparation for the real world. Especially when they're told "plug the computer in, it'll tell you what's wrong" as the easy solution.

Ok, perhaps im being unfair to the colleges, but i've worked in a automotive college and seen people come out with C&G in motor vehicle mainetance who don't even know how a distributor works.

Alex

Shame they can't be steered in to the AA / RAC..... mind you the distressed mother with the kid locked in the car may object to the techniques empployed by your average candidate.

Lee

I've done that with the RAC :)

I actually think that the fix we made using his 'box of bits' was better than the proper replacement part i bought from the dealer later. (when i broke down i was currently running using a temporary fix i'd done about 3 months ago).

Carbed post-82 saabs use a metal pushrod with a plastic cup on the end to drive the fuel pump. Would have been much more use if the cup was metal or actually fixed to the pushrod properly!

mounted on chassis, waiting on a windscreen and MOT

Now that is a strange co-incidence, because after years of carrying the yellow card round in my wallet I had reason to call them out yesterday night.

Was coming down the A470 from Snowdonia in the wife's car when that familiar 'flobble, flobble, flobble' vibration said 'flat tyre'. I hopped out, sure enough flat drivers side front. Despite the fact that it's dark and freezing even I can change a wheel in under five minutes...

But, of course, this is a modern high tech car. So, instead of just getting the wheel off the back door I have to unload all the walking and diving gear from the boot and get the pathetic half size 50mph spare out of the boot floor. There is also a jack in there which looks more like an egg whisk. Anyway, hub cap off and take the weight on the jack, slightly loosen four of the nuts...

"H****, where's the special socket for the locking wheel nuts?" From the warmth of the car "I don't know, isn't it in the boot? What does it look like?" Further search confirms that it's not in the boot, the glove box or any other place in the car. It does transpire that there was a previous flat and the nice AA man had said then that she should get a socket for doing the locking nuts....

Aaaarrrghhhh. Ffs.

Of course we are in the Brecon Beacons, where there is no mobile coverage. Of course it's me that ends up walking the mile in the snow to a hotel to phone the AA..

But, the guy had turned up before I could get back to the car, under 20 minutes. Not finding me there he then came back along the road and picked me up giving me a lift back. He then changed the wheel and checked the pressure of the tyre and examined the tyre on the near-side and gave good advice on the wear and the need for a check of the tracking.. (Tyre had obviously gone because the inside was through to the cords, so much for company car servicing.) I have to say I was quite impressed and very grateful to be an AA member.

Obviously this wouldn't have happened if I'd had the land rover, becuase that's my car and I look after it (and I know exactly where the locking nut key is!). However, in years past the AA have bailed me out several times when otherwise I'd have been completely shafted, including an occassion when they winched my 90 off a beach at 4.00am, but that is not the topic for discussion here. ;o)

They get a big thumbs up from me. Don't get involved with vehicles which have aftermarket alarm systems fitted by muppets might be the real message here.

Cheers,

M.

We used an AA mans tools to replace the gearbox on a 101 in the services on the M1 near Nottingham- he was astounded.

Very true It is unfortunate that they don't feel the need to spend the time instructing on what is now and obsolete ancillary, as it will give a much greater understanding to the workings of an engine.

You can see ex apprentices glaze over when faced with a carburettor and run for cover when it comes to set up points.

When an engine comes in running badly the first thing they reach for is a scope.

Indeed - Grandad's Austin 7 ran on exactly the same rules as modern cars ie. if you have oxygen, fuel, compression and ignition the thing will run. And if it won't run the first round of diagnostic checks are pretty much identical for both ancient and modern vehicles.

I really enjoy that reaction from ex-apprentices - I then wind them up about seeing if I can organise a review of their qualifications because they appear to have failed to comprehend the most basic concepts of the internal combustion engine. :-)

Which in a significant number of cases is of fractionally less use than a chocolate teapot. I still laugh at the memory of a recently qualified mechanic hooking the scope up to a vehicle with a broken cam belt so as to diagnose the lack of spark. :-)

I am glad I qualified when I did !

I was in someone else's workshop the other day, watching them diagnose a newish Jag that would not start. Scopes connected up to everything.

It had spark and the plugs were all wet.

I had to point out that as there was no petrol smell coming from exhaust it was not going to be a straight forward fault... I found the fuel cap was missing and that the rain had filled the fuel tank with water !!! The small drain tube that clears water etc. from the recessed fuel filler was blocked.

The AA are very rpoud of most of their patrols being their own, they only use others as an emergency back-up.

Richard

That's Green Flag. AA & RAC tend to use their own fleet until it comes to recovery.

Matt

Not quite right, the AA are probably 50/50 Own staff/agent, on both recovery and roadside.

The RAC are 99% own staff on roadside, but do use agents occasionally, and are 100% agent on recovery.

Green flag, and everyone else are 100% agent, none of their own staff. (the green flag liveried vehicles are actually agents vehicles, supplied cheap to them to run in GF colours)

On or around Tue, 14 Mar 2006 09:05:43 +0000 (UTC), beamendsltd enlightened us thusly:

in outlying areas, there are still a lot of agents. Mind, I reckon the AA have gone downhill quite considerably since the buy-out by Centera, and I have to admit that I took the bribe and voted for it too...

I think they have just been sold again?

Richard

On or around Tue, 14 Mar 2006 14:16:47 +0000 (UTC), beamendsltd enlightened us thusly:

not heard of that - but this time, of course, they didn't have to have a vote by the "members" :-(