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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Supras and Mechanics...


Wonga Spar
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Pretty new to all this but genuine question; is it just a long, long chain of very bad luck, or is taking a Supra to a "general" mechanic just a terrible idea?

 

Of the 10-15 bits of work I've taken the car to a garage for, seemingly 50% of them have been done to a piss-poor standard, or I've found problems later on that I end up paying twice to fix. Surely, surely this can't be the norm, and perhaps it's just an old platform they might not be familiar with?

 

Does everybody experience this until they either learn to do it themselves or find a good mechanic?

 

Sorry for the rant, it's really disheartening saving for something and following advice/spending the dollar only to feel constantly walked over when I get the car home and XYZ is still not fixed or a whole new problem has sprung up.

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I sadly think it is who you have used to work on the car mate. I've been burnt before in the past and you quickly get you grips with who to trust and not trust. I'll only ever take my car to Performance@Hart, ProTuner and SRD and for different tasks too. I can do general maintenance myself having learnt a little over the last 10 years.

 

Sorry to hear you've had a nightmare mate. Good luck.

 

 

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50:50 You have done well ! I would say around 10% actually are of any quality ,the majority of modern cars are electronic controlled and knowledge almost zero , not helped by plug in diagnostics for the brain dead or manufacturers hiding all useful information like state secrets .

Attention to detail and basic practices are poor ,organisation even worse and the endless money chase can cause all sorts of wierd results ,lack of oversight and very poor training are at the root of the problem....

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I think it's a bit of a toss up, the garage I take it to for MOT seem to actually care about cars and I don't have any faults with the few little jobs they've done on it. I always like when the mechanics take a little time to come and banter with you about the car when you drop it off or pick it up.

 

But some chain place like kwikfit full of spotty lads straight out of school, no chance.

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I hate having to put the car in the hands of anyone else except myself.

 

Even MOT’s and tyre fitters I’m so weary, getting a new full set of tyres fitted the weekend and I know I’m going to have to keep eyes on when they carry out the work.

 

I recently gave the car to SRD for some work and was impressed with Lee and the team. Great attitude and respect with the car, I do think you need to find someone with that same attitude.

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I just learn everything to do myself! All garages just do not care about cars, but about money. If I was lucky and found one mechanic, who really cares about cars, he knows nothing about supras, or Japan cars are not his taste. Anyway, as Rob W wrote, I am the same! I am always all the time with my car during whole MOT.

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My pet hate with garages is when the clips are replaced by cable ties or just left half there half gone. Air box lid clips and bonnet stays are fair game on the Supra so I always change the air filter myself now to avoid having to pay £15 for a new lid. Thats old plastic for you, it does need careful handling.

 

I've always stuck with small independent garages and never had any issues with the work. The kind of place that around here is used to dealing with farmers shit covered trucks so a Supra that is cared for tends to get well treated when it turns up every year and has done so for the last 20. The kind of garage where you know them and they know you and your kids went to the same school.

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Never had a problem with my local village garage and been using them for 20 yrs.

 

I used another garage recently to do a wheel and tyre change and was very impressed

with how the did the job, yes there's plenty of bad places out there but you

can say the same about lots of trades, don't tar all with the same brush

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Pot luck I think. I took mine into what was probably one of the best known supra specialist back in the day and the work they carried out was horrendous. And very expensive so now I will do all the work myself.

 

Sadly got bit by a supposed Supra guru myself, you have to be very careful for sure with who you use

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I'm a Diy'er but would go with Sheefa's list of people if something was way out of my comfort zone/didn't have the time.

 

I hate leaving the car with others even tyres I tend to get the wheels off and take them to be changed or have a mobile tyre guy come to me, folded sills are one inexperienced/careless/time pressured fitter away.

 

For me it's a combination of the mild paranoia above, being a bit tight but also enjoying the learning experience/researching the job, every bit of DIY you do increases confidence for the next and if you research things you should avoid any bad mistakes.

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I use the local performace shop for tyre changes here, friendly managers, they like to see the supra there, well priced and they do take their time and treat it well. You can see them through the viewing bays on it. And then i got me a Toyota specialist who i give the big jobs to. 25 pounds an hour, car always came back in good order and everything worked. Cant ask for more. Personally id consider him a engineer more than a parts fitter. He knows his toyotas and lexus cars!

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I sadly think it is who you have used to work on the car mate. I've been burnt before in the past and you quickly get you grips with who to trust and not trust. I'll only ever take my car to Performance@Hart, ProTuner and SRD and for different tasks too. I can do general maintenance myself having learnt a little over the last 10 years.

 

Sorry to hear you've had a nightmare mate. Good luck.

 

/QUOTE]

 

and me :p

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