Modern cars versus local mechanics in Nigeria
According to Mr Mbuotidem, the mechanic tampered with the electricals and the car could no longer start. To make matters worse, the same mechanic now took the whole engine apart and could not discover the problem. At the end, Mr Mbuotidem offered to sell the car to anyone who would buy it ‘as it is’ […]
According to Mr Mbuotidem, the mechanic tampered with the electricals and the car could no longer start. To make matters worse, the same mechanic now took the whole engine apart and could not discover the problem. At the end, Mr Mbuotidem offered to sell the car to anyone who would buy it ‘as it is’ after being advised to take it to Lagos where he had just come from. Eventually, someone offered to pay for it ‘as it is’- huge piece of junk. Of course, the buyer, as I’m told, was advise to buy a new engine, which I think is another hassle.
Stories like these are not hard to hear from car owners. At one time, I was told a mechanic accidentally deflated the air shocks of a 2001 model Mercedes Benz S-class- after he couldn’t inflate it. So what could be the reason for the lack of competency or skills to handle modern cars by Nigerian mechanics?
Over a phone conversation with Mr Enobong Utuk, a businessman in Kaduna, he told us that “…95% of the mechanics are not good and work by trial and error”.
He also told us a few mechanics good enough would often run checks first and if it is difficult to handle, they will give reference on who can run computerized checks and configurations. But he said they are rare.
When the Megatronic Syllabus was released in the collaboration of the National Automotive Council (NAC) and the German Co-operation (GTZ), one of the officials told us the training will be institution based such as the universities and polytechnics. But what bothered us was how many of the local mechanics would have access to these institutions? Going to school in Nigeria is not a small business. Then, the other question is, did the syllabus address the problems of handling modern cars? We didn’t spot anything that even made reference to modern car diagnosis.
So, we decided to go to Stallion Motors where we have some friends who are often trained to handle modern cars. For the fact that they are our source, we won’t reveal names; but here is what we were told the Stallion Motor. “We don’t handle America, Honda’s. The reason is because after every basic servicing, it requires reprogramming using a code reader. But the ones sold by Stallion Motors do not require reprogramming. That is why some of Stallion Motor customers have often been taking their cars to other local mechanics who can handle it and pay less. We also have observed most America specification cars require reprogramming. If it’s not done after basic service, some cars begin to sputter when driving.” So, did anyone or organization not come close to addressing the problem with modern cars and local mechanics?
PAN Tech, a subsidiary of PAN Nigeria, had made plans to train 1,000 local mechanics not long after that, Pan had the 5,000 workers issue so that the programme became unheard of again. The programme included the provision of toolboxes, diagnostic machines and how to use them. But since PAN is on a state of, perhaps, collapse, we might just have to forget. This matter still remains a very big issue and is still on for solutions. Until then, let’s hope we don’t pile junks in the near future- which is another issue we are not looking into very well.