DOCTORING THE MOTOR.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 184, 6 August 1925, Page 12 (Supplement)

DOCTORING THE MOTOR.

have been very busy here at some time or another. One could never imagine that the big river could ever get to the sea. Vet it has cut a way through, and, picking up dozens of little streamlets en route, empties itself into Hawke's Bay. An old historic bridge marks the crossing and once again the car leaps up the hill side of Titioukura, 2255 feet above sea level. Here the traveller obtains his first peep of Napier. And it looks beautiful. The bold Bluff Hill with its pretty homes and green trees overlooking the valley—green waters of the bay, sparkling like myriads of crystals in the sunlight, made a. most wonderful panorama. A large red-funnelled Home boat lying at anchor in the tranquil waters of the offing completes the picture. Only for a fleeting glance, and then on again, going down all the while past Te Pohue lake and hotel, and Maori Cully, down Dil!on's Hill into the picturesque Esk valley. 1300 feet below Te Pohue, and out on to the beach road along the new East Coast railway cmßankm'eiit," through tlfo town of Napier, and at last "the hotel. For variety of scenery no trip -in the world can compare with it.

STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE.

EARLY ADVICE AVOIDS COMPLICATIONS.

NO CAR INFALLIBLE

SERVICE BY DISTRIBUTORS.

There are hardly any exceptions to the general rule that the man who owns an automobile has a car that will develop troubles of various kinds sooner or later. Although cars are being made better every year and troubles of all kinds should consequently become less and less, troubles do come. Unless the owner of the machine is an expert automobile mechanic himself, which he is not likely to be, he will do well to visit a reliable repair shop with confidence in the results. This is merely an application of common sense to a; motoring experience. Even if he is a :fairly competent mechanic, which most : folks are not, he will often find it desirable to call on another expert automobile mechanic to pet the advantage of his experience. He will do well to take the advice of the man whose business it is to know what is the matter with a oar and what ought to be done to it to repair it eorii-ctlv. It -is also important for; the owner to seek the advice of an 'expert at the first indication of, 'trouble instead of putting off this,''procedure until the machine has 'gone into a decline or until it in fact, reached a serious state of trouble. When such a policy is followed repair bills are not likely to be. larger in the long run. Cost of Repairs. There is a tendency for an owner ignorantly to complain about the size of his repair bills and to condemn the repair shop owners as pirates. In spite of this feeling on the part of many, a=a rule men who run repair shops do not charge excessively, nor do they try to do more work than is necessary. Xo business could flourish on such practices. There are owners of a car who sometimes fail to appreciate the time and material involved in making even minor repairs or what a minor repair may led to by way of other essential attention. I recall a man who drove his car into a repair shop and said that the engine occasionally ran irregularily. He thought the spark plugs needed cleaning. The mechanic cleaned the spark plugs. He cleaned and adjusted the inerrupter points and drained the carburettor and vacuum tank. He also tested the compression, and in so doing found a valve leaking. Consequently it was necessary for him to remove the cylinder head and grind the valves. All of this seemed like a_ lot of work to the owner, but the mechanicoperated on the basis of assuring himself that he had removed the cause of the trouble. His idea was to give the owner the satisfaction tho mechanic knew he really desired. This is only one illustration of many which might he given to illustrate this point. A minor trouble may result in the necessity of entirely dissembling the engine. Of course, such unexpected labour involves considerable time and expense. Yet the servicing institution would not give the owner real service if he did not completely repair the car. The expense to the owner doubtless seems large at the time, whereas in the long run to have the complete job done represents nn actual saving in the owner's money. Value of Service. I There is. increasing in the motor industry an appreciation of the need of giving motorists complete and efficient servicing facilities at the most reasonable prices possible. After a car lias been properly designed, manufactured in quantity and economically distributed to the buyer, the next essential to the industry's prosperity and to the owner's satisfaction ib effective servicing. Take a prospective owner of a car who realises he can get expert service in all parts of the country on a particular make of machine. This fact is bound to have a bearing on hie decision to purchase it. His logical conclusion is

that a mechanic who devotes all of his time to one kind of car will be more efficient on that particular make than a general mechanic who works on all kinds of machines.

The natural outcome of various improvements which manufacturers have urged in servicing is seen in the flat rat-; system of charging for service. This system is growing in popularity because it lets the customer know before the work is done just how much it.will cost. While service stations are constantly impri vng tiicir services and consequently their chances of securing and holding the goodwill of the motoring public, it should be said that the motorists' lack Of faith in the servicing ability of some stations has not been without considerable reason. Numerous managers in this repair business have failed to appreciate the value of bavin" trained experts in their employ. They can hardly expect car owners to have supreme confidence in their prescriptions unless they insist on employing only those technicians who by their experience and training are worthy of the respect of the automobilist.