Hi lads,
i was looking some time for smbody to give as profesional advice as possible on my idea.i live in west of ireland in a town of 40k people,think to break my prcelain pig,get the money i might have and buy a powerfull diagnostic tool and printer(maybe bosh?).if any of u are in car repair industry what dou think of providing independent local garages with testing of electronics,diagnostics,code reading or just a print-out saying everithing is fine..bla bla.i see small locals face some sort of lack in this field and probably they wait for somebdy's help?any opinion welcome.thanks
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May I suggest, really politely, that if you are thinking of distributing any publicity leaflets or placing advertising, that you get what you write spell checked and proof read? Nobody is going to think very highly of your technical expertise if the above is an example of the best written work you can produce,
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May I suggest, really politely, that if you are thinking of distributing any publicity leaflets or placing advertising, that you get what you write spell checked and proof read? Nobody is going to think very highly of your technical expertise if the above is an example of the best written work you can produce,
Snigger snigger ;-)
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thank you all,
you are right in most regards,I should have stated that since I'm an Italian living in Ireland,I obviously need professional help when it comes to writing leaflets,flyers,brochures etc .Im not gonna do that myself!:-)
then, what Im talking about is a really powerfull tool from Bosch,worth about euro5000 and it's not just a code reader or scaner,it does almost all makes,petrol/diesel,reads codes and retrieve results in PLAIN ENGLISH,it guides you through performing all sort of checks,gives you repair suggestions,diagrams etc
I havnt worked in a garage but I got knowledge of car electronics,however Bosch will train me and thay say you dont have to be a guru in order to perform a good lot of diagnostic checks.
I know every small garage in th UK has a minimum of scaner/code reader,(and same in Italy) but here ,at least,most of independents dont have or use such things.
My problem is this:knowing that this tool can do a plenty of tasks faster than humans (of course it cannot replace them) and what's left to the small garage is pure machanical work,all the rest goes to the main dealer,do you think this could be a good business?
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Well first of all do you have any experience in diagnostic repair work? If not then you are going to struggle to make a go of it. Anyone can plug a piece of elctronic diagnostic equipment into a car, press a few buttons and reel off a list of fault codes, but what you need to do is understand what they mean, understand what they are telling you and understand how they relate to the problems that you are diagnosing.
Often the fault codes will only point you in the general direction of the problem, they won't tell you exactly what is wrong and how to fix it. The last thing an independant garage wants is someone to come in, give them a handful of fault codes and then disappear. The fault code is only the start of the diagnosis and repair.
I have seen other people give this a go, but I have never seen anyone make a good business out of just reading fault codes.
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Agree with simon, you need to understand a lot about different systems to do any more than stand there and say 'well its a P1234 problem'. Plus even fairly small garages have some diagnostics kit these days.
If you are looking for an start up in this area might I suggest auto locksmith as a possibility? It is entry into the same systems, but a much smaller knowledge base. you can buy the kit, but may need to build relationships with dealers in order to properly code some systems.
Or how about air conditioning?
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EVERY garage has a fault reader. It's a small box for a few tenners. Nice try.
What about a chipsaway franchise?
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Every garage has a code reader, but these only read generic codes, not the plethora of make/model specific ones.
I think there is a place for this and have thought of it myself, but you'd have to be a genius at it and interpreting fault codes and live data on a wide selection of vehicles. You would also be expected to be able to reprogramme functions, adjust values, and marry new parts etc.... This is where many garage staff don't have the time or inclination to do the reasearch and learn how to use the tool. If you had a fast internet connection through a 3G mobile, you could probably look such things up!
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As he says,the idea may be bosh-or have I misunderstood? : )
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yes,it's bosch (tool+training)
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I don't think you misunderstood sierra man !
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No. He is going to !buy a diagnostic tool or a printer, maybe BOTH" - I think. Bosch don't make printers SFAIK
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hi
just talked to the Bosch rep here,it's right I want to buy an electronics diagnostic tool and a portable printer(not bosch,they dont make printers) .what he presented me was pretty impresive, I need to visit all locals,specialised or not , and try to convince them.I think there's a lot more business they can get being able to do electronics(and related) on 95% of all makes.Do you think this worth a try?
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Well do you have any knowledge or experience in the repair of motor vehicles, in particular the electronics side of things or do you not? If you haven't then I honestly think that the idea is fundamentally flawed and you would be wise NOT to invest in it.
The Bosch rep will be doing his best to sell you the gear, thats his job at the end of the day and he is going to paint a rosy picture of what you will be able to achieve with this equipment and probably not mention the downsides. Once you have bought it, it will be up to you to find your own customers and make a go of the business.
Like I say, do you have any former knowledge at all of motor vehicle repair? Because if not the garages will see straight through your lack of knowledge. The last thing that they will want is someone who comes along, plugs in a fancy computer, reels of a list of things that could be wrong, but then has no idea whether the computer diagnosis is right, wrong or indifferent.
I have yet to see a code reader or any diagnostic software that you can plug in and it will tell you in plain english what is wrong and what to replace. For example, a code reader/diagnostic software may tell you that there is a fault with the signal being received from the air flow meter. That doesn't mean that it is knackered, it may mean that it needs a clean, it may have a bad connection, the wiring harness for it in the engine bay may have chafed through etc. I can't see how this Bosch system can be any clearer and how it can tell you in plain english how to fix the fault. It still requires the operator to have a decent amount of knowledge and if you haven't got it, then in my opinion you are only going to be able to offer half the package of what the garage thinks it is employing by using your super duper system. If you can't give them the results that your Bosch system reckons to be able to, then you won't be going back to that garage again.
I'm not trying to put you off but I am yet to see anyone here in England who has made a go of mobile fault code reading. I know people who have tried but they have never made a great success of it and that is from the last ten years of being in the motor trade. There are a few people out there who offer a mobile diagnostic and repair service, but very few who specialise in just the diagnostics alone.
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If you have no experience of working in a garage, I'd forget it, otherwise you'll not 'click' with the people you are working for. You won't know what they mean when they talk to you and they'll think you're an idiot who thinks he knows everything. They will think you are an idiot who just bought a fancy tool and thinks he knows more than them. It may not be fair, but that's generally how men at work think about outsiders coming in to interfere with their job.
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