Garage trade has always had a few bodging rip off artists that screw it up for all the good ones and mobile mechanics are the same. Where I live I've contacted a few. I went through a bad health patch where I could hardly get in a car let alone drive it. Rang a couple and got the I can work on anything I'm brilliant yawn yawn yawn! Arranged a day and time. Cancelled hospital appointment so he could fit it in. NEVER TURNED UP! rearranged day NEVER TURNED UP AGAIN. TWAT! Made appointment with Mobile tyre fitter. Same again. He was brilliant and super reliable Yawn yawn yawn. NEVER TURNED UP and wouldn't answer messages. TWAT! Rang another mobile mechanic same again. NEVER TURNED UP. Kerby you do give a great service mate and you have a rare thing called an honest guy that takes pride in his job. I have lost money over the years because I can't walk away from anything that I've promised and just walk off mid job or I do an extra job for nothing to make it look better and right. This in all trades nowadays and social media encourages rot which screws it up for the good guys and gals out there!
I love the concept, but it must a heck of a struggle to get the correct parts for a given job. In many cases there are multiple designs on even the smallest parts on the same car model/design. How do you get people to pay up and who to give credit for x amount of days? I wouldn´t be able to have this kind of job for sure. My OCD would go bananas :-).
It can be tough running all sides of a business but you get used to it, most people pay up as I leave, longer time customers I’ll say you’ve got my details pay when you get a sec and I know they’ll pay almost instantly, new customers HAVE TO pay on completion of work
the burning question of why we do what we do as mechanics well its the enormous sense of satisfaction we get when fix the faults and screw the engineer that caused our pain😂😂😂😂
I have exactly the same issue. I put a rant in here the other day. People asking for a quote and when you give them one they laugh and said I can get it done cheaper...... off you pop then 😂
You'll be okay everyone goes through a bad time now and again, Motor trade is an hard job to get out of and nothing worse when you quoted and job gone wrong if it bolts snapping or whatever and it's in your head after this is free work now, in 30 years i've got out of it twice but gone back, 6 years ago i opened up a mobility shop (mobility scooters) and even though i employ people now if a customer comes in and says they giving up driving i say you selling a car then and i will buy it if i think i can make a few quid. thing is i still have motor trade insurance and trade plates i renew every year, i admit when you was swearing i was laughing because that's me when i'm fixing a car now, i lay on floor under car swearing and shouting and saying to myself. god i'm thick while crap is dropping in my face
Hi it's a hard game being a one man band but the benefits outweigh the agro, just an observation but I've noticed you don't seem to have a bench vice or is there one hidden away on the van
Im a qualified electrician with over 25 years experience. I always wanted to be a car mechanic, but my parents wouldn't let me. I now buy and fix salvage cars as a hobby, but guess we always think the grass is greener on the other side. Keep up the amazing work and your not moaning, your being realistic and human.👍👍🙏
Funnily enough I too was also studying to be an electrician, got qualified as an “domestic installer” but just had no passion or interest in it and that’s when I moved onto cars, like you say everyone warned me against it but it’s worked out well so far 👍🏼👍🏼
As far as I can think. There is 2 sizes in them bushings. Grease the life outta them and they will go on pal. Hope that you're grandad gets better soon.
I feel your pain. I book jobs in the hope they all go smoothly but yes, you guessed, they never do. I put off jobs but then you're in a vicious circle of trying to fit it all in without pissing the customer off. I aim to please everyone but end up pleasing no-one 😂 fml!
I have a phrase for when I get the odd job that I lose money on that helps me deal with it. 'Some jobs are for earning, some jobs are for learning'. I try to take a lesson out of the shit jobs and move on.
It's not just mechanic that have to struggle with stuff not turning up i was a self employed welder working on high pressure steel gas pipe all over the country they book you for a days work you drive to the job and fittings or pipe hasn't arrived the gas is turned of to allow you to work on the system they tell all the customers it will be off for one day and guess what you have to wait and then finish the job no matter what time you finish and maybe have a long drive home and fish and chips for dinner. I'm glad i am now well retired but some jobs go well and i enjoyed the work despite all that.
For some reason, people treat the self employed differently to other traders. They don't blink spending a fortune in Tesco for example, but, when it comes to paying the self employed, they want discounts, think they're being ripped off, (it's usually the customer that's trying to rip the trader off! )
same issue with my old corsa and the bolts so basically did the same thing. right pain and plenty of sweating, swearing and anger. was due for its mot the next day and the "easy" job turned to a full day
Mate without naming the supplier i stopped using them as much as possible about six months ago, the only time i use them now is if they are the only ones with stock. My local factor is a fairly large company locally and although they maybe a few quid more, the parts are better and the service is much better, and yes tbh i have had one or two incorrectly supplied parts and they honestly bend over backwards to put it right not like (we know who) as they generally say well order another one and leave you sort the mess. Everyone makes mistakes but as always its how we put them right that matters. What i would say to any mechanic with the benefit of years of experience, is sometimes its hard to say no to work as we all have bills, but sometimes you have to for self preservation. I have strict rules now which i implemented about two years ago, these have had a huge positive impact on my mental health and business. 1 Dont touch anything thats modified it costs you more in the long run. 2 Dont fit customers parts usually cheap and rubbish ebay nonsense. It also limits your income as we buy at trade prices and although you may not charge full retail to be competitive you can charge a little on top for miscellaneous costs like consumables, as it all costs. 3 Dont undervalue yourself 4 Fit quality parts that you stand by if Johnny down the road can do it for less using questionable parts, wave the potential customer bye bye. We do it properly or not at all. 5 Be fair to the customer brilliant job using quality parts and my experience and expertise for a fair price. Good customers will appreciate a good mechanic and they will recognise that you get what you pay for, and in my experience they will be loyal and return time after time and recommend you to family a friends. Stick in there Kerby.
I had the same problem with the rear d bushes on my a3 sline. Ordered the correct part but was totally different from the ones that were fitted. 3 different orders later found the right ones. Keep smiling. ❤
Mechanic by trade, there are times I think what da hell am I doing when you see others working in offices who seem to have such a stress free life, however other days when you get ultimate satisfaction. In the process of kitting out a Peugeot partner van for some mobile stuff. Great channel btw
I’ve got a small one which isn’t mounted and I have got a larger one on a flip out table sort of thing but it’s just finding a home for it, plus I’m not happy with the layout as it is so once that is sorted I’ll get it fitted 👍🏼
Sorry to here you bad news about your grandad aron why dont you find a better supplier when i want parts i get them straight away my friends got a ford focus ecoboost 1.0 is the wetbelt a cambelt 😊
Sorry to hear your grandad is not well. I often comment and say I feel your pain, and I do! I’m sat here with my missus and she is telling me it’s just like listening to me! Crap jobs, waste of time jobs, customers being a pain. (Mobile mechanic here also) It’s not easy when you have multiple jobs and parts problems, and family illness. It’s difficult trying to hold it all together, it just shows that you want to be successful. It would be too easy to throw in the towel. I often get people who are car enthusiasts, who want stuff changed they supply. And I usually stick the rule which is - enthusiast cars with their own parts can fix their own cars. - enthusiast cars are not worth the aggro. They want everything on mates rates and everything takes twice as long. Chin up mate, hope your next week is better!! 👍🏼 If you were closer to my area it would be great to do some work with you and lend an ear/hand when things go wrong 👍🏼
I get you mate , last week spent all my monday on a bloody non start fiat500 , had to cancel all my customers for the day and still couldn’t start that pos . Ups and downs but we all keep going and is a nice feeling that beats everything when you take the W .
Thanks for showing this ! Very easy to Sometimes feel it is just you experiencing this in the motor trade !! Im currently in the process of setting up a van to go mobile. Can i ask what gazebo you have and what size you recommend. ?
Deffo not alone mate, I think up and down the country we all experience the same thing, it’s 24MX one, but after 4 years of good use it is falling apart which isn’t too bad I suppose 👍🏼good luck on the new venture
Thank you 👍🏼 I’m in the process of setting up a shopify/link tree for tools I use so people can easily see and if they fancy buy the stuff I use, the diagnostic computers I use at the mo are Top Don, send me over an email I’ll get a discount code and link sent to the ones I use 👍🏼
I have been in the trade 35 years Kerby, last 20 full on bodywork first 15 spanners and bodywork, mid 50s...knees and hands knackered and only do part time now full of arthritis mate and considering going on benefits I am that worn out but I enjoy doing what I do but it's a hard life self employment let alone if you work on the tools.
@@kerbsidemobilemechanic Can't fault you, it is slightly better now with the electric rachets etc but they will not stop ya old bones getting worn out pal. Stay wrapped up in the winter and scale back with the sh1t jobs. I do not take on heavy crap anymore.
Yeah the heavy work I try my best to steer clear from but not always possible for regular customers, it’s my knees that are a killer, years of football injuries haven’t helped
As soon as phoned that customer after fkg about for ages sweating ma nuts off to tell him the poly bush D ,z wouldn’t fit and he said yeh you can get two different kinds ,think I would have lost my shit 😂another good episode tho Kirby nearly 10 K Kirby fans 15 K for Christmas 🎅 will do nicely,so your doing something right and yep when other people in the family are in hospital it’s a complete bas ,mrs K did a good bleep job with the editing,kip your chin up and as you say al see you on the next one 🫶
He had mentioned it before hand before ordering to be fair but he emailed the seller and they said those were the right ones 🤷🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️ and yeah I think 15k by Christmas is a stretch but you never know 👍🏼
@@kerbsidemobilemechanic they certainly didn’t look the right ones at least he had mentioned it before,you’ve goty aim high to keep you going Kirby well that’s my way of thinking now as am in remission from stomach n bowel cancer a got it when a was 48 now 50 ,my grandma and mother both passed away in the last year so it’s just my two girls I’ve got to keep going for forward thinking,I’ve watched you threw chemo n hospitals I’ve spoken to you a few times as I’ve been tuning in for a long time ,am the Scottish 🏴 boy that has a laugh with you about moaning about the weather rain canopy up to hot fan out 😂😂yeh it’s me ,hope you’re grandad gets better soon ,you will no be far away from 15 K bye crimbo as your stuff is all real n enjoyable better than most on this ,see you on the next one ☔️🥵🤬😂
Being mobile is and has always been seen as bottom of the barrel . That’s not to be offensive by the way mate , as I think your a top tech That’s just my general impression most techs or shop owners think And might be different in your case bud . But the customers can be bottom of the barrel too
Oh yeah totally agree when ever I say I’m mobile to other mechanics they always say F*** that, in terms of customers the majority are good decent people that are happy to sometimes pay more for the convenience 👍🏼
