Maintenance costs

[cav551]

Re reading your original posts I just wonder whether you might not be better off taking a slightly different tack. I don’t know how long you were in the forces nor how many different fitting jobs you have had since, but every one of the ex forces fitters I have worked with in the past has struggled to begin with on civilian vehicles.I am not meaning to be insulting but are you really confident with working on other than Volvo ?

As a qualified electrician with mechanical experience maybe you could consider becoming a mobile diagnostic specialist. You would only need a small van, no HGV driving to worry about and there will be far more demand for your services than in the oversubscribed mobile fitter market. The potential labour rate would be higher as well. Locally to me there is for cars a very successful mobile specialist. He does however have a background as workshop foreman and ‘supertech’, or whatever it is called, with a main dealer. He is in constant demand from individuals, to independent garages, to franchised dealers who also take in other makes.

The downside is the cost of the equipment, which is not quite as good as the dedicated dealer gear, and the need to interpret what is being revealed. There is more to this than just interrogating the ECU, there is some very sophisticated fuel injection diagnostic kit about as well.

[rsooty]

cav551:
Re reading your original posts I just wonder whether you might not be better off taking a slightly different tack. I don’t know how long you were in the forces nor how many different fitting jobs you have had since, but every one of the ex forces fitters I have worked with in the past has struggled to begin with on civilian vehicles.I am not meaning to be insulting but are you really confident with working on other than Volvo ?

As a qualified electrician with mechanical experience maybe you could consider becoming a mobile diagnostic specialist. You would only need a small van, no HGV driving to worry about and there will be far more demand for your services than in the oversubscribed mobile fitter market. The potential labour rate would be higher as well. Locally to me there is for cars a very successful mobile specialist. He does however have a background as workshop foreman and ‘supertech’, or whatever it is called, with a main dealer. He is in constant demand from individuals, to independent garages, to franchised dealers who also take in other makes.

The downside is the cost of the equipment, which is not quite as good as the dedicated dealer gear, and the need to interpret what is being revealed. There is more to this than just interrogating the ECU, there is some very sophisticated fuel injection diagnostic kit about as well.

Not something ive ever heard of, let alone considered. I always thought those types of specialists were employed by mamufacters like haldex etc.
I’m confident working on anything. At the end of the day an engine is an engine, a gearbox is a gearbox… I know it will take me a bit longer to work faults out on other vehicles than volvos, but you have to gain that experience somewhere. I have worked on ivecos, dafs and MANs as well, plus a few others infrequently. I understand what you mean about ex army lads, more ■■■■■ comes through than good. Unfortunately thats down to the training school in Bordon, they get unlimited resits rather than getting retraded.

[mattwoodtransport]

Iv known a couple of guys sub to other workshops, they’ve the van that’s kitted out but generally whilst in the workshops, they use workshops press, gas, sundries etc last I knew they were charging £20- £24 per hour. Ask the workshops for they’re hourly rate, and if they can make £20 an hour out of you they will probably be happy

[bking]

rsooty:

xfmatt:

rsooty:
Thanks. Thats a huge difference between £35 and £120ph. What is it you guys look for in a mechanic? Whats the most important thing to an owner driver/fleet owner? Cost? Reliabilty? Speed? Flexibility?

A little bit of all you mentioned rolled into one! The garage I use is 50 meters from where I park, with the nearest main dealer 30 miles away. I can leave my outfit in the yard over the weekend and they will pick it up, inspect it then put it back in the yard. They work most Saturday’s and also have their own wrecker should I breakdown and have to be towed in. Good lads who you can actually watch working on your wagon rather than being directed to a drivers room to stare at 4 walls or listen to the drivel of an overworked, underpaid tramp. Overall I’m happy with the service arrangements!

Matt.

Sounds like its working out well for you. If i decide to go ahead with it i will be working mobile so no drivers rooms. I’d be hoping to offer as much as possible to clients, although engine rebuilds and work needing reprogramming may not be feesable. I’d consider my work to be of a high standard, which I personally feel is more important than rushing a job which may lead to downtime later on. I learnt my trade through the forces so I have plenty of experience of working in all weathers and conditions. Then i have developed my skills at a local haulage firm, working on mainly volvos. I am also a qualified electrician and qualified for thorough examinations on forklifts.
Hopefully what I can offer will be of benefit to some local firms. I will just have to wait and see.

You “learnt” your Job through the “forces”!!!

Are you takin the ■■■■?

To have some joker from the “army” inspect my truck?
Now we are spouting crap.A 15 minute “apprentiship”
Bedfords are a tad different to Mercs and Volvos
Qualified my ■■■.
Go work for VOSA another bunch of “experts”

[rsooty]

Bking:

rsooty:

xfmatt:

rsooty:
Thanks. Thats a huge difference between £35 and £120ph. What is it you guys look for in a mechanic? Whats the most important thing to an owner driver/fleet owner? Cost? Reliabilty? Speed? Flexibility?

A little bit of all you mentioned rolled into one! The garage I use is 50 meters from where I park, with the nearest main dealer 30 miles away. I can leave my outfit in the yard over the weekend and they will pick it up, inspect it then put it back in the yard. They work most Saturday’s and also have their own wrecker should I breakdown and have to be towed in. Good lads who you can actually watch working on your wagon rather than being directed to a drivers room to stare at 4 walls or listen to the drivel of an overworked, underpaid tramp. Overall I’m happy with the service arrangements!

Matt.

Sounds like its working out well for you. If i decide to go ahead with it i will be working mobile so no drivers rooms. I’d be hoping to offer as much as possible to clients, although engine rebuilds and work needing reprogramming may not be feesable. I’d consider my work to be of a high standard, which I personally feel is more important than rushing a job which may lead to downtime later on. I learnt my trade through the forces so I have plenty of experience of working in all weathers and conditions. Then i have developed my skills at a local haulage firm, working on mainly volvos. I am also a qualified electrician and qualified for thorough examinations on forklifts.
Hopefully what I can offer will be of benefit to some local firms. I will just have to wait and see.

You “learnt” your Job through the “forces”!!!

Are you takin the ■■■■?

To have some joker from the “army” inspect my truck?
Now we are spouting crap.A 15 minute “apprentiship”
Bedfords are a tad different to Mercs and Volvos
Qualified my ■■■.
Go work for VOSA another bunch of “experts”

Well theres nothing like tarring everyone with the same brush is there. Ive been out of the forces for 7 years now working on a fleet of volvos including some new fh’s. I have over a 95% first time pass rate on my mot preps which is well above average. I am 1 of 2 mechanics in the company qualified to conduct forklift trucks thorough examinations.
At 29 years old to be 1 of the few people in the workshop that is trusted to do any work on any vehicle unmonitored, and trusted to take any of the apprentices through mentoring, i thought i was doing alright.
Obviously you must know better though as you have probably encountered 1 or 2 of the thousands of mechanics from the army (probably an A mech that is trained on tracked vehicles).
Please dont be offended by this, but you sir are an idiot.

[xfmatt]

rsooty:

Bking:

rsooty:

xfmatt:

rsooty:
Thanks. Thats a huge difference between £35 and £120ph. What is it you guys look for in a mechanic? Whats the most important thing to an owner driver/fleet owner? Cost? Reliabilty? Speed? Flexibility?

A little bit of all you mentioned rolled into one! The garage I use is 50 meters from where I park, with the nearest main dealer 30 miles away. I can leave my outfit in the yard over the weekend and they will pick it up, inspect it then put it back in the yard. They work most Saturday’s and also have their own wrecker should I breakdown and have to be towed in. Good lads who you can actually watch working on your wagon rather than being directed to a drivers room to stare at 4 walls or listen to the drivel of an overworked, underpaid tramp. Overall I’m happy with the service arrangements!

Matt.

Sounds like its working out well for you. If i decide to go ahead with it i will be working mobile so no drivers rooms. I’d be hoping to offer as much as possible to clients, although engine rebuilds and work needing reprogramming may not be feesable. I’d consider my work to be of a high standard, which I personally feel is more important than rushing a job which may lead to downtime later on. I learnt my trade through the forces so I have plenty of experience of working in all weathers and conditions. Then i have developed my skills at a local haulage firm, working on mainly volvos. I am also a qualified electrician and qualified for thorough examinations on forklifts.
Hopefully what I can offer will be of benefit to some local firms. I will just have to wait and see.

You “learnt” your Job through the “forces”!!!

Are you takin the ■■■■?

To have some joker from the “army” inspect my truck?
Now we are spouting crap.A 15 minute “apprentiship”
Bedfords are a tad different to Mercs and Volvos
Qualified my ■■■.
Go work for VOSA another bunch of “experts”

Well theres nothing like tarring everyone with the same brush is there. Ive been out of the forces for 7 years now working on a fleet of volvos including some new fh’s. I have over a 95% first time pass rate on my mot preps which is well above average. I am 1 of 2 mechanics in the company qualified to conduct forklift trucks thorough examinations.
At 29 years old to be 1 of the few people in the workshop that is trusted to do any work on any vehicle unmonitored, and trusted to take any of the apprentices through mentoring, i thought i was doing alright.
Obviously you must know better though as you have probably encountered 1 or 2 of the thousands of mechanics from the army (probably an A mech that is trained on tracked vehicles).
Please dont be offended by this, but you sir are an idiot.

Haha I agree. This guy is a full time troll.

Matt

[rsooty]

xfmatt:

rsooty:

Bking:

rsooty:

xfmatt:

rsooty:
Thanks. Thats a huge difference between £35 and £120ph. What is it you guys look for in a mechanic? Whats the most important thing to an owner driver/fleet owner? Cost? Reliabilty? Speed? Flexibility?

A little bit of all you mentioned rolled into one! The garage I use is 50 meters from where I park, with the nearest main dealer 30 miles away. I can leave my outfit in the yard over the weekend and they will pick it up, inspect it then put it back in the yard. They work most Saturday’s and also have their own wrecker should I breakdown and have to be towed in. Good lads who you can actually watch working on your wagon rather than being directed to a drivers room to stare at 4 walls or listen to the drivel of an overworked, underpaid tramp. Overall I’m happy with the service arrangements!

Matt.

Sounds like its working out well for you. If i decide to go ahead with it i will be working mobile so no drivers rooms. I’d be hoping to offer as much as possible to clients, although engine rebuilds and work needing reprogramming may not be feesable. I’d consider my work to be of a high standard, which I personally feel is more important than rushing a job which may lead to downtime later on. I learnt my trade through the forces so I have plenty of experience of working in all weathers and conditions. Then i have developed my skills at a local haulage firm, working on mainly volvos. I am also a qualified electrician and qualified for thorough examinations on forklifts.
Hopefully what I can offer will be of benefit to some local firms. I will just have to wait and see.

You “learnt” your Job through the “forces”!!!

Are you takin the ■■■■?

To have some joker from the “army” inspect my truck?
Now we are spouting crap.A 15 minute “apprentiship”
Bedfords are a tad different to Mercs and Volvos
Qualified my ■■■.
Go work for VOSA another bunch of “experts”

Well theres nothing like tarring everyone with the same brush is there. Ive been out of the forces for 7 years now working on a fleet of volvos including some new fh’s. I have over a 95% first time pass rate on my mot preps which is well above average. I am 1 of 2 mechanics in the company qualified to conduct forklift trucks thorough examinations.
At 29 years old to be 1 of the few people in the workshop that is trusted to do any work on any vehicle unmonitored, and trusted to take any of the apprentices through mentoring, i thought i was doing alright.
Obviously you must know better though as you have probably encountered 1 or 2 of the thousands of mechanics from the army (probably an A mech that is trained on tracked vehicles).
Please dont be offended by this, but you sir are an idiot.

Haha I agree. This guy is a full time troll.

Matt

I dont think he’s a troll… Just genuinely stupid.
Briefly working out in my head - an apprentice studies at college for 1 day per week for 40 weeks per year, for 3 years (levels 2 &3). Thats 120 days roughly. For the first year they barely do any work as they are expected to clean up, make brews and stand over the mechanics and watch, second year they get given some simple remove and refit jobs and third year some simple diagnostics.
I studied at college for 5 days a week, for 24 weeks, before i was deployed to my unit. At which point i was expected to know how things work and be able to remove, repair, refit and diagnose work, unsupervised and to a standard which would work in all kinds of terrain and conditions.

An apprentice would usually spend all their training working on the same trucks, with the same engines, gearboxes and the same common faults.
In my first 3 years with an engineer unit i worked on volvo tippers, jcb, chieftan bridge layers, foden recovery truck, landrovers, harley davidson motorcycles, bedfords, dafs, MANs, combat engineer tractors (CET), various ‘tanks’, forktrucks and the odd “white fleet” vehicles. With no knowledge of common faults I had to do proper fault finding. Bare in mind some of this work took place with upto 72hours without sleep and in locations and situations most people will never understand.
Remind me again how good your apprentices are?
Rant over. Sorry for boring any of you.

[the_maoster]

Don’t ruffle your feathers over Bking rsooty, he tends to come on here gobbing off about all things mechanical and then some of the lads who actually know what they’re talking about tend to pop up and rip his arguments to shreds.

I tend not to get involved as I have little mechanical knowledge, so at least me and him have something in common!

[shirtbox2003]

If as you say rsooty you can earn the same £1200 for48 hours then why want to go free-lance and have to work maybe longer or shorter hours and put up with all the (zb) that goes with it.You sound very uncertain and ask too many questions when all you need is the nerve to go for it,if it don’t work you can always get another job.The main thing to remember is,Cash is King,if you give too much credit you will be the poorest and busiest mechanic in the world.

[rsooty]

shirtbox2003:
If as you say rsooty you can earn the same £1200 for48 hours then why want to go free-lance and have to work maybe longer or shorter hours and put up with all the (zb) that goes with it.You sound very uncertain and ask too many questions when all you need is the nerve to go for it,if it don’t work you can always get another job.The main thing to remember is,Cash is King,if you give too much credit you will be the poorest and busiest mechanic in the world.

I like to ask questions as other peoples opinions can often bring things i hadn’t considered to light. Also, as i work as a fleet mechanic i don’t deal with costs or customers so its nice to do a bit of research.
As for the £1200, that was a figure i worked out from someone elses comment. I would. Extremely surprised if i could earn that from the off.
I am meeting an accountant in the morning to pick their brains for advice, then i should have enough knowledge to work out some rates. After that i will approach a few companies to see how interested they may be. I spoke to a bloke from a local plant hire firm today and he has said i could get a day or 2 a week in their workshop. However, as we all know, these things mean nothing until they happen.
Cash work is king, but many companies will unfortunately need to have credit to balance their books.
With any luck i may be up and running within a few months. I will be sure to update as i go.
Thanks for all the helpful advice.

[norb]

rsoty burger king is the forums Katie Hopkins …If you ever need a laugh just search his turbo threads ,The man who reckons diesel engines can’t run away ,obviously never saw a 432

I have to agree with cav on a lot of what he says ,I will admit after 12 years in R.E.M.E when I joined a dealership I was like a fish out of water ,mainly as you know adjusting to their way of doing things ,and times being important

I agree with you on the apprentice thing ,ours go to a dedicted college solely learning the product ,and have their normal attitude of “im not paid to clean up”…Like yourself I did Bordon ,from jan to sept 84 ,5 days a week ,with all the other crap that you had to do "after work "…then back again from jan to june for my class 1,always in B coy with old sgt Pritchard ,think he may have retired when you where there ,though he got a civvy job in the stores

I have done the master tech with the manufacturer I work with ,no tick test ,proper written exam

If you enjoy problem solving and are not to bad at it then a cav says that may be a better more profitable route …As said earlier ,anyone can read a fault code ,but understanding what it is telling you ,can be the difficult bit for some…But I dare say I am teaching you how to ■■■■ eggs …

I think at the beginning you need to build a reputation ,and may have to spend a little bit more time occasionally making sure you do a top quality job,not that im saying all jobs shouldn’t be top quality

Make sure you have your hols or else you will suffer burn out

And if it doesn’t work out then get a normal job ,nothing ventured nothing gained
If you go for it I wish you the best of luck ,and as you no doubt have heard before ," the ball is in your court"

And if you ever need DAF help i’m here ,though you can call me corporal

Norb

[rsooty]

norb:
rsoty burger king is the forums Katie Hopkins …If you ever need a laugh just search his turbo threads ,The man who reckons diesel engines can’t run away ,obviously never saw a 432

I have to agree with cav on a lot of what he says ,I will admit after 12 years in R.E.M.E when I joined a dealership I was like a fish out of water ,mainly as you know adjusting to their way of doing things ,and times being important

I agree with you on the apprentice thing ,ours go to a dedicted college solely learning the product ,and have their normal attitude of “im not paid to clean up”…Like yourself I did Bordon ,from jan to sept 84 ,5 days a week ,with all the other crap that you had to do "after work "…then back again from jan to june for my class 1,always in B coy with old sgt Pritchard ,think he may have retired when you where there ,though he got a civvy job in the stores

I have done the master tech with the manufacturer I work with ,no tick test ,proper written exam

If you enjoy problem solving and are not to bad at it then a cav says that may be a better more profitable route …As said earlier ,anyone can read a fault code ,but understanding what it is telling you ,can be the difficult bit for some…But I dare say I am teaching you how to ■■■■ eggs …

I think at the beginning you need to build a reputation ,and may have to spend a little bit more time occasionally making sure you do a top quality job,not that im saying all jobs shouldn’t be top quality

Make sure you have your hols or else you will suffer burn out

And if it doesn’t work out then get a normal job ,nothing ventured nothing gained
If you go for it I wish you the best of luck ,and as you no doubt have heard before ," the ball is in your court" [emoji38] [emoji38] [emoji38]

And if you ever need DAF help i’m here ,though you can call me corporal [emoji38] [emoji38] [emoji38]

Norb

Thanks, i may just take you up on that at some point.
Ive had a volvo run away a few years whilst i had it on a test drive. Scared the crap out of me if i’m honest.
I think the main benefit of coming from the forces is the adaptability. But dont get me wrong, i also understand how many idiots Bordon is churning out.
My first port of call is to see if my current employer will take me on as freelance. I know how hard they find it to replace mechanics so i’m hopeful he will take me up on the offer.

[norb]

Up here everyone is crying out for mechanics .To be honest the qualifications for an apprentice mechanic haven’t kept up with the technology ,and in the 20 years I have been out we have only had a handful of descent apprentices who progress,the rest will spend their life doing services …Why they become mechanics when they have no interest ,I do not know(so Bordon is no worse than out here …First tie I have ever said something nice about Bordon…)

[norb]

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=121512

have a laugh at bking here

[cav551]

I think you are going to be thoroughly disappointed but hopefully not disillusioned by the reality of how much companies are prepared to pay for a freelance fitter helping in their own workshops. My guess is that you are currently on something like £12 hr for an 8-5 40 hrs with any more hours being overtime or maybe £13 for 48 hrs at more unsociable times of day. You will be lucky to find a company which wishes to do more than save itself the rough 30- 35% add-on expenses of a full time employee, in which case I would expect them to be paying about £16 per hour. If lucky you might make £20 hr. However that is going to be for productive hours only. Waiting for the lorry to arrive, a bay to work in to come free, parts to arrive etc will be your lost time.

My gut feeling on this is that things have changed dramatically over the last few years, while it was once possible to make a go of it with knowledge of some jobs on most makes of vehicle, and most jobs on some makes the situation nowadays means this no longer holds good. ‘Fleet’ work just does not give the experience to deal with what is likely to be thrown at you. Even more than ‘of old’ you will be tackling jobs constantly which you have never done before on a particular model. Euro 6 has only recently come in - it is already throwing up serious diagnostic problems for the non expert. Two years down the line without the aid of advice from others, how are you going to diagnose complicated issues? more pertinent how are you going to be able to justify the hours of labour involved in solving the problems which more detailed knowledge would have reduced?

If you wish to set up as self employed because you are getting itchy feet where you are, I would be thinking along the lines of getting some retail motor trade experience with a main dealer. Not only will you gain from the depth and breadth of investigations and become up to date with your technical knowledge, but you will become accustomed to trying to complete tasks in manufacturer’s times and the need to record often overlooked extra time taken like disconnecting PTOs and removing catwalks etc. You will also learn the ways to make up time. Break down into individual stages fitting a new rear marker board from: collecting from the stores, connecting an air line, regulator, drill bit, marking out etc - to putting everything away again. That 10 minute job looks more like half an hour now! Which is what the customer of the main dealer is being charged.

On a different track, once set up on your own, avoid the 7.5t tarmac-laying lot like the plague.

[norb]

I really find cav551 posts really interesting,and enjoy reading them…Though I a quiet happy with 1 brand ,that is way more than enough for me …Obviously there will always be mobile mechanics …At the moment , I imagine getting Euro 6 experience will be difficult ,with most vehicles still either being in warranty or on some other dealer/ manufacturer contract…The other issue is that dealers and manufacturers are still learning ,so it is going to be difficult for the mobile tech ,though the common faults do become common knowledge ,but that is no way to work a business…The costs of Euro 6 parts ie the complete exhaust system ,could end up putting small operators out of business if they fail,and more and more will have a maintenance contract with a dealer …And Euro 7 isn’t that far away

[cav551]

Thanks for the comment Norb.

As I have been hinting all along (I hope), the time for starting off in this business model on limited funds has passed. If I had my time all over again I would not be considering starting off S/E mobile fitting today. Starting now, if I could find enough work on horseboxes, small removals businesses etc, in fact anyone with older vehicles, that is where I would be aiming. The latest vehicles will potentially bankrupt this type of operation. Just consider the implications of getting the diagnosis wrong and being landed with a refusal to pay a £3000 invoice - £2300 of which was for incorrect and unnecessary parts fitted, which cannot be returned and which were for the only vehicle of that model in the list of customers.

More and more the future in maintaining heavy vehicles is going to depend on up to date technical training. The fitters with an existing customer base will survive on their reputation, their customer loyalty and their ability to invest in diagnostic equipment.

As said before one needs to look for a niche market - the one arising rapidly is for those operating euro 4 vehicles currently, but who will be forced to upgrade to the next levels very soon. Their need is for accurate diagnosis of problems more cheaply than currently obtainable from the main dealer network. This raises the opportunity for the mobile diagnostic technician - but the investment in equipment, the level of knowledge and training to interpret the findings is considerable. The first can be bought, the latter two require experience, the cheapest route to which is employment at a main dealer for at least a couple of years. The OP is still young, those two or three years could be very well spent. The business opportunity will still be there at the end of that time.

[norb]

As you say cav551 finding a niche may be the way to go,as with being in a dealer we get a lot of work from other workshops ,who even though they have texas etc as soon as they get a warning it’s off to the dealer .Wether that is to take the pressure off of them and on to the dealer I don’t know… Also you have the ones who are "too old to deal with all this electronics "…Though as you rightly say nothing on the latest trucks is cheap ,so miss diagnosis isn’t cheap.Sometimes there may be 2 issues causing a fault ,which customers may class the original diagnosis as wrong and you end up having a discussion so you can get paid…I wouldn’t criticise anyone for going it alone ,but it sounds as though it can be very stressful at times …I guess you have a timescale on which to get paid,and is there any penalties for late payment ■■? Have you or anyone else ever been stung with people going into receivership

[wrecktech100]

if the OP reads all the post’s above and listens to the advice given he won’t go far wrong.(he also may not proceed with his original idea though).
reading the b-king thread though throws up a point which he is actually correct on,that is that a lot of mechanics only have a limited range of equipment they work on.hence they may be a specialist in one make or type of vehicle,but struggle with other makes or types or ancillary equipment.
as for TEXA,the reason a lot of people just refer faults to the dealer is as you say,we could spend 3,5 or 10 hrs tracing a fault,download the very vague faults off the texa and try this and try that,then end up sending it to the dealer who had this problem on another truck last week,so they find the wiring fault,dodgy ecu or whatever based on their regular experience with that model and the customer only pays the one bill-the dealers.
far better to divert the job there in the first place,and get on with more straight forward work.(and yes i do have and use texa on a laptop).

[norb]

wrecktech100:
if the OP reads all the post’s above and listens to the advice given he won’t go far wrong.(he also may not proceed with his original idea though).
reading the b-king thread though throws up a point which he is actually correct on,that is that a lot of mechanics only have a limited range of equipment they work on.hence they may be a specialist in one make or type of vehicle,but struggle with other makes or types or ancillary equipment.
as for TEXA,the reason a lot of people just refer faults to the dealer is as you say,we could spend 3,5 or 10 hrs tracing a fault,download the very vague faults off the texa and try this and try that,then end up sending it to the dealer who had this problem on another truck last week,so they find the wiring fault,dodgy ecu or whatever based on their regular experience with that model and the customer only pays the one bill-the dealers.
far better to divert the job there in the first place,and get on with more straight forward work.(and yes i do have and use texa on a laptop).

What you say is correct,though I work in a dealer,at this moment we are doing a lot of mercs for some reason…Due to my time with the coy and experience on our brand ,I am solely kept to our brand ,except for tachos ,and if we are really quiet…Which believe me doesn’t lead to an easy life ,as I get all the problem jobs that x amount of people may have been on before,usually with the" it needs to be fixed this time " And It would probably take me double the time to do an emission fault on a merc than it would a daf …But familiarity and specific brand training