we had a load of grizzling about this kinda thing a few years ago
try googling "block exemption"
plenty of reading there
the first article here -
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice...-campaign.html
everyone said it would spell the end of the main dealers
well a few years later on & no it hasn't
cars are Very complex machines nowadays & like it or not your "fred in a shed" type garage or even your emery cloth & plus gas home tinkerer wont have the knowledge or diagnostic equipment to carry out repairs effectively or to any approved standard!
look at it another way, the main dealers spends thousands of pounds a year on up to the minute diagnostic equipment, staff training, special tooling & any of the other hoops the manufacturers make them jump through to represent that franchise!
they have all the totally pointless but unforunatley necessary health & safety measures to comply to which by way of elongatng most simple processes will also add to any costs but on a plus side for the customer every tool they use will be claibrated & certificated to whatever standard is needed. all time consuming & expensive processes!
will Fred in a shed be using a recently calibrated torque wrench set to precise manufacturers figures ?? i doubt it
as for the brake disc issue, when we service cars there is space on the service sheet for us to write actual brake thicknesses compared to minimum thicknesses as specified by the manufacturer.
these measurements are taken by calibrated tools & are clearly marked for all to see. full transparency, nothing hidden!
if you car needs them, then it needs them.
we dont decide, the figures do!
since we were told a couple of years ago we had to accurately measure discs & write the measurements on the sheets etc i'd say we are changing twice as many as we were before as discs that look OK but would have been reported as "getting a bit thin, replace next pad change" before are now being changed no matter how much meat is on the pads as the figures are there & have to be adhered to! remember we're liable if anything happens after the car leaves the workshop so despite what you think any mechanic with a brain will be wanting the car to go out right
some dealers may not be as good as others but hopefully most will have a conscience & will be trying to do things properly
at my place we do our best for our customers & i'd hope others are the same
