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[Taxi_Driver]

I think its excellent that James has gone to the trouble to insure himself!

if someone changed your timing belt and fitted it fine and then the tensioner went youd be left with 2k repair bill for a V6! thats why insurance is needed to Cover this risk even if you fit genuine vx bits i doubt vx would hold there warrenty up as theyd sim[ply say it was fitted wrong and stick to there guns! if you went to a stealer and had it fitted they would pay up as they fitted it so its there responsibility

Public liability insurance is cheaper than you think! ive got it for my ltd company as i work to an agency as a ltd company i use Zurich

If its public liability insurance we are talking about, it is cheap enough.
I pay around £30/yr for £1,000,000 worth of cover. Not that im legally required to have it, I just have it for the 'professional insurance claimants'! and ive had one so far.....claimants i mean....unfortunatley for him there were too many witnesses and cctv cameras that saw what happened!  

BTW....I sit on the fence on this thread.....i only have it for peace of mind.....
 :-/

[miggcddave]

dont give your car to a cowboy fitter  

[p j morgan]

i think at the end of the day its up to the individual!i have often been asked to help friends with there cars but i would only help if i was 100 percent positive i could do the job .how many people say are you insured ?in james case he has every right to insure his self. if he does do quite a lot of work for members it gives him peace of mind knowing he's covered .good for you james !  

[dbug]

Here's a thought - do you not give technical advice on a forum in case it leads to an accident and you may be sued?   :-?

[Andy B]

Here's a thought - do you not give technical advice on a forum in case it leads to an accident and you may be sued?   :-?

There's already a disclaimer!  
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1158831472

[markey mark]

to be honest if you have not got any mechanical quals you should not be repairing other peoples cars ! it took me 5 years at college to get my quals  
i do a lot of repairs and servicing on other peoples cars and do not have any insurance because i am confident that i wont make any schoolboy errors !!

wasnt going to comment but people who repair cars that have no formal training shoudnt be doing so gives proper mechanics a bad deal  

[JamesV6CDX]

to be honest if you have not got any mechanical quals you should not be repairing other peoples cars !

You saying I should stop, then?

i do a lot of repairs and servicing on other peoples cars and do not have any insurance because i am confident that i wont make any schoolboy errors !!

But we're all only human, afterall  

wasnt going to comment but people who repair cars that have no formal training shoudnt be doing so gives proper mechanics a bad deal  

Have you seen my testimonials? I don't think I give anyone a bad name. Read them for yourself.

Edit to add: Click here to see testimonials

[markey mark]

in my opinon yes james if you have no quals !
its hard enough for proper mechanics nowadays
not saying you dont do a good job james its just one of them things what winds me up because i have had to repair so many cars after hobby mechanics have cocked it up !!

[JamesV6CDX]

in my opinon yes james if you have no quals !
its hard enough for proper mechanics nowadays
not saying you dont do a good job james its just one of them things what winds me up because i have had to repair so many cars after hobby mechanics have cocked it up !!

Fair enough

www.omegamechanic.co.uk has been updated to reflect and I've removed my signature

[markey mark]

thats a bit drastic james ! on my opinon you stopped doing cars !!
 :-? :-?

[JamesV6CDX]

thats a bit drastic james ! on my opinon you stopped doing cars !!
 :-? :-?

Not at all mate

Fact is - I'm not qualified to do it - regardless that I'm insured to the tune of a couple of million for public liability.

best the work is done by people who are qualified. No hard feelings

[dbug]

to be honest if you have not got any mechanical quals you should not be repairing other peoples cars ! it took me 5 years at college to get my quals  
i do a lot of repairs and servicing on other peoples cars and do not have any insurance because i am confident that i wont make any schoolboy errors !!

wasnt going to comment but people who repair cars that have no formal training shoudnt be doing so gives proper mechanics a bad deal  

Mark I have no mechanical qualifications (for fixing cars) but have been working on cars since the 60s.  Have worked on my own race cars, rebuilt gearboxes and overdrive units, engines etc.  Completely renovated my TR4A including all mechanicals and respraying.  Used to do a roaring trade in gas flowing and porting Cooper S heads as well!

Whilst I agree with you in principle - I also have seen some DIY nightmares!!! - there is something to say for experience!  

Believe JamesV6CDX has built a good reputation amongst Omega owners for doing a good job on cambelt changes, and he has obviously also built a level of experience in doing these.  He also appears more than competant in working on other jobs and other makes.  His type of service is valuable in keeping these older "classics" on the roads - garage charges on a lot of the jobs on these is prohibitive.  Just as your kind of service (breaking Omegas and offering good quality used parts for sale) is also invaluable.

I tend to work with my mind rather than my hands and find working on my own cars is cost effective, a pain in the rse sometimes, relaxing and therapeutic - its something I enjoy.  Whilst I will still help out on other peoples cars I won't accept any payment for doing so (other than beer of course ) Should I also stop repairing my own cars?

[Lazydocker]

Hmmm... I had no formal training and was pretty much self taught. That said, I used to work in a garage, as an MOT Tester (Obviously I had to do the relevant exams and qualifications for this ) and mechanic. I had no issues, bar one which was a customer going against our advice. Essentially having a head skimmed and head gasget replaced on a Vauxhall 1.7TD (Izuzu) engine, even after being told it was a waste of money and a NEW head was required! The customer was forced to sign a disclaimer before any work was carried out because we knew it was not going to work... They were a bulletproof engine but the heads could not be skimmed, simple as!

We were also a Green Flag agent (amongst the others but GF we were the sole agent) in the Basingstoke/Alton/Tadley area and my roadside fix rate was 97%

I accept Markey's comments but feel it was a little extreme. I too have spent many hours repairing a bodged DIY job but paperwork doesn't mean everything... I spent hours repairing "professionals" work also. It's down to experience

I also agree with James... Insurance is important. If I asked someone to do a Cambelt, for example, on my car (paid or not) and it went wrong I would want some way of recouping the cost of repairing/replacing the engine and I, personally, am not the type of person who would then go back and demand it was covered by them. If they had liability insurance and offered the chance of getting the remedial work done without it costing them an arm and leg I'd be more than willing to do it.

TBH I'm in a lucky position in that I am capable and willing to do most jobs myself but I (normally) only help others by looking in and advising

As several of us have said before, I am more than capable of doing a LPG conversion for someone but I wouldn't take the job on paid, I'd just help them do it... They would have to get involved

Just my 2p

[Andy B]

.......
 Should I also stop repairing my own cars?

That's not for commercial/financial gain!  

[JamesV6CDX]

I too have spent many hours repairing a bodged DIY job but paperwork doesn't mean everything... I spent hours repairing "professionals" work also. It's down to experience

Many of the cockups I've rectified have come out of VX dealerships. Work done by enthusiasts (including myself) is usually meticulously done. Hey ho.