A mechanic in is holding a free motoring maintenance workshop for women in central Dunedin next week after seeing many ‘‘expensive’’ and avoidable mistakes.
DNA Auto Services owneroperator Dave Atkins, who opened his workshop in Ward St about six months ago, said he had seen some ‘‘shocking’’ attempts by motorists to maintain their vehicles.
‘‘You see some daft things.’’
For example, a Dunedin woman had run out of windshield washer fluid but removed the oil cap and put a garden hose in the engine of the late-model car and proceeded to fill it with water.
When she started the engine, a connecting rod bent, he said.
‘‘That’s an expensive mistake . . .It’s trivial stuff that’s easily avoided.’’
People were trying to save money by maintaining their vehicles themselves but they often lacked the skills required and it ended up costing them more in the long run, he said.
‘‘Your naivety is costing you money.’’
In a bid to save money, a Dunedin woman fitted brake pads on her car the wrong way, resulting in her car leaving a road at Saddle Hill.
In a bid to battle the ignorance of some motorists, he was holding a maintenance workshop for women, he said.
The workshop would provide maintenance tips, such as the importance of checking the pressure of tyres and the levels of oil and water in an engine.
If people completed smaller maintenance work correctly, it would result in smaller repair bills when a vehicle did need to be taken to a mechanic, he said.
Men made as many maintenance mistakes as women but the workshop was open only to women as they might feel intimidated in a mixed group.
The workshop at 67 Ward St runs from 6.30pm on Thursday, May 3.
