What it takes to keep an exotic running
What does it take to be an exotic car enthusiast? What are the things that make you one? Is it easy? Is it easy in Pakistan? Do we have the after services? Are the parts easily available? Well, as each and every part are important for a car, there is one more thing that keeps the exotic car moving as it is supposed to, and that is a mechanic who knows them inside and out.
Finding a good mechanic for your car is really a pain. You have to find someone who knows everything about the model of your car. This is often easy if you have a popular brand of economy car, but for exotic cars, this is something exceedingly difficult.
In Pakistan there are many car enthusiasts who spend millions just to import the car they love, at their garage. Unlike Dubai, you won’t see many exotic cars out on the road in Pakistan. One of the reasons is the poor condition of the roads, the traffic and most importantly they do not want anything to happen to their car as it won’t be easy to get it fixed.
The most famous exotic cars in Pakistan are the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) cars. These include; Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Nissan Silvia, Mazda RX-7 and RX-8, Toyota Supra, and Nissan 350Z. Mechanics for these cars are comparatively easy to find. But the latest cars use technology that most mechanics in Pakistan are simply not aware of.
Finding the right mechanic
So there are two types of car enthusiasts; those who just keep the car for fun and take it out on the road every once in a while; and then there are the racers, who take part in drag, off-road, drift races, etc. The first type of enthusiasts do not require much support from mechanics as they do not drive their exotic cars much and do not have to face much wear and tear work. But for the racer, finding the right mechanic can help save millions.
This is why enthusiasts take their exotic cars out once or twice a week to avoid any harm to the vehicle before they take it to the race. Take exotic car fan Adeel Yaqoob, who owns eight exotic cars, six in Karachi and two in Dubai. He takes out the car only on weekends or during the race. “I have a mix collection of cars, some I use it normally and some are for the races,” said Adeel who is a professional drifter. “The exotic cars which we keep only to drive once or twice a week do not require many repairs, as we use them with too much care. But for the race cars, you have to be engaged with the mechanic on a daily basis.”
Adeel who is a businessman by profession told that when he developed an interest in exotic cars, especially in drifting, he had to build and upgrade the car he settled on. In order to do that, he had to find a good mechanic. “When I got into the racing business, I had to have the right mechanic for my car. But living in Karachi and taking your car to the mechanic is not an easy task. The commute here is too rough and then you have to invest time standing at the mechanic’s workshop. All of this creates a hassle,” he said.
Meanwhile, another professional drifter, Talha Bin Azhar, believes that you should find the right mechanic before you need it. “Finding the right mechanic can be tough if you are going to do it when your car is not running or is barely running. It is better to start working on the list of mechanics and doing appropriate research on each one. Even if you do not use them right away this is important as you will need to find someone to repair your car at some point,” he said.
Apart from this Talha, who is the youngest drifter in Pakistan, talking about the importance of mechanics said, they are equally important as every part of the car is. “Mechanics are the ones who run the car, while drivers drive the car,” said the 24-year-old Talha.
He said that it is really important to have the right mechanic who understands you and your car. “Having the right mechanic not only saves your car but your time which you can invest in some other work. The best one for your car is the one who you do not have to run behind. Once your car is back from the mechanic, you should have peace of mind,” added Talha.
He indicated that the reason for having fewer mechanics for exotics in Pakistan is that there are not many exotic cars here. “The fewer cars go to the few mechanics available, and they are the ones having a certain skill level to deal with the exotic car,” he said.
However, Adeel says that the present mechanics do not get the chance to deal with the cars, not many people use it to the extent that they have to take it to the mechanic every month. “They are the ones who deal with the domestic cars, and if they do not fix exotic cars much they won’t get to do much practice and this results in having fewer mechanics,” he said.
Do it yourself
Some exotic car owners do not want to give their cars to someone who might not fix them right, might never have worked on the model of car before or might end up overcharging just because it is an expensive car. They want peace of mind and to get this, some of the owners have to build a workshop at home and hire a mechanic on monthly basis.
This is mostly the case with the owners who pursue racing as a hobby. Adeel is one of them and when he started learning drift and building his cars, he thought the best solution to this is to keep everything at home. He built a fully equipped workshop worth Rs3 million and contracted a mechanic too.
“I am a businessman, I do work the whole day and then come back to spend time with the cars,” said Adeel. “I do not have time to sit all day at the mechanic’s workshop and waste time in the commute. So I decided to build a workshop at home having all the types of equipment that are required to upgrade or build a car.” Adeel has space for two cars in his workshop and has built an office and a parking space beside. He owns eight exotic cars including; Nissan GTR, Nissan 350Z, Nissan Patrol, BMW E46, Mercedes SLK, and Porsche Taycan in Karachi and Nissan 370Z and Nissan Silvia S14 in Dubai.
When you have the hobby to participate in the race, drag race, off road or drifting then you require much wear and tear work, you have to work almost daily during the races. That is when you have two choices, either to fix a mechanic who knows your car, or you make a workshop at your home.
Talking about the home workshop he said that he wanted to keep everything transparent and work with the mechanic himself. “For the cars that I normally use on weekends, I didn’t feel the need of taking to the mechanic and used to fix myself, but since I got the race cars, the mechanic was necessary as the race cars require up-gradation and revamp,” he said.
He then talked to several car enthusiasts and got in contact with one of the mechanics that was able to gain his trust. He then took him on-board and now works with him whenever he needs to fix his cars. “Working with the mechanic at your own workshop means saving time and getting to know the things yourself. There are some mechanics including the one I have who are keen to learn about new cars. But as they do not get the first-hand experience they head to the Internet and YouTube to search about cars and the parts,” said Adeel.
“When you are working at home with the mechanic, you get to concentrate on the car more and everything is right in front of you. You do not have to worry about the quality of stuff being used and being used the right way,” he said adding that the right set of tools is really important too.
There are two bothers, Hassamuddin Shafiq and Salahuddin Ahmad, who have also built a workshop at their home. They say that they do not feel the need for a mechanic for their two Nissan GTR R35s and one Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. “We work in our own self-built workshop. We have deep knowledge about the engines and different parts of the cars so whenever we feel the need we just head to our workshop and get the things done,” said Hassam.
He said the knowledge is really important about the cars whether you are doing it yourself or from a mechanic. “If you hard tune your car it can break your engine. So you have to know each and everything about the tiniest component and parts of the car,” he added.
Adeel added that the need for professional and the right mechanic is during the drift season. “When a car comes back from a race, there is always the need to fix things up including the engine, suspension, and transmission. This is when the mechanic helps the most,” he said.
He added that he can do everything at the workshop built at his home except for the bodywork and the paint job. Except for this everything with his car can be done at his own workshop. He shared that he will soon start working on swapping the engine from his race car which will take his full month’s engagement as once he is done with installing the engine, then tuning, and then have to take it for dyno before testing it on the track.
He informed that he will be going for the fourth round of the Emirates Drift Championship and next year has the plan to cover all Middle East.
Rare expertise
Adeel and Talha, both have raced in different countries and have experienced the mechanics there too. They believe that the level of knowledge and experience is way too much than the ones here. This is why while choosing the right mechanic for your car you have to keep a check of several stuff.
Adeel said that as there are less mechanics, it is easy to find a good one. “There are very few working n exotic cars here in Karachi. The exotic cars community is also not that big. So, when you go to the meetups you get to know people who have been keeping exotic cars for years, and that is where you get a referral to a good mechanic. A friend of mine referred the mechanic that I have on-board with me,” he said.
Talha was of the opinion that the person dealing with your car should be willing to learn. “The mechanic, who has the desire to learn new things and the new technology are the right ones for your car. As they stay up to date with the latest technology. The cars are getting the latest technology in every model and you and your mechanic should be aware of it if you want to keep the hobby of being a car enthusiast going,” he said.
Both agreed on the mechanic having good engine knowledge. They said the most important thing si engine and the mechanic should know how to disassemble and assemble the engine perfectly. “You should also be aware of the modifications that are being made to your cars. This is the way you can analyze if your mechanic is knowledgeable and doing the right thing,” said Adeel adding that he gives his 100pc when he is working with the mechanic.
“All the hard work is done by the mechanic, but the technical knowledge is really important for the owner to have in order to get the car as you want. Also, the mechanic should also have an interest in learning new things,” he added.
The exotic car mechanics do not only work on exotic cars but their daily work is with the domestic cars, but when it comes to exotic cars, they do not leave anything as they are aware of the investment that the owner has done on his car.
A rare breed
There are only a small number of exotic cars in the whole country. Fewer cars mean fewer mechanics and less experience. Some of the owners are struggling to find the parts and good mechanics to fix their cars.
There are many owners of Porsche Taycan Turbo the electric cars are facing issues since Porsche decided to wind up from Pakistan. The cars having battery issues are parked at the garages and waiting to be taken to Dubai to get fixed.
Till more cars are imported in Pakistan, the racers and car enthusiasts believe that it is better to do the job yourself and take help from a trusted mechanic.