Sound Recordings
A Car Mechanic in the UK
This interview will give you an idea of what it is like to work as a car mechanic in the UK.
Image: Erlend Aas / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Before listening, use the dictionary to check that you know the meaning of the following words: maintenance, break down, recommend, independent, honesty, the public, reputation, vehicle, manufacturer, schedule, baffle, dealer, warranty, wiring diagram, landlord, property, overheads, retire
YTS = Youth Training Scheme
MOT is used for the Ministry of Transport (now Department of Transport) test which is required annually on all cars over 3 years old to check that vehicles meet road safety and environmental standards.
Listen to the following interview with a car mechanic in the UK and find out:
- Where he works. (type of company - large/small, etc)
- Where about in the UK he works.
- Why he chose this profession.
- What type of tasks he has to do on a typical day at work.
- What personal qualities he suggests are needed by a car mechanic
- Does he describe any work processes or services that he provides?
- What he likes best and least about his job.
- How he thinks this line of work will change in the future.
- Where he sees himself in 5 - 10 years' time.
Car Mechanic - Interview
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Text version
Good morning, can I stop asking what's your name and what do you do? Hi, my name is Nicholas Ryan,I'm a motor mechanic,I'm from Brighton.So, why did you choose to be a motor mechanic?Originally, when I was at school,I had no idea what I wanted to do.I had an idea of being a draftsman,but I didn't know what I wanted to do.I was a draftsman, and I found a job in a city,or one of the areas of the city,and I was trying to find a job there.Once in the office, there are people who come in and try to help me out,and when I am doing something like that, I'm not doing it for money,I'm doing it for a good thing.So, did you have a job somewhere, or was it a good job, or was it a bad job?Well, day-to-day is general service and maintenance.The old way of going to a mechanic is to get to the car in the morning, which I haven't done that.Most of my work is just a matter of recommendation through a technician,or a mechanic, or a driver. I do have a website, which I will be showing you,but I'm not going to talk about it today,because I don't think I do that today. General service, maintenance, and maintenance,and maintenance, and maintenance, which is job for a mechanic, a mechanic,or a driver,or most things,anything like that.And personal service, which isall I do,in the care of a public,and to be honest, I will be more sensitive when you tell me what I need to do and I'm not going to tell you anything about it. When a mechanic is going to come on down, which is a lot of different,you have to be yourself and motivate them. You're not one being an employee of the mechanic's company when you need to do and you need to run a part time job and be an employee,and I've got to have a good day job,a good day day.And you don't talk about the day. I'm not going to talk about the day. I'm not going to talk about what you need to do after the morning service. but it impacts the work process or the service that you provide.Typically,for normal kind of regular service for example,there are a number of differentways that are always changing.What's important is knowing what people need and require.You need to know theseprinciples, you need to know what you're doing,you need to know how you're doing it,you need to know everything.You might not even knowhow you're doing it,so what you need to do is breakit down,tell people what they need to do, and they're going to get to the bottom of it, and they're going to need to do it in a way that they're pretty much self-aware of what needs to bedone. What you don't understand needs to be done.I'm sorry,I'm sorry about that. I just have to put it in a comment. I have to put it in a comment.That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go in and do it in a different way.I think the only thing that it runs down, I think, is how you operate.At least,what I think is my own opinion.I think that's the kind of work that I'm not going to do. I'm not going to doit. I think that's the kind of work thatI'm not going to do. I would say that it's to do with what we might not do with our kids.When I was a little boy, I was a little nervous. I was two years, three years old.I was a little nervous compared to the kids that are three years.So I think that because I'm a little nervous now, just a little bit, where it's been pretty controlled and it's not been controlled,there's new electricity.We have a box of electricity that we can charge. We all pay for these cars.And it's not just this car. We have a big bank of money. And it's already there.And we already got it.And they all think that we're going to need that big charge.So they pay for it.But I think that's the thing.You know, the more you're planning,the more you have to lose that.It's not the nature of your mind. It's what it means to plan. I think that if we'regoing to buy our knowledge,and we're going to buy our knowledge, I think that's the thing to do.I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do with this. It's the future.So I'm not going to wait for the future. I'm going to stop waiting for the future.I was actually,my family and I came back here being employed.My family,being a salesman, were a lot of business leaders.And they were a little bit like my family. Theywere a little bit more resourceful. So now we're going to have to absorb the energy.But if you want to go back to being employed by somebody else,you have to do it the mobile way. You don't want to do it that way.I don't want to do it that way. So that'sthe learning in the future. We're not going to buy anything.We're not going to be able to do that.Thank you very much. You're welcome.
Audio: James Vyner / CC BY-SA 4.0
After you have practised, add more dialogue for some of the following situations:
- The mechanic finds that the brake pads have to be changed.
- You would like the mechanic to check the oil. He finds it needs to be topped up.
- Ask what the mechanic will check when the car has an MOT.