It all started when I got my first moped aged 12 in 1981.
I got her as a non runner and it took me months to find the fault (a blocked carburettor main jet) but I fixed her completely on my own.
As a result I was so impressed with the machine and myself that becoming a mechanic was no question or decision. Naturally I was tinkering around with more bikes and started to fix mopeds for friends.
In 1986 I started my apprenticeship at a big Mercedes garage in Hamburg. The tinkering was now a thing of the past and systematic, precise work respecting factory requirements replaced the try and error method. After 3 ½ years education and work on all sorts of cars, trucks and busses and the profound and deep theoretical schooling I got my ‘Gesellenbrief’, the certificate of competence as a mechanic. But instead of staying at Mercedes, I followed my passion and worked in a comparatively rather shabby motorbike garage which imported 70s bikes from the US. I was responsible for getting the old bikes running and up to spec. During that time, beside the work on bikes (and riding them basically night and day), I purchased my childhood dream 4wd – a ’74 Series 3 Landrover- in a rather sorry state. Sure enough a complete dismantle and refurbishment of all parts brought her back to former glory. Very exciting years of passionate motoring followed and some of the voyages with the trusty Landrover took me through the Sahara and as far a Senegal in West Africa. Working there for about a year opened up my eyes for a complete different world as a mechanic. The way they tackled mechanical problems in machines challenged my education.
If you get a mal-sounding machine, you have some sort of expectation what’s wrong before you opening it – after opening you are looking for the odd, irregular signs ….but if you see that somebody was there before you and fixed things with wood and wire – you have to think again….In Africa I learnt a lot about what is possible.
Nevertheless – back in Germany after 18 months abroad I signed in for the highest trade degree achievable in Germany and studied 9 months fulltime to get the “Master” title.
As the passion for real 4x4s had grown substantially during those long range trips I worked mainly in 4wd vehicle specialised Garages during the 2000s. But in order to make it not too much one sided I had another 2 years in a motorbike shop as well.
Equipped with that experience and knowledge I started my own business in 2010, in 2015 the move to New Zealand brought me back to employed work. The desire to serve my customers my way quickly got me back into self employment with the foundation of Insync Mechanics. I am now happy to use my experience here in Aotearoa New Zealand to serve customers who are seeking more than the fast and cheap service.