I have grown up spending quite a lot of time with FNG mechanics from the Premier Padmini days back in the 90s.
If you are not well versed with your car, do avoid FNGs & stick to the company service centers unless you are sure about an FNG who is honest & meticulous about the small details.
Reasons-
Most of the FNGs goof up with the exact fluid level or grade that is required for the particular car. Refer to the car’s owner’s manual or the service manual if you can get hold of one.
Many FNGs lack modern pieces of equipment. Old or non-compatible equipment may further damage your car.
The exact torque on which a certain bolt needs to be tightened is most often overlooked and they end up tightening it more than the required torque/specs.
There is a big scam that goes on with the spare parts.
For example, Duster AWD uses shock absorbers from Monroe. If you buy it from outside or from a website like Boodmo, it will cost you 5.5k per piece. Now if you buy the same shock absorber with Renault/OEM badging, it will cost you Rs 8k+. Now by paying 3k extra in the service center, you get a piece of mind of a 6 months/1 year warranty which you won’t get outside.
Now coming to another point. Let’s take the Duster AWD as an example. Parts like the brake pads, shock absorber, and a few more components vary from other Dusters. If you give your Duster to an FNG who is not aware of these changes will end up getting the spares from a 110 ps or an 85 ps Duster which will eventually give up or won’t fit or will damage the car further. But if the owner knows about these minute details about his car he can definitely give his car to a FNG. Trust the FNGs who ask for your car’s vin number to procure the exact spare parts.
FNGs use different types of spares. Refurbished spares, spares from scrapped cars, compatible spare parts made by local manufacturers, spares by branded manufacturers, OEM spares, and spares from the old lot or from the failed QC lot which they can buy for cheap or they repair a particular spare part instead of replacing. For example, one can change the steering rack or it can be sent to the lathe too! So the owner must be aware of what exactly is going on with his car.
Another point is, that a guy working at a Renault workshop will easily open up a Duster than a guy who works in an FNG and deals with multiple cars from different brands. So a trained mechanic from a service center generally pinpoints the exact cause of the problem faster than the FNGs.
But then there are many cases where the service center guys failed or gave a hefty estimate where the FNG guy detected the exact cause and sorted the issue at a very reasonable rate.
Identifying which parts actually need to be replaced and which parts have been included to unnecessarily inflate the bill is important.
The new cars always get software updates from time to time. These won’t be available in a FNG.
The body shop is another important factor. For eg VAG/Skoda cars come with MIG welding, so in case of welding work is required and the FNG is unaware of exactly what welding is required on which parts like spot welding or MIG or any other, this can lead to safety hazards later on.
The paint booth is another factor. Do they have a heat chamber or what quality of paint are they using?
So, before giving your car you need to evaluate which will be more suitable for the kind of work you require. If you are well versed with your car’s minor details and you know you can guide the FNG mechanics on how you need your work to be done, then you can go ahead with an FNG.
Now one may ask, are company-authorized service centers 100% trustworthy?
The answer is no. As this thread is on the FNGs, I skipped going into that part.
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