Before you buy a car, everyone tells you how expensive cars are to keep on the road and how you will end up broke until you sell the car. Your parents, who have never bought a car are telling you so, and so are your older siblings, who don’t own a bicycle. However, you decide to go against their advice and buy yourself a rumion, passo sette from the bond or even a spacio from a kibanda.

You just bought your car from a Kampala bond, car dealer or individual seller

The day you purchase your car is one of the best days of your life; everything feels new, especially for those that buy from the bond. If you bought from a Kibanda or an individual seller, your fun normally stops when you hit a marrum or pothole road. The new car quickly loses its appeal after all. This phase is when you start wanting to visit a mechanic, but if you did not have Arthur handle the pre-purchase inspection, chances are high you don’t know which mechanic to go to. But if Arthur Kisenyi did the inspection, you are furious because he should have seen all these faults. Either he lacks the necessary knowledge about cars, or he harbours a malicious intent to allow you to drive away with such a defective car. 

You call Arthur, and he tells you to calm down, but you can’t; the car feels old, yet you have just bought it. He directs you to a mechanic, who, after inspecting the car, tells you that there is no problem and that your concerns should not worry you. However, you insist that he should get under the car and figure out something. 

The mechanic removes the tires and several other components that you are unfamiliar with, and he informs you that a few parts require pressing and some bushes need to be replaced. Confident that the work should resolve the issue, you pay the 200k and depart, only to find the problem persists.

Visiting your first ‘own mechanic’

You decide to visit a high-end garage with concrete floors and a roof over the cars because the first mechanic, who worked in a soil-floored and temporary-looking structure, seemed inexperienced. You desperately want to make your car sound as new as you imagined it. You will pay all the consultation and diagnosis fees if they fix the issue. They diagnose the same problem as the first mechanic, but these new ones tell you that the issue is the substandard parts the previous mechanic put in. They recommend a trusted brand of bushes for your car, a recommendation many mechanics overlook due to its high cost. You boldly say that if it will solve the problem, they should throw away the newly installed spares and put in the recommended ones. As you walk around the lobby of the executive garage. Imagine how many people are losing money from the quack garages because they don’t know about the professional garages. You smile and nod; you made the right decision. 

A few minutes later the technician with gloves comes to you and informs you that your car has been worked on successfully, but you will need to pay extra for the wheel alignment. He informs you that quack mechanics would not recommend this, but it is the right thing to do. You ask if they need to go to another garage, and he says they do everything in-house. You tell him to go ahead with a giant smile on your face. You nod again as the receptionist hands you a bottle of water, glad that you decided to come here.

The bill is three times what you paid at the first garage, but you’re happy because the environment is solid, and you know the car will be as good as new. 

An hour later on your way home, you almost want to cry because the problem wasn’t solved. 

You call Arthur and complain about how he made you buy a faulty car; he tells you to take the car back to his mechanic and that any remaining work will be done for free. However, you had another garage replace almost everything, so now it will look awkward. You don’t call Arthur again until the next inspection. 

This is not over; I will continue later…