Audi Cam Lets You Bug Your Mechanic via Video Stream
Audi Cam Lets You Bug Your Mechanic via Video Stream
Posted 07/07/2010 at 6:37am
| by Paul Lilly
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Did your car really need new muffler bearings and was it actually low on blinker fluid, or did your mechanic take you for a ride? You may never know (we do - he took you for a ride). To help put your mind at ease (and maybe to get back at its staff for joining a union), Audi is test driving a new program called Audi Cam.
The way it works is when you drop off your Audi for repair, you end up tethered to your mechanic with a two-way radio and headset video camera. You're then whisked away to the waiting room, where you can watch your mechanic's every move and, for better or worse, communicate with him as he works, and vice versa.
Snarkiness aside, we can see where this would be useful, both for the mechanic and the customer. We can also see where it would be incredibly annoying, at least for the repair guy. Either way, Audi Cam so far is only available in Europe.
Image Credit: Audi via autoblog.com
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mesiah
July 07, 2010 at 4:06pm
I don't know how it works on the other side of the pond, but I have been in my fair share of shops in the states over the years. This would be a disaster. 90% of the time your car is sitting in the shop it isn't being worked on. Your mechanic is either waiting for parts, reviewing a manual, shooting the shit with his buddies, or taking a dump.
I would love to see some soccer mom sitting in the waiting room watching her mechanic take a dump while checking out a porno mag.
Biceps
July 07, 2010 at 2:12pm
"This is God Speaking - if you want to go to heaven, listen carefullly: I command you to replace the entire engine of the car you working on with chromed parts, put in a blower, add a nitrous system, then rotate the tires... then bill the whole shebang as an oil change."
someuid
July 07, 2010 at 10:30am
This would be a disaster. If you are taking your car to a mechanic, that means you don't know how to fix it.
If you don't know how to fix it, the only thing you can do is slow down the mechanic, not help him.
I do not like it when users play 20 million questions with me when I am trying to fix their computer.
stradric
July 07, 2010 at 8:42am
These guys probably get paid like $80 / hour. Screw them if they feel annoyed.
jlh304
July 07, 2010 at 10:53am
Most of them don't even make half of that $80/hr you think they should be paid. But even if they did make that much money why would that mean people can annoy them. Besides in the states these guys get paid by flat rate and if they are wasting time talking with you they can't make any money. So you would be annoying them and taking money out of their pocket.
bj1888
July 08, 2010 at 6:06am
http://tinyurl.com/26f28gb
$131k a year as a "Master Mechanic" makes me rethink whether I should be going into debt for law school. I'll be lucky to make $131k a year when I graduate, not to mention the crazy hours I'd have to work to make that.
For the "math," it works out to about $65/hr if you use 40hr weeks and 2 weeks of vacation. It only goes up with more vacation, which is always a possibility with a German-owned company. Either way, the mechanics are doing alright.
As far as people bugging their mechanics, I don't see it being a common problem. I'm sure there are some people who will bug the mechanics or service managers regardless of whether the mechanic is wired. And if one mechanic has multiple cars he's working on, to counter-act the parts delay, etc. mentioned above, who's going to sit in a waiting room and watch a tech work on someone elses car? Most people don't wait at the dealership for anything more involved than an oil change.
I think the underlying motive might be legal liability. I don't know about Audi dealerships in Europe, but most service shops here will take a customer out into the shop to see their vehicle and get explanations if they ask to. But by going out onto the floor, the shop exposes itself to liability if the customer gets hurt. Having the cameras/mikes for each mechanic might cost a good amount up front, but it's a lot cheaper than dealing with injured customers who sue. /legal rant
titan8813
July 07, 2010 at 10:09am
They make more money than I do, therefore they deserve to be annoyed while working.
huh?!
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