Mark: Hi, it's Mark from Remarkable Speaking. I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver. Vancouver's best auto service experience, 24 time winners best auto repair in Vancouver is voted by their customers. And we're talking cars. How you doing, Bernie?
Bernie: Doing very well.
Mark: So today's victim is a 2016 Porsche Macan that needed some service. What was going on with this vehicle?
Bernie: Yeah, basically it was due for a B service based on mileage and time. And that's that's what we did on the vehicle. That's why it came in.
Mark: So what is a B service?
Bernie: So, a B service, I mean, this is typical for most cars. Sometimes there's specific things we do on, on individual vehicles, but our B service involves an oil and filter change, engine oil and filter change and full vehicle inspection. So we pull the wheels off, we look at the brakes, we measure the brakes. Steering suspension inspection. We rotate the tires if needed and possible, some cars you can't rotate the tires. Sometimes it's not necessary, but we do that. Of course, adjust tire pressures, inspect lights look at all your fluids, belts, hoses, test the battery and charging system.
Most of the time, it depends on the car, there are some cars where the battery is very difficult to access, so we don't do a battery test, but generally you can tell the health of the battery based on the vehicle operation. We also do for most vehicles, we do a complete vehicle computer scan.
So we'll hook up a scan tool, we'll do a complete vehicle scan. We can scan all the computer modules, see if there's any codes that are of any issue. Most of the time, especially on a European model like a Porsche, sometimes a lot of codes just set because the battery went a little low one day and all the modules recorded a low battery code. So we'd usually just clear those codes and sometimes it makes the vehicle perform a little better, but usually there's no difference. And a lot of those codes are kind of superfluous, but nonetheless, it's a good idea to look at it and just see if there's anything there that's important. I think that pretty much covers it.
Mark: So you have a checklist that you follow, essentially that's, how many items are on that checklist that when you do this kind of service?
Bernie: Well, I wouldn't say there's a number like, you know, a lot of places it's 151 point inspection. Ours is a digital inspection. And the digital inspection is kind of flexible. Like there are many things on there on this digital inspection that may or may not be relevant to the vehicle such as you know, if it's a diesel, there are certain things we look at, or if it's an electric vehicle, there would be other things we would look at.
And actually an EV inspection is actually simpler than an internal combustion engine inspection. So I don't have a number of points, but I think I kind of went over some of the items that we look at there. And I mean, if you actually had to make a number of points, it's probably 150 to 200 points if we want to go to that. It's seems like almost an antiquated term these days, but, you know, technology moves on. It's a thorough inspection.
Mark: And you're looking for prevention of big problems in the future. So if a belt is worn and the car's running fine right now, but it's cracked and it could fail in the next five or 10,000 kilometres. That's the kind of stuff that you're looking to find and prevent catastrophic problems.
Bernie: That is exactly what we're trying to do. And so we look for things like are there oil leaks? And the other thing I didn't mention is we do look at the maintenance schedule for the vehicle based on the mileage.
So there are certain things recommended based on time and mileage. Things like spark plugs, fuel injection services. Some of those aren't recommended by the manufacturer, but we have recommendations for those that we find are important, you know, fluid changes. There's certain fluids that are recommended at certain intervals.
So these are all things we look at, but yeah, it's exactly right. It's preventative maintenance. It's like an airplane, you know, that's why airplanes are so reliable, because they have a schedule and there's things that are inspected and things that are replaced just because, you know, we don't want the plane to fall out of the sky or fail when it's about to take off. You wanna know it's bulletproof. And that's the best way to have your car running too. It saves you money in the long run.
Mark: So do you have an image of the Macan?
Bernie: I do have an image in the Macan. Don't have the image too much else, but I do have a picture of the car. So there's our beautiful 2016 Macan. It's Vancouver and it was actually, you can see a bit of snow on the ground, which is unusual for late February, early March.
Mark: So were there any other items that required service or repair?
Bernie: Yeah, so for this what was due, there was some filters to be replaced. So we replaced the engine air filter and we replaced the cabin air filter. This vehicle has about, I think 58,000 kilometres, so it's still pretty low mileage. Quite low actually for the age of the vehicle. So those filters were due for replacement. Nothing much else. It would definitely recommend a GDI, gasoline direct injection service for next time the car comes in. But right now everything's pretty good.
Mark: And how often does this vehicle need a B service?
Bernie: Well, I'd say generally every year or two. On this vehicle probably every two years based on how much this person is driving. So you know, they don't drive a lot. I'd say an A service would be due in a year from now. B Service about two years. The A service is basically an oil and filter change and a basic inspection. You know, more of a visual sort of look over, without pulling the wheels off and things like that.
Mark: So you service a lot of Porsche vehicles. How are Macans for reliability?
Bernie: They're pretty good. We've run into, you know, few problems. I mean, we don't see a lot of this particular vehicle, but all the ones we've worked on have just really been maintenance only. So they've been quite reliable so far. There'll probably some issues that unfold as the future develops, but so far they've been quite good. But it's a nice vehicle. I like them, they're good.
Mark: If you're looking for service for your Porsche or Porsche in Vancouver, the people to see are Pawlik Automotive. You can reach them at their website to book pawlikautomotive.com,. Or you can call them (604) 327-7112 to book your appointment. You have to book ahead. They're always busy. Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC Canada. Thanks so much for watching and listening. We appreciate it. Thanks, Bernie.
Bernie: Thank you, Mark. And thanks for watching.
