Excellent KA <-> TN Highway Mechanic: Rafiq (Kollegal) I drive a 20111 Ritz ZXI and have clocked 65000 km travelling mostly in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This post is an ode to a superb mechanic and his crew from the small town of Kollegal.
I was driving back to Bangalore from the Odeyarapalya on the Hasnur Ghat road at about 7.30 am near the Gundal Dam I heard a thud under the car the car speed was around 50 kmph. There were no jutting stones/major obstructions on the road. All I could detect was loose gravel with fist sized stones. Did a flying stone do the damage?
Stopping and examining the car and its underbelly did reveal a tiny drop of oil on the oil filter. Hoping that it was not a major leak and since the nearest town was only 5 km away I decided to limp it to Kollegal. My luck ran out with the oil indicator coming on one km before the town. The car wouldn't crank after I switched off.
A call to the Maruti ASS help line in Bangalore was pretty much inconclusive as anything from "leak leading to engine seizure" to have to tow it to Mysore/Bangalore were the options and diagnosis offered.
A few local souls prompted me to call Mr Rafiq a local car mechanic. Skeptical to say the least, knowing small towns and their timings, I reluctantly called the number offered. I was pleasantly surprised when he took a history and promised to send some one out to the car in 15 mins.
I took that with a pinch of salt as 15 mins has often stretched to two hours or more even in Bangalore.
I was surprised when a service mechanic arrived on the scene in exactly 15 mins. Even more surprised with the speed at which he changed the filter(MGA), filled in the oil(SHELL) and started the car. The service van had all equipment, including spare battery, towing rod, jump cabled, all fluids,jacks, tools and was super clean. (I have earlier had a Ford mobile team come without a jump cable in Bangalore for an office car fault) The mechanic insisted that I follow him to the garage for a complete pit inspection. The boss man was at the garage waiting for us even though it was much earlier than their usual opening time of 10 am. Mr Rafiq, the owner of the garage inspected the car himself, ensuring that there were no further leaks. He made out the bill, Oil 4 lts, filter and super surprise labour charges including driving out to the car and opening at odd times -Rs 300!
The Bill too was clearly made out with exact prices and VAT.
I would be very glad to recommend this hero to anyone traveling these hinterland roads.
Mr. Rafiq: 944807237 or 7795740356
His garage is on the Mahadeshwara College Road
Last edited by GTO : 9th June 2014 at 13:27.
Reason: Adding contact details to the opening post :)
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