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DOES "MAINTENANCE" INCLUDE REPAIRS?

15th June 1920, Page 17
15th June 1920
Page 17
Page 18
Page 17, 15th June 1920 — DOES "MAINTENANCE" INCLUDE REPAIRS?
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

This Contributor, Replying to " Vectis," States that He Has Not Confused " Maintenance " with "Repairs."

By "Vim."

DEALING WITH a recent article of mine, on the danger of manufacturers encouraging users to run their vehicles without adequate repairs, " Vectis " suggested that I have confused " maintenance " with "repairs." His argument to show that no harm is likely to result from advertising unique performances of vehicles, which are claimed by their owners to have run immense distances almost without costing anything at all for repairs, was interesting and ingenious, but I am afraid that I still do not agree with him in his views. Far from confusing the meaning of the term " maintenance " with what is covered by the word "repairs,' they

-arc, to my mind, so closely allied in their application to commercial vehicles as to be very nearly, though not quite, synonymous.

To repair a thing does not necessarily imply to make good after an actual breakage. Not only in the motor trade, but more especially there, it signifies to remedy any and all of the effects of wear. The maintenance of a thing means its upkeep ; that is to say, the. preserving of it in a fit and proper state to perform its functions ; and, therefore, includes any repairs required to be done to it from -time to time. I am speaking of the two terms as commonly employed in the trade, not as given in the dictionary, and it will be seen that, vulgarly, " maintenance 'I has a wider significance than "repairs," but that the latter are included within its purview. The maintenance of my house embraces keeping its gutters clear, re-papering rooms when required, and putting up the garden fence when the wind blows it down. The maintenance of a motor vehicle does not stop short with liberally oiling and greasing it, but includes renewing shackle bolts as they become worn, taking up engine bearings, a coat of paint now and then, and even a new differential, should that useful item unkindly go out of business.

I believe I understand what " Vectis " was driving at in stating that a vehicle that run 50,000 miles at a net cost of 7id. for repairs was not a dangerous example to hold up to other users, because it proved the existence of an almost perfect system of maintenance, and must, therefore,' be an encouragement to all owners to go and do likewise. No doubt, his contention is that the user of the exemplary vehicle must have, either by himself or his driver, so scrupulously attended to the, matters of lubrication and tightening up of loose nuts as to have prevented any part from wearing to an extent that rendered renewals or adjustnaent necessary. If that were the case, well and good ; but I should like to meet that lorry! Besides, supposing the power of lubricant as an absolute preventive of -wear and tear to be as great as this, ought not the credit to have been given where it was due, and not confiscated by the makers of the chassis?

If, in truth, the owner or his driver performed any adjustments of the nature of letting together big-end

bearings, they repaired the vehicle. You can not call this work repairs when done at a public garage and charged for, and airily dismiss it as rnainteeance when carried out by the owner or his paid servant : otherwise, large users who employ their own staffs of skilled mechanics can never be said to spend anything on repairs, beyond the bare cost of replacement parts. • I submit that no motor vehicle has ever run 50000 miles—or, for the matter of that, 10,000 miles, without costing many, many times 7id. for repairs; not, perhaps in actual cash expenditure, but either in skilled labour put in by its driver, or ifl,. stored up wear and tear that must eventually be met in cash. For, imagining it to be possible to build a chassis that would carry goods over 10,000 miles of road surface, and yet suffer no deterioration whatsoever, it would follow that the next 10,000 miles would have no effect, and so on, and on, for as long as one wished.

To be brutally frank, the delighted owner who writes to tell' a manufacturer that his lorry has cost nothing, or next to nothing, for repairs during a considerable mileage, is living in a fool's paradise, unless he has only made the mistake of counting his or his driver's time as worthless. If it is a fact that no adjustments or corrections for wear at all have been made during the period, then they will have to be made, and paid for, some day. He might as well say that, in 10,000 miles, he has been at no expense 'for tyres, though all their useful. life -has ebbed away with every turn they have done. Why does he not, write to his tyre makers and inform them that " have now travelled 10,000 miles with my lorry, and have not spent a penny on tyres since I had your tyres fitted ? Would he be prepared to lump the entire cost of renewing those tyres against the very last mile they did before becoming too worn out for further effort?

Believe me, I am not out to split hairs on -this question. It *as because experience has shown me that the average user does not, in the least, realize the vital importance of spending money regularly and wisely on repairs—call them maintenance, if you will— that I wrote " Bogies Raised by Manufacturers," and I do most earnestly hope that manufacturers will do all in their 'power to spread abroad the gospel of a-stitch-in-time-saves-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine in the ultimate cost of maintaining their lorries and' vans. I know the great value of testimonialsin , sales promotion, and how hard it is to resist crowing over an exceptional performance of one's goods in private hands; but bigger interests than sales are ,at stake.

As one. who comes into contact with average users, it is my emphatic opinion that the majority of them are impressed with the idea that their vehicles should run thousands of miles, and not need any mechanical attention. Where they have got that idea from, ie more than I can say, but I have a suspicion that norepairs testimonials have had something to do with it ; or, let us put it, that such testimonials have ericouraged. them in a fond 'notion, which is natural enough to business men who want to get as much as they .an for•their money There is no 'all to drop .eestimonials , altogether. Oneanake of chassis will stand up to its job better than another, and will, therefore, cost less to keep in efficient repair. Its makers are justified in claiming the credit for this. But, when they publish testimonials of astounding mileages without repairs, the declarations should be accompanied by footnotes explaining that the owners have been able to bring about these fortunate results by devoting constant and most careful attention to adjustments, cleaning, and lubrication, and because they bought So-and-so vehicles. As a hint, it should be added that their proud possessors have, by now, accumulated nice little sums, allowing only so many pence per mile, against the complete overhauls which will shortly become desirable. Toned down in this way, there would be no excuse for another owner to run away with the belief that znotor vehicles do not demand proper attention, and are constructed to work day in and day cute for months, even years, on end. To thoeeereaders who are accustomed to dealing with organized transport services, it may appear absurd of me seriously to suggest that anybody has run away with this belief ; but it is a very common one, nevertheleesaparticularly amongst the newest converts to motor transport.

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