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Mechanic directory
I think Aptera Motors should get started on a directory of mechanics who are willing to work on the Aptera. Create a “Find A Mechanic” page on their website so if someone gets into an accident they can look one up. This would be very important on a trip out of town, where you will not have access to your regular mechanic. Even if you do your own work, you may not be able to fix your Aptera if you are injured or simply don’t have all of your tools with you when you have a mishap away from home.
I mentioned the Aptera to the mechanics in a shop that was working on our F150 truck and had to listen to another customer tell me that he used to work for the electric company and ev’s were no good; the battery replacement would cost more than the car; I would wind up stranded; a little lady should drive something that can be trusted,; etc., etc. for about 15 minutes. Most of the employees were nodding in agreement, since ICE is near and dear to their hearts, and they would NEVER be one of those weenies in an ev. “Autocycle? H— no! Harley/dual wheels/belching diesel/extreme decibels all the way! HooRah!”
(** Okay, he didn’t say “little lady” since I was as tall as he was, but that “I know better than a mere girl” tone was definitely there. I didn’t bother to enlighten him to the facts, since it was not worth my time. His mind was made up.)
Needless to say, this is pretty common. I’ve already experienced it twice, with a third shop at least being polite about saying no until I paid the bill and was out the door. Trying to find a good, honest ICE-qualified mechanic is already hard enough without having to listen to the condescension rampant in the industry when it comes to evs. I’ve had no luck finding one in my town so far. The prospect of finding one on one of our frequent trips to the big city (two hours away and filled with insane drivers) while standing on the roadside makes me shudder.
It will take some time to build a data base large enough to be useful, so this project should be started asap. I personally would love to see it include a specific mechanic’s name (and even a photo), along with the name/address/info of the shop so I could ask for them specifically if the need arises.
Aptera – please consider doing this as a safety net for those of us who believe in you and are early adopters.
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23 Replies
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Mechanic directory
updated 2 months ago
12 Members
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23
Replies
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Agree! Might be a hard sell to the busy mechanic to take on a vehicle that is not in production but hope to find some that are like minded as you and I.
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Interesting listening to obsolescence in the making isn’t it? I am wondering how Aptera would go about this. I had figured their approach was simply to provide everything needed, including how to information and it was up to us to find someone to do the work. There is always risk in recommending people unless you have a qualification program.
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I wasn’t so much suggesting that the Aptera would need repairs due to the product – more like if one got into an accident. On a trip, it could be hard to locate someone.
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I like the idea of some kind of qualification program.
I’ve had a good experience talking to my mechanic about Aptera. He’s interested in the vehicle and learning how to work on it. So maybe we customers could send candidates’ contact info to Aptera who could get in touch with them. I agree: now is the time.
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This reply was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by William Manewal.
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This reply was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by
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I too spoke to the owner of a local repair shop. He , in general, is an amazing mechanic. He asked me to bring my Aptera around to assess future repairs.
Even the owner of the cart repair shop said Stop By!
The town here is basically a 55-+ giant community and Electric golf carts are “ the other car “😉
You may want to find out if members in your local EV chapter/clubs may be interested too ? We have members that have converted ICE’s to Electric. So Aptera would be a “piece of cake” for the likes of them! Just some “ back up thoughs” until we learn all options
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I agree with the premise of this request, but I suggest that it be expanded in scope to include Aptera owners who can make entries for any mechanic/shop they find who will service their Aptera. It could be using Wikipedia base software so it is accessible to everyone with Internet access.
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I just got our golf cart back from the shop yesterday. The owner/mechanic said that he was short on mechanics, as his best one just left town for cheaper places to live in North Florida. He also told me that there is not a single mechanic doing EVs in the Keys, nor anyone to work on electric bikes, scooters, or wheelchairs. He gets a call every week for one of those.
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I remember when Solo was being introduced EM was thinking of using a national garage like Pep Boys for repairs
I do not know if that ever happened before EM’s Solo failed. But I know “ way back then” it would not be a possibility for Aptera.
( I never used national ( chain ) repair shops for my past ICEs )
Are there any national. ( chain ) repair shops that people had good experiences with for their ICE’s ?
EVs have minimal needs in my limited experience but echoed by many EV brand owners in the EV chapter events I attend
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An idea that Elio Motors had was to use a national chain…Pep Boys. It could be something that may make sense for buyers to have something that is recognizable to most as a go to place. Just throwing it out there, some shops may look at the APTERA and just get scared.
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This was the plan a few years ago and I believe it’s still holds true, at least for the beginning, till such time that certified shops are made known, I guess.
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It’s a good idea!
Perhaps start with a self registry with owner feedback to take the burden off of Aptera for creating the initial list. (I really want them focused on producing those cars!) There should be good open source software to handle this on a small to medium scale. (suggestions?)
As a “right to repair” supporter, with the stated plan to send the equivalent of “shop manuals” out, any decent mechanic should be able to repair an Aptera. Nice thing about that is, as Aptera is supplying the parts for repair, everything will be OEM!
It’s hard for me to imagine ones regular mechanic turning down work when the time comes. Mine is curious and want’s to work on EVs… sadly for him my Leaf needed so little work he never got the chance. I imagine my Aptera will need less work still.
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Self registry like apteramap.info
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Exactly! That works for me.
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A google map would work really well, if everyone helped to fill it up with good mechanics. I wouldn’t mind checking that for help, especially if the mechanic got good reviews. It’s not like they would be getting a LOT of work, unless they were located in a place where crashes happened a lot.
Think it would be possible to add the mechanics to the existing owners map?
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It would be possible, yes. The Map belongs to, and is maintained by, ….. Please reach out to him, maybe create a new custom icon for mechanics
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That’s kind of cool. I added my self, but as it is easy for someone to mess with the map and there are no printed instructions for how to use it I think something a bit more protected from mischief might be in order. I lack the skills to create such things these days, but perhaps someone with some time might look into it.
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Not that I’m holding it to him, but my son-in-law owns an independent automobile service business in Marin County in the SFBay area and he said he’d service them if and when they went into production.
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This reply was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by Paul Kirchner.
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Nice… I’m not super far from there…
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This reply was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by
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What is probably going to happen is Aptera will get what the FJ Cruiser, Jeep, CJ7, etc.. communities thrive off of which are online forums. There will only be one and it’ll be where everyone goes to for upgrades, replacing bad parts, how to handle the inevitable “oh you have a 2024, all those had a bad [fill in the blank]” discussions. I doubt more than a few will take these to a mechanic for anything and that every city pretty much now has an “EV only” shop as mentioned in one of the latest AOC videos.
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Hi all,
This is a good idea, but probably will not happen until the vehicle is in production. There are some mechanics that would be willing to work on electric vehicles, but don’t get to because they are swamped with the higher maintenance ICE vehicles.
I have been a mechanic for over 25 years and have no ill feelings about EVs. I own and drive a Leaf to work almost every day. The Aptera was a dream come true for me. I am sure there are other capable people and mechanics that would be willing and able to work on EVs. They just need to be found and put on a list.
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Thanks for what you do!
I see a national repair that they are getting into EV repair https://youtu.be/MrmQfjLXoN4
I never use their services but “nice to know”
I know my EV brand’s local dealership only has 2-3 EV trained mechanics I trust this this will improve🤞
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Thx for the research Len. I believe it would make sense to have a nationwide company affiliated with electric vehicles. In this case, it’s possible for APTERA to actually even make money hooking up with a national chain since information for repairs would be available to all. The option would be great to have, along with peace of mind.
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