So with many new cars imported to nigeria,i can see that many would be built to foriegn standards...Some countries sell new cars with out catalytic converters for the exhaust fumes and sell cars without other safety features that are mandatory in USA and yet these less enhanced cars will sell for the same price or more than the enhanced one will in USA where a catalytic converter is thousands of dollars for part alone.....America seems the cheapest place to buy a car in the wolrd because of the extras that come required in those cars and that they manufacture so many makes there....So in some asian countries,if one brought a car from america,when it needed repair,there would be parts problem even with the new car dealer proffessional repair department..if they could do it,it would be expensive............The most common thing with car repair in USA is the computer diagnostic where even the simplest of cars since before 2000 ,have computer interface to read all the cars internal vital function...the computer even tells me if the problem is in my tire....My 2007 car will isolate problem for me on the speedometer screen to say if the problem is the engine or tire or such,after that i must have mechanic plug computer into my car for the precise locatin in the engine that needs work,or if its a sensor needing replace...the sensor in a good car is usually the problem..the car will not start or the check engine light will show warning and when they check the car,all is well with the vital functions but the sensor to read the vital function is broken so it sends signal to say broken and stops car from operating until replace..(some sensors are not needed for car to run,but they design the sensor to guide the cars master computer and if the master computer did not get the signal,it will not route any command to the functions controling the engine,like fuel injection control is precise by computer and airflow is precise computer control..if sensor did not tell master computer hhow much is flowing,the master computer will not do anything and the whole engine will not operate)Most of this computer precision is not nessecary for the car to run,but it is designed in to the car to make the engine use less gas and give the best power and produce less pollution.............-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------HOW COMMON IS THE DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER AMONG ROAD SIDE MECHANICS IN NIGERIA? OR ARE THEY ONLY IN THE MODERN EXPENSIVE MECHANIC CENTERS?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If they dont have the computer to diagnose on road side mechanic,how can they know for sure about modern import car i know some things about car repair and even i get confused some times when electronic computer problem makes car behave like fuel problem or even transmission problem in old cars..and then the computer tells me correct it is simpler problem to replace 1 cheap sensor and sparkplug wires and distribution cap,all was much cheaper than doing fuel and transmission explorarion....---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I now get the full auto repair guide for my own make of car which is available in USA after only a few years of the cars 1st time sold as new...from there -they show how to take entire car apart and reassemble and also advise when special rare tools is the only option and to get proffesional help...the book does not offer computer diagnostic but it does provide the solution repair method in full detail after a computer has diagnose the problem.....My own advice is to aquire the repair manual for any car being brought from USA,they are not very expensive and can do much help for any one interested in knowing thier car well....After more than 10 years with one car and dealing with its problems ,you will find that there are only so many problems that repeat every few years as the car gets old..A repair manual for full car rebuild can help some one master 1 car and maintain it to last a lifetime ,if it was originally a quality manufacture car...Even if you dont do the mechanic work yourself,you can use it to help your road side mechanic understand his service to your complex modern car...

Nice Post! How I wish the technicians could go for trainings as well to broaden their knowledge about what they do. But the problem is not far fetched, being an auto tech in Naij doesn't require any formal education, so what they do mostly is prescriptive replacement, rather than troubleshooting.

True talk! My engine check light came on one time. I did a scan and discovered it was an error code relating to my oxygen sensors. I went to a mechanic and in his word " Oga, leave am, na so 'Belgium' vehicles dey do. The light no mean anything, i go call 'rewire' wey go disconnect the light so e no go show again" On the flip side, many auto-diagnostic outfits have these diagnostic machines and don't have a clue as to what the codes mean. At one place, he scanned the car, the code showed up, i asked him what it meant (i already googled it and knew it was my O2 sensors), he didnt have a clue or what to do next even though the outfit claimed they were auto-mechanics too.

3 things they need

haynes manuals ---- £20


simple OBDII scanner tool --- cheapest is £10


auto data ---- this one is not cheap http://uk.autodata-group.com/products/online/online-3

OP, you are talking about people who think Toyota comes from heaven.

We learn from event, and issues a lot of people have things to learn its just not going to be cheap/free.

Mechanics in the west go through college, and when you try to advise car owners some are far gone with what their mechanic says they can't even understand that the car is telling them the problem with the check engine light.

No mechanic in the west will dare try to repair without pulling the diagnostic codes first unless its a maintenance work.

You will notice most will pay the mechanic to mess the car up first before they come online for a miracle instead of searching online first before going to a mechanic with an understanding of what needs to be done.

sultaan: OP, you are talking about people who think Toyota comes from heaven.

We learn from event, and issues a lot of people have things to learn its just not going to be cheap/free.

Mechanics in the west go through college, and when you try to advise car owners some are far gone with what their mechanic says they can't even understand that the car is telling them the problem with the check engine light.

No mechanic in the west will dare try to repair without pulling the diagnostic codes first unless its a maintenance work.

You will notice most will pay the mechanic to mess the car up first before they come online for a miracle instead of searching online first before going to a mechanic with an understanding of what needs to be done.

I think we should teach them to google/ search the internet 1st and get an idea what is wrong with car and go to the mechanic with a knowledge of what might be wrong especially electrics and chech engine light

my the way WHAT IS AN REWIRE is that an auto electrician or based on the name someone who just wait to rewire and electrical problem ?

REWIRE.................... Destroy the existing cables and put in your own based on gut feel