What your mechanic is really doing?

12 May 2002

What your mechanic is really doing
 
May 12 2002
If  you  have  ever wondered what happens  to  your  car when  you  take  it  to  a  garage,  then  a  text
message might just be able to help. 

In-car  tracking  systems  are usually  intended  to  keep  tabs  on  stolen  cars, but  the  technology  can
have additional benefits, as one Manchester man recently found out. 
The man, known only as Mr G, purchased a global positioning  satellite  system called TrakM8  from
Dorset firm Interactive Projects. 
TrakM8 can be set to send an SMS text message to a mobile phone for a variety of purposes such as
if the driver has broken down or is in other difficulties. 
It also has a feature that alerts the driver via SMS when the car is going above the speed limit. 
Caught  out 
This feature proved revealing when Mr G took his car in for a routine service. 
When the car should have been in the garage, he received a series of SMS messages telling him that
his BMW was actually speeding through the streets of Manchester. 
"Someone was obviously driving it with some welly and I wasn't too happy as it was a new car," said
Mr G. 
"I called  the garage with  some pretty angry messages and  the  service manager couldn't believe  it
and nearly died of embarrassment," he explained. 
"The really funny thing was that he had fitted the system two days earlier,"  Satisfying moment 
This added benefit of the TrakM8 system could prove useful for people keen to keep an eye on their
mechanic's use of their car, said Karen Knapton of trakm8 Limited. 
"We would have  loved  to  see  the service manager's  face when he was shown  the action  replay of
the abused car," she said. 
"It must have been one of those satisfying moments. 
"We all know this kind of thing happens but it's great to be able to prove it," she said.