Back to all

New School: Automotive Tuffy Ocala Technician Training

July 29, 2018

Ocala consumers are demanding. We want a safe, reliable vehicle that handles well and is comfortable to ride in. Oh, and we want good fuel economy, too. We also want vehicle repairs that are cheap, fast and easy. Unfortunately, one usually comes at the cost of the other.

Today's vehicles have made significant improvements in reliability and performance over the last few decades. They also deliver more power to Ocala drivers more efficiently than ever before. For example, some of today's 4-cylinder engines are equal to yesterday's V-8's. Our vehicles also offer an amazing range of features that make them more comfortable and convenient than ever before.

But all of that improvement has come at a price for Ocala vehicle owners. Our vehicles are more complicated and difficult to repair than ever before. They have numerous mechanical and electrical systems. Fuel systems are so complex they have to be run by a computer. Our vehicles are covered with sensors and high-tech electronic equipment. Our dashboards rival the control panel of the first manned space flight.

With all that complicated equipment, it's no wonder we call mechanics service technicians these days. You can't learn to repair vehicles in the backyard with your dad anymore. Today's Tuffy Ocala technicians have to go to school. School may come in the form of classroom instruction, online courses or both. Technicians are also trained on-site at the Ocala service centers where they work (including Tuffy Ocala) to keep them abreast of constant improvements in vehicle engineering, diagnostic equipment and repair techniques.

Today's technicians need to be certified to work on our vehicles. They can earn a variety of certifications in Florida, but the highest of these is Master Technician. It's like a graduate degree in auto repair.

Vehicle repair at Tuffy Ocala in Ocala requires more than just training and certification, though. It also takes information and creative thought. Ocala area auto service centers subscribe to data services, technical libraries and online repair communities in order to get the information they need to: work on various makes and models of vehicles, get recommended maintenance schedules, learn about non-standard features and locate hard-to-find parts in an unusual engine. They also use this information to help diagnose rare or difficult vehicle problems. Many auto repair problems also require a bit of creative thinking for the team at Tuffy Ocala to solve. Ocala service technicians at Tuffy Ocala act much like doctors in these situations. They're given a set of symptoms, and they have to come up with a diagnosis and treatment that will fix the problem. This process becomes as much of an art as it is a science.

A proper diagnosis, even by a highly qualified technician, can take time. And a technician's time is going to cost us. It's just the price of progress.

Of course, the best vehicle care for Ocala vehicle owners is planned preventive auto maintenance. This is also the least costly way to keep your vehicle in good repair. Regular inspections and replacement of worn parts will prevent most repairs from ever being needed in the first place.

And with the amazing complexity of today's automobiles, isn't it good to know there's someone out there with the knowledge, training and skill to give us good auto advice? Whether we need preventive maintenance or repairs, the team of automotive professionals at Tuffy Ocala can help us keep our vehicles on the road. We just can't do it on our own anymore.

Tuffy Ocala
2105 Southwest College Road
Ocala, Florida 34471
(352) 690-6111

More articles from Tuffy Ocala

Let?s Shift Gears (Transmission Fluid Replacement)

April 14, 2024

If you have a vehicle with an automatic transmission, you probably never think about gear shifting. When motor vehicles were invented, all of them had to be shifted manually. But that wonderful self-shifting transmission, referred to these days as simply an automatic, changed everything. Automa... More

The Little Valve that Could (PCV Valve Replacement)

April 7, 2024

It's easy to get letters like PVC and PCV mixed up. PVC is a plastic that's used in a lot of things, especially plumbing pipes. And PCV is a valve that helps your engine burn off excess fumes rather than having them pollute our atmosphere. PCV stands for positive crankcase ventilation. When y... More

Slipping into Fall (Driving with ABS Brakes)

March 31, 2024

As the weather changes over from hot to colder, drivers will have to deal with more slippery streets. And it's important to know how to drive with the brakes you have on your vehicle. In the 1970s, anti-lock braking systems (ABS) started to be installed on vehicles and they've been a game chang... More