THE jack and spanner were once the best friends of mechanics and those who simply enjoyed tinkering with cars at the weekend.

But those days are fast fading from view with increasingly complicated technology and electronics dominating the make up of most modern vehicles.

Sadly, hand-held manual tools are no longer up to the job.

However, if, like Steven Taylor, director of Kendal's Lakeland Car Centre, technology is your passion, the complicated processes within modern cars present an opportunity to develop skills to an entirely new level.

Having qualified as a mechanic more than 20 years ago, Steven and his team are leading the way on vehicle diagnostics as one of just 300 Bosch Car Service Centres in the country.

Specialist equipment, stringent standards and a tough and unique training regime mean the Mintsfeet Road-based centre is now at the coal face of engine repair.

Steven said: "Bosch make around 90 per cent of car components across the world.

"So we go through a continuously updating training programme to ensure we know how those components work - not just what to replace on a particular make and model.

"That means we have the knowledge on how the parts work, not just how to replace them if there's a problem."

Traditionally, a mechanic would have to assess which area of the engine was faulty when presented with a problem by a vehicle owner.

They would then have to investigate that area and test individual parts until the faulty component was located and repaired or replaced.

But state of the art Bosch equipment signposts exactly where the fault lies for the technicians within minutes.

A unique automotive laptop style computer, programmed with detailed information on the mechanics, wiring and electronics of most of the makes and models available in the UK, can be plugged directly into the engine.

From here, the team can even print out a reading from an individual vehicle to show the owner where the fault lies.

Steven added: "This also means that once we know where the problem is, we can give the customer a quote for the work and they don't have to worry that the price will spiral depending on what the garage finds once it is on the ramp.

"Another bonus is that we can plug the equipment in to the car while it is being driven by the owner - so we can pinpoint a problem that only becomes apparent at a certain speed."

The extremely high standards set by Bosch mean Lakeland Car Centre is subject to checks from a number of mystery shoppers sent in by the company every year.

Garages which fail to meet the level of service and effectiveness are removed from the Bosch network to preserve the integrity of the service.

"You can have a car serviced here without invalidating the dealer warranty, which is one of the reasons why the standards have to be so high," added Steven.

"But if you are doing the job properly, you've got nothing to fear from mystery shoppers - who shouldn't be treated any differently from the customers we meet every day."