Similarly he is really defensive with his tanks , and will reverse away as soon as they take one hit or so , whether it be a non snaring faust or a glancing AT gun shot , he bails outta there.
This sounds smart to me. Tell him to run infantry in front of his tanks to sight for them. This way other tanks and possibly AT guns will target the infantry first allowing your tank to get some shots off before retreating.
But pulling up taking a shot and repairing is a good way to gain vet and not lose the tank? You do not bleed any manpower. But you do not advance much either. And the enemy may guess where you are repairing and arty you hard. Or push you since they know your tank is weak and leaving the area.
If he is a defensive player maybe he should defend both his point and your point while you go offensive. He should also build mortar and arty out the ass. In a 2v2 you usually want just two points. Trying to get the 3rd means you are spread out and you will get 2v1'ed and run over.