Trusting An Auto Shop

[surfpup]

I think, like any business there are honest people and dishonest people. The longer I'm alive the easier it is to tell them apart pretty quickly. I've recently needed a water heater, a fridge repair, a full home A/C unit, and a new roof, so I feel the pain! Generally if the person is willing to shake your hand and look you in the eye while you talk about what the problem is then you are probably okay. I also prefer local people to chains - especially if you can talk directly to the owner/operator. Also never be afraid to question, negotiate, or explore alternatives. And it may help if they know you are likely to seek a second opinion/quote.

[retrorod]

Good point Surfpup...about using locals. We had our house built with a local Contractor (1-1/2 miles) away. We visited his home and several others that he built. Saw his work and are pleased.If a problem should arise, we know where to go.

 

I shy away from the 'slicky G' 'chain-type service centers, anymore.

I once went to a tire store for an front end alignment on my pickup. The 'slickyG' asked me if I wanted the "Good,Better or Best" alignment job,,,,

I quickly replied, "I want it aligned.....either it is or it ain't" in my opinion. How much for THAT job, Goober ?????

[Rosemarie]

I recently took my car to a reputable auto shop with an oil leak. I took it their in the morning. At noon they called back. My wife answered and I saw the look of horror on her face as she wrote $900 down and showed it to me. She then gave me the phone. They spent the morning looking for things on my car that needed repair. Tires, wiper blades, they said the power steering and brake systems needed flushed (something I've never heard of). The actual repair was under $200, but they said I needed to come back for another leak that they didn't have the part for yet. Is it common for shops to look for other problems? They just couldn't fix the leak? I f didn't feel like a customer as much as a source to mine profits from. There's a level of trust I just could not have with this mentality.

 

My husband is a mechanic (works at UPS fixing the trucks and has many more years experience as well) and in the 22 years we have been together, I have *NEVER* heard of flushing the brake system (unless you put a new master cylinder or brake lines on, of course) or flushing the steering system. A reputable place WILL look over your car and fix the issue you tell them about and will inform you of any other issues that are found and will let the customer decide if and when the job should be done.

 

Sounds to me like they are trying to pad the bill.

[milod]

I'm with Rosemarie... never heard of flushing steering or brake systems short of what she said - or concerns after a vehicle was half flooded or so, and even that latter usually wasn't needed.

 

m

[surfpup]

The 'slickyG' asked me if I wanted the "Good,Better or Best" alignment job,,,,

I quickly replied, "I want it aligned.....either it is or it ain't" in my opinion. How much for THAT job, Goober ?????

 

Nice!

 

Was that like partially aligned, nearly aligned, and actually aligned?

[Searcy]

If the shop is advising that's fine. If they are trying to scare you into a hard sell as Milo outlines with the old "I know you brought in in for a starter replacement but I don't feel safe putting this car back on the road without a full break job and some new tires for $600" then that's not fine.

 

For the record, as my day job I've been an industrial mechanic for 20+ year. I never pay anyone to work on my cars.

[btoth76]

...

For the record, as my day job I've been an industrial mechanic for 20+ year. I never pay anyone to work on my cars.

 

Me neither, except for body repairs. I don't have the right tools for that.

 

Automotive repair is a nasty business (with all my respect to exceptions). They lie like politicians. We have a folklore about this: once a mechanic told a lady, that Her car's "turn indicator is hitting the oil sump". That, - I think - tells all about how most repairsmen fool incompetent customers.

 

(Before You accuse me of putting a whole profession down: I did work in that field for a decade, and still surrounded by automotive technicians at my current company. And yes, there are honest people in that profession too, but it's very hard to find ones You can trust).

 

Cheers... Bence

[Rosemarie]

As others have said, there are honest and dishonest people in the automotive industry, but their are honest and dishonest people in *ALL* industries!

 

A good mechanic will look over your car thoroughly to evaluate the primary issue and determine how to remedy it. If, during the inspection, other issues are found the mechanic will and should inform the customer. They should physically show the issue to the customer and explain what the malfunctioning item does when it is working properly, how much the repair can cost and what could happen if the issue is left unattended. If the mechanic is honest, they give this information not to pad the bill, but so that the customer can make an informed decision.

 

Case in point, my husband recently did a transmission job where he had to replace the parking paw (the vehicle would roll in park). He informed the customer of the issue and what the remedy was as well as the cost for just replacing the parking paw. He also told her that he could rebuild the transmission to remedy the issue and address the cause for the parking paw breaking (an inner ring broke and lodged into the parking paw). He explained to the customer that if they just replaced the parking paw, more pieces could break off and the issue would be repeated. He left the ultimate decision about how to proceed to the customer. They knew how much both options would cost and what the outcomes of both options would be. The customer had all the information they needed to make their decision.

 

That is how it should work.

[Bender 4 Life]

a frightening practice used in repair shops re: "ABS" brake system indicator lights...

relayed to me by a friend that owns a repair shop, and evidently widely used by most shops.

warning light in dash comes on, new pads are installed, sometimes calipers IF they are dealing w/someone that doesn't really understand mechanics.

THEN

the bulb for the warning light is BROKEN, so it never bothers the driver again, and they think the shop did a GREAT job fixing their brakes.

 

ALL mechanic shops "manipulate the truth", it's how they make money.

 

another friend even caught our local Cadillac dealership repair shop in an outright lie, when he called them on it he was told to leave the property, not to return unless he wanted to be charged with tresspassing, threatened with legal action if he went public with what had happened.....AND his warranty was voided!

 

I drive an older truck so I can do ALL my own maintenance/repairs, so I know what's been done with it, and what quality parts were used.

same with Mrs.Bs SUV.

[badbluesplayer]

So I take my care in to fix an oil leak, and they try to sell me a set of tires? $700 worth of extras? I wouldn't expect that much b.s.from a quick oil change place. Somebody explain to me what a power steering flush or brake system flush is.

 

I won't be going back.

.....and by the way, My local Grease Spot is fantastic. I don't get all the "step out here, I want to show you something" crap. They just change my oil and send me on my way.

 

Was it a quick oil change place? If so, then that's why. Not that they're bad, but the only thing they do is change fluids. That's why they think that you should change the fluids.

 

Let them change the oil and take your car to a real mechanic if you need anything else fixed. Don't have work done at an oil changing place. They are not real mechanics.

[Rocky4]

Was it a quick oil change place? If so, then that's why. Not that they're bad, but the only thing they do is change fluids. That's why they think that you should change the fluids.

 

Let them change the oil and take your car to a real mechanic if you need anything else fixed. Don't have work done at an oil changing place. They are not real mechanics.

 

No, it was an independent repair shop.

[milod]

Having been brought up in a strange combination of academic study and a 1950s small town car and motorcycle dealership's shop, I'd say that my experience is that even complete integrity on the part of a mechanic often can lead to customer dissatisfaction once various work begins and hidden difficulties exposed. OTOH, yeah, we heard too much of scams even in the simpler-engined olden days.

 

I think a lot has to do with trust. I had some work done by folks I know and like and trust in terms of integrity - but their diagnosis and repair (long story here) ended up irrelevant to the real problem. That affected my professional, but not personal trust, for what that's worth.

 

Funny thing about self-performed work. I was raised in the shop, my little bro was too young. Guess which of us got all of Dad's tools and which of us today still does all of his own work if at all possible and which of us heads to a shop we trust? <grin>

 

Gimme the tools and a book and I think I could still pretty much rebuild anything on cars pre 1963, especially Chrysler Corp. or somewhat similar. After that... lessening percentages. I don't have a clue when it comes to fuel injection.

 

m

[Bender 4 Life]

Gimme the tools and a book and I think I could still pretty much rebuild anything on cars pre 1963, especially Chrysler Corp. or somewhat similar. After that... lessening percentages. I don't have a clue when it comes to fuel injection.

 

m

 

that's 1 area where Mrs.B. is definitely NOT the "average gal", and i'm very proud of her for it.

she spent enough time helping me build various performance engines in our early years together, that if I told her to "go yank the #3 piston and center main bearing out of my truck"....she'd know what tools & equipment to gather, and by Granny, she'd eventually come back inside waving the #3 piston & center main at me....and more-over, she'd be willing to do it.

any time I was in the engine compartment, she was right there being my tool/parts caddy, and if I became too tired, she'd straddle a motor-mount and do the work while I caddied.

[Guest Farnsbarns]

that's 1 area where Mrs.B. is definitely NOT the "average gal", and i'm very proud of her for it.

she spent enough time helping me build various performance engines in our early years together, that if I told her to "go yank the #3 piston and center main bearing out of my truck"....she'd know what tools & equipment to gather, and by Granny, she'd eventually come back inside waving the #3 piston & center main at me....and more-over, she'd be willing to do it.

any time I was in the engine compartment, she was right there being my tool/parts caddy, and if I became too tired, she'd straddle a motor-mount and do the work while I caddied.

My wife is much the same. I left her standing by our classic mini with the socket set out a couple of years ago and got side tracked. By the time I came out she had replaced her own alternator and belt.

[Versatile]

Much hard-won knowledge lurking hereabouts...

 

Knowledge is power as in most matters...

 

I only use the original dealer's garage for any services/tyres etc and have had satisfaction without excessive costs

 

It helps to have well trained female advisors too

 

Personally I would be cautious of the 'do it all' garages without specialist brand experience

 

And, as mentioned, modern vehicles are so electronics dependent as to preclude much of the old DIY maintenance possible a while back...

 

V

 

[badbluesplayer]

No, it was an independent repair shop.

Good. It sure sucks finding a good mechanic. When you do, hang on to 'em. Everybody needs a good car mechanic they can trust.

[heymisterk]

My suggestion is to go to Angie's List, pony up the membership fee, and look for shops that get good marks. In addition, the Car Talk page on NPR's website has shops that come recommended by listeners.

 

My shop is an independent shop, and while they are not the cheapest, they do good work and never try to sell me anything.

[Searcy]

My wife is much the same. I left her standing by our classic mini with the socket set out a couple of years ago and got side tracked. By the time I came out she had replaced her own alternator and belt.

 

My mother was the smallest of 4 kids who grew up on a tobacco farm. Because she was too little to do much else she was given the job of driving and maintaining the tractor when she was 7. My father was an Air Force pilot who was gone for long periods of time so my mother taught me to work on the cars with her. I replaced my first set of Mercedes Benz front breaks at 9 years old with her standing over my shoulder telling me " no, these are metric bolts. Don't use the standard wrenches, you'll round off the bolt heads." Been working on my own stuff ever since. My mother didn't work on cars because she liked doing it. She working on cars out of necessity. That's why she taught me to work on them. As soon as my parents were financially able to afford to pay people to work on their cars they started doing that but I kept working on my cars and eventually turned that ability to fix things into a living.

 

Now jump ahead to last year. My mother, now a nurse for the last 30 years, makes the 300 mile run from her home near Memphis to my house here in Nashville in her massive 1987 Cadillac Deville. As she knocks on the door She says "Can you look at my car? It's started making a funny noise." I check it out and find the water pump falling apart. So I run to NAPA and buy the biggest water pump I have ever seen in my life. This is a front wheel drive V8 mind you and it's tricky getting all 20 bolts out because of my big hands and the tight fit. I spent about 4 hours on the job and was having a rough time putting the last bolt back in when my hands started cramping up. I went in the house and sat down to take a break. My mother was feeling bad that I had spent our entire visit working on her car. "Have you about got it?" she asked. I told her about my trouble with the last bolt and I went back out to the car. She followed me out and picked up the last bolt and said "This bolt here? Where does it go?" I grabbed the old water pump pointed at it. "Right here.. I can't reach it." My 68 year old mother with the blot in her tiny hand crammed her arm down next to the motor up to her shoulder. Laying her face down on the fender as she felt around..."Ok...right here... yea... there you go. When you get the belt back on come in for lunch"

 

 

These days I see my mom as an old lady who works on people. For a second there I forgot where she came from.... and where I came from.

[RaysEpiphone]

I didn't feel like a customer as much as a source to mine profits from.

Well, actually you are both to every type of service person (for anything) you take something to that is used and needs work, preventative maintenance is something some people take more seriously then other's. Flushing a break system is something that can & is done at-least once in a cars life time, brake fluid is oil, corrosion inhibitors and alcohol. Dirt/rust is still the worst thing that can happen to anything that is a sealed system (like a breaking system), water will build up in a break system over long periods of time to. Evaporation and bleeding breaks will most certainly make you have to add more fluid and bleeding is done during most break-job's every 2 -5 years, so you may not ever need to flush a break system it depends on how much you drive it, the weather in your area and how long the breaks last.

Some shops will just do what you ask them to do while other's will give your car a thorough check to see if there are any other issue's that need attention. I don't have the money to keep everything in check on my old clunker, but if you do and that shop is indeed reputable like you say then do what they ask. I'd say that if your car is old and you got money then just get a new one. You can keep it if it is rare or holds sentimental value and find a good restoration guy and have it restored (that will cost a lot).

[milod]

Actually one thing I think this thread has proven is that some of us have lucked out with spouse choices.

 

m

[bonzoboy]

There is a Canadian consumer interest show called Market Place and every year they have a cross-Canada check-up of car repair shops.What they do is do something simple to make a car run rough etc. anything that would be an easy fix like undoing a spark plug wire.They have found a scary number of shops that give diagnosis and estimates that are through the roof,some have even said say that the car needs a new engine or a complete engine overhaul.It's getting more and more difficult to find an honest reputable garage these days.You could have some kind of faith in a garage that has an AAA or CAA membership.

 

The daughter of a co-worker was almost killed by shoddy repair work that was done in the shop of a Canada wide chain.She had gone in for a brake job and she left with no problem but after she had gone about a mile and was coming to the bottom of a fairly steep incline,the brakes failed and she sailed through a red light only to get T-boned by two cars-one going East and the other Westbound.She was critically injured and will have a permanent limp and pain from this crash. When the police had the car inspected at their facility they found the cause of the brake failure-the mechanic who had done the break job had neglected to shut off the bleeders after he drained out the old fluid and consequently every time she touched the brakes,the fluid was getting pumped out on the ground. To make matters worse,the company with very deep pockets tried to bankrupt her by stalling and having the case put over time after time and did whatever they could to prolong the case and drain her funds.The judge could see what there game was and put a stop to it and when he brought down his verdict he nailed them hard.I imagine for their unscrupulous tactics.Anyway she got a great settlement but no amount of money will compensate her for the suffering she'll have to put up with for the rest of her life.

[Rocky4]

My suggestion is to go to Angie's List, pony up the membership fee, and look for shops that get good marks. In addition, the Car Talk page on NPR's website has shops that come recommended by listeners.

 

My shop is an independent shop, and while they are not the cheapest, they do good work and never try to sell me anything.

 

The last time i checked Angie's List, it seemed to focus on major cities.

[Rosemarie]

I, too, am proudly my husband's "crew chief"! I have been helping him work on cars for our 22 years together. I can't do a lot because of my condition, but I do my damnedest to help. I even helped my husband put a transmission in a 2001 Jeep. I also help with his race car. His sisters think I'm nuts because it's dirty work and I just say, "There's this new stuff you may have heard of, it's called SOAP! It's awesome, you use it with water and - POOF - just like that, dirt is gone! It's a technological miracle, you oughtta check it out!". Maybe that's why they don't like me????

[Aster1]

 

To make matters worse,the company with very deep pockets tried to bankrupt her by stalling and having the case put over time after time and did whatever they could to prolong the case and drain her funds.The judge could see what there game was and put a stop to it and when he brought down his verdict he nailed them hard.I imagine for their unscrupulous tactics.Anyway she got a great settlement but no amount of money will compensate her for the suffering she'll have to put up with for the rest of her life.

 

Been there, done that and you're so right on no $$ being enough for injuries. Insurance companies go into almost every case & try to paint the plaintiff as being a faker or worse. I hate that. I don't want fakers getting away with things either. When you can show damages, Dr's & other say your really hurt, this shouldn't be issues that are so easily stalled & fought.

 

Aster

[milod]

Rosemarie...

 

<grin> Attagirl. Are you related maybe to my wife?

 

m