Do you guys trust mechanics?

Question

I always feel like they give me the run around. I find them to be very dishonest, and that whenever I bring my car in to get serviced, my car mysteriously has othe rproblems shortly after. It is like they purposely sabatoge my car so that I will come back to get that problem fixed and spend more money.

Answer 1

Usually Hell No !!!

The very best advice I can give is that you find a service location that displays the "ASE" plaque on the front of the building. This indicates that the mechanics there are certified to a national standard for "Automotive Service Excellence". This is like having a Masters Degree and is highly prized by mechanics that have it. I've been told that certification can be stripped from a mechanic and a business that preforms fraudulent work or charges. IN other words, if the mechanic screws you and he gets busted, he'll lose certification and probably his job. So, consider ASE Certified business' only for you car.

PS. No, I'm not a mechanic. My mother managed an Exxon Car Care center and told me about this.

Considering that the repair cost would probably be the same, wouldn't you rather be sure?

Answer 2

First of all, I have been a mechanic for 28 years and i have never tried to rip anyone off.
There are many so called techs out there that don't have a clue what they are doing. Don't expect the guy at a quick lube to fix your car. I wouldn't let most of them even change my oil.
The thing that bothers me most is when a car comes in and some idiot has been changing everything he can and still has not fixed the car. I spend my time to check the car and figure out what the problem is and the customer gets mad because i charge them to find the problem.
Best thing for you to do is find a good shop that you trust and stick with them. There are many good techs out there that do not rip people off.

Answer 3

I'll have to voice my opinion on this one, it's true there are some scoundrels that will take advanatge of consumers, but it's not the norm.

It's also true that this is the case, or perception of, in most service related industries and not just automotive repair.

Any area of mechanical service consumers are at the mercy of those repairing to be honest individuals. For example, If your ac goes out at home and you aren't familar with how it works, then you have to trust the repairmans diagnosis.

It's the same with automotive repairs, unless someone is extremely familar with what makes a car work, then the perception is one of "I'm being taken advantage of". I think it's a natural perception but this isn't always the case.

Another example, perhaps a check engine light is on, they diagnose and find 3 sensors malfunctioning with one being the main problem. They inform you of this and it's replaced but the other two still don't work properly, they call you back and inform you that these have to be replaced. It would be easy to think that they are simply trying to get you dollars..

Or perhaps they don't tell you about the other sensors, it appears to be repaired, the car is delivered back and 3 weeks later the check engine light comes back on. Here again it would be easy to think they have purposely sabotaged your car.

The vast majority of techncians take pride in their performance, they spend literally thousands of dollars on tools and equipment, let alone the time countless hours of time they spend learing how to repair.

After all the time I've spend in the automotive industry I can't think of a single incident where a technician has purposely 'rigged" a car to break down, mistakes made of course, but never on purpose.

I've also found that after a customer has picked up their vehicle they tend to pay attention to things where they didn't before. They bring it in to have the ac fixed, then after they pick it up they a hear a rattling noise, the noise was there before but they just never paid attention to it.

That said, there are some techs who aren't properly trained, or who simply make too many mistakes, but the vast majoriity take an extreme amount of pride in thier abilities to repair, and so they should.

Just my 2 cents worth

Jerry Christopher
http://www.usedcarwise.com

Answer 4

That seem to be the norm these days. I found a honest one to point I just leave the car and he only fixes what it needs. I consider myself lucky. It took some time to find him so take a good look around your town. Try and find a small shop where you can deal with the owner and do a little reseach about known problems before you go. Let him know you are well informed. Taking it in at least every six months is good idea so small problems can be repaired before they turn into a major breakdown. If you do not know even the basics about cars take a night course at you local tech colledge.

Answer 5

Yes, I trust most mechanics as I know many. Some are just too stupid to be mechanics.

No, I do not trust many, possibly not most customers. They are generally too stupid/misinformed/know-it-all when it comes to this area.

Uncle Joe who used to be a mechanic 35 years ago has already told them what their car needs (without looking at it) and of course he's more reliable than the mechanic who has spent TENS of thousands on his tools and training and works all day long in a largely thankless job just because he has the skill and needs to pay the bills. Gone are the days of thank-you letters from customers for doing such a good job even when one has done exactly that.

Customers are far too stupid when it comes to auto repair and they should have the good sense to realize this. They don't understand why they should pay a mechanic two hours diagnosis for use of his multi-thousand dollar scan tool, experience and hard work. Customers can just go to Auto*one and have the parts guys hook up the computer for free and this of course "tells" them what the problem is right? The computer tells them what's wrong, right? There's no need for a mechanic, diagnosis, flowcharts, multi-meters, stethoscopes, oscilloscopes, wiggle test, etc... The computer tells what is wrong with the car, right? If you think the answer to this question is yes then you are indeed a stupid customer.

What's the deal with that dumb answer that splits hairs between a technician and a mechanic? Many guys in small shops came from dealerships. The opposite is true as well. I have a rather low opinion of dealerships as all experience I have with them shows them to be gossipy, backstabbing places to work with inefficient parts guys, stupid managers and service advisors who don't know an air filter from a fuel injector, they are salesmen, not advisors. There are exceptions to what I have written here, there are some good dealerships.

Many guys in small shops work there because they have better control of the work they do and it is far less boring than mindless air/oil/cabin filter changes or endless brake jobs or low-paying warranty work. Some of the very best mechanics come from small shops, some of the best mechanics have worked for cranky uncompromising bosses and some of those cranks shop owners are very trustworthy with patience worn thin from stupid questions such as this thread.

Some customers use their auto repair as an opportunity to pretend that the shop created more problems. I have seen customers complain that mechanics broke their speaker when doing an oil change, to claim that their power steering pump is making a noise it never did before after having their brakes checked with no underhood work done at all and yes, rarely a mechanic does make an error and even far less often than that creates an intentional problem. To generalize that this is the norm is quite insulting to mechanics and if you are of that opinion hopefully you reward yourself justly by never finding a good one.

Answer 6

I better trust one cause I am one...

Unless you hit the couple who will cheat people, they usually will be the hard working as said.

I find that people someone have problems that they won't notice until someone else has had the car... Sort of like how people notice more about their car only after they haven't had it for a while....

Another thing is we are human and make mistakes... You can say the dishonest part about any profession out there... The doctor who worries more about his Bimmer than his patient, The plummer who will use a cheaper part to fix your plumbing than others would so that he could make a better profit on the markup..

Realize you have to find people you can trust and beleive who knows their profession and who will explain it better to you than the people who just work and that's it...

Step one would be a licensed or ASE mechanic to start...

Answer 7

I aint no mechanic, BUT if you truly have a problem with trusting mechanics to work on your car then you should go to autozone and pick up one of them books on how to repair your own car and absorb the knowledge that is in that book...in no time you should know how to fix your own car....and for the record although there are some corrupt ones out there (face the truth) there are a lot more good ones that outnumbers the bad. matter of fact give a simple test: If you know your car and studied the book and find a problem, note it down and take it in, if their investigation doesn't match your's then you know.

Answer 8

Do I trust "mechanics" in general? No. Do I trust " Technicians" in general? Yes. I just wanted to point out that most citizens aren't aware that there is a difference in this title differentiation. Obviously, a "Technician" had to start somwhere sometime and was at one point a "mechanic" in a small or not so small workshop. I think in most cases, you can use other service provider examples to answer your question: Do you trust all doctors in general? Do you trust all lawyers in general? Do you trust all hair stylists in general? I guess what I'm trying to say is that regardless of what type of service profession you choose to buy service from; whether it is lack of knowledge in that particular area (can't change my oil, like hip hair cuts, must remove my gall stone, must sue because I was slandered, etc.) or we just don't have the time to do it in our busy lives, we are all at the mercy of honest and dishonest people in general. Automotive Technicians earn their keep and must maintain high standards as promoted by ASE - Automotive Service Excellence. It boils down to character, professionalism, and track record. Talk to people whom have had their car serviced at a particular repair shop and see what they have to say. Not much different from asking who's the best nail-shop in town or who serves the best Philly-steak sandwich. If an individual takes the time and spends the money to take ASE tests and earns his/her Automotive Technician certification, I take that as a message of professionalism and pride enough to at least give the benifit of the doubt over other non-certified shops. Not just a self-proclaimed "mechanic" whose greatest experience may be a spare tire change here and there. But, in the end, it's a choice that you must make based on customer feedback from people that have been around that block a few times. It is the few bad apples in this profession that make it hard to earn a living because of fear of being ripped-off or led in circles; sounds like other professions to me, no different. Make an educated decision based on facts and automotive certification standards. It's not 100% fool-proof but, it's better than "buying the shop" you just turned your vehicle into for an oil change! Money earned in a one-time job can never take the place of a life-long customer that can trust a Technician and his/her work.

Answer 9

I trust the mechanics that I take my car to currently, but not in general.

There are, of course, some scoundrels in auto repair - perhaps even more than in other businesses.

However, I think the main problem is they way auto repair shops traditionally do business. Usually, mechanics cannot charge for time spent debugging and troubleshooting complex problems. Hence, to make any money on complex problems, they are almost forced to sell unnecessary repairs or pad repair bills in other ways.

Answer 10

Just keep looking around... you'll find a good one. I work at a car dealership, and there are some that are dishonest, but the majority of them are honest and hardworking. Whatever you do, don't take your car somewhere where they are paid on commission.... that's when you'll find that you are paying for something you don't need.