Why are people always bagging on mechanics?

Question

I am a ASE certified master auto tech, and a shop owner. I have a huge investment in tools and equipment. Probably more than most of you spent on your house. Yet you want me to fix YOUR problem in YOUR car for virtually FREE!! WHY? You don't go to McDonald's and start complaining about the price of a Big Mac; don't do that to your service shop. If you aren't willing to pay the price of owning and operating a car, take the bus!

Answer 1

Because---they have to take your word on what is wrong. They are so unfamiliar of what it takes to fix their car--yet, so dependent on it--that they become defensive because they are at your mercy. Most of the times they have you chasing ghost problems that happened once three weeks ago with-out logging a fault--and expect that you can duplicate the problem in 15 min.

Answer 2

I'm with you all the way. No we don't rip people off! Yes there are unscrupulous shops out there, but show me any industry that doesn't have its share of rip off artists. People think fixing cars is easy and all you need is some ratchet set you got at Wal Mart and a free code scan at the local parts store. Then if you run into a problem you just get on Yahoo Answers and someone will magically solve your generic question in 2 sentences. I've been doing this for 24 years and have about 75k (probably more) invested in tools not including updates for my scanner. I've watched my pay go down over the past few years due to price shoppers (even though my shops warranty blows away every other shop around here, even the dealer). I love doing it, but it becomes very frustrating sometimes. I understand that cars can be very expensive to repair, but the public is partially to blame for wanting all of the comforts of home in the car with them, great fuel mileage, low emissions, global navigation, and almost guaranteed safety. I didn't build, buy or break it. So why should I fix it for nothing?

Answer 3

I'm was Owner Operator for 32 years.
basically it comes down to people fear what they don't know.
taking a little extra time with customers to explain things in non-mechanics terms helps this.

lawyers have not helped at all. shops have been sued over things they didn't repair or didn't inform customer needed repaired. some customers are very happy when you tell them you noticed something else that needed repaired while others feel violated that you would look at something they didn't ask you to.

there are alot on parts changers out there. they don't know how to diagnose so they just start replacing parts till the problem goes away.

every time you replace a part and that part fails its your fault so you use only good dependable parts right. but the customer calls around and finds the "same" part for half the price. to the customer you ripped them off.

media doesn't help either, ever hear of any media reports on auto repair shops that perform honest reliable repairs? no just the con artist that takes your money and leaves you with junk.

so, spend time with your customers explain what you will be doing and why. if you perform safety checks on all auto's tell customer up front. don't tell them your brakes need replacing soon if they only came in for an oil change. I offer safety inspection on ALL vehicles that come thru shop at no charge I tell customer up front that we always do this as a service. I also give them the ability to decline but they will have to sign on work order to decline. this part is for the lawyers.

Answer 4

Because people, in general, are pretty ignorant about how cars function and how hard they are to fix.

I fix my own cars, and only go to shops for alignments and tire mounting. It's not easy, especially as things get more crammed under the hood, but I feel like I do at least as good a job as a pro would (except, of course, it takes me 10x longer!)

I do feel for ya buddy - I used to work repair also (not cars, something else). Most people were patient and understanding, but some would think I was out to burn 'em. The stuff I fixed wasn't too important to their everyday life - when a car breaks down it screws up everything, so naturally they take it out on you.

Add to that the typical shop rates are what? around $75/hour? With the exception of maybe doctors and lawyers, most people don't make more than around $25/hour, alot make way less than that. It's hard to swallow for them. They don't understand the tremendous investment you have made in tools and the overhead you have for salaries and such.

Keep your chin up - we're not all jerks!

Answer 5

Because as "mechanics" people think that we are dirty, money hungry, wallet flushers. No one really sees the other side of the coin. As an automotive technician today, we are expected to know everything about all vehicles old and new and continue to stay on top of all technologies as they come out usually on our own time. We have to know electronics, computers and chemistry to keep up with current emission standards and vehicle electronic systems. We also have to buy all our own tools so we can do all this in a very timely and inexpensive fashion while being yelled at about time from management and price from customers.. are you trying to say mechanics are drastically under appreciated ? Also.. it is true that their are a lot of mechanics/companies out there that really are out to burn people. I'm not gonna' mention names.. but a customer came in last week with a car, and a bill from a local quick lube chain. Looking at the $93 bill for an oil change, I was astonished.. so I started reading it.. MAXLIFE O/L/F $49.95, SPECIAL FILTER CHARGE $5.00 (this is a 3.1 corsica with a 55040 only the cheapest filter on the market. wtf?), SERVICE CHARGE $10.00, ENVIRONMENTAL FEE $5.00, WYNNS ENGINE FLUSH $14.95..
THAT is why people are bagging on mechanics. And I'm sorry to all those that get hooked into these scams and lies and I assure you that any reputable shop will not have charge upon charge upon charge for one repair item. Also, just as a note. In Ontario Canada, we're not allowed to use "Shop Supplies" as a chargeable item. Everything we use has to be itemized. I don't know that everyone follows this act, but they're supposed to. To consumers; Educate yourself. There are usually laws and/or acts to help protect you, check them out and stop someone if you believe they're contravening these. If we shut down the bad shops, the better ones will replace them. On that note, if you're really looking for the "cheapest mechanic" then that's what you're going to get. You still have to pay a decent price for decent work.
--RANT OVER--

Answer 6

Are you 100 percent up-front with your customers? Do you EVER try to get more money out of them than you should? If you are not honest with them, and you try to get more money out of them than you should, you are a crook. Sears was one of the most respected automotive service facilities in the country until they got caught recommending hundreds of dollars worth of repairs on brand-new cars that had nothing wrong with them. There is a trickle-down effect from this. Basically, the actions of a formerly well-respected business tend to poison the reputation of all of them. The problem is, for every one who is like you claim to be, there are ten that are crooks. My family has a trusted mechanic they have gone to for over 30 years. He's honest and up-front. I, however, do most of my own work, because some of the mechanics I have seen are crooked, and they are more interested in my money than in my car. The general impression is that a lot of mechanics are ripping people off, and the impression comes from the fact that a lot of mechanics ARE ripping people off.

Answer 7

because when the timing chain went on my chevy small block and was replaced, then a week later the push rods bent and broke and it was my fault because i didn't tell them to change the oil and filter after the timing chain blew and all of the nylon pieces clogged up the oil pump pick up. that's when i decided to learn how to do my own repairs! worst case, i put more new parts in than i need to! it's still cheaper! or the dealer service tech that tries to sell my girlfriend a front end alignment everytime she gets her oil changed, but doesn't try to sell me one 3,000 miles later when i bring the car in. or the repair shop that charges for each repair by the rate book, for inter-related repairs. $180.00 to replace the rear tranny seal while the rear end was r & r'd! i've yet to see a shop change a rear end with out disconnecting the drive shaft! on top of that they spend those big bucks on the pieces of crap that the big three are turning out and you're the one they see, not the ceo's of gm,ford,etc. our buick started using a quart of oil in under 3,000 miles by 40,000 miles, a 2001 3.8 liter v 6 that we changed every 3,000. hell, the 93 chevy 3.1 didn't use that much until it had 90,000 on it and it used 5W30! if you think that you have it bad working on their cars, how'd you like to work on their houses? you miss a 1" square piece of roofing or "a" nail on the lawn and see what they are like. try packing up all of your tools and driving 30 or 50 miles to work every day, work all day and then get **** for trampling the lawn while you work your way around the house siding or roofing it. god forbid that it rain for a week or you don't go in for a 2 hour day. or shovel the snow off the roof so as you can work for 3 or 4 hours just to do it again the next day! it must be nice in your air conditioned garage while i'm up on a roof next summer, enjoy.

Answer 8

I am a mechani too,
don't tell me you haven't seen what some people, pretending to be mechanic, make a mess out of good cars.?
or only because a young girl doesn't know a word about cars functioning there's someone overcharging.(abusive)

not long ago( in this site) ,there was a man asking is that was true.
some one had charged $800.00 dollars to flush and replace the steering fluid to the car of his elderly father.

WE catch the hell.but is not customer fault,I will rather blamed on the state regulations that allow any body to work as instant mechanic.

Answer 9

I agree with you.... im not a certified mechanic, but have been working on cars for 27 years now.... I do all my own maintenance and help friends who expect all the work for free, but usually I say buy the parts and I'll put them on for a small fee.

Answer 10

Because mechanics have been known to rip off the unsuspecting grandma or young lady that doesn't know the first thing about repairing a car. Thats why mechanics have a bad rap.