Why are so many mechanics crooks?

Some years ago my car broke down when I was out of state on vacation.It cost me just short of $200 to get it fixed.When I got home I showed the receipt to a fella at the auto parts store.He told me that the part cost $23.00 and took 20 minutes to install.

They have to maintain a building, buy proprietary tools, have training, insure employees etc etc.

I believe they are just an average cross section of humanity. Lots of people will do wrong when they think no one will notice.

Just to let you know how my sad Aerostar story ended.....

Well now I had a broken off bolt and easy out in the aluminum intake manifold...I called the ford dealer and told them of my plight..

"Sure, bring it in and we will take care of it"

I drove it in and dropped it off, they called me back...

'We are going to have to get you a new intake manifold, with labor that will cost you....$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$"


I called my brother in law..."bullshit" he said..it takes a good welder, not a jacklegged guy, but if you build up a weld on the broken easy out/bolt, and then weld a bolt onto that, the extreme heat breaks the bond without warping the manifold and the welded bolt should wrench it all out easily"


When I told them at Ford that my brother in law had a technique for taking the bolt out without replacing the manifold, all of a sudden the Ford dealership had re-found the lost art of frozen bolt removal ....they still hosed me, but it was nowhere near the cost of an intake manifold replacement.


Like the new Avatar Darin, that is pretty cool.

I think the right answer has been said above. The average 'car owner' has no brains at all and no knowledge of anything but how to operate a cell phone while driving. They are too stupid to have money, so smart mechanics take it from them. Works on most of them.

With each passing year, the cars get more complex, and the average person cannot spend the time, money and education (let alone afford the proprietary software) to keep pace with it all. If a person decides to enter that field and can properly diagnose and repair an issue, he certainly deserves to be compensated for the years of backbreaking labor and toil that allows them to reach that level of professionalism.

But predatorily taking advantage of others Is a bad way to do business.

I used to have a 2005 Equinox when my AC went bad it cost me 1500 to buy the tools and parts. Now I tend to fix my own stuff but the days of a simple socket set and screw drivers is long gone. Purchasing a good monitor like a www.tooltopia.com/otc-tools-3111pro.aspx . Money well spent in the long run then decide if your work is better than some mechanic fresh out of tech school. Most importantly read every thing you can before you start repairs and for me only genuine GM parts go on my stuff. I despise working on anything but darn sure don't want to do it twice. That means a new starter for 500 vs Auto junky for 150. Yes I do let other people work on my stuff as I hate doing oil changes but I use a regular garage and not 10 minute oil change. I cant count up the number of times someone told my wife she needed a new air filter or belt after I just changed them. The other thing is I no longer buy tires from a discount store that is nation wide and uses tire and discount in their name. But that's another story.

I think it's easy to paint all folks, of any given profession, with a broad brush.

I have the distinct honor of being a mechanic's son. I know that my dad is and was an honest hard working man that busted his arse to provide for my mom, sister and myself.

Were it not for the threat of getting my butt kicked, by my dad, I would have followed in his footsteps. He wanted me to work with my brains and not my brawn. It was his opinion that his profession required hard work and tough hours and he wanted better for me, he owned his own business.

After getting out of the Navy I worked as an engineer for over a year, I hated it. I didn't like being stuck in a cubicle.

I took a summer off and decided to sell cars. That was 29 years ago.

Over the last 3 decades I have had the opportunity to work my way up through the ranks and have managed several dealerships and consulted with dealers for over 10 years.

I am now running an import dealership here in my town. For whatever reason, it seems all too common for folks to come into the dealership and treat my employees with contempt and disrespect, if for no other reason than that they think it is somehow acceptable to do so.

I know for a fact that my dad never took advantage of his customers. Truth be told, he has probably written off tens of thousands of dollars in uncollected bills, over the 50 or so years he was in business.

I myself do business in an honest and ethical manner. If at any time I have a customer accuse me or my staff of dishonest dealings, I simply end the transaction and ask them to go purchase a vehicle elsewhere. Life's too short and death's too long to do business with people you don't like. In the end, No Deal is better than a Bad Deal.

Don't get me wrong. I don't like being taken advantage of any more than you or anyone else does. I grow really tired of paying more for services simply because I live in a golf community and belong to a country club. Because of this I have gone through great lengths to ensure whenever I have to use a company for AC service, Appliance repair, or any other such matter, that I use someone that gives me an honest quote and does honest work.

Can I change the oil on my cars cheaper than my shop or others charge? Absolutely!

Do I want to spend my spare time doing so? Absolutely not!

At the end of the day you simply have to ask yourself what it's worth to pay someone else to do what you don't want to, don't have time to or don't have the ability to do.


ymmv


Dino

Lol ... knew this would conjure up some good stories from others.

Also, please note that I never used the word "ALL".

Furthermore, I've known several good, honest mechanics ... glad some of you have as well.

I'm a IUOE heavy equipment operator for over 35 years in site development, pipeline and mining and I have a lot of appreciation for our mechanics and I quietly tell them that. I've run and broke everything from WW2 surplus dozers with a crank start pony motor to the the new D8t I got last spring that constantly has codes coming up. I'm in a MSHA frac sand mine with a newer leased machines and even those break down constantly.

I try and stick with vehicles with warranties but I've found over the years to stick with the dealer. With newer vehicles I've had issues with the small private shops practicing and failing on repairs. I'd rather spend the extra money to get a large shop where my issue is not a first with them.

I've been using the same auto shop since about 1990. They've gone through 3 owners and untold number of service personnel. They only tried screwing me one time on that I remember because when they said I needed a brake job and quoted me a price about 3 times higher for parts. I explained to them that I could get the OM parts cheaper by buying direct from the dealership than what they wanted for the aftermarket parts. I also explained to them about my background as a mechanic (just forgot to mention that it was shipboard diesels). Haven't had a problem since with them.

Only time I don't use them is for work that is under warranty with the dealer.

Some really good advice.

it's especially bad if you are a woman. i've been fortunate to find a couple of very good mechanics. when we moved back to my home town we started taking our vehicles to the mechanic my Dad always went to. He was a hard worker and a very fair and honest man. Unfortunately he passed away a few years later and I had to go elsewhere. Mostly just needed new tires and inspections for a couple years and the garage up the road was fair. One morning after taking hubby to work about four years ago I was turning into the driveway and heard a whine in the front end. I knew what that meant, because it had happened in my previous car, so I took it up to the garage and told them I needed them to check the noise in my front axle. I left the car there because I knew the wheel bearing needed replaced. They called and told me the noise was because I needed rear tires. I told them that I knew I needed rear tires, but I also knew that wasn't the noise. They insisted that replacing the tires would fix the problem. I called hubby. He called and talked to them, telling them that the axle needed looked at. They still insisted it was the tires. I went back and collected the car. I wasn't about to let them put tires on it. I posted on Facebook for garage recommendations and got one that was close to home. Took the car to them, explained what was going on, they took it for a test drive, came back and said, your wheel bearing needs replaced. Yup, I knew that. He gets all our business now. I make my Mom go there too. They know I know my car and if I bring it in for a noise they know there is a problem, and they treat me like an intelligent human being. Their prices are extremely reasonable too. They have so much business now they had to move to a larger garage. It's nice having a mechanic I can trust.

 I don't see it as being reasonable to think everyone should be able or inclined to be mechanically capable of doing the repair of their vehicles. It doesn't involve intelligence, or ability. For many a vehicle is just the tool they use to be able to do what they need to live their life, not the center of their existence as it is for some. 

    Many people, able to do a multitude of jobs shouldn't be belittled because they aren't mechanically knowledgeable. I don't care if my cardiologist is able to replace the fuel injection system in my Chrysler. I just that he can help keep my old heart pumping. 

    Now for the lack of honesty of some mechanics. Dishonesty isn't the sole domain of auto mechanics. I've found it also in the health industry(having what I now believe to have been an unnecessary). It raises it's nasty head wherever a profit is to be made from dishonesty. You have to hope those you depend on for things which affect your life are honest dealing with you and your needs.