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I've been taking my vehicles to a local mechanic for over 15 years. He started his shop right out of high school (in his mid-50's now) and employs several family members. I know he's as honest as they come. Also, if he does routine stuff on my Transit van, which is still covered under a Ford extended warranty, he will always tell me if something which needs to be addressed should be covered under the warranty. This deprives him of more work, so I really appreciate his saving me money.
Yesterday I took my car to my 2006 Toyota RAV4 to the local Toyota house for a routine alignment. It was a terrible experience, and I ended up not even getting the alignment done on my SUV because of the endless frustration with the dealership. This is the second time I had a bad experience with them, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt the first time and because I appreciate the experience a dealership can bring to one's vehicle over other mechanics. I wonder if bad experiences with service work at a dealership is typical or if they are an exception
I want to find a good mechanic. I don't know how to find one though. don't want to get taken for a ride, and am willing to pay more for an honest one, but how do I know if he/she is honest and will fix my car properly if I don't know much about cars? Any assistance is appreciated, especially since my car still needs an alignment and I'm not going back to Toyota.
What exactly was your issue with the dealership? Sounds like you had a problem with the service writer not the mechanic. Rarely do customers speak with the mechanics in dealerships so dont throw mechanics under the bus. Its easy to find good mechanics they are everywhere. Do you think they would be in business long if they were bad?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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My mechanic is a former drag racer, and has a transmission shop but does just about any kind of work. I found him by accident in 1994 when he was a customer of my business, and I have stuck with him ever since. My only fear is that he retires, but hopefully not too soon as he's only in his mid 50s. I have referred many friends and family to him when they asked or mentioned needing repairs. That is the best way to find a good mechanic, ask friends and relatives. When you do find one, stick with them. I only use dealers for warranty repairs and recalls, of which there seem to be many lately. Even then, they seem to be fond of trying to talk me into work that is not needed, and I find Chrylser/Dodge/Jeep to be the worse by far, having been to 5 different ones in the area in the last 10 years.
The best answer is word of mouth from friends, family, co-workers. My guy had a major shop but underwent a nasty divorce and lost it all. He now has a small, out of the way, no advertising, cash only, small shop. He answer his phone with his name only. He diagnoses and prices out the job at no cost. I trust him to do good and fair priced (leans toward cheap) work. I found him via one of my golfing buddies. Even he has a negative in that his turn around in not that fast. Expect the car to be there 2-3 days, but otherwise he cannot be beaten.
Just go drive around town and look for the shops that have a lot of cars in the parking lot. You know the ones who fill up the parking lot conistantly to get ripped off...
Any assistance is appreciated, especially since my car still needs an alignment and I'm not going back to Toyota.
Alignment experts most often work on many different makes of cars -- they specialize in suspensions, not in Toyotas or Chevys.
So you do not need a Toyota mechanic. But it would be great if you can find a suspension expert.
I went to one of these suspension shops in San Diego, they inspected the car front and rear, tweaked the settings slightly but told me I did not need any new parts.
I'm now in the Twin Cities. I had a problem which two VW shops and two tire shops could not fix. This guy running a one-man suspension shop out of a hole-in-the-wall found the problem and has kept my car tracking straight and true for several years now.
Given a choice between OE parts and better-than-OE parts, go with the better stuff. They usually do not cost much more and they will last longer. Generally speaking, parts are cheap but labor is expensive.
Want to know how to find a good trustworthy mechanic that does not charge much? Simple, learn to do it yourself!
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