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I won't dispute for a second that a competent and fair shop/mechanic is difficult or maybe impossible to find. The repair industry RUNS on cutting corners, overcharging, shoddy work by guys who don't really know what they're doing, etc. If you pay somebody to work on your vehicle, you WILL run into these sorts of things no matter where you take it.
But there's a reason that the industry has evolved this way. People aren't willing to pay what a good mechanic is worth. It's a complex job filled with incomplete information, unpredictable outcomes, and variables that techs have no control over. Yet flat rate times are based on sanitized ideal remove & install jobs where nothing goes wrong. That's NOTHING like working in a shop.
So customers end up with shoddy work. Huge markups on parts. Questionable charges... even straight up fraud. Consumers ARE paying what it takes to run a shop... just in really unpleasant, counterproductive, and dishonest ways. Not saying it's right; just saying it's reality.
And as long as people aren't willing to pay techs what they're worth... I don't see this changing. My solution is that I do ALL of my own mechanical work (except tires). Not everybody can do that of course. But to me it's always cheaper... often quicker and easier too... than dealing with our dysfunctional auto repair industry
I won't dispute for a second that a competent and fair shop/mechanic is difficult or maybe impossible to find. The repair industry RUNS on cutting corners, overcharging, shoddy work by guys who don't really know what they're doing, etc. If you pay somebody to work on your vehicle, you WILL run into these sorts of things no matter where you take it.
I disagree. There are good shops with good owners who employ honest and competent mechanics. Folks just need to search them out -- word of mouth is usually a good way, though Internet searches can work. There are enthusiast forums for every make and model of car, where you can find people in your city or state with the same car or truck you drive. They know which shops are good and which ones to avoid. Some forums are excellent, many are not, so look around for a good one.
I was once stranded in a small town, with no idea where to take my car. So I asked the tow truck driver, Who is the best mechanic in town? We went there but even before unhooking my car the "best mechanic" told us he was too backed up with work, and he suggested a young guy who had just opened his own shop two or three years earlier. So this guy, the "second best mechanic in town," was the one who fixed my car for an extremely reasonable price. [I actually added something to the bill because I thought his price was too far under what I knew any other shop would charge. Plus it was during the holidays and he was a family man with young kids.]
Also, the guys who work in the auto parts stores know which shops are buying the most parts, and also which ones are buying and installing the good parts and not just the cheapest crap that's available. They know which mechanics have a good reputation and which do not.
New car dealerships are almost never the best place to go, unless you have way more money than you know what to do with. Tire and muffler shops are also terrible, unless all you need are tires or a muffler, and even then.... 98% of quick-lube places are to be avoided, but it's not worth the effort trying to find the 2% which are honest.
When I had my Cobalt and had some recall work done at dealerships in the Phoenix metro, they would all call me back with some BS about random crap in order to recoup the costs of the recall work. One of dealerships in Scottsdale told me all of the hoses were "bloated" and needed to be replaced. I laughed and told them to cut the crap. Another dealership in Tempe tried telling me it's highly recommended to use nitrogen and wanted to charge me $30 to do it. After declining, they then tried telling me the tread on all of the tires were almost bald. I knew that was BS because I had the tires changed less than 3 months prior.
As for the dealerships regarding my Kia Optima. Neither of them have tried pulling fast ones on me. All they do now is bomb one of my email accounts and cell phone with notices about wanting my 2013 Optima for a trade-in. However, the small print says "trade-in value not included." No matter how many times I've told them I'm keeping it, they still badger me from time to time.
I won't dispute for a second that a competent and fair shop/mechanic is difficult or maybe impossible to find. The repair industry RUNS on cutting corners, overcharging, shoddy work by guys who don't really know what they're doing, etc. If you pay somebody to work on your vehicle, you WILL run into these sorts of things no matter where you take it.
But there's a reason that the industry has evolved this way. People aren't willing to pay what a good mechanic is worth. It's a complex job filled with incomplete information, unpredictable outcomes, and variables that techs have no control over. Yet flat rate times are based on sanitized ideal remove & install jobs where nothing goes wrong. That's NOTHING like working in a shop.
So customers end up with shoddy work. Huge markups on parts. Questionable charges... even straight up fraud. Consumers ARE paying what it takes to run a shop... just in really unpleasant, counterproductive, and dishonest ways. Not saying it's right; just saying it's reality.
And as long as people aren't willing to pay techs what they're worth... I don't see this changing. My solution is that I do ALL of my own mechanical work (except tires). Not everybody can do that of course. But to me it's always cheaper... often quicker and easier too... than dealing with our dysfunctional auto repair industry
Good mechanic shops don’t need advertising specials or mailers. They have enough work from repeat business.
Most crappy repair places tend to go away quickly
We generally do our own repairs as long as it isn't something extensive such as an engine or transmission. If it's an engine or transmission then it's usually time to let the car go anyhow
When we have had to use mechanics, we go to small businesses. We have had much better luck with these than we have the dealerships or chains. The only time I've taken cars to dealerships for repairs is when there has been recalls and it hasn't cost me anything.
My current state (PA) is one of the few states requiring the annual inspection and that is a royal pain in the azz. No matter how new the car is , they are gonna find SOMETHING wrong with it. Generally they will find about $400 wrong with it. My husband's Mercury Grand Marquis that was 4 years old with 30K on it? Oh, it needed 4 new tires because of slight heat cracks in the tires from the Tennessee heat. Boom--$425.00 My minivan wouldn't pass inspection without thousands of dollars of work so we bought a Ford Focus and had the inspection done at the place we bought it.
The following year we had the Focus inspected and of course it needed new brakes which they estimated at $625. Um, no thank you. We put new brakes and rotors on it then took it back to be re-inspected; they still failed it because of the wear on the tires was a few mm below the acceptable.
I hate the PA inspection with a passion...
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