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Say you have a 10yr old Ford with the 3.5L v6 and it needs a Water Pump, the cost to repair that would be $2000 typically because it requires the engine to be removed, so while some may not want to do it, a mechanic would just have to sacrifice 10-13hrs of time and $150 for a new water pump and have a excellent running car.
Same with a 10yr old GM 3.6L , when they were stretching timing chains and GM wanted $3000 to fix it, a mechanic with $3-500 of parts and 10+ hrs of time, can fix that and have a excellent running car.
Many of us dont have a lift and all the tools required or even the knowledge to remove and engine or transmission plus have the 10-20+hrs to do so, so a mechanic can make a nice amount of $$$$ doing that.
I rather get one from a repair shop than a random street used car dealership. As long as I can pull the carfax report and it checks out. Many dealers don't spend enough on fixing or repairs. A mechanic should atleast perform more maintenance work b4 selling. Alot of repair shop vehicles don't get much detailing work done but the basic stuff like pads, fluids, and belts done atleast.
Depends on the shop. Logically it would be safer to buy it from a mechanic vs a dealer. If the car has issues, the mechanic would have probably fixed it correctly. A dealer is only about profits, which probably means the cheapest repair they could find or just getting it good enough to drive off the lot.
If the mechanic is passionate about their job then the car most likely wasn't jerry rigged together to make a quick buck.
Cars sold on consignment.
Cars are left by previous owner and shop is selling it to recoup their money
Car belongs to a employee/owner friend
Car (OK, Chevy LUV) truck bought for $150(!) by poor college student, with dodgy brakes but great engine.
Car doesn't go faster than 45mph around town, it's middle of winter.
Car pretty much stops on three brakes.
Car one day leaves what looks like caliper guts on the street, too hot to handle.
Car up on lift at the Midas brake shop, for thier $59 special (see: 1980s). Hours later, bearded skinny mechanical in an unintentionally hilarious monologue announces part-by-part how it will be $500 dollars (1989 money) to fix, and gets a little upset when I start laughing in his face, having not a pot to whiz in nor a window to throw it out at the time.
Car stays on life, as Mr. Beard asks me what I'll do, and I say: "let me go hit the ATM, back in a gif!" Never return to shop. Change addresses shortly thereafter, as I often did in college, to crash on a buddy's enclosed front porch, making me essentially a homeless wino college student who took the bus.
^ I see Midas hasn't changed since the '80's. Midas is a scam repair shop. They sucker you in with their really low price specials (oil change, free diagnostic, etc.) but they'll proceed to tell you all the things that are wrong with your car and the additional hundreds and thousands of dollars of repairs that you need.
And they are not the only ones that do that! Pepboys, Meineke, Firestone, etc. operate the same way.
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