Why Do They Have Such Bad Reputations? (insurance, vehicle, auto)

[Omaha Rocks]

Is there a legitimate reason that "professional" car mechanics/shops/garages have such a bad reputation?

Let me be specific about what these "professionals" are known for.
1. Lying to, and scaring people into making unnecessary and expensive repairs. Women particularly fall victim to this. You take your car in for an oil change, and it's a guarantee that the "mechanic" is going to pull you into the shop while the car is on the hoist, point in the general direction of the car and say something like, "Good gawd, I'm surprised you were actually able to get the car here without killing yourself of somebody else. You DESPERATELY need your gazektagzoink fixed! It's only going to run about $1200, and while you MIGHT be able to get home without it being done, I'd NEVER let MY wife drive a car in this condition!!!!"
2. Flagrantly over-charging customers for repairs done - especially if those customers have out-of-state license plates on their vehicle. A friend of my sons recently got charged over $2000 by "professionals" who put a new clutch disk in his 96 VW Golf. We're not talking about fixing the transmission, axles or wheel bearings while they were at it. We're talking about charging over $2000 to replace a $79 clutch disk.
3. Not doing the job right. Either fixing the wrong thing, or doing the right repair so poorly that it needs to be redone. I have no idea how often I've talked to people who have had this done to them. Either the "professional" has no idea what's wrong, and is just going through a process of elimination - at the expense of the owner - or said professional has his "apprentice" do the job, and do it so poorly that the car leaves in worse shape then when it came in.
4. Having a nasty, condescending attitude toward customers, and anybody else who is not a mechanic by vocation. We have a couple "professionals" on this board who seem to mistakenly think that they are God, and that they are the only ones who know how to fix anything.


Am I mistaken about these folks having such bad reputations? Is it only in Omaha, Nebraska that "professional" car mechanics do these sorts of things? Is it really only 1 or 2 bad apples who have spoiled the reputation for all of them?

Your thoughts?

[sunsprit]

I've seen all these tactics to make a sale, and the overcharging, done by many a shop throughout the USA.

It doesn't help the industry or it's image, but there's a lot of people in it that have that perception of themselves and what it's about ... so they've bought into and perpetuate their own image of how good business is done.

There's a multitude of reasons why each does this type of stuff. The industry trade magazines try to educate these folks, but ... in my experience ... they're not the ones who are reading and getting educated about their business, ethics, sales & marketing. The folks who have higher ethics and better business practices are already doing everything they can to advance their skills and don't play these games.

A lot of these sales tactics are used by people in other industries or professions. A lot of them even have certifications, professional regulatory boards, and degrees which certify their educational competency. Lawyers, Doctors, Insurance & Securities sales people, Financial planners, Plumbers, education professionals, politicians of every stripe, law enforcement professionals ... are just a few that come to mind. That's not to say that justifies the use of these tactics in the automotive trade, but it's just one area in our society where this stuff is done.

You ... as a consumer of services and goods ... need to be as educated as you can possibly be, do your due diligence, and seek second opinions or other options before spending your dough ... and resist the "scare" tactics or the high pressure overcharging sales to the best of your ability. Nothing prevents you from taking your car to another shop for a second opinion and quote.

[texdav]

Anywhere in any situation there are crooks. As to this board I don't see any more than any other subject acting like God..I personally have never run into this with repairmen I use.Basically I think that people who are looking for a cheap fix more often run into this type. I would never use a independent repair shop unless I knew their reputation and would go to a dealership in a strange city.In fact I have had this happen out of states a couple of times and was treated very well by the dealership.I thing that if you go to a condesending repair men that is a reason to not have the repair done there just using common sense.Common sense goes along ways with anyhting really.

[ranger17]

I'd agree that these issues can be the same in other fields as well, such as home repair, etc.
The less the consumer knows about what is needed, the higher the chance they could be taken advantage of. Now many shops do a darn good job of servicing needs at a fair price. Some going above and beyond for their customers. But those just get a little post card mailed to the shop thanking them.
The BAD ones?? Well, bad news travels much further then good news......

I almost laugh when my daughter takes her car in for any service or maintenance at her dealer; she is quite familiar with what's under her hood ( she's part of the tuner crowd back home, and hangs at a local dyno shop w/ friends and her BF ) and likes to push back when the service rep maybe treats her like one who just wont know what she's talking about. She'll end up helping put a turbo on her car in the future, so I think she can explain where a noise is coming from at what rpm's and be confident in what she speaks...

Moral of the story, try to understand more of what you need. Doesn't mean one has to be a mechanic to explain a problem, but walking in saying "my car makes a noise" and that's it-- well that door is left wide open.

[drjones96]

There was one shop in my former town that rubbed me the wrong way on a couple of occasions. I won't meantion the name but will say that it was a big name in the business. The first time I dealt with them they were excellent. My starter quit on me and I had to have it towed from where I was to the shop. They charged me the price for a starter which I thought was a steal and the labor was minimal. Heck while I was there I just told them to throw on a new set of tires because I was in a good mood over the price being reasonable.

OK just about every time after that was terrible.

I had to get the wife's car inspected and it wouldn't pass because the O2 sensor was bad. OK fine...put one on there. They charged me more than double what I could have gotten one for at another shop....and then labor on top of that. If you've ever changed an O2 sensor you know that all you have to do is unplug the harness, take out the old one with a special socket and ratchet, and then install the new one same way old one came out. The labor is almost nil...but they charged me for an hour's worth. They basically had me over a barrel because I had to get the car inspected and licensed that day because I wouldn't get another day off for 2 weeks...which would have been too late. I was so mad.

Fast Forward a couple of years. A lady my wife knew from work had some trouble with her car near that shop. She limped the car there so they could take a peek at it to see what was wrong. They told her the alternator was bad. She had just replaced it a couple of months before that. Being skeptical and not having a lot of money she just told them to take it down off the lift. She called my wife and I came out to inspect the situation. I pulled the alternator out to have it independently tested. It tested good. So then I had to narrow the problem down. As it turns out it was a blown fuse! OK I'm not a mechanic but I was able to figure this problem out and it wasn't even close to what the 'professional' mechanic came up with. And the cost was about 1/100th of what it would have been if she would have had them put in an un-needed alternator only to later figure out that the real problem was just a fuse. At that point I vowed to never do business there again if I could help it.

[texdav]

I thought I recognize the OP name from other post. It was quite reveailng to read the OP's other post that frankly often have Op being very rude and calling others names very easily that offer advise that seems reasonable to me. It seems Op has a problem that goes far beyond this post with auto repairs and others opinons that differ with his/her own.

[ShelbyGirl1]

We find reputable dealers usually have a reputable repair shop. One can check out any dealer on line for customer remarks, good or bad.

[Donn2390]

Pick any profession you wish. The quality and honesty of the people in that profession range from excellent to worthless, and everywhere in between.
I was in the trade for over 40 years, and never found it necessary to have to resort to shady practices to make an honest living.
I have worked in dealerships where there were some terrible techs, and I cringed when I saw what they were getting away with at the customers expense. When a dealership needs a mechanic, they might hire five, since it's a commission based job, it doesn't cost anymore to hire more people than you need. Then you let the cream rise to the top. In a few weeks or so, the bums will be gone, and you will be down to the one you needed. In the mean time, the bums have raped a few customers.
I have worked in independent shops, and dealerships. You can get excellent or terrible in either, or both, depending on the shop. I always recommend going to a good independent shop. find a good one and stay with that shop for ever, just as you would when you find a doctor you like, or barber, or dentist, or computer repair man.
Incompetence comes in every trade, it's not limited to mechanics.. There are exceptions, but from what I have experienced, most are not crooked, just incompetent...
I agree with texdav about the OP. He seems to have an over inflated opinion on his abilities, and no one else is any good at all.... I challenge OP to go out and find a job as a mechanic and see if he can make a living at it. Working under his shade tree, he is the big man in his neighborhood, but most likely couldn't survive in a shop environment... I too, have read many of his posts and see a pattern..

[JMadison]

Just a quick guess. It's populated by folks that dropped out of upper educational paths and have a classic "Al Bundy / Archie Bunker" mentality and don't mind screwing over "them college dummies", etc.

Add to that a dose of lack of respect that people who do work that is dirty get in America, or just work that is hard, and well, you have the perfect breeding ground for it.

Craftsmenship died a long time ago. I guess about the time if was found to be easier to make a profit off of craftsmen in your factory, or even more abstractly via derivatives.

[cdelena]

Some of the issues to be recognized...

- Few want top pay for diagnosis. It may take hours to figure out what may be wrong and that cost must be covered by repairs.

- Most expect rapid turn around because their vehicle is needed for their routine. This puts pressure on the repair to find and fix something quickly... usually not the best way to do work.

- Vehicles are designed to be built rapidly and cheaply, and the procedures to fix anything is an afterthought... it is not always as easy as it ought to be.

- Repair professionals compensation, facilities, tools, and general supplies are all expenses that must be funded over and above any parts.

Like any other profession the performance of the institutions and people generally follow a normal curve with some very poor, some very good, and the vast majority just mediocre.