Confessions Of A Car Mechanic – The Untold Story

Three important lessons are learned by the time we reach the legal driving age. They are: Number 1: Wear your seat belt. Number 2: Don’t speed. Number 3: Never ever trust your auto mechanic. These gospels are passed on to you by your older generation.

Recently, I had a conversation with an auto mechanic, who refused to be named in this article, so let us call him Max. He gave me the most interesting inside story of the car repair industry. Max has been getting his hands greased for no less than 30 years have been around for a long time in this car industry.

Max admits that even though the auto industry has been mending its ways, there are still some errant mechanics who replace used parts in peoples cars and sell them as new.

I would say years ago, it was more pars for the course. I would say it happened about 40 percent of the time, he said. Today, I would say it probably happens a whole heck of a lot less. You’re probably looking at about 10 to 7 percent margin, but it does still happen.

Shady Auto Mechanics and their activities

Max has couple of things to suggest as you search for a good car repair shop. The first one is the appropriate Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification from places as AC Delco, Ford Motor Company or Bendix. “While ASE certification does not indicate that they’re really good, it does indicate that the technicians go on their own time, or the business has given them the incentive to study, to take the course and go and show their skills are worthy of certification.” (Ed. Note: ASE is an independent and non-profit organization founded in 1972.

Max insists that it is very imperative that the car repair shop has all the right equipment in place to do a proper job like a good tire mounting machine with rubber mounts that don’t scratch your wheels or an alignment rack with laser measurements. I want to make sure they have the proper diagnostic equipment. A shop that has invested in the proper equipment to service today’s automobiles is usually a shop that you can trust, because they are not going to buy that expensive equipment and then have people who are not qualified to use it.”

According to Max cleanliness of the car repair shop is equally important. Max says, “I’m looking for a clean shop. I don’t want to see Jake the Junkyard Dog chained in the office. I don’t want to see a lot of dirt around the place. It shouldn’t look like it’s going to be condemned by the health department.”

Max says, in addition to a car repair shop’s hygiene, the fee for car repairs ought to be visibly posted, and they must all the time inform you proper car repair estimation prior to any work. You must be able to find a few helpful advices regarding the car repair shop. If it is recommended by an auto-mechanic, then confirm it. He says, “Well I go there because my father’s cousin’s grandfather used to work there and they’re really nice and they make a good cup of coffee,” he said. “It’s got to be better than that, they’ve got to have a track record of good quality repair.”

Old ladies should stay alert to avoid getting conned

Max, who has a solid experience of three decades, had some interesting tales to tell about the tactics the sales personnel use to get people to do repairs on their car. One such incident happened between a co-worker and an elderly woman. The poor old woman was tricked into getting her car repaired using scare tactics. The following waiting room conversation between Mrs. M and the auto mechanic exactly as Max relayed it:

Mechanic: Mrs. S., what street do you live on?

Elderly Woman: I live on Maple Street.

Mechanic: I live on that street too. What time do you come home in the evening?

Elderly Woman: Oh, at 5 o’clock.

Mechanic: Good. Then I’ll know what time to tell my kids to get off the street because I shudder to think of you driving down the street in this car with my children playing in the street because you’re driving a death trap and it could kill them.

“Well needless to say the poor little old lady, just shy of a heart attack, started crying and saying, ‘Just do it, fix it, do whatever you have to do!’ And this is the type of tactic this guy used.” Although Max said these situations don’t happen as often as they use to, but there are instances where mechanics use such unscrupulous tactics.

Plain inquiries

Having been around for more than 30 years, Max has seen quite a few situations that are very annoying. I asked him about few things that customers do which gets to him and pat came the reply, People who are shopping auto repair prices.

A hypothetical situation Max explained it with: people call up now and then inquiring about the cost for a tune-up, when in reality they don’t have a slightest idea what is wrong with their car. The symptoms they specify over the phone require a different treatment. They are generally terrified of diagnostics test which is expensive so they don’t like to pay for it. Max says that this test is time and money well spent. You’re paying for a skilled technician to take an hours worth of labor to diagnose your vehicle with the proper computer scan tools to determine where your drivability problem is.

Can you give me a deal?

Max finds some conversations with certain customers very unpleasant. Can you make me a deal? is another question from the customers that annoys Max the most. This does not mean that he does not help those who are really in need of help and are not just out to score a discount.

For example, he would go out of his way to help out a pregnant woman with two kids and car trouble and not enough money to fix it. Max told me, I’m going to the ends of the Earth, to the gates of hell for that woman to get that car running as reasonably as I possibly can and still maintain a profit for my business.” He insists that his business is not a charitable organization even while lending a helping hand to people who are in dire need of fixing their cars but are unable to pay the required amount.”I don’t wear a white collar and consequently, I can’t stay in business if I give away everything I do.”

Keep faith to win Points

Some of Max’s favorite customers are those who trust him implicitly with his job. They just drop their cars and let Max take care of the car repair. They are the one who don’t expect you to give them an estimate or ask how much it would cost. They simply trust Max, his knowledge and skill as an auto mechanic, to get the car back in ship shape condition and ready to roll on the road. “And I never breached that trust,” Max said.

In return for the trust placed in him, Max tries to adjust his booked schedule to squeeze these customers in and let them out the same day. “I took care of him. Did I give him a discount? No … did I do everything I could to get him back on the road as quickly as possible? You’re damn right I did. And I did it over, say the guy who came in an hour before and said, ‘Can you make me a deal?”