How do you find a good mechanic?

[Zivic]

In terms of car maintenance, I have found the following helps tremendously for fuel savings (as well as better wear and tear).

Remove junk from the car that is not needed - this can remove upto 5kgs/10lbs of weight from the car, depending on what is removed. It may seem small, but this equates to an additional 50 metres per litre of fuel, which over a 10 gallon tank could be as much as 2.25km (1.5miles). Could be the difference of reaching the gas station or not.
I see your point, but who runs their cars that low on fuel that 1.5 miles would be a breaking point?

Ensure the tyres are up to pressure - even 5 psi under could increase drag by as much as 10%, thereby lowering the efficiency. Do not over inflate as this is dangerous and adds wear to the tyres.
OK

Rotate your wheels - rotating your wheels every 3 months, ensures even tyre wear. It may not be a task you enjoy, but it is much better to replace all 4 tyres at once (as they're usually discounted when buying all 4), than 1 at a time, as this could be much more expensive.
you would likely be buying in sets of 2 or 4, not 1 at a time. at which point, I have never personally been discounted any more on 4 tires vs buying 2. I buy them in lots of 2 for my RWD car that has staggered sizes, while I buy them in sets of 4 for my FWD van, AWD car, and pickup.

Downshift rather than braking (unless you need to brake in an emergency) - The reason for this, is that it is much more fuel efficient, and gives better wear on the brakes.
because brakes are much more expensive than a transmission??? use the brakes, not the trans to slow your car. Pads and rotors are cheap, a trans is not

Change oil once a year, and top up once a month - this is a given, the oil in the engine will build up dirt, grime, and general crap which can do damage to the car. Having it drained and replaced once a year ensures your engine has better longevity.

I have vehicles I change only yearly, but for most, 3k-10k mile intervals (depending on application and conditions) is more realistic.


Experience*

I have a car which I purchased new in 1998, it has done 280k miles in 15 years (I average around 1550 miles a month). It drives better than my brothers car which was purchased new in 2007.

Might sound like I am doing a lot to the car, but the preventative maintenance costs far negate the costs of a full repair. Only thing I've had to replace is the Cam belt every 80k miles (due for a replacement soon), and a head gasket which went at 210k miles. The mechanic I use is a neighbour, and my car is in better condition than most cars that are between 3-8 years old, simply because I look after it.

NB - I drive a Ford Focus 1998 model

most people don't give a sh!t about their cars. I have seen cars come into my mechanics shop with rotors wore through the face down to the inner vanes with nothing left of the pads. the caliper pistons were being used to stop the car.

I know people that never check their oil. Had a woman I worked with ask me what the genie lamp on her dash meant because it came on the other day. She had a 18 month old car, never changed or checked the oil before....


how does one find a good mechanic?
WORD OF MOUTH...

 

[sze5003]

most people don't give a sh!t about their cars. I have seen cars come into my mechanics shop with rotors wore through the face down to the inner vanes with nothing left of the pads. the caliper pistons were being used to stop the car.

I know people that never check their oil. Had a woman I worked with ask me what the genie lamp on her dash meant because it came on the other day. She had a 18 month old car, never changed or checked the oil before....


how does one find a good mechanic?
WORD OF MOUTH...

Yeah word of mouth works if you have friends that take care of their cars. Besides myself, most of my friends are like what you described here. They dunno any better than to go to pep boys and ask for oil change.

 

[7window]

Ugh, don't start that shit. 'Thickness variation' is popularly called 'warped,' and nitpicking it is silly.

Hard pads do contribute more to [insert your favorite term for 'my car has rythmic shaking under braking']. The lack of 'give' in the pad material, for lack of a better term, causes the driver to apply more pressure to get the same amount of braking, and generally contributes to the rotor taking more of the abuse than it would with softer pads. Less physical dissipation of energy through pad wear means more dissipation through heat.

edit: and in my case, I can tell you exactly what has caused warpage- a terrible city full of both terrible drivers and ill-conceived road projects. Basically, traveling at 80mph and then having to suddenly sustain braking down to half the speed. Or less, down to being almost a full-on stop, sometimes. It may be able to be considered 'heat cycling,' but it's really not that so much as simply being brief periods of very high heat. It may well be deposits more than anything, but said deposits are what cause thickness variaton.

In my case autozone pads are not causing any of my rotor to warp nor do I have problem with stopping the car. The only problem I have is the longevity of the pad. My pads only cost $18 but it is lifetime. I do however have to change it every year. Pain in the butt. I might have to look into softer pads. I had no idea that softer pads last longer than the hard ceramic ones.
I thought it was the other way around but I never really researched the pads.

So I guess, do I want to change the pads every year or would I want to pay big bucks for brakes and have it last longer than a year. I might look at OEM as those are the ones that last longer.

 

[sze5003]

What type of pads are the soft kind? I wonder which pads the mitsu dealer uses. I may just go with the Akinobo professional pads because I used to have cheap pads on my 3000gt and I would need them changed frequently too.

 

[phucheneh]

I dunno, my preconceptions about brake pads have been upset. =(

But generally, the kind that make lots of dust. I'm guessing they just have more organic material in them. They won't wear slower than cheap metallics.

Most cars have optional ceramics available at parts stores. Usually more like $35-50 instead of the typical 20-30. I've used them on some family members' cars who are quite hard on brakes. They seem to stop well and be more durable, but the rotors are toast after one go-round.

Always gonna have pros and cons. The Volvo pads I mentioned may have worn quickly, but you could pad-slap at least once on the same rotors without turning. Probably more, by most people's standards, but their rotors didn't have a lot of room between new and discard specs.

 

[sze5003]

Well people at lancer forums were suggesting for track use not daily driving like I do. They also mentioned Akinobo performance pads or the pro act model would work good too.

But I also realized that the hawk hps 622 street or performance pads will also work fine for me. Amazon has them for $78 bucks. The hawk's seem to get better reviews than the akinobo brand.

 

[sze5003]

I ended up going with the hps 435.622 performance street brake pads. They had good reviews and I was able to get them on Amazon. Well see how they do, I've called Meineke around my area and they mentioned that it would cost me 60+ tax to have them put on if I bring them to the shop.

 

[Vdubchaos]

OP

Learn how the cars work and how to work on cars.

Unless you do it yourself, it will not get done right...and you will pay dearly <<<<< it's what I go by

All based on experience (with TONS of mechanics and dealers).

 

[sze5003]

I would not mind doing them myself but I don't have the tools and each year lancers changed some things in terms of tools needed or pins. I'll have a look at some videos but then again who knows I could do a great job putting them on and not realize my rotors could be bad ?

 

[Vdubchaos]

1) check if your car's rotors can be resurfaced (some cars, like VWs for example, have very thin rotors and you have to replace them)

2) Resurface the rotors. Most Parts stores will charge you $15-20 bucks to do so.

You don't need a lot of tools to do the brakes. 3/8 sockets/rachet set, Jackstands and a clamp. Some plastic gloves too.

You ONLY buy tools on "as per needed basis".

You have WEALTH of knowledge on the internet to get the job done.....

Personally, I see no reason NOT to do it.

 

[sze5003]

I'm going to take a look into it but I doubt my rotors need any work. This is the first time that I'm coming close to having to change front breaks since I bought the car. I'll look though and figure it out.

 

[jlee]

You ONLY buy tools on "as per needed basis".

"50% off and I might use it eventually" basis is more like it. :whiste:

 

[olds]

Go around to where the mechanics work and ask them if they do side jobs. I got a motorcycle mechanic to work on one of my bikes at half the shop rate. And he was the same mechanic that would have worked on it if I had gone with the shop.

 

[sze5003]

Go around to where the mechanics work and ask them if they do side jobs. I got a motorcycle mechanic to work on one of my bikes at half the shop rate. And he was the same mechanic that would have worked on it if I had gone with the shop.

Seems odd lol stalk mechanic shop until lunch or break and then snag one haha

 

[FallenHero]

Seems odd lol stalk mechanic shop until lunch or break and then snag one haha

It is the cheapest option. Just had a complete tune-up, trans fluid, oil change, wiper motor, spark plug, coolent and inspection done for cheap on my 2006 charger by my co-workers brother. Nearby shop would have charged a grand easy for it. Cash is king, always.

 

[sze5003]

I will keep that in mind. A friend of mine recommended me his mechanic and he has been asking if I called him already. Going to do that and see what he says or I may stop by there and talk to the guy in person. If I didn't live in an apartment I would definitely not mind doing this maintenance stuff by myself. I found a whole how to section on evolutionm boards.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I will keep that in mind. A friend of mine recommended me his mechanic and he has been asking if I called him already. Going to do that and see what he says or I may stop by there and talk to the guy in person. If I didn't live in an apartment I would definitely not mind doing this maintenance stuff by myself. I found a whole how to section on evolutionm boards.

I've seen plenty of people work in Autozone parking lot hehe

Maybe parents/familys house?

Sooner you get to twisting wrenches, better off you will be.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Check the Lancer forums and see what people there recommend. I put Akebono pads on the rear of my car and am about to put the front ones on; they are a bit on the expensive side but worth every penny IMO. Replacing brake pads is generally not a hard task; I needed to buy an odd-ball socket to remove the caliper bracket, but otherwise it's just nuts and bolts.

+1 Replaced the PosiQueit semi-met pads on my LS with Akebonos and am extremely happy with them.

 

[Vdubchaos]

+1 Replaced the PosiQueit semi-met pads on my LS with Akebonos and am extremely happy with them.

PS. I've had GREAT luck with Akebonos as well (my preference for brake brand now)

 

[sze5003]

I could have gotten akebono pads, they were less expensive than hawk hps. I think the hawk brand will last me a while though the way I drive. I always like having more stopping power due to how people drive around here.

 

[olds]

I will keep that in mind. A friend of mine recommended me his mechanic and he has been asking if I called him already. Going to do that and see what he says or I may stop by there and talk to the guy in person. If I didn't live in an apartment I would definitely not mind doing this maintenance stuff by myself. I found a whole how to section on evolutionm boards.

In some towns, they have shops where people can rent a stall and work on their vehicles there. They have tools too. We had one on Fort Sill.

Something like this

 

[sze5003]

In some towns, they have shops where people can rent a stall and work on their vehicles there. They have tools too. We had one on Fort Sill.

Something like this

Nice wish they had that here. They do have something like that at the local navy base but I don't think my one friend goes there anymore so I would not be able to get in.

 

[T2urtle]

when i first started i joined a couple car forums and then found some local car clubs. I might of not found the exact same car but in the field.

A normal lancer... well if there no much local guys i would try the EVO or rallyart forums. Find out what they are running in terms of parts and who is getting their stuff installed. A lot of the good forums have one or two go to guys who work out of their garage. They do mini meets every other weekend and work on cars, grill and etc. Thats who you want to do work on your car if you dont want to do it yourself. I've joined a couple local groups and have helped out in some installs just to save time.

For parts... get to know advanceautopart's coupon codes for parts that you need ASAP! and rockauto and amazon for parts you can wait on like brakes, suspension. If i needed a cam sensor RIGHT now i would hit up advance's online site and use the 33 or 40% code and get the part in right now to get my car running.

I'm my friends go to guy when it comes to cars but it sucks because sometimes you dont wanna charge them money and/or they really over pay you. Like i did brakes for my friend's dad. Parts were $100 ( 2 rotors and a set of ceramic pads), the guy gave me $300, because the dealership wanted $550. I only asked for $150. Other times like friends want me do spark plugs and a filter on a 4 cylinder. Its such a simple brainless job i dont want money for it.

 

[sze5003]

I joined the evo m forums but there's no one close to me that holds any such events.

I'll also check out the rallyart forums and see if they have a bigger community. On my way to and from work I see a few lancers and maybe one or two evos on the freeway so there must be something they all take part in.

I could have got an evo but with my commute being 25 to 30 miles each way for work I wanted a car that would be decent on gas. The gts is fine with that aspect and it handles really well too, takes corners like crazy.

 

[Eureka]

Nice wish they had that here. They do have something like that at the local navy base but I don't think my one friend goes there anymore so I would not be able to get in.

You wouldn't happen to be in Jersey would you?

I happen to work at one of those places, and we have access to a hobby auto shop... with 3 lifts and most tools.