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*Poll* Do you have "A Guy" for you car repairs?

i am an ase certified master auto tech with 24 years experience. just be absolutley sure you are comparing apples to apples....were your vehicle and the other guys the same year, make and model? also what parts were used, were they the same brand, a name brand like moog or some off the wall aftermarket name from autozone....if the situations were not exactly the same, you are not being fair. give more details....this is how mechanic bashing gets started.....also, were his done at a professional shop with a warranty, were yours done at a professional shop with a warranty? if his were done at a shop and yours were done out back in the yard of a local "mechanic guy" i seriously doubt he will have the same warranty as a profesional shop. you also have to consider the fact that merely turning the key in the door of the shop costs money. shops have alot of overhead, thats why things cost more there, the guy next door who does it out of his garage or under the tree in his backyard doesnt have any overhead. please give more details on this to make it a fair comparison. not to mention its the wrong forum🙂
 
I see a guy who has been working with cars his whole life, he's honest, has about a 2 to 4 week turnaround time depending on whats wrong and what you need done (thats how many people he services), is INCREDIBLY cheap, and alwyays uses quality used/new parts. I'm sure he could get all kinds of certifications, not exactly sure if he has any. All I know is he never lies and always gets my car running at its best.

He works out of his home, (Although he has built a full scale garage there) I know at least 50 familiys/friends that use him for car service. It will be a sad day in my town when he retires.
 
thats good for you, but there is no such thing as a quality used part......used is used....i see it on a daily basis, used parts can and will bite you in the a$$, we install customer supplied parts, new or used, if they so desire, but absolutley offer no warranty on them or the job. if he is that good, then he should get his certifications and make alot of money in a shop. when i got my certifications, my pay rate tripled.
 
I trust the man, his judgment is better than mine on such things. And he does warranty his work, usually in the form of just fixing it for free if anything goes wrong pertaining to what he did or so I'm told. Nothing he's done to my car, even using used parts has ever come back to haunt me. Not even in the form of a decrease in gas milage.

Its my belief that there are in fact good used parts outhere. I have a few in my car currently and there havent been any problems.
 
I think you can go cheap on some stuff but stuff like ball joints you'd be retarded if you got them used...
 
Originally posted by: czech09
I think you can go cheap on some stuff but stuff like ball joints you'd be retarded if you got them used...
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And even more retarted to pay someone to do them. JK Paul 😛
 
ok this is just funny. I know its the wrong forum so here's my comment.... I have automotive training and have been working on cars since I was like 12.... I learned about auto mech from my step dad which has always had a wrench in his hand and he is still in the automotive field.
"and now I prepare for flamming"
Shops overhead is what they want to keep in stock and alot of the overhead is not completly nessassary to have on hand. I am currently getting my shop off the ground with no overhead and have my stepdad as a partner and he is opening a shop in his area also without any overhead. the shops that charge 50+ bux an hour and $300 for a $120 part is just a rip off. I myself have done all of my repairs my self for both me and my clients and have shown how much they are over charging for repairs.
for instance my father-in-law went to a local shop to have an alternator replaced and they wanted $280 for a alternator that I got him with my supplier(checker auto) for $120 and they charged him $100 buxx in labor for a 35min job now thats just not right personally(his car was a saturn) so for "allanon1965" price gouging is not a proper way to do business if you want people to keep comming back when they need to
I do aggree that auto zone sells **ity parts
 
Originally posted by: czech09
I think you can go cheap on some stuff but stuff like ball joints you'd be retarded if you got them used...
Click to expand...

Nope, not used. It is a close family friend that does auto work on the side and he does all of our repairs and tune-ups. He charges very little for labor and just what the parts cost him.
 
what model saturn was it? also i do not condone overcharging in any way shape or form, but overhead is much more than parts you stock, its employee salaries, electricity, water, phone, advertisiing, enviromental fees, fees for waste hauling, trash pickup and initial costs for equiptment such as lifts, brake lathes, air hoses, benches, and so on....you should know as well as i do, that shops use labor guides.....if you dont, then thats fine, but labor guides are just that, guides, some of the est. labor times are way off, sometimes in the customers favor, sometimes in the techs favor, but some shops go by the labor guide as a bible, and that is wrong, but you are forgetting alot of things it takes to keep a shop open.... besides ....are these shops free? you renting them, own them? what about property taxes...thats also overhead, what about insurance for mistakes you make, or god forbid, a fire or accident? thats also overhead, and its expensive! we cary a million dollar policy at our shop due to the fact we work on class a motorhomes that cost over 500,000 dollars....
 
If I can't repair my vehicles, then it's time to sell them. By the way, there is a such thing as a top quality used part. 😉
 
with enough help from the right friend... aside from parts costs, i've never paid anyone (a shop or repair guy) really ever.
 
nascarfool.....ther is no such thing as a top quality used part....its used....period. unless you know the exact history of a USED part, its used, period. i see it on a daily basis, i have installed thousands of customer supplied used parts over 24 years.....i know the failure rate and i know which parts will not last....seen it too many times.....if you have no finances for new and have to do used, so be it, but they can and will fail sooner than new in most cases...not all but most.
 
It was a 98 camry. And allanon, your very right, I didn't think of all of those things. But is it really worth spending so much more money to get it done by a "professional?" I stand beside my mechanic and he tells me what he is doing and we talk along with my dad. I know that he is enjoying what he is doing and is doing a good job and stands by his work. Hell, I would even pay more than a shop for that. The fact that it is cheaper is a bonus.
 
I have a guy named oldsmoboat that fixes (or at least attempts to fix) anything that needs fixing.
 
thats good you have that kind of relationship with him, but in my opinion it is worth the extra money for a professional shop to do the work. a professional shop wont have the 2 to 4 week turn around....how many people can seriously do with out their car for that long? im not trying to put down you guy, but in most cases it is better, iim sure there are things that your guy cant or wont do....professional shops will.....there are jobs i wouldnt do if i were on my own, but thats the definition of professional: someone who does there best even when they dont want to. its all about customer service and respect...
 
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
I have a guy named oldsmoboat that fixes (or at least attempts to fix) anything that needs fixing.
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Yeah, my guy is named TheLonelyPhoenix. His heart's in the right place, but things usually need more fixing after he takes a crack at them.
 
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