YACT: Quality Mechanics are they out there?

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Q

Quixfire

Diamond Member
Jul 31, 2001
6,892
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I was asked by my cousin to take on this couples car. A ?brake shop? told them recently that their car needed a $1000.00 worth of work. This couple doesn't have that kind of money so I agreed to look at the brakes and give them my estimate. After getting the car up and removing the center caps I found this, backwards lugnuts.

How can a shop afford to hire such professionals as this guy who couldn?t even put on lug nuts correctly?

I have been fixing cars for over twenty years and I still wonder what is more damaging to the profession, the news media or bad mechanics?
 
NutBucket

NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,151
635
126
I wonder if this is part of that shop's plan to get that couple back into the door for that $1000 in repairs.
 
Turkish

Turkish

Lifer
May 26, 2003
15,547
1
81
wow that's horrible...
i guess the next time the customer shows up, they would tell him his car's lugnuts were defected and etc... complete morons..
 
D

desertdweller

Senior member
Jan 6, 2001
588
0
0

Looking for quality techs in a "brake shop"????

We're talking like Break Masters or Midas right?

When I was a tech, I used to make alot of money off those guys
when people brought thier vehicles to be fixed, after the "brake
shop" fixed them.

Most of those guys are glorified Jiffy Lube workers that got tired
of the Jiffy Jingle. They're paid like $7/hr and the company's that
they work for teach them that they need to Upsell damn near
everything.


DD
 
P

Pacfanweb

Lifer
Jan 2, 2000
13,158
59
91
Originally posted by: desertdweller
Looking for quality techs in a "brake shop"????

We're talking like Break Masters or Midas right?

When I was a tech, I used to make alot of money off those guys
when people brought thier vehicles to be fixed, after the "brake
shop" fixed them.

Most of those guys are glorified Jiffy Lube workers that got tired
of the Jiffy Jingle. They're paid like $7/hr and the company's that
they work for teach them that they need to Upsell damn near
everything.


DD
Click to expand...
You got that right. I work at a Ford dealership, and I have people shopping me all the time for brake job prices, and after I give ours, which includes resurfacing the rotors, new pads or shoes, labor, etc, they hit me with "I can get that for 100 bucks cheaper at Midas".
Right. And after they get you in the door with that cheap price for lifetime brakes, which DOES NOT include resurfacing the rotors, they tell you that the only way they can warranty your brakes is if you also buy calipers or wheel cylinders.
And your 89.95 Midas brake job just became 400+ bucks for parts that 99.9% of the time, you don't need.

 
Q

Quixfire

Diamond Member
Jul 31, 2001
6,892
0
0
Originally posted by: desertdweller
We're talking like Break Masters or Midas right?
Click to expand...
I don't know and don't care at this point. I gave up trying to chase all the bad mechanics out of town a few years ago. But I do inform my customers and give them the information to pursue legal action if they choose.
 
Chaotic42

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
34,830
2,006
126
I had an *awesome* pair of mechanics back in Mississippi. Depending on what I needed done, I took my car to one or the other. Both were really fast, and fairly inexpensive. They had those little touches that bring you back.

Heck it was hard to get an appointment at one of them. Everyone loved the shop, and they couldn't expand fast enough.
 
X

xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
4
81
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: dtyn
Quality mechanics are few and far between
Click to expand...

Amen to that. Luckily I have two.
Click to expand...

same here, both within 3 blocks of where i work, very convenient. go to work early, lave car, walk to work.

walk to shop after work, drive home. great mechanics both of them.
 
W

whaleskinrug

Golden Member
Sep 25, 2003
1,114
0
0
A local mechanic fixed my car for free!!!! He wouldn't even let me pay him to do a tune up afterwards saying it would be a waste of my $$$$. This happened after several other shops quoted between $600 and $800.
 

I cannot tell you how many times I have run into the "stripped oil drain plug" syndrome, nine times out of ten it's Jiffy Lube buttholes using a air gun to install them.

I've seen different style plugs in one engine, anti-squeal on the friction surface of brake pads, missing hardware in drum brakes, shocks with bolts missing, a supposed "professional" rebuild of a small block chevy with connecting rod nuts missing, damaged auto tranny pumps from improperly engaging the torque converter, you name it, I've seen it.

Thye worst I've seen ?


One bolt holding a Honda five speed to the engine.
 
G

GalvanizedYankee

Diamond Member
Oct 27, 2003
6,986
0
0
In my experience, the truly good ones are somewhat eccentric. I worked 17yrs in a shop of 40+ journyman. Only 20% of us were sharp. I miss those days. Cummins and Detroit full overhauls 250+ units, engine and/or chassis dynoed all of them. Loved every bit of it.
Budd wheels use 10 lugs, I have seen 3 broken studs on one side and 2 on the other side of the same hub
and this fact is hidden by dumbying up the inner&out lug nuts on the outer wheel and mounting it, scary to say the least.
I do some side work and absolutly refuse to do patch jobs."lets just fix it for now, we can do it right later",a "later" that never comes and I become the bad guy when terminal failure arrives. Then they whine to all who will listen what a a$$hole i am!
If pricepoint is the only factor of importance good luck to all that shop for repair work.
 
S

ShotgunSteven

Lifer
May 31, 2001
15,326
2
0
I finally found a quality mechanic, but it took years. He was a shop mechanic for Chevrolet back before the Corvette was introduced, lost his leg (left one, I think) below the knee during the Korean War, and still gets around better than most people his age. He is "retired," but does more repair work than any shop I know of. He was a mechanic at the Chevy dealership in town until his retirement, now he has his own shop next to his house (vehicle lift and all) and has also taken on multiple employees, including the best ones he trained while still working for Chevy. He is an amazing mechanic, and a nice guy too. :)
 
feralkid

feralkid

Lifer
Jan 28, 2002
16,864
4,979
136
Originally posted by: Roger
I cannot tell you how many times I have run into the "stripped oil drain plug" syndrome, nine times out of ten it's Jiffy Lube buttholes using a air gun to install them.

I've seen different style plugs in one engine, anti-squeal on the friction surface of brake pads, missing hardware in drum brakes, shocks with bolts missing, a supposed "professional" rebuild of a small block chevy with connecting rod nuts missing, damaged auto tranny pumps from improperly engaging the torque converter, you name it, I've seen it.

Thye worst I've seen ?


One bolt holding a Honda five speed to the engine.
Click to expand...





The horror...the horror...


Although I am not really surprised.




 

I've found a good mechanic. He does a lot of foreign engine repair, not much American stuff, which is perfect for my family, with a Nissan, a Subaru and an Acura. His prices are a tad higher (10%-15% usually) than a chain store, but I feel it's worth it. He won't put low-quality-low priced components in the cars he services, which is why he charges the higher price, I think.

I had to get an oxygen sensor replaced, and he quoted me a pretty high price for what I thought was a relatively simple procedure. I asked him why, and he said he was using a Bosch sensor. I priced out some different brands of sensors online, and I was surprised at the disparity in prices. I was surprised - I figured that he'd be using a no-name component and would still charge me up the ass for it. As long as I know it's being done right, I don't mind paying a little more.
 
T

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
5,575
0
0
Good mechanics are hard to come by nowadays.

I like to do a lot of the work myself, but it'd be eaiser if I had a lift and full set of tools.
 
Q

Quixfire

Diamond Member
Jul 31, 2001
6,892
0
0
Originally posted by: draggoon01
is it safe to assume a dealer will get the job done right but at a higher price?
Click to expand...
It is safe to assume at least that. But some of the biggest hacks I ever worked with, worked at dealerships.
 
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