2008 Woodie Awards
Honest mechanics are hard to find
Rachel Nelson
Issue date: 11/9/06 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Why is it that when a woman walks into a mechanic's shop, she automatically is labeled "stupid"?
I'm sure it happens to men as well, but being a woman, I have noticed that any time I have my car worked on, the mechanic tries to milk me for all I'm worth.
Like most teenagers, I got my first car when I was 16. When it needed a new tire, I took it to a shop that specializes in tires and many other car things. They changed my tire and then I brought my car back to the same shop for repairs when the time came.
I got my oil changed and my alignment adjusted. After all was said and done, the mechanic gave me a long list of the things that were wrong with my car. The grand total of all that needed to be fixed or replaced was somewhere around $800.
I knew there was no way I could afford to repair everything. I didn't understand half of what was on the list, and I've always told myself: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
So I went on, never guessing that the mechanic could be lying to me. I thought it was nice for the mechanic to look over my car and see everything that was wrong with it.
A couple of years later, a friend of mine bought a Ford Taurus from my dad. It needed a tune-up I referred her to my mechanic. We both took the car in and waited in the lobby for the job to be completed.
I should have known that we would be an easy target since we were two 18-year-old females. We had "gullible" written all over us.
Just as I expected, the mechanic gave my friend a long list of everything that needed to be fixed on her car. One of the items was that the radiator needed to be replaced.
I told my dad about the list. He told me that he had just replaced the radiator and told me to look in the glove box. When we opened it up, we found a receipt from where my dad had replaced the radiator.
That guy was busted, and I haven't used him since.
More recently, I took my car in to have a "knocking" sound investigated. I also wanted to have my oil changed and my transmission flushed. When I showed up to pick up my car, the bill was much more than I expected.
When they gave me my receipt, there was all this mumbo-jumbo that I didn't understand. Why can't they just write it in plain English?
The mechanic told me my struts needed to be replaced and that it would cost somewhere between $900 and $1,000.
Thank God I got a second opinion. The next guy I took it to was so helpful. He replaced both front tires, adjusted my alignment, replaced the weather stripping on my driver's side door, fixed the knocking noise (which turned out not to be the struts), replaced the battery and evendetailed it for just over $300.
I'll never use anyone but him again, but I had to put up with a couple of dishonest people before I found him.
What do you have to do to find an honest mechanic these days?
I'm sure it happens to men as well, but being a woman, I have noticed that any time I have my car worked on, the mechanic tries to milk me for all I'm worth.
Like most teenagers, I got my first car when I was 16. When it needed a new tire, I took it to a shop that specializes in tires and many other car things. They changed my tire and then I brought my car back to the same shop for repairs when the time came.
I got my oil changed and my alignment adjusted. After all was said and done, the mechanic gave me a long list of the things that were wrong with my car. The grand total of all that needed to be fixed or replaced was somewhere around $800.
I knew there was no way I could afford to repair everything. I didn't understand half of what was on the list, and I've always told myself: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
So I went on, never guessing that the mechanic could be lying to me. I thought it was nice for the mechanic to look over my car and see everything that was wrong with it.
A couple of years later, a friend of mine bought a Ford Taurus from my dad. It needed a tune-up I referred her to my mechanic. We both took the car in and waited in the lobby for the job to be completed.
I should have known that we would be an easy target since we were two 18-year-old females. We had "gullible" written all over us.
Just as I expected, the mechanic gave my friend a long list of everything that needed to be fixed on her car. One of the items was that the radiator needed to be replaced.
I told my dad about the list. He told me that he had just replaced the radiator and told me to look in the glove box. When we opened it up, we found a receipt from where my dad had replaced the radiator.
That guy was busted, and I haven't used him since.
More recently, I took my car in to have a "knocking" sound investigated. I also wanted to have my oil changed and my transmission flushed. When I showed up to pick up my car, the bill was much more than I expected.
When they gave me my receipt, there was all this mumbo-jumbo that I didn't understand. Why can't they just write it in plain English?
The mechanic told me my struts needed to be replaced and that it would cost somewhere between $900 and $1,000.
Thank God I got a second opinion. The next guy I took it to was so helpful. He replaced both front tires, adjusted my alignment, replaced the weather stripping on my driver's side door, fixed the knocking noise (which turned out not to be the struts), replaced the battery and evendetailed it for just over $300.
I'll never use anyone but him again, but I had to put up with a couple of dishonest people before I found him.
What do you have to do to find an honest mechanic these days?
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