Trustworthy Mechanics
As a Facebook user, this post came across my timeline.
A mechanic in Jimboomba posted it with the above image.
This is what he had to say about it in blue below:
When will this sort of thing STOP? I had a customer last week with a holden Astra who was told she needed a new starter motor. After it was fitted the car still didn’t start. She was told there was 25 faults in the ECU memory and it was going to cost over $1500.00 to sort out the problem. Needless to say the young lady could not afford that kind of repair bill on a single mum pension. I had the car tilt trayed to me and after a couple of hours diagnosing the problem it turned out to be a faulty $45.00 relay. $145.00 later her car is starting first kick every time. Don’t be caught out and call me instead.
I buy a lot of cars with a lot of receipts in the logbooks.
And over the years I have bought many cars from general public and nearly all of them need some sort of mechanical repair and/or maintenance.
By way of recent example, I bought a 2003 Hyundai Getz.
The last receipt for work done was for $345.
I went through the 3 page bill and the only actual work done was an oil and filter change.
Including the sump washer, the new oil filter and 3.3 litres of good quality oil, the cost of these items are no more than $40.
The rest of the 2 page waffle was “safety checks”.
With a hoist required for the servicing of the car and using a flashlight, the total labour to do the oil change and ALL of the inspections would have taken 30 minutes at the most.
And the report using a template, another 15 minutes to type and print.
I get the fact mechanics need to put food on the table.
But the general public seriously get gouged from time to time on simple repairs and maintenance.
But let me now defend the poor old hard working mechanic.
Sometimes like in the above example in blue, the problems are not so easy to diagnose.
And mechanics can spend hours of time – which needs to be compensated for – to find where the problem lies.
And sometimes in this problem solving, a mechanic finds other parts needing replacing.
Diagnoses of mechanical parts can sometimes be like a ribbit hole.
You just keep on finding bits wrong.
If you don’t fix them you are not doing your job, but if you do, the customer wears an expensive bill.
So it can be a delicate balance.
Should I Visit a Few Mechanics?
Some might have very specific experience on your car and the problem you are having, has done it before, and knows exactly what to do.
Others presented with exactly the same repair job, might struggle with proper and quick identification.
Either way, it is always good to find a trustworthy mechanic via a recommendation from a friend.
Or with the rise of social media, useful posts like the above give you an insight into the way a local mechanic works.
Google maps also has the locations of a lot of mechanical businesses with reviews there for the world to see.
Take some of the reviews with a grain of salt though, because not everything always goes right and even a diligent and trustworthy mechanic can fall on the wrong side of a difficult customer’s ire.
In any case, if you have a car to sell in Brisbane, even if it has a funny noise or two, bring it to me and and I might buy it. You can call me on 0411 362 229.
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