Don't Get Taken for a Ride When it Comes to Car Repairs

I think this website is a bad idea. Why? because it gets you into a mode where you are searching around for the cheapest place possible. And when it comes to the care of your vehicle, you shouldn't go to the cheapest places. Cheapest places mean that they probably don't pay their employees what they are worth, or it's a father/son set up and their lot is crowded with vehicles. These places want to get the cars in and out as quickly as possible. That's how they make their money is by doing the work quick, this means they cut corners, and do the work half ass at times. But you're not a mechanic, so you won't notice until later down the road. If you have a popular car they may even switch out one of your good parts for a bad one, just to insure they have business on down the road from you. Cause hey, they fixed that one problem for dirt cheap, why not go back to them for this one they set up with out you knowing? When it comes to your car, your means of transportation, and one of the most important objects in your life. Never go the cheapest way possible.

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Only time you should deal with the car dealers is if you are still under warranty. After all spending a 50-100 dollar deductible on a 1000+ dollar job is well... can't be beat. If you don't have a warranty you should do some searching around. Talk to friends, relatives, and go to little shops that do oil changes, or body repair and see who they recommend. Spending 1 day looking around and asking people like this will end up leading you to a shop that you can trust, and more then likely won't screw you over. And I for one wouldn't mind spending a little bit extra if I can rest assured that the work is being done right the first time. Instead of going to a place that is the cheapest, and getting the cheapest kind of work done only to be unhappy with it once more later down the road.

CARSSSSSSS, I LOVE THEM AND HATE THEM........................

My mechanic isn't afraid to charge, but he never tries to sell me what I don't need.
Not telling you who he is. He's busy enough already.

I have been in the car business in one form or another since I was 14 years old. I have worked in service and repair at the dealership level for over 25 years. I have worked at high end dealers in New York and Los Angeles and everything in between. I can assure you the ONLY thing dealerships want is your money. The owners of dealerships are completely out of touch with the economy and put unrelenting pressure on their managers, salespeople and especially the service people to sell, sell, sell. The owners of dealerships have some crazy notion that customers have pockets full of money and that their dealership is immune to the poor economy. Geez, some of the biggest companies in the world have suffered from the recession how can they possibly think their company shouldnt be affected too? The owners set ridiculously high requirements on the service departments while demanding the customer always be "satisfied". There in lies the catch. I know this because I am very good at selling a customer what they need and what they can afford. If they cant do all the repairs I will work with them on how to budget the repairs as to what is most important and what can wait. This is how you build trust and repeat customers. Unfortunately this does not meet the demands of greedy dealership owners. I have been put in this position and under pressure of being terminated have gone against my own morals and have lied to customers in order to save my own job. I have found out that I am not good at it. Its embarassing to be caught in a lie that way. Customers are sent surveys that ask how their experience at the dealership was. If you get enough poor surveys you will be terminated. Irregardless of whos to blame. Wrong parts, technician misdiagnosis, whatever. Since my name is on the survey I take the blame for any and all mistakes. Its all about the money and GREED. Dealerships are in it for one thing only. Rape the customer while not getting caught.

The self serving scare articles to gain favor. Sure its good to find competing estimates but online estimates dont deliver quality. The average technician spends 80 to 100k on tools of the lifetime of their carrer.Education in a formal trade school 25 grand minimum. When it comes to diagnostic equipment that has to be updated with new info every year. Cost to update usually 1500 for the license to cover software and programming. When an independent has to deliver estimates its based on cost of business,taxes, employment costs,rent, epa regulations,local ordanaces. Lots of overhead. Then to have to do battle with people who are writing programs siting on their ass,dictating how the market should be priced. Hey does anyone ask how this website gets their revenue? Being malipulated by fear tactics, creating distrust in this video, eliciting emotional responses to sell thier website, Not professional
Just Remember if you complain about dealer costing more, its because you dont support a local independent who is trying to compete. These days relationships have little to do with price and everything to do with trust your car is being repaired by people who can deliver results promptly through skill and expertise. Following the attitude of the price of everything and value of nothing wont help keep the price down.

Sadly, motorists who have later model vehicles, even those recently out of warranty, have to return to new car dealerships for repairs and parts because of the cars' computers, which the independent repairers don't have full access to. Massachusetts just passed The "Right to Repair Act" which allows motorists to choose whether they want to have their cars repaired at the more expensive new dealership or an independent. Over 126,000 Massachusetts voters signed a ballot initiative to have their cars with Right to Repair. Vote YES on Mass's ballot one! A bill in Congress, HR 1449, Right to Repair has been stalled by the car companies. This bill would allow motorists nationwide to have affordable repairs and choose where they want their vehicles repaired. If you want to choose where and how much money you spend on your repairs, log onto: www.righttorepair.org and sign the petition.

I change my oil every 2500 miles, no matter what. Oil usually doesn't lose its lubricating ability very much, but it gets very, very dirty. Remember, that dusty air the engine sucks in gets into the crankcase, along with carbon from combustion. Also, the combustion process produces acids which get into the oil, and eat away at engine parts. Sand in the oil acts like sandpaper on engine parts, especially the pistons and rings. Draining the oil, and replacing it with fresh new oil is your best bet.

Ah yes the "Idiot Light." My son was mechanic and explained to me many of these "Check engine Lights" are linked to the cars odometer. Hit a certain number of miles the "Idiot Light come On."

The best thing an auto owner can find is an honest Mechanic. Avoid the corporate repair shops.

I started getting a stutter in driving my Buick. Took it into "Firestone Corporate Owned Repair Shop' and they diagnosed clogged fuel injectors. They then recommend all the fuel injectors be replaces at a cost of $3200.

So I went to Auto Barn and asked them about clogged fuel injectors. They explained the injectors had to be blown out but that only a trained mechanic should do it. They recommend a mechanic who is 63 years old (over 40 years of repairing cars) but both is son's work in his small shop.

Total cost for blowing out the fuel injectors with labor $275.00 Then the old mechanic asked when was the last time you had this car completely tuned up. It had been quite awhile. So he recommended I let him do that also. Another $900.

My Buick now runs like a top and is getting better gas mileage. About 4 mpg more.

Me and my friend are retired mechanics...Between the two of us we have over 50 yrs of experience...We have and ad on Craiglist for mobile auto repair and we are extremely cheap...Look around for guys/gals like us...You'll get quaity work and save a lot of money...It's unbelievable how these auto repair shops rape people...

When the "check engine" light comes on, your very first move should be to check your fuel filler cap. If the cap is loose or faulty, it will key the light, and it's one of the most common, cheapest, easiest problems to fix.