Sensible, Fair Communicating With Your Auto Mechanic

I’m a simple man. I have a simple mind. And I am the head of the line in admitting that when it comes to (certain) auto mechanics, I just do not understand them and their lingo.

I mean no harm to the guys and gal mechanics who “have more on the ball,” that I ever will, but unless I vent this festering sore, I am going to burst wide-open.

It just happens that I recall an ongoing complaint about how (some) male auto mechanics for some reason seemingly are weak when it comes to female customers in the fact that the auto mechanics can tell the females anything and they will believe their rhetoric and pay the bill no matter how high.

This was such a sore-spot with the ladies, and it should have been, that it caught the attention of “60 Minutes,’” Mike Wallace who exposed a few of these “fast-buck artists,” by sending a female employee (to three of the suspected crooked mechanics’ shops) who worked for CBS acting as a female with car problems. Three out of three mechanics over-charged this woman by telling her that she needed a certain part when in fact she didn’t. Wallace used the term, “scam,” in his report and while showing the three mechanics themselves and what they said on video tape.

Needless to say, these three vultures were not happy campers. One was so angry his comments were “bleeped-out,” as he sped away flipping Wallace off in the process. He wasn’t a truthful mechanic, but a heckuva multi-tasker.

Now comes the touchy area of this piece. And dear, sweet ladies, I am literally “typing through a mine field,” at this point for saying that it was mostly-women these three crooks took advantage of and I am sure that they took a few guys for a few extra bucks too, because a lot of men and women are not mechanically-friendly and “we” are easy prey for such con artists with grease underneath their nails.

So as a way of helping both men and women who are like me, not that mechanically-savvy, I am presenting this (parts and labor of love) just for you entitled . . .

“Sensible, Fair Communications With Your Auto Mechanic”

Note: in this hub, some communications are best said by a physical reaction.

1. If your auto mechanic seems distracted as you explain your car problem, speak louder. Do not worry if you offend him (or her). It’s your car and your money.

2. If you take your automobile to your mechanic for him to inspect the problem and you smell whiskey on his breath, leave. If he (or she) drinks on the job, then he or she will drink while working on your automobile.

3. Before you take your car or truck to the shop, do some research on Google to see if you can find out how to tell your mechanic what the problem is. But if during your explanation, he begins to yawn, crack his knuckles or become fidgety, shut up and go to another shop. Any mechanic who cannot pay attention to a customer does not deserve the work.

4. When you explain your automotive problem to your mechanic, he starts trying to open the hood (from the wrong end of the automobile), you might say, “Are you not going to put my car on a diagnostic machine before you work on it?” You are in deep trouble if he replies, “A diag—nos, what?”

5. If you arrive at the mechanic’s shop and find him and his employees sitting around playing cards, this should be a red flag that he doesn’t do that much mechanic work.

6. Ask your mechanic when you arrive, “Does my problem sound familiar to you?” And a weak “maybe,” is all you get, I suggest that you find a reliable mechanic.

7. If your mechanic interrupts you often by regaling you of “adventures,” he has experienced in his shop, then say, “Well, I bid you good bye and have a great day.”

8. Discuss with your mechanic the actual cost of his work including labor and parts, and I mean to the cent, and if he balks at this by saying, “Oh, uhhh, it might be higher, it depends on how long I have to work on your car,” then be persistent. Do not settle for this answer. Simply and in a civil voice say, “I have trusted you for years for a fair price, and you have delivered on that, but if you do not, my husband, the D.A., will be paying you a visit.” (you should get a fair deal).

9. Sit down and talk about the problem you are having with your car with the mechanic, not one of his employees. This is how some mechanics operate. They get an employee to write-up the job, then if the mechanic is crooked, he will over-charge you for unneeded parts and if you complain, he will blame it on the employee.

10. When you start to pay your bill, have some other estimates from other automotive shops and show them to the mechanic if he has obviously over-charged you. “I am not trying to be ugly with you, but simply because I wear a skirt and heels does not mean that I am stupid.” Say this as you insist on paying a bill that is more sensible.

11. If the mechanic shows you this apparatus he calls “the part,” he had to replace, snap a photo of it with your cell phone, and Google it to see if it is really a part on your car. Note: one of the three mechanics I spoke of that was busted by Mike Wallace, used this con to get extra dough from the unsuspecting female.

    Happy motoring.

    Coming soon . . .”Things You Never Say While in The Inner-City”