- 08
- Jul
Our older generation has passed on three important lessons to us by the time we reach the legal driving age. They are: Number 1: Wear your seat belt. Number 2: Don’t speed. Number 3: Never ever trust your auto mechanic.
I met up with an auto mechanic and requested him to give me the inside story of the car repair industry. I agreed to keep his name out of it so let us call him Max. Max has been around a long time, getting his hands greased for no less than 30 years.
According to Max, as the car repair industry is attempting to make itself dirt free, some auto mechanics are reluctant to respond. Unlawful attempts are still being made in the industry, for example: employing second-hand parts in the cars and promoting them as new.
I would say years ago, it was more pars for the course. I would say it happened about 40 percent of the time, he said. Today, I would say it probably happens a whole heck of a lot less. You’re probably looking at about 10 to 7 percent margin, but it does still happen.
Stay well away from Shady Auto Mechanics
Max pointed out three important things to remember during the process of finding a good car repair shop. The first is the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification from places like AC Delco, Ford Motor Company or Bendix. While ASE certification does not indicate that they’re really good, it does indicate that the technicians go on their own time, or the business has given them the incentive to study, to take the course and go and show their skills are worthy of certification. (Ed. Note: ASE is a non-profit, independent organization founded in 1972. To learn more click here)
Max insists that it is very imperative that the car repair shop has all the right equipment in place to do a proper job like a good tire mounting machine with rubber mounts that don’t scratch your wheels or an alignment rack with laser measurements. I want to make sure they have the proper diagnostic equipment. A shop that has invested in the proper equipment to service today’s automobiles is usually a shop that you can trust, because they are not going to buy that expensive equipment and then have people who are not qualified to use it.”
Max also advises a good organized car repair shop. Max states, “I’m looking for a clean shop. I don’t want to see Jake the Junkyard Dog chained in the office. I don’t want to see a lot of dirt around the place. It shouldn’t look like it’s going to be condemned by the health department”.
Max says, in addition to a car repair shop’s hygiene, the fee for car repairs ought to be visibly posted, and they must all the time inform you proper car repair estimation prior to any work. You must be able to find a few helpful advices regarding the car repair shop. If it is recommended by an auto-mechanic, then confirm it. He says, “Well I go there because my father’s cousin’s grandfather used to work there and they’re really nice and they make a good cup of coffee,” he said. “It’s got to be better than that, they’ve got to have a track record of good quality repair.”
Sign board for little old ladies – Stay Smart! Stay Alert!
Max, with his three decades of experience behind him, had some interesting stories to tell about the tactics the sales personnel use to get people to do repairs on their car. One such incident happened between a co-worker and an elderly woman. Using scare tactics the poor old woman was tricked into getting her car repaired. The following waiting room conversation between Mrs. M and the auto mechanic exactly as Max relayed it:
Mechanic: Mrs. S., what street do you live on?
Elderly Woman: I live on Main Street.
Mechanic: I live on that street too. What time do you come home in the evening?
Elderly Woman: Oh, at 5 o’clock.
Mechanic: Good. Now I’ll know what time to tell my kids to keep off the street. I shudder to think of you driving in this car with children playing in the street because you are driving a death trap.
“Well needless to say the poor little old lady, just shy of a heart attack, started crying and saying, ‘Just do it, fix it, do whatever you have to do!’ And this is the type of tactic this guy used.” Although Max said these situations don’t happen as often as they use to, but there are instances where mechanics use such unscrupulous tactics.
Straight Questions
30 years is a long time for Max to have been in quite a few situations which can be termed annoying. I asked him about few things that customers do which gets to him and pat came the reply, People who are shopping auto repair prices.
Max informed me about people calling up to get the cost for a tune-up, but hardly have any clue about the problem with their car. The indications they provide, normally need a different course of action. Max generally does not receive a constructive reply when he talks about the dreaded diagnostic analysis that public hate paying for. He recommends that its time and money will be rewarded. “You’re paying for a skilled technician to take an hour’s worth of labor to diagnose your vehicle with the proper computer scan tools to determine where your drivability problem is.”
Can you make me a deal?
The further categories of customers that Max is not pleased with are who come in and say, ‘Can you make me a deal?’” Max says that he tries hard to watch out for natives who really do call for help and aren’t simply seeking a discount.
For example, he would go out of his way to help out a pregnant woman with two kids and car trouble and not enough money to fix it. Max told me, I’m going to the ends of the Earth, to the gates of hell for that woman to get that car running as reasonably as I possibly can and still maintain a profit for my business.” He insists that his business is not a charitable organization even while lending a helping hand to people who are in dire need of fixing their cars but are unable to pay the required amount.”I don’t wear a white collar and consequently, I can’t stay in business if I give away everything I do.”
Keep faith to win Points
Max’s favorite customers are those who thoroughly trust him with his job. They drop their cars without a care in the world knowing full well that Max would take good care of their precious cars. They don’t expect an estimate or even inquire how much it would cost. They simply trust Max, his knowledge and skill as an auto mechanic, to get the car fixed in a way that they would prefer even without saying a word. “And I never breached that trust,” Max said.
As a result, Max would adjust the booked schedule, at times two weeks’ full, in order to get the guy in and out in the same day. “I took care of him. Did I give him a discount? No … did I do everything I could to get him back on the road as quickly as possible? You’re damn right I did. And I did it over, say the guy who came in an hour before and said, ‘Can you make me a deal?
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